State and federal regulations governing land use activity near streams can differ depending on whether a reach of stream supports anadromous or resident fish. However, field surveys of fish occupancy are time consuming, expensive, and are usually limited to areas of land management. This approach tends to leave large regions with potentially inadequate stream protection to maintain viable fish populations.  Given the lack of fish occupancy information and the increasing availability of high-resolution remote sensed spatial data, a more reliable and efficient approach for delineating the upper extent of fish occupancy is needed.  To address this problem, Mr Romey is creating models that predict anadromous and resident salmonid upstream extent based on LiDAR and ifSAR derived habitat attributes paired with verified last fish observations in Washington and Alaska (e.g., Romey & Martin 2023). These end of fish models are being used for:

• Identifying locations on a riverscape for focused field efforts

• Setting population boundaries for understanding viable/sustainable population habitat use, or habitat quality model limits

• Evaluating the amount of habitat blocked to upstream migration at a road crossing

• Supporting process-based restoration strategies for sustainable populations

• Quantifying habitat use for watershed assessments and conservation plans

• Identifying critical habitat near past or proposed land use

Increasingly, natural resource managers are tasked with balancing the need for natural resources with salmon conservation.  However,  accurate and current information on salmonid populations and habitat quality tend to be inadequate or missing completely for entire regions.  Landscape-level fish-habitat quality models based on high-resolution liDAR remote sensing fill this gap and are highly accurate, provide full landscape stream coverage, and are a practical cost effective solution compared with the traditional field inventory approach.   

Habitat Intrinsic Potential (HIP) models are one such model, are developed with empirical fish-habitat data, and are used by resource managers across the Pacific Northwest (Burnett 2003 & 2007, Bidlack 2014, Romey 2018, Romey and Martin 2018, Jalbert et al. 2021). Since 2015, Mr Romey has developed and validated Coho, Chum, and Pink salmon HIP models for different regions of Alaska.  These HIP models are powerful first step tools for:

• Identifying important fish habitat for prioritizing potential stream restoration sites

• Quantifying the potential abundance of fish and associated habitat excluded from the population due to blocked culverts at road crossings/red pipes

• Prioritizing road crossing remediation

• Evaluating the distribution of important spawning or rearing habitat near proposed and past land use

• Prioritizing field surveys to protect fish populations (e.g., expanding the anadromous waters catalog)

• Identifying regions of a riverscape for habitat conservation to maintain viable fish populations

• Developing watershed assessments and habitat conservation plans

Old harvest practices in the Pacific Northwest (pre-1990) have left some streams with altered riparian conditions that may not recover to pre-harvest natural conditions for more than a century.  This legacy can lead to limited wood recruitment to the stream channel for important fish habitat and reduced light for primary productivity.  Mr Romey is currently co-investigating instream light/solar radiation and associated canopy gaps using LiDAR to evaluate different riparian conditions in old growth and young growth stands.  In addition, he is leading field efforts in Washington State to collect hemispherical photographs and stream temperature data to help inform and validate the remote sensing analysis.  The results of these studies can be used to inform active management approaches to riparian management and will allow private and federal land managers the ability to add process-based restoration to their current restoration strategy for helping restore primary stream productivity and protect critical salmon habitat.

Non-fish bearing streams in Washington State that have annual flowing surface water (designated as Np for Non-fish bearing perennial) currently have a 50% of length buffer requirement to protect aquatic habitat.  Unfortunately, this requirement does not consider the streams topographic location, or stream channel orientation, and how this may affect stream shade and associated water temperature.  Mr Romey is a co-Investigator currently evaluating the effectiveness of alternative riparian buffering schemes to optimize stream shade for fish-less headwater streams on industrial timberlands in western Washington.  This proof-of-concept approach to custom buffer layout and implementation uses GIS liDAR models for stream shade optimization. The results of the GIS liDAR models are being compared with hemispherical photography (solar radiation) and stream temperature monitoring. This study will help resource managers design and implement cost-effective riparian buffers for future climate change scenarios and protect aquatic ecosystems. 

For nearly 10 years Mr Romey has been a fisheries and remote sensing technical advisor for a science-based, landscape scale, community forest approach to watershed planning for rural communities of Southeast Alaska with the overall goal to achieve a measurable and sustainable balance of timber, salmon and deer production, local economic diversification, and improved watershed health. Primary collaborating partners are USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Sealaska Corporation, Hoonah Indian Association (HIA), Hoonah Totem Corporation, USDA Tongass National Forest, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).  This project was initiated in 2015 by Douglas Martin (Martin Env.), Samia Savell (NRCS), and Brian Kleinhenz (Terra Verde Inc.).  Romey's areas of technical expertise include:

• LiDAR and Digital Areal Photogrammetry (DAP) based forest stand metrics, inventory, and riparian gap analysis

• Landscape salmonid-habitat relationships, including viable population thresholds

• Evaluation of stream-road crossings for maintaining fish habitat connectivity

• Active riparian management as part of a process-based restoration approach to aquatic conservation

The effects of water level drawdown for hydropower operations on the viability of a nonindigenous rainbow trout population in Black Bear Lake, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, was investigated over 7 years. Annual surveys (snorkel, hydroacoustic, and net gear) were performed to determine fish abundance, size, and age composition. In addition to helping implement the first 5 years of monitoring, Mr. Romey independently conducted the last two population surveys, performed a comprehensive analysis of all data, and prepared a final project report. The study results were used to support the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing process for the hydroelectric project.

Factors influencing changes in stream temperature can occur from natural variation (e.g., ground water, precipitation, basin topography, soil type) and from land management or land use practices (e.g., differing riparian buffer widths, stream flow augmentation).  Implementing a temperature monitoring plan that accurately measures temperature change over time requires an appropriate sampling design, well planned field implementation procedure, and a stringent standardized data QC protocol.  Mr Romey has designed, monitored, and analyzed stream temperature, and other water quality parameters, on private and federally managed land for over 30 years ranging from remote locations in Alaska to Northern California.  The results of these studies have been used to help decision makers better understand the relative effects of management activities on the aquatic ecosystem and to identify actions for mitigating unwanted impact.

Dissolved gas supersaturation is a condition that results from entrainment of atmospheric gasses in water, and naturally occurs at waterfalls, but may be human-caused—often at hydroelectric facilities. Supersaturation can result in gas bubble disease, which has caused mortality in a wide variety of fishes and invertebrates. Total dissolved gas (TDG) supersaturation is a regulatory concern for the Sullivan Hydroelectric Project on the Willamette River. To minimizing TDG from project operations, PGE needed to examine how operational and natural conditions influence overall TDG in the river. Mr. Romey designed and implemented a TDG study and monitoring program. He installed state-of-art TDG sensors and conducted monitoring before, during, and following a series of operational tests. Results from data analysis, interpretation of results (including biological risk assessment), and technical reporting in project status reports were used by client and agencies to set project operation goals to minimize TDG.

The removal of the Marmot Dam on the Sandy River in 2007 was the beginning of a new era for salmon and steelhead recovery in Oregon.  At the time, the removal of the 47-ft high concrete dam was the largest dam removal ever attempted.  One of the main motivations was to restore fish access to critical habitat for imperiled native runs of Chinook, Coho, and Steelhead.  During the planning process there was concern that releasing sediment deposit buildup behind the dam since 1913 would alter critical fish habitat, increase turbidity in the water during structure removal, and exceed state water quality standards.  Portland General Electric (PGE) contracted Mr Romey to design, install, monitor, and evaluate turbidity levels before, during, and after dam decommissioning. Turbidity, temperature, and flow sensors were installed at real-time cellular connected monitoring stations that were used to minimize project related turbidity.  Monthly and annual project reports were used by PGE and collaborating agencies to help guide the removal process.

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, was one of the largest oil spills in American history. Immediately following the spill, Exxon contracted with a large team of environmental experts to assess damages on fish, wildlife, and water quality in accordance with the anticipated Natural Resource Damage Assessment. As part of the assessment team, Mr. Romey helped lead the initial field investigation to determine the distribution and abundance of juvenile salmonids in oiled and un-oiled nearshore waters, and examined the toxicity of oil-contaminated areas on the survivability of juvenile salmonids.