Vermont River Management Section - Geomorphic Assessment

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Geomorphic Assessment

Nearly every stream and river in the state of Vermont is undergoing change. Sometimes these changes are natural or imperceptible. Other times, and more often, streams and rivers are adjusting to channel, flood plain, or watershed changes imposed in years past by human activity. Understanding the natural tendencies of a stream, its current condition, and what changes may be anticipated in the future is invaluable to making sound protection, management, and restoration decisions.

The River Management Program provides the technical assistance to conduct geomorphic assessments of streams and their watersheds. Contact River Management Program geomorphic assessment technical assistance staff for data forms, assessment protocols, and geomorphic reference tools used by the State to assess stream condition and responses.

Resources

New to the SGA DMS Bridge and Culvert database:

Improved data entry forms and search tools to find local roads inventory data in the VOBCIT database;
Geomorphic Compatibility Screen: ranks individual structures on the extent to which they impede sediment and debris transport, affect channel hydraulics and exacerbate channel instability;
Aquatic Organism Passage Screen (culverts only):

Ranks individual culverts according to the extent to which they impede migration of aquatic organisms throughout the stream,
Ranks individual structures according to their potential for being retrofitted to reduce the degree to which they impede organism migration,
Determines the potential extent of habitat that would be made accessible by removing or retrofitting culverts that act as barriers to migration.

Detailed information on these new additions can be found in the following documents:

Assessment Reference Tools and Links