CADSS

1. CADSS Crossing Assessment Decision Support System US Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer (CATT) January 2013, Slideshow duration: 12 minutes Welcome to our presentation of the Crossing Assessment Decision Support System (CADSS). This presentation was prepared by the US Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer (CATT). The slideshow runs for approximately 12 minutes.

2. Crossing data • Create crossings layer • Visit all crossings • Standardized surveys • Analyze passage status • Report The CATT began collecting passage status information on National Forests in the Southern and Eastern Regions in 2005. Our approach included 3 steps: 1) use GIS to intersect roads and streams to create a crossings point layer, 2) deploy field crews to visit each crossing point and collect standardized passage data, and 3) analyze passage status and provide results to partners.

3. Why CADSS? • National Forests compiled large datasets • Questions arose: • Which watersheds first? • Which crossings first? • Answer depends on your priorities Different Forests used different approaches for passage surveys; some quite surgical, others blanketed whole Districts or even entire Forests. As you can imagine some of the crossing datasets grew quite large – in some cases several 1000’s of crossings. Our traditional products for the Forests included a GIS showing the location and passage status for each crossing we visited. However, as datasets grew, we began getting questions such as: How do we decide which watersheds need attention first?, or How do we decide which crossing within a watershed to replace first? The answer isn’t simple, and depends on your priorities. Enter CADSS: a suite of tools that incorporates your priorities into the decision-making process.

4. What is CADSS? • Tools for prioritizing crossing replacements • Watershed prioritization tool • Crossing replacement tool • Data editing tools • Developed through partnerships • USFS, SRS, CATT • USFS Southern and Eastern Regions • Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech • Mark Twain National Forest CADSS is a suite of tools designed to assist land managers with prioritization of road-stream crossing replacements. CADSS currently contains the Watershed Prioritization Tool, the Crossing Replacement Tool, and several data editing tools. Today we will focus on introducing the Watershed Prioritization and Crossing Replacement Tools. CADSS has been developed through partnerships between the US Forest Service Southern Research Station Center for Aquatic Technology Transfer, US Forest Service Eastern and Southern Region Regional Offices, the Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech, and the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri.

5. How does it work? • Install ArcMap10 addin • Locate toolbar • Select a tool • Prioritization tools • Data editing tools CADSS is a custom Addin for ArcMap10. Installation of the addin takes just a couple of minutes, and once completed CADSS tools are accessed in ArcMap via the CADSS toolbar. The toolbar includes the Watershed Prioritization Tool, the Crossing Replacement Tool, and several data editing tools. Before we introduce the tools, let’s start with an overview of the CADSS concept.

6. CADSS concept 1) Watershed Prioritization Tool 2) Crossing Replacement Tool Which crossing first? • Which watershed first? CADSS was developed to support two phases of decision-making. In the first phase we use the Watershed Prioritization tool to identify high priority watersheds. Once we identify high priority watersheds we then use the Crossing Replacement Tool to locate high priority crossings for replacement. So, now let’s introduce the first phase: the Watershed Prioritization Tool.

7. Watershed Prioritization Tool • Spatial Data • Required • Hydrologic units • Crossings • Optional • Ownership • Biotic surveys The Watershed Prioritization Tool requires layers for hydrologic units or watersheds and passage status for crossings within units. It is also informative to have land ownership and biotic survey data. The version of CADSS presented here was developed for the Mark Twain NF and contains layers for fish, mussels, and other species from the Missouri Natural Heritage database.

8. Watershed Prioritization Tool • Select analysis area • Name output With the required data in place we can start to answer a key question: Which watershed most needs passage improvements? The first step is to select an analysis area. If analysis run time is an issue we recommend choosing watersheds using the advanced selection window to minimize the features to evaluate. Step 2 is to name your output layer so CADSS can save your results.

9. Watershed Prioritization Tool • Answer questions Step 3 is to answer a series of questions regarding crossings, land ownership, and biological criteria. CADSS uses your answers to calculate the relative importance, or weight, for each criteria.

10. Watershed Prioritization Tool • Review • Calculate • Wait When all of the category weights are set to your satisfaction, simply click the calculate button. CADSS will use your input to prioritize all of the watersheds in your analysis area. Calculation time will depend on the number of watersheds analyzed and the speed of your computer, but for smaller areas is generally just a few minutes .

11. CADSS WPT Output • Top 10 list • Zoom When the analysis is complete, CADSS displays the top 10 results in a table. The scores used to rank the watersheds are displayed, along with the calculation used to arrive at the score. Several other variables used in the calculation are displayed in the table to the right of the score. Click the Zoom button to display a selected watershed in ArcMap.

12. CADSS WPT Output • Stored feature class CADSS also adds a new feature class to the ArcMap table of contents. The feature class stores the results for all watersheds included in the analysis area. The feature class is stored in the CADSS geodatabase for future reference. The new feature class will remain in the database unless it is manually deleted or overwritten.

13. CADSS concept 1) Watershed Prioritization Tool 2) Crossing Replacement Tool Which crossing first? • Which watershed first? That completes our introduction to the Watershed Prioritization Tool. After running the tool we now have a list of our high priority watersheds. Next we can move to phase-two in our decision making process: identifying high priority crossings within a given watershed. The Crossing Replacement Tool will assist us with this goal.

14. Crossing Replacement Tool • Spatial Data • Required • Geometric network • Streams • Crossings • Barriers • Optional • Ownership The Crossing Replacement Tool requires a geometric stream network with crossings and other barriers such as dams or waterfalls. Building a network dataset is best accomplished with the help of a GIS professional. The version of CADSS presented here was created for the Mark Twain National Forest using a combination of NHD streams, Forest roads, MO DOT roads, and field data.

15. Crossing Replacement Tool • Select watershed • Name output With our stream network in place we start to answer another key question: Which crossing(s) in this watershed should I replace first? The tool is designed to work on only one hydrologic unit or watershed at a time, so the first step is to select your high priority watershed. The second step is to name your output layer. CADSS will save your output for future reference.

16. Crossing Replacement Tool • Answer questions Step 3 is to answer a series of questions regarding land ownership, stream mileage, and replacement costs. CADSS uses your answers to calculate the relative importance, or weight, for each criteria.

17. Crossing Replacement Tool • Select Options Step 4 is to select the number of crossings to replace. CADSS can evaluate for single crossings or combinations of 2 to 5 crossings. Processing time increases exponentially with the number of crossings evaluated. We recommend that you estimate processing time before proceeding. If processing time is too long, consider one of the time-saving shortcuts provided.

18. Crossing Replacement Tool • Review • Calculate • Wait When all of the category weights are set to your satisfaction, simply click the calculate button. CADSS will use your input to prioritize all of the impassable crosssingsin your analysis area. Calculation time will depend on the number of impassable crossings and the speed of your computer – always remember to estimate processing time on the advanced options tab before calculating.

19. CADSS CRT Output • Top 10 list When the analysis is complete, CADSS displays the top results in a table. The table displays the rank, number of crossings replaced crossing identifiers, and the score used to rank each crossing combination. The score calculation is shown at the top of the table. Several other variables used in the calculations are available to the right of the scores (not displayed here).

20. CADSS CRT Output • Zoom to streams • Stored feature classes You can select any record from the results table and click the Zoom or Streams buttons to display replaced crossings and connected stream reaches in ArcMap. CADSS also creates 2 new feature classes and adds them to the Table of Contents. The feature classes are saved CADSS geodatabase. They contain the crossing points and connected streams and associated calculations and rankings.

21. Other features, and more… • CADSS manuals • Advanced options • Data editing tools • CATT website • http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/catt/cadss.html • Craig Roghair croghair@fs.fed.us, 540 231-0078 That is CADSS in a nutshell. Many additional features, as well as the data editing tools are described in detail in the CADSS user manual available at the link listed here. If you have any questions you can contact me directly, or join us on a CADSS conference call sometime in February 2013 – dates and times will be posted at the website listed above. Thanks for your time.