Project Description
Trail Fork Crossing Replacement
Del Rio, Tennessee (Cherokee National Forest)
Existing culverts at the Trail Fork Crossing were perched and skewed with respect to the stream thalweg, which reduced AOP and created localized erosion and associated sedimentation affecting both the channel and adjacent floodplain. The culverts also created a break in the natural streambed, further affecting habitat conditions.
Stable, reference reach conditions available upstream and downstream of the culverts were carefully evaluated for reference features to inform geomorphic design.
The design included replacing two 7.5’ CMP culverts with a bridge. In addition, design included road and stream alignments, road and stream profiles, stream cross-section, road and stream grading, design methodology for stream morphology, trout passage, and bridge modeling.
Ultimately, ES worked collaboratively with TU, the FS project liaison, the CNF Forest Transportation Engineer, and the Region 8 Bridge Engineer to develop engineering plans with consideration of crossing alignment configurations, roadway approach designs, hydraulics, and structural design to evaluate alternatives and to identify a preferred plan for final design.
Goals
- Coldwater conservation to establish connectivity and continuity for AOP throughout two miles of brook trout reintroduction
- Bridge intallation to stabilize crossing for forest services vehicles
- Provide free passage for aquatic species, sediment, and woody debris
ENVIRONMENT SERVICES:
From 2009 through 2023, BSR has documented a wide and growing range of public-sector activities related to ecosystem services. Given the breadth and growing depth of government work on the issue, it is increasingly clear that ecosystem services concepts have the potential to shape future policy, regulation, and expectations of the private sector.
For businesses, the questions about this emerging domain are many and include where, how, and in what time frame ecosystem services may gain traction within specific national and sub-national governments. This work is linked to the growing number of initiatives on integrating monetary values of natural capital into gross domestic product (GDP). There are numerous potential implications, including transferring the costs of using ecosystem services onto beneficiaries and user groups, including the private sector.
In response to this context, BSR has conducted research over the past four years on the following questions:
- Are there new ecosystem services-focused government policies and legislation or regulation?
- Are there existing or emerging government-supported, voluntary, and incentive-based initiatives that focus on ecosystem services?
- Have governments and/or multilateral organizations issued reports on ecosystem services that could signal a change in their approach?
- Are there ecosystem services-based non-governmental organizations or voluntary initiatives that appear to be influencing (or seem likely to influence) policy makers?
Our research clearly shows that public-sector exploration of ecosystem services concepts is on the rise globally. Five key trends include:
- National governments around the world are exploring expansion of GDP measures to include natural capital, which would include ecosystem services measurements.
- Public-sector exploration of ecosystem services valuation is on the rise.
- Governments around the world are showing interest in attracting investment in ecosystem services, such as through payments for ecosystem services (PES) and eco-compensation mechanisms.
- Public sector-funded research on ecosystem services is proliferating.
- Engagement between the private and public sectors on ecosystem services is limited but has grown each year.
Collaboration between the public and private sectors will likely be a key component in accelerating the uptake of ecosystem services concepts and applications. Private-sector decision makers will need to understand ecosystem services concepts and the state of emerging best practice for assessing ecosystem services impacts and dependencies. Public-sector decision makers will need to understand the range of corporate processes, protocols, and other approaches that are currently in place to measure and manage environmental and social impacts. Some of these processes are regulated but many are voluntary and have emerged from corporate history and culture, as well as industry best practices.
Effective collaboration between the public and private sectors on how to operationalize and integrate ecosystem services concepts—within both public- and private-sector measurement and decision-making processes—will move the domain forward. We hope that this report will offer the rationale for all players to engage more fully, as the trends for uptake seem to warrant.
For more about ecosystem services, visit our Ecosystem Services Working Group page.
