After 25 years of litigation, a massive ecological restoration is under way in the Upper Clark Fork River, Mont. Metal-laden floodplain soils are being removed, floodplains are being reconnected with river floods, and over 70 kilometers of floodplains are being restored. This project uses long-term monitoring data to discover how river ecosystem structure and function respond to changing nutrient concentrations and large-scale floodplain restoration. By testing fundamental theories and frameworks of ecology, these discoveries will guide future river restorations.
Funded by: National Science Foundation
Principal Investigator: Marc Peipoch
Collaborators: Maurice Valett and Michael DeGrandpre (University of Montana); Rob Payn and Juliana D’Andrilli (Montana State University)
Project Years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
