Natural, Cultural,
& Recreational Resources

Rivers and their surrounding landscapes provide a large and diverse array of Natural, Cultural, and Recreational Resources. Identifying, respecting, and protecting these resources is an important part of the hydropower licensing process, including quantifying their distinctive/unique aspects and features.

It is helpful to understand who to contact with specific resource expertise and where to go to find out more information on a resource area of interest to your organization. An example is this resource for historic properties management for FERC-licensed facilities.

To be effective in licensing, practitioners will need to understand how to:

• Identify what is known/unknown about the project/project area, issues, and impacts of the facility and its operation.
• Apply the criteria and methodology principles to study the gaps in information.
• Recognize the interconnection of various resources and the potential effects of proposed actions
• Develop effective protection, mitigation, and enhancement measures utilizing the study results and other known information for one or more resource areas or topics.

Examples of practitioners’ priorities or mandated obligations:

Tribes/Indigenous Communities

• Indigenous knowledge and resource specialist expertise relevant to tribal interests: (aquatic, terrestrial, traditional cultural use, aesthetics, recreation)
• Potential impacts on traditional uses and Treaty rights

NGOs/Public

• Prioritize mission-related expertise
• Understand and develop allies to advocate on behalf of the public

Agencies

• Land Management Agencies and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
  • Resource specialist expertise in areas relevant to the agency’s mission and management requirements (aquatic, recreation, cultural, terrestrial, aesthetics)
• Fish and Wildlife Agencies
  • Aquatic resources, terrestrial resources
• Ability to develop strong rationales and build the administrative record for conditions

Information related to various Natural, Cultural, and Recreational Resources:

Aquatic Resources

• Hydrology, principles of a dynamic flow regime, and river processes
• Instream flows, ramping rates, and spill recession
• Aquatic organism passage
• Aquatic invasive species
• Water quality and temperature
• Monitoring
• Aquatic/riparian species habitat associations or key habitat elements – License conditions can require a licensee to address deficits in large woody material or spawning substrates/gravels, etc., that have been lost or reduced by upstream dams. The remedy might be accomplished through restoration of a more natural/functional flow regime, and mechanical intervention (e.g., passage or placement of large wood, gravels, etc.) may be necessary.

Cultural Resources

• Area of potential effect
• Historic resources management plan
• Traditional cultural use
• Monitoring, measuring, and reporting

Recreational Resources

• Recreational Flow
• Economic Impacts
• Accessibility
• River and Reservoir Access
• Portages and Trails
• Day-use and campground facilities
• Visitor Use and Project-Induced Recreation
• Education and Interpretation
• Monitoring, Measuring, and Reporting

Terrestrial Resources

• Wildlife – Species Awareness and Support
• Botany – Awareness and planning regarding individual species, special-status plants
• Monitoring, Measuring, and Reporting
• Vegetation Communities
• Land Use – Consideration of existing/proposed roads and trails and their effects on stream crossings and other resources. Land use also includes transmission lines and other areas where there is ground disturbance resulting from existing or proposed Project facilities.
• Fire / Wildfire – Studies of related risks

Aesthetics

• Visual Resources or Evaluating Photo Simulations for Visual Impact Assessment (anl.gov)
• Night skies and managing lightscapes
• Soundscape awareness and planning
• Aesthetic Flows
• Monitoring, measuring, and reporting