2021 Conference Presentations

Plenaries

• Laurie Yung, Professor of Natural Resource Social Science, Department of Society and Conservation, University of Montana

  Planning for no-analog water futures

• Nick Silverman, Hydrologist, Adaptive Hydrology

  A practical, watershed approach for hydrologic adaptation to a new norm

• Seth Makepeace, Hydrologist, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

  Implementation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Water Compact

Session 1

Climate

• Zachary Lauffenburger, University of Montana

  Atmospheric aridity thresholds impact on dryland harvested to planted area ratios across the western United States, 1979–2020

• Rachel Malison, Flathead Lake Biological Station

  Physiological plasticity of salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica) respiratory phenotypes in response to climate-driven changes in stream temperature, oxygen, and flow

• Patrick Wurster, University of Montana

  A panoramic view of Montana agriculture during the 2021 drought

Session 2

Geochemistry & Modeling

• Casey Kleppel, University of Montana

  Using multiple environmental tracers to quantify field-scale hydrodynamic dispersion and reduce parameter uncertainty in reactive transport models

Session 3

Restoration & Management

• Andy Efta, U.S. Forest Service

  Watershed Condition Reassessment in the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region: Approach, Results, and Future Strategic Application

• Seamus Land, University of Montana

  Stakeholder Perceptions on a Degraded Montana Stream

• Casey Kleppel, University of Montana

  Using multiple environmental tracers to quantify field-scale hydrodynamic dispersion and reduce parameter uncertainty in reactive transport model

Session 4

Hydrology

• Casey Ryan, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

  Water data and the CSKT Water Rights Compact

• Noah Clayton, University of Montana

  Relating geodetic deflection under hydrologic loading to stream discharge through storage-discharge relationships

• Todd Blythe, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

  Getting the most out of your water balance: towards a better spatial and temporal understanding of water availability, water use, and natural flows in Montana

• Matt Norberg, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

  Stream and Gage Explorer (StAGE): Montana DNRC surface water web application

• Evan Norman, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

  “The creek used to always flow” An analysis of changing water levels and stream flows in the Spokane Creek Watershed, East Helena

• John Lunzer, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation

  To seep or not to seep?

• Kathy Chase, U.S. Geological Survey

  Regional regression equations based on channel-width characteristics to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana

• Andrew Anderson, Montana Technological University

  Studying effects of sub-zero temperatures on the volume of water and discharge in the Missouri River

Session 5

Water Quality

• Maury Valett, University of Montana

  Nutrient processing domains: net material balance, exchange effects, and availability

• Keaton Martin, Flathead Lake Biological Station

  One year of Monitoring Montana Waters (MMW): A Flathead Lake Biological Station program supporting watershed monitoring

Session 6

Groundwater

• Katie Fogg, University of Montana

  Shading the hyporheic zone: investigating the effects of floodplain shade on hyporheic water temperatures

• John LaFave, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology

  Groundwater quality in Carbon and Stillwater Counties, Montana

Session 7

Varied Topics

• Mark Ockey, Montana Department of Environmental Quality

  You can’t fix what you can’t see: GIS solutions for identifying nonpoint source pollution

Poster Presentations

• Abaye Abebe, Montana State University

  Exploration of how hydrologic storage in intermountain basin aquifers responds to variations in recharge sources

• Adam Sigler, Montana State University

  The Well Educated program reaches over 700 well owners per year – what can we learn?

• Brett Oliver, University of Montana

  Trends in snow depth, soil moisture and elevation recorded by the University of Montana’s hydrogeodesy and mountain watersheds meteorological and geodetic station network, Bitterroot Mountains MT and ID

• Camela Carstarphen, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology

  Montana Precipitation Isotope Network (MTPIN); pilot network update

• Carly Peach, Montana Technological University/Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology

  Beaver ponds as catchment-wide retention basins for contaminant sorbtion

• Christy Meredith, Montana Department of Environmental Quality

  Approaches for determining pollutant loading to impaired streams in Montana

• Claire Rawlings Gilder, University of Montana

  Mapping groundwater flow in riparian ecosystems through thermal and multispectral UAV surveys of surface water and vegetation

• David Busby, University of Montana

  Hydrogeomorphic response of steep streams after wildfire in the Western Cascades, Oregon

• Emily Rutledge, Montana Technological University

  Improving the long-term performance of living filtration membranes

• James Swierc, Lewis & Clark Water Quality Protection District

  Groundwater conditions and depletion in the North Hills, Helena Valley, Montana

• Jessica Olson, Gallatin River Task Force

  Algae blooms in the Upper Gallatin River

• Justin Martin, U.S. Geological Survey

  Tree-ring based streamflow reconstructions to inform water supply assessments for the St. Mary and Milk river basins

• Katie Makarowski, Montana Department of Environmental Quality

  Transition from numeric nutrient criteria to narrative criteria

• Madison Foster, Montana State University

  Linking diel patterns in the processing of stream nitrate concentrations to stream corridor hydrologic and biogeochemical function in agricultural headwaters

• Megan Robinson, Montana State University

  Trend analysis for volunteer monitoring water quality data

• Riley Logan, Montana State University

  River algae and chlorophyll measurements using a dronemounted hyperspectral imager

• Sean Williams, Montana State University

  Nitrate spatial variation in relation to influent water type in agricultural headwaters

• Skye Keeshin, Montana State University

  Evaluating the resilience of mountain water supply in the Gallatin Valley

• Thomas Cope, Missoula Valley Water Quality District

  If You BUILD It: A Hydrologic Exploration of Land Set to be Developed

• Zoe Durkin, Montana State University

  Daily and seasonal dynamics in riparian water table levels of small agricultural streams in Central Montana