Riparian monitoring of wadeable streams at Courthouse Wash, Arches National Park: Summary report, 2010–2019
Authors: Weissinger Rebecca , Witwicki Dana 
Published: November 2021

The goal of Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) riparian monitoring is to determine long-term trends in hydrologic, geomorphic, and vegetative properties of wadeable streams in the context of changes in other ecological drivers, stressors, and processes. This information is intended to provide early warning of resource degradation and determine natural variability of wadeable streams. This report summarizes NCPN monitoring of Courthouse Wash in Arches National Park (NP) from 2010 to 2019. The focus of this report is to (1) present geomorphology and vegetation data from five reaches monitored in Courthouse Wash from 2010 to 2015, and (2) examine patterns in water availability at one monitoring reach from November 2010 to December 2019. Vegetation sampling and geomorphology surveys were suspended in 2016 due to budget cuts; this report presents baseline data for future comparisons. The NCPN has five monitoring reaches located between the inflow of Sevenmile Canyon, a major tributary, and the terminus of Courthouse Wash, at the Colorado River. Two reaches (2, 5) are located in Upper Courthouse Wash, and three (1, 4, 7) in Lower Courthouse Wash. Hydrologic monitoring wells are installed only at Reach 1. During our monitoring period, which included drought years in 2012 and 2018 and a wetter-than-average period from fall 2013 to 2014, groundwater levels showed steep declines corresponding to the start of the growing season each year. Hot, dry summers and falls in 2012, 2018, and 2019 showed the deepest troughs in groundwater levels. Active monsoon years helped elevate summer and fall groundwater levels in 2013 and 2014. Continued monitoring will help us better understand the relationship of climate and water availability at this reach. A geomorphic survey was completed once for reaches 2, 4, and 7, and twice for reaches 5 and 1. Powerful floods during our monitoring period resulted in aggradation of the channel in reaches 5 and 1, which were first surveyed in March 2013. Flooding in September 2013 resulted in an average of 0.24 meters of deposition found in the channel thalweg at Reach 1 in March 2014. Storm events in May 2014 caused additional aggradation. In March 2015, an average of 0.41 meters of deposition was recorded in the channel thalweg at Reach 5, with 0.32 meters of deposition between the vegetation transect headpins compared to the 2013 data. The riparian vegetation recorded at our monitoring reaches is consistent with an open-canopy Fremont cottonwood woodland with a diverse understory. Canopy closure ranged from 29% to 52%. Measurements were sensitive enough to detect a 10% reduction in canopy closure at Reach 5 during a pest infestation in June 2013. Canopy closure subsequently rebounded at the reach by 2015. Total obligate and facultative wetland cover ranged from 7% to 26%. Fremont cottonwood seedlings, saplings, and overstory trees were present at all reaches, indicating good potential for future regeneration of the canopy structure. These data can serve as a baseline for comparison with future monitoring efforts. One area of management concern is that exotic-plant frequency and cover were relatively high in all monitoring reaches. Exotic cover ranged from 2% to 30%. High exotic cover was related to years with high cover of annual brome grasses. High cover of exotic grasses is associated with increased wildfire risk in southwestern riparian systems, which are not well-adapted to fire. Managers should be prepared for this increased risk following wet winters that promote annual brome grass cover. Beaver activity was noted throughout bedrock-constrained reaches in Courthouse Wash. Beaver activity can reduce adjacent woody riparian vegetation cover, but it also contributes to maintaining a higher water table and persistent surface water. Climate change is likely to be an increasingly significant stressor in Courthouse Wash, as hotter, drier conditions decrease water levels and increase drought stress...