Brian P. Bledsoe, Ph.D., P.E.
Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering
Engineering
Research Center
Colorado State
University
Fort Collins, CO
80523
Telephone: (970)
491-8410
FAX: (970)
491-8671
email: bbledsoe@engr.colostate.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Research Interests
Research Projects
CIVE 413 Environmental
River Mechanics
CIVE 440 Nonpoint
Source Pollution
Graduate Students
Undergraduate
Study in Civil and Environmental Engineering at CSU
Graduate
Study in Civil and Environmental Engineering at CSU
Hydraulic
Engineering / Stream Restoration and River Mechanics
Environmental
Engineering
GeoTools Software
Download
Ecological Engineering and Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration
Graduate
Degree Program in Ecology
About Fort Collins, CO
Interesting Links
My research interests are focused on the interface between environmental engineering, fluvial geomorphology, and aquatic ecology with particular emphasis on stream and watershed processes. Past and current research topics include:
- Influence of human activities on the
structure, function, and health of streams and watersheds
- Understanding and predicting the impacts of
land use changes on water quality, stream physical processes, and biotic
communities
- Fate and transport of sediment and diffuse
pollution in mixed land use watersheds
- Riparian zone processes including vegetation /
wood effects on nutrient dynamics, channel morphology and network
hydrology
- Restoration and construction of wetlands and
riparian zones
- Development of stream, river, and watershed
restoration practices that are effective and ecologically-based
- Hierarchical physical classification of
streams for improved biomonitoring and water quality management
- Examining the relative sensitivity of various
stream types to watershed modifications
- Landscape perspectives for drainage networks
and stream ecosystems
- Entropy and energy dissipation in channels and
networks
- Innovative stormwater management practices and
site design techniques to mitigate the effects of urbanization on channel
network stability and ecological integrity
- Sustainable river management and engineering
based on the principles of ecological engineering and fluvial
geomorphology
- Quantifying flow regimes that achieve
ecological goals in the context of economic constraints
"Stream Restoration, Ecological Engineering, and Nutrient Retention of Streams in Urban and Agricultural Settings," PI, National Science Foundation CAREER Award
"GeoTools for
Rapid Dynamic Channel Analysis and Biological Assessment,"
"Linking
Watershed Characteristics with Flow Regime and Geomorphic Context to Diagnose
Water Quality Impairment at Multiple Spatial and Temporal Scales," Co-PI,
"Protocols for Studying Wet Weather Impact Urbanization," Co-PI, Water Environment Research Foundation
"Assessing
Snow-Making Impacts to Stream Channels," Co-PI,
"Altered
Channel Morphology as a Result of Urbanization and Other Land Uses in
Watersheds,"
"Hierarchical
Physical Classification of Western Streams: Predicting Biological Condition in
Terms of Key Environmental Processes Bridging Local to Ecoregional
Scales,"
"Geomorphic
Assessment of Fisheries Enhancement Features on the Big
"Little
"
"Effects of Wet Weather Discharges on the Physical Character of Aquatic Habitat," Co-PI, Water Environment Research Foundation
"Biocomplexity - Modeling Urban Aquatic Ecology / Hydrologic / Geomorphologic Relationships On Urbanizing Streams in the West," Co-PI, National Science Foundation
"Vision Paper: River Restoration," Co-PI, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of the Hydrologic Sciences, Inc.
"Fate and Transport of Metals and Sediment in Surface Water," Co-PI, US Environmental Protection Agency
"Evaluation
of Enhanced Stream Bank Stabilization for Controlling Nutrient Loads in
Watersheds," Co-PI,
"Utilizing
Bank Stabilization Structures for Controlling Nitrate and Phosphate
Contamination of Ground Water and Surface Water Sources," Co-PI,
"Demonstration Erosion Control Monitoring," Co-PI, US Army Corps of Engineers - Waterways Experiment Station
Russ Anderson (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Dan Baker (Ph.D. in
progress, GRA)
Amer Battikhi (M.S.
completed)
Michael Brown (M.S. in
progress, GRA)
Shaun Carney (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Erick Carlson (GDPE M.S. in
progress, GRA)
Christopher Cuhaciyan
(Ph.D. completed, GRA)
William deRossett (M.S. in
progress)
David Dust (Ph.D. in
progress, GRA)
Alejandro Flores (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Brian Haines (M.S. in
progress, GRA)
Bob Hawley (Ph.D. in
progress, GRA)
Elaina Holburn (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Blair Hurst (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Brian McCaig (M.S.
completed)
John Meyer (M.S. in
progress, GRA)
Jenny Mueller Price (Ph.D. in progress, GRA)
Radley Ott (M.S. in
progress)
David Pizzi (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Steve Sanborn (M.S.
completed, GRA)
Ben Snyder (M.S. completed)
Christy Wilson (M.S.
completed)
Steven Yochum (Ph.D. in progress, GRA)
Ecological
Engineering in Stream and Watershed Restoration
Historically, the management of rivers and watersheds has been plagued with oversimplified but expensive solutions to complex problems. Ecological engineering provides an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional engineering approaches to environmental problems that are often much more expensive to construct and sustain. The increasing interest in watershed restoration reflects a growing awareness that all of the goods, services, and values that society derives from the land and water ultimately depend on healthy, properly functioning watersheds. We are attempting to integrate aspects of water resources engineering, aquatic ecology, environmental sciences, fluvial geomorphology, systems theory, risk assessment, and other disciplines to understand and reverse the widespread decline of aquatic ecosystems. This includes reestablishing the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems, including their natural diversity through unified application of engineering and ecological principles.
Ecological engineering has been defined as "the design of sustainable systems consistent with ecological principles that integrates human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both." Ecological engineering seeks to design and manifest closed-loop processes in order to eliminate waste, prevent pollution and restore polluted land and water, and provide goods and services just as nature does. Traditional engineering tends to replace existing natural processes with new structure and process, but ecological engineering provides approaches that capitalize on the elegant designs and processes of nature to develop systems that a have high economic and environmental performance over the long term. The result is efficient, economical, self-organizing, and adaptive systems that make good sense. The field is increasing in breadth and depth as engineers and scientists address the complex questions of environmental quality and resource allocation facing humanity in the 21st century.
Tools and Resources
The Water Center at Colorado State University
Federal Interagency Stream Corridor Restoration Manual
NRCS Practical Streambank Bioengineering Guide
EPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Wadeable Streams and Small Rivers
USEPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
US Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center
Center for Watershed
Protection
Professional Organizations
American Society of Civil Engineers EWRI
American Water Resources Association
North American Benthological Society
International Ecological Engineering Society