The Alsea Watershed Study, established in 1959 and reactivated in 1989 as the New Alsea Watershed Study, evaluated the effects of timber harvesting on water resources and salmonid habitat and populations in the temperate coniferous forests of the Oregon Coast Range. This was the first paired watershed experiment to focus on aquatic habitat and organism response to forest practices. Demonstrating the importance of maintaining streamside vegetation in protecting water quality and fish habitat during timber harvest operations, the study led directly to regulations in the Oregon Forest Practices Act of 1971 that required leaving streamside vegetation in harvest units. Decades of research have provided important information and lessons for watershed research and management.
Through analyses of works generated by the study, The Alsea Watershed Study: Hydrological and Biological Responses to Temperate Coniferous Forest Practices addresses the quantification of forest resource sustainability and bolsters the case for long-term monitoring at a time when managers and policy makers are searching for ways to restore the runs of salmon and steelhead to rivers and streams of the Pacific Northwest.
The Alsea Watershed Study: Hydrological and Biological Responses to Forest Practices Chapter 1. The Alsea Watershed Study James D. Hall and John D. Stednick Chapter 2. Effects of Timber Harvesting on Streamflow in the Alsea Watershed Study John D. Stednick Chapter 3. Stream Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen George G. Ice Chapter 4. Sediment Studies in the Alsea Watershed Study Robert C. Beschta and William L. Jackson Chapter 5. Salmonid Populations and Habitat James D. Hall Chapter 6. The Oregon Forest Practices Act and Forest Research Anne Hairston-Strang, Paul W. Adams, and George G. Ice Chapter 7. The New Alsea Watershed Study John D. Stednick Chapter 8. Flynn Creek: Research Natural Area Arthur McKee and Sarah Greene Chapter 9. Long Term Streamflow Changes Following Timber Harvesting John D. Stednick Chapter 10. Long Term Water Quality Changes Following Timber Harvesting John D. Stednick Chapter 11. Risk Assessment for Salmon From Water Quality Changes Following Timber Harvesting John D. Stednick and T. J. Kern Chapter 12. Sedimentation Studies Following the Alsea Watershed Study Robert L. Beschta and William L. Jackson Chapter 13. Woody Debris from the Streamside Forest and Its Influence on Fish Habitat C. W. Andrus Chapter 14. Long Term Trends in Habitat and Fish Populations in the Alsea Basin Stanley V. Gregory, John S. Schwartz, James D. Hall, Randall C. Wildman, and Peter A. Bisson Chapter 15. The Alsea Watershed Study: A comparison with other multi-year investigations in the Pacific Northwest Peter A Bisson, Stanley V. Gregory, Thomas E. Nickelson, and James D. Hall Chapter 16. Watershed Management Paul W. Adams Chapter 17. Research Opportunities in Hydrology and Biology in Future Watershed Studies John D. Stednick
From the reviews: "This work, volume 199 in the 'Ecological Studies' series, includes 15 years of research, 20 years of monitoring data, and a research renewal focusing on the Alsea watershed habitat and organism responses to four decades of forest practices. ! Chapters contain graphs, figures, and tables to emphasize and illustrate important concepts. Suitable for soil scientists, biologists (wildlife, fishery), limnologists, foresters, hydrologists, conservationists, and professionals involved with forestland use policy and problems. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections." (S. G. Shetron, CHOICE, Vol. 45 (11), 2008)