Update (09/21/2020): The WooDDAM field data collection protocol has been updated! WooDDAM now includes a variable to note whether the change observed in a resurvey (mobilization, loss/accumulation of wood, and/or contraction/expansion) was due to non-flow alterations, like human alteration or wildfire. This is meant to help facilitate resurvey continuity for wood jams that experience change due to factors other than high flows. Please check out the Data Collection page, with updated lists of variables and data collection spreadsheets, for more details.

Update (07/27/2020): The WooDDAM field data collection protocol has been updated! WooDDAM now includes 7 variables that describe anthropogenic wood jams. These variables are designed to enable better differentiation of engineered or human-placed wood jams, whether they are securely anchored to the bed or just loose accumulations of wood. Please check out the Data Collection page, with updated lists of variables and data collection spreadsheets, for more details.

WooDDAM is a collaborative effort to build a database and develop a tool for predicting wood jam dynamics in rivers. This tool, designed for both natural and anthropogenic jams, is intended for both resource managers and researchers. The database includes information about wood jam characteristics, channel and valley bottom morphology, hydrologic regime, and how wood jams change during high flows of varying magnitude. Many wood jams are tracked over multiple years, providing temporal change data. This database feeds a statistical model to predict how wood jams change during high flows, which can subsequently be used to inform decisions on whether to reintroduce or retain wood jams in streams.

Currently, we are focusing on collecting data and soliciting data from others to build the database. Models to predict wood jam dynamics will be available when sufficient data become available. At this time, users can view or download the database, contribute data, and learn more about the project.

This website serves as the user interface for the database and accompanying model for predicting wood jam dynamics. View the Database and Summary Statistics page to access the current database or submit data. View the Statistical Model page to learn more about the model used to predict wood jam dynamics.

You are invited to contribute to the database! If you’d like to help contribute to this collaborative effort to understand wood jams, please visit the Data Collection Spreadsheet and Instructions page to learn how to collect and submit data to the database. Data collection is easy, quick, and cheap. Importantly, this database can help put your wood jams in the context of hundreds of other jams, helping you interpret your data and make more informed decisions.

Once the database is sufficient, the statistical model page will become fully functioning and will be able to provide predictions of wood jam dynamics. We anticipate that models will begin to be viable soon. If you think such models would be valuable, we encourage you to help by submitting wood jam monitoring data.

This project is funded by the U.S. Forest Service National Stream Aquatic Ecology Center and the Colorado Water Center in partnership with the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University.