Within the Sacramento/San Joaquin basin, the Cosumnes
River constitutes one of the finest natural laboratories for the
study of watershed-scale physical and biological
systems. At 1,265 sq. miles, the Cosumnes River basin is relatively
small, making it appropriate and accessible for detailed study.
With limited urbanization, and no significant dams, its hydrologic
system is largely intact, affording a unique opportunity for monitoring
and evaluation of the impacts
of land use change on ecosystem and watershed function. Forming
a natural, uninterrupted link between the Sierra Nevada and the
Bay-Delta Estuary, this river has been the centerpiece of an ambitious
public/private restoration effort. For the past decade, The Nature
Conservancy has been acquiring and managing Cosumnes lands, including
extensive floodplain tracts containing native riparian oak woodland.
The
overall goal of the monitoring program on the Cosumnes River is
to ascertain the hydrogeomorphic
and ecologic response of the system to a floodplain restoration
program using directed levee breaches to reinstate natural processes
on former riparian agricultural lands for the purpose of re-creating
functioning floodplains that also reduce financial losses from floods.
The supporting objectives assess both methodological concerns regarding
how to address geomorphic problems with multi-temporal scaling issues
as well as fundamental processes of water, sediment, and contaminant
transport on floodplains.
biological
systems. At 1,265 sq. miles, the Cosumnes River basin is relatively
small, making it appropriate and accessible for detailed study.
With limited urbanization, and no significant dams, its hydrologic
system is largely intact, affording a unique opportunity for monitoring
and evaluation of the 
impacts
of land use change on ecosystem and watershed function. Forming
a natural, uninterrupted link between the Sierra Nevada and the
Bay-Delta Estuary, this river has been the centerpiece of an ambitious
public/private restoration effort. For the past decade, The Nature
Conservancy has been acquiring and managing Cosumnes lands, including
extensive floodplain tracts containing native riparian oak woodland.
