The primary thrust of Riparia is research but we also engage in a significant number of outreach activities. Our research projects are listed below under the following subject areas: Wetlands and Watersheds; Ecological Restoration and Creation; Ecological Indicators and Wildlife; Public Outreach; and Reference Wetlands Database.
Wetlands & Watersheds
- National Wetland Condition Assessment: 2021
- Mid-Atlantic States Wetlands Assessment
2007 – 2011
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – ORD/NHEERL/MED
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop, with C. Hershner and K. Havens (VA Institute of Marine Science) - Fine Resolution GAP Models for Birds
January 2005 – June 2006
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
R. P. Brooks, R. Mulvihill (Carnegie Museum of Natural History), and T. Miller - Hydrologic Forecasting for Characterization of Non-linear Response of Freshwater Wetlands to Climatic and Land Use Change in the Susquehanna River Basin
July 2007 – June 2009
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – STAR
D. H. Wardrop et al. - Analysis of BMP implementation, performance, and maintenance in Spring Creek, an agriculturally-influenced watershed in Pennsylvania
October 2006 – September 2009
U.S. Department of Agriculture – CEAP Watershed Projects 2006 - Understanding Ecological Thresholds in Coastal Aquatic Systems through Retrospective Analysis of Phragmites australis Invasion and Expansion
September 2005 – August 2007
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – STAR
D. H. Wardrop et al. - PA DEP Lower Susquehanna Wetlands Monitoring and Training Grant
September 2005 – June 2007
U.S. Environmenal Protection Agency – Region 3
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Technical Assistance for Enhancing Wetlands Monitoring and Mitigation
May 2004 – July 2006
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Classifying and Prioritizing Watersheds for Protection and Restoration: An Approach for the Mid-Atlantic Highlands Area
January 2003 – January 2006
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – ORD – STAR
R. P. Brooks and G. Constantz (Canaan Valley Institute) - Development of a Tributary Watersheds Ecosystem Monitoring Program
June 2004 – August 2005
National Park Service – Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network
R. P. Brooks - MAWWG- Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Working Group
May 2003 – May 2005
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 3
D. H. Wardrop and R. P. Brooks - Technical Assistance, Monitoring and Assessment, Development of Ecological Indicators, and Water Quality Assessment for Wetlands in a Watershed Context
September 1998 – August 2005
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Assessing an HGM-based Wetland Classification Scheme Along a 1000-km Gradient of the Appalachian Mountains: Hydrology, Soils and Wetland Function
March 2002 – March 2005
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – STAR
C. A. Cole and D. H. Wardrop - Development and Application of Assessment Protocols for Determining the Ecological Condition of Wetlands in the Juniata River Watershed
September 1998 – September 2004
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – EMAP
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop
Publications: Brooks et al. 1999 - Development of an HGM Regional Guidebook for Wetlands of the Ridge and Valley Province of the Central Appalachian Mountains
September 2000 – February 2002
USDD Army Corps of Engineers – WES
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Watershed-Based Protection for Wetlands in Pennsylvania. Part I: Developing a Watershed-Based Wetlands Protection Program for Pennsylvania
November 1997 – June 2001
Pennsylvania DEP/U.S. EPA Region3
R. P. Brooks - Economic and Environmental Benefits of Watershed Restoration for Rural Communities
January 1998 – February 2001
USDA Fund for Rural America
R. P. Brooks, J. Shortle, and S. Smith - Reference Wetland Monitoring and Restoration Projects in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
April 1997 – December 2001
National Park Service
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Watersheds and Wetlands: Large Scale Disturbances and Small Scale Responses
May 1996 – August 1999
National Science Foundation/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
C. A. Cole and R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 96-3, 96-5, 97-1, 98-1, 99-5, 99-6, 2000-2
Publications: Babb et al. 1997, Cole et al. 1997(a), Cole et al. 1997(b), Cole 1998, Reinhardt et al. 1998, Wardrop and Brooks 1998, Cole and Brooks 1999, Cole and Brooks 2000, Shaffer et al. 2000 - Hydrologic Modeling of Wetlands
October 1996 – December 1998
Pennsylvania DEP – Division of Erosion Control and Wetlands
R. P. Brooks, R. L. Day, and D. H. Wardrop
CWC Reports: 99-2 - Hydrogeomorphic Models of Wetlands
October 1996 – August 1997
U.S. Geological Survey – National Biological Survey
R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 98-6
Ecological Restoration & Creation
- Pattern and Process of Wetland Creation and Succession: Assessing the Success and Creation Efforts at Fort Drum, NY
September 1998 – March 2002
USDD, U.S. Army, Ft. Drum
C. A. Cole and R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 2000-1 - Reference Wetlands Monitoring and Restoration Projects in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
April 1997 – December 2001
National Park Service
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Watersheds and Wetlands: Large-scale Disturbances and Small-Scale Responses
May 1996- August 1999
National Science Foundation/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
C. A. Cole and R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 96-3, 96-5, 97-1, 98-1, 99-5, 99-6, 2000-2
Publications: Babb et al. 1997, Cole et al. 1997(a), Cole et al. 1997(b), Cole 1998, Cole et al. 1998, Reinhardt et al. 1998, Wardrop and Brooks 1998, Cole and Brooks 1999, Cole and Brooks 2000, Shaffer et al. 2000
Ecological Indicators & Wildlife
- Evaluating amphibian distribution models and the importance of small, temporary wetlands on maintaining amphibian diversity in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area
September 2004 – August 2007
U.S. Geological Survey, Leestown
J. Julian and R. P. Brooks - Geographic analysis of habitat change for endemic animal species of Puerto Rico
2006 – 2007
U.S. Forest Service – Puerto Rico GAP Analysis Program
J. Acosta and R. P. Brooks - Development of a Habitat Conservation Plan for the Bog Turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii) and Other Wetland Species of Concern in the Southern Portion of the Delaware West Recovery Unit, in Pennsylvania and Delaware
May 2004 – June 2007
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission & U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
R. P. Brooks, R. McKinstry, and G. L. Rocco - Technical Assistance, Monitoring and Assessment, Development of Ecological Indicators, and Water Quality Assessment for Wetlands in a Watershed Context
September 1998 – August 2005
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Ecological and Socioeconomic Indicators for Integrated Assessment of Aquatic Ecosystems of the Atlantic Slope
February 2001- February 2005
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – STAR
R. P. Brooks et al. ( Atlantic slope Consortium – PSU, SERC, VIMS, ECU, ELI, FTN) - Support for Pennsylvania’s 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas
November 2002 – June 2004
Wild Resources Conservation Fund
T. J. O’Connell and R. P. Brooks - Sampling Design for Pennsylvania’s 2nd Breeding Bird Atlas
October 2002 – June 2004
Pennsylvania Game Commission
T. J. O’Connell and R. P. Brooks - Stream Plethodontid Assemblage Response (SPAR) Index: Development, Applications, and Verifications in the MAHA
September 1999 – February 2004
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – ORD – STAR
R. P. Brooks and G. L. Rocco
CWC Reports: 2000-4, 2004-1
Pilot Project and Past Volunteer Information - Using Bioindicators to Develop a Calibrated Index of Regional Ecological Integrity for Forested Headwater Ecosystems
September 1997 – September 2002
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – ORD – STAR
R. P. Brooks, R. S. Mulvihill ( Carnegie Museum), T. L. Master ( East Stroudsburg University), T. J. O’Connell, and D. H. Wardrop - Ecological Assessments in the Mid-Atlantic States: A Bird Community Based Model
March 2000 – June 2002
U.S. Geological Survey – Biological Resources Division
R. P. Brooks and T. J. O’Connell - Reintroduction of Fishers to the Allegheny National Forest
January 1998 – June 2001
National Forest Foundation
T. L. Serfass ( Frostburg State University), R. P. Brooks, and W. L. Tzilkowski - Biotic Topologies of Pennsylvania (GAP Analysis)
February 1996 – December 2000
National Biological Service ( U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
W. L. Myers, G. L. Storm, and R. P. Brooks
Publications: Myers et al. 2000 - Amphibian Indicator Landscape Study
October 1996 – December 1998
U.S. Geological Survey – Biological Resources Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – EMAP
R. P. Brooks and G. L. Rocco
CWC Reports: 99-3,99-7 - Macroinvertebrate Indicator Pilot Study
October 1996 – December 1998
U.S. Geological Survey – Biological Resources Division
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds
R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 99-1, 99-4 - Otter and Beaver Interactions in the Delaware Water Gap Area
September 1997 – August 1998
National Park Service
R. P. Brooks and T. L. Serfass
CWC Reports: 98-7
Publications: Swimley et al. 1999 - Waterfowl and Beaver: Successional Factors and Management Activities Affecting Production
April 1995 – June 1998
Pennsylvania Game Commission
R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 98-3 - Breeding Bird Community Structure as an Indicator of Regional Ecological Condition
August 1995 – May 1998
USGS – National Biological Services ( U.S. EPA, Addendum to GAP Analysis Project)
R. P. Brooks
CWC Reports: 98-4 (PDF file, 406k), 99-8
Publications: O’Connell et al. 1998, Myers et al. 2000, O’Connell et al. 2000(a), O’Connell et al 2000(b)
Public Outreach
- Coordinating Geospatial Aspects of Conservation Planning and Bioreserve Efforts in Pennsylvania
February 2006 – June 2007
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
R. P. Brooks and J. A. Bishop - Technical Assistance, Monitoring and Assessment, Development of Ecological Indicators, and Water Quality Assessment for Wetlands in a Watershed Context
September 1998 – August 2005
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
R. P. Brooks and D. H. Wardrop - Watershed-based Protection and Education for Wetlands in Pennsylvania – Part II: Enhancing the Reference Wetlands Database with Pennsylvania’s High School Students (Adopt-A-Wetland for Pennsylvania High Schools)
November 1997 – June 1999
Pennsylvania DEP/ U.S. EPA Region 3
R. P. Brooks
Publications: Gray et al. 1999 - Millbrook Marsh Protection-Management Plan and Open Space Plan
October 1997 – June 1998
Clearwater Conservancy/Pennsylvania DCNR
R. P. Brooks, K. Tamminga, and R. F. Carline
CWC Reports: 98-2, 98-5