2017 RM Cell

SMOKED SALMON IN THE SAWTOOTHS:

FRIENDS OF THE PLEISTOCENE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CELL 2017

September 8-10, Sawtooth Mountains and South Fork Payette River, Idaho

OVERVIEW: The 2017 Rocky Mountain FOP will examine how the geologic setting on million-year timescales sets the stage for glaciers, fires, erosion and channel evolution on modern timescales.  The first day of this 2 ½ day field trip will explore the history of glaciation and recent faulting in the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains (Glenn Thackray), and isotopic and sedimentological records of salmon and disturbance in Redfish Lake (Mark Shapley) and fire activity during the last ~400 years reconstructed from fire scars and stand ages (Lar Svenson).  Friday evening, Paul Link will provide an overview of the geologic history of central Idaho on the shores of Redfish Lake.  On Saturday, we will begin with ‘coffee and conifers,’ where Cathy Whitlock will discuss Holocene reconstructions of vegetation change from lake pollen and charcoal records in the Sawtooths.  We will then combine cars and head into Clear Creek for a tour of the extensive and severe 2016 Pioneer fire, recent debris flows and channel change (Jaime Goode, Nick Ellett).  On the way back to Redfish Lake in Bear Valley, we will discuss channel evolution in the unconfined headwaters of the Salmon River (Jaime Goode), and records of fires and debris flows in the nearby Middle Fork Salmon (Kerry Riley).  On Sunday, we will drive down the South Fork Payette River and examine Holocene terrace formation and channel incision (Jen Pierce, Tammy Rittenour), and Holocene records of fires and debris flows (Jen Pierce).

CAMPING AND LOGISTICS:  We will have FOP headquarters in the Glacier View Campground  near Redfish Lodge on the shores of Redfish Lake. Campsites do have outhouses, and should have water available but are FIRST COME FIRST SERVE.  You cannot reserve campsites after Labor Day. Therefore, we ask if you can come earlier in the week, please try and reserve some spots in Glacier View Campground for fellow FOPers.

Directions: From Stanley Idaho, go 4.5 miles south on ID 75. Turn southwest on Forest Road #214 and continue 3 miles to the end of the road.

It will be cold at night and could be rainy-please plan accordingly.  There is a small store in Stanley, and a gas station.  Everyone is responsible for their own food and beverages. Bring your musical instruments!

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/sawtooth/recarea/?recid=5935

There is also camping available at nearby sites around Redfish Lake (Mt Heyburn, Outlet, Point) and Little Redfish Lake.  We will plan to combine vehicles at the Picnic and Beach Area across the road from the Glacier View Campground.

GUIDEBOOK AND ARTICLES: A copy of the guidebook will be available for download on the websites, and some copies will be available for distribution. Articles related to the FOP field sites will be available on these websites: http://www.fop.cascadiageo.org/?page_id=711 and http://rockymountainfop.com/ (available soon!)

FIRE UPDATE:  The Bearskin fire is actively burning close to the route for Day 2 (Saturday).  Please follow updates on https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5536/ and be prepared for trip changes if needed.


Itinerary: Rocky Mountain FOP 2017

Thursday September 7

Arrive at campsites.

Friday September 8

8:00-9:00:  Combine vehicles in campground.  Sites have limited parking, so please carpool!

STOP 1: 9:00-12:00:  Moraines and Isotopes: Pettit Lake Campground.

Directions: 43° 59.102’N 114° 52.168’W. From Stanley, go south 21 miles on ID 75, then west on FS Rd 208 approximately 2 miles.

  • Glenn Thackray, Mark Shapley: Glacial moraine sequence and isotopic lake records.
    • Thackray et al., 2004, Latest Pleistocene alpine glacier advances in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, USA: Reflections of midlatitude moisture transport at the close of the last glaciation, Geology.
    • Shapley and Finney, 2015. Lake morphometry controls the remobilization and long-term geochemical imprint of distal tephra deposition. J. Paleolimnology.

STOP 2: 1:00-3:00: Finding Fault:  Sawtooth fault scarp in moraines of the Iron Creek area, fire history in the Sawtooth valley. 

Directions: 44° 11.909’N, 115° 0.796’W. From Stanley, go northwest 2.5 miles on ID 21, then 4 miles south on Forest Road #619.

  • Glenn Thackray
    • Thackray et al, 2013, Holocene scarp on the Sawtooth fault, central Idaho, USA documented through lidar topographic analysis, Geology.
  • Lar Svenson, Jen Pierce: Fire history of the Sawtooth Valley reconstructed using tree rings (providing annual to decadal resolution over the past ~400 years), and radiocarbon dating (providing centennial to millennial resolution over the past ~8000 years).
    • Svenson, 2010, Fire and climate in a lodgepole pine forest of central Idaho: Annual, decadal, centennial, and millennial perspectives. MS Thesis, Boise State

 STOP 3: 4:00-5:30 Shores of Redfish Lake: Picnic and Beach Area

Directions: Park at picnic area across road from Glacier View Campground, north shore of Redfish Lake. 44° 8.628’N, 114° 54.940’W

  • Paul Link: Overview of Geologic setting of Sawtooths and central Idaho
  • Glenn Thackray: climatic and topographic influences on Late Pleistocene glaciations in W USA.
    • Thackray, 2008, Varied climatic and topographic influences on Late Pleistocene mountain glaciation in the western United States, J. of Quat. Science

 Saturday September 9

STOP 1: 8:30-9:30: Stop 1:  Coffee, Climate, and Conifers: 

Directions: Gather in picnic area across road from Glacier View Campground, north shore of Redfish Lake. 44° 8.628’N, 114° 54.940’W.

  • Cathy Whitlock: Holocene vegetation, fire and climate history of the Sawtooths
    • Readings: Whitlock, Cathy, et al. “Holocene vegetation, fire and climate history of the Sawtooth Range, central Idaho, USA.” Quaternary Research1 (2011): 114-124.
  • Combine vehicles in campground. Sites have limited parking, so please carpool! We will be away from camp all day, so please bring plenty of water, food, clothing, etc.  Please bring wading shoes if you would like to visit debris flow site. 

STOP 2:  Monument Creek:  Post-fire erosion in the Pioneer burn area

Directions:  From Redfish Lodge, drive 2.3 miles out to hwy 75 and turn left (north) towards Stanley.  In Stanley, turn left (northwest) onto hwy 21.  Take ID-21 to Bear Valley Rd (25.8 miles).  Turn right (west) onto NF-579, Bear Valley Rd.  Travel ~12 miles and continue southwest on Bear Valley Rd (now FS-582).  You will soon enter the severely burned landscape of the Pioneer burn area.  Continue another ~18 miles down steep grade to junction with Clear Creek Road and FS-515.  Pull over at junction for overview of Pioneer Fire.    After overview, proceed up FS-515.  We will pull over on side of the road.  To turn around, we will likely just drive up another ~2 miles to end of road campsite and turn around.

  • Nick Ellett, Jen Pierce, Jaime Goode, Nancy Glenn: quantifying post-fire hillslope and debris flow erosion in a steep catchment using high-resolution Structure from Motion
  • Jaime Goode: Quantifying post-fire channel change and the role of instream wood using UAVs and Structure from Motion.

STOP 3:  Headwaters of the Salmon River:  Unconfined channels, warming climates and fires, oh my!

Directions:  Back to Redfish—stop TBD 

  • Jaime Goode: Unconfined channels, spawning habitat, and climate change
    • Goode, J.R., J.M. Buffington, D. Isaak, D. Tonina, R. Thurow, C. Luce, Wenger, D. Nagel, D. Tetzlaff, C. Soulsby (2013), Potential effects of climate change on streambed scour and risks to salmon survival in mountain basins. Hydrological Processes 27: 750-765  (Invited, Special issue).
    • Nagel, D.E., Buffington, J.M., Parkes, S.L., Wenger, S, Goode, J. (2014), A landscape scale valley confinement algorithm: Delineating unconfined valley bottoms for geomorphic, aquatic, and riparian applications. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report, RMRS-GTR-000.
  • Sediment yields and climate
    • Goode, J.R., C. H. Luce, and J.M. Buffington (2012), Enhanced sediment delivery to large basins in a changing climate: Implications for water resource management and aquatic habitat in semi-arid basins influenced by wildfire, Geomorphology 139-140, 1-15.
  • Kerry Riley: Fires and debris flows in the Middle Fork Salmon River
    • Riley, Kerry, Jennifer Pierce, and Grant A. Meyer. “Vegetative and climatic controls on Holocene wildfire and erosion recorded in alluvial fans of the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho.” The Holocene5 (2015): 857-871
  • Glenn Thackray (speaking for Ben and Chris): Responses of streamflow to climate warming in the Middle Fork Salmon
    • Tennant, Christopher J., Benjamin T. Crosby, and Sarah E. Godsey. “Elevationdependent responses of streamflow to climate warming.” Hydrological processes6 (2015): 991-1001.

Return to Redfish Campsites.

Saturday Evening:  Annual FOP business meeting, central campfire

 Sunday September 10

9:00:  Gather in picnic area across road from Glacier View Campground, north shore of Redfish to caravan down highway 21 to South Fork Payette.

STOP 1: A characterization of Holocene terraces of the South Fork Payette River and the Helende ‘Boulders of Mystery’.

Directions:  From Redfish Lodge, drive 2.3 miles out to hwy 75 and turn left (north) towards Stanley.  In Stanley, turn left (northwest) onto hwy 21.  Take ID-21 for 54 miles to Forest Rd 025JB and turn left into Helende Campground (44o04’45”N 115o39’28”W). Turn right into Helende Campground area, and follow paved road into campground and park in campsite parking.  Restrooms available.

  • Tammy Rittenour, Jen Pierce: The S. F. Payette River valley features a well-formed sequence of fluvial terraces, especially between the last-glacial ice margin near Grandjean and Lowman.
    • Pierce, Jennifer L., Grant A. Meyer, and Tammy Rittenour. “The relation of Holocene fluvial terraces to changes in climate and sediment supply, South Fork Payette River, Idaho.” Quaternary Science Reviews5 (2011): 628-645.

STOP 2:  Jughead creek and site L010:  Directions: continue west on ID-21 (44o4’24”N 115o30’41”W).  Turn right onto informal campsite area and park before Archie Creek Road, (near milepost marker 79).

Jen Pierce:  Holocene alluvial fan stratigraphy and recent debris flow sediment yields

  • Pierce, Jennifer L., Grant A. Meyer, and AJ Timothy Jull. “Fire-induced erosion and millennial-scale climate change in northern ponderosa pine forests.” Nature7013 (2004): 87.
  • Meyer, G.A., Pierce, J.L., Wood, S.H., and Jull. A.J.T., 2001, Fires, storms, and sediment yield in the Idaho Batholith, Hydrological Processes, v. 15, p. 3025-3038.

END OF OFFICIAL TRIP

Additional stop for folks continuing west to Boise: Recent fire-related debris flows in the S.F. Payette canyon, Sediment yields from 1996-1997 sheetfloods at Hopkins Creek, Garden Valley Fault, Rapid rearrangement at Staircase Rapids.


Organizers:

Jen Pierce, Jaime Goode, Nick Ellett


Speakers:

Jen Pierce, Jaime Goode, Nick Ellett, Glenn Thackray, Paul Link, Kerry Riley, Tammy Rittenour, Mark Shapley, Cathy Whitlock, Bruce Finney, Ben Crosby (?), Sarah Godsey (?), Colden Baxter (?) Dan Issak? Spencer Wood (?)


Related articles:

  • Goode, J. R., Buffington, J. M., Tonina, D., Isaak, D. J., Thurow, R. F., Wenger, S., … & Soulsby, C. (2013). Potential effects of climate change on streambed scour and risks to salmonid survival in snow‐dominated mountain basins. Hydrological Processes, 27(5), 750-765.
  • Pierce, Jennifer L., Grant A. Meyer, and AJ Timothy Jull. “Fire-induced erosion and millennial-scale climate change in northern ponderosa pine forests.” Nature 432.7013 (2004): 87.
  • Pierce, Jennifer L., Grant A. Meyer, and Tammy Rittenour. “The relation of Holocene fluvial terraces to changes in climate and sediment supply, South Fork Payette River, Idaho.” Quaternary Science Reviews 30.5 (2011): 628-645.
  • Riley, Kerry, Jennifer Pierce, and Grant A. Meyer. “Vegetative and climatic controls on Holocene wildfire and erosion recorded in alluvial fans of the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho.” The Holocene 25.5 (2015): 857-871.
  • Svenson LO (2010) Fire and climate in a Lodgepole Forest of Central Idaho: Annual, decadal, centennial, and millennial perspectives. Master’s Thesis, Boise State University, ID.
  • Tennant, Christopher J., Benjamin T. Crosby, and Sarah E. Godsey. “Elevation‐dependent responses of streamflow to climate warming.” Hydrological processes 29.6 (2015): 991-1001.
  • Thackray, Glenn D., Kari A. Lundeen, and Jennifer A. Borgert. “Latest Pleistocene alpine glacier advances in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, USA: reflections of midlatitude moisture transport at the close of the last glaciation.” Geology 32.3 (2004): 225-228.
  • Thackray, Glenn D., David W. Rodgers, and David Streutker. “Holocene scarp on the Sawtooth fault, central Idaho, USA, documented through lidar topographic analysis.” Geology 41.6 (2013): 639-642.
  • Whitlock, Cathy, et al. “Holocene vegetation, fire and climate history of the Sawtooth Range, central Idaho, USA.” Quaternary Research 75.1 (2011): 114-124.

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