watervulnerability

Helena National Forest Watershed Vulnerability Assessment, Northern Region (R1)
What were the most useful data sources?
1. The Forest Service GIS database as well as the state GIS database (NRIS) was useful in
describing sensitivity on a watershed basis (http://nris.mt.gov/).
2. VIC data available from the Climate Impacts group was useful in describing projected climate
change under several models.
What were the most important data deficiencies?
1. The data analyzed was based on layers that were approximations of what is on the ground. For
example, NHD Streams and the roads layers are approximations and resulting stream crossing
point layer is not necessarily an accurate representation. Field inventories in general are not
complete. This is a data gap that could be improved in the future.
2. Climate data was complex and time consuming to use.
What tools were most useful?
1. Examples of how the analysis was approached on other units including what kind of data to
include and how to organize and display the information.
2. Communication and support from all members of the WVA group willing to share their ideas and
experiences throughout the process. Information sharing included monthly conference calls and
Google share site.
3. ArcGIS was a necessary tool throughout the entire process including evaluation and display of all
data.
4. Microsoft Excel was used as an interface between tabular data and spatial data. Often tables
would be exported from ArcGIS to excel, manipulated and then imported and new values could
then be displayed spatially.
What tools were most problematic?
1. Downscaled climate data
2. Forest level GIS data
3. Accurately displaying climate change projections and resolving differences in scale between the
forest level data and downscaled climate data.
PROJECT TEAM
Core Team: Laura Jungst, Hydrologist; Dave Callery, Hydrologist; Len Walch, Fisheries Biologist
Support: Melanie Scott, GIS analyst; Kerry Overton, RMRS
Data: Climate Impacts Group (Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) modeled data for several climate
change scenarios at the HUC-5 scale and raster data at the 6 km grid scale)
• RMRS – Boise, Kerry Overton
• Jim Morrisson
• Montana Natural Resource Information System Digital Atlas of Montana
(http://maps2.nris.mt.gov/mapper/)
• Helena National Forest GIS analyst Melanie Scott
62 Assessing the Vulnerability of Watersheds to Climate Change