Over the last century, the construction and management of large dams and stream-flow diversions, and periodic drought have resulted in significant declines in stream flow of the lower Rio Grande in the Big Bend region. Reductions in mean annual flow and peak discharge have resulted in channel narrowing by the formation of vertically accreting inset floodplains. Narrowing has been temporarily interrupted by infrequent large dam releases greater than 1000 m3/s that have temporarily widened the channel; however, after each of these events, narrowing has resumed. Prior to 1942, floods of this magnitude occurred approximately once every 4 years and maintained a wide sandy channel. Since 1942, they have occurred 4 times. The decline in frequency of these large floods has resulted in a channel approximately 50% narrower than in the 1940s. Since the most recent channel widening floods in 1991, the channel has narrowed between 35 and 50%. In two large floodplain trenches, we observed between 2.75 and 3.5 m of vertical accretion during the same period. Additionally, nearly 90% of bare active channel bars have been converted to vegetated floodplains. Since 1991, the cross section channel area at the Johnson Ranch gage has decreased by approximately 30%. The reduction in cross section area and the invasion of non-native vegetation have resulted in higher flood stages, flooding at lower discharges, and continued vertical accretion. Channel narrowing has negatively impacted the native and endemic aquatic ecosystem through the loss of ecologically important habitats such as backwaters, side channels, and low velocity portions of the channel. Reductions in cross section area and resultant increased flood stages have also endangered historic cultural sites within the Big Bend region. Restoration efforts are currently underway within the region without a clear understanding of these historical channel changes and why they occurred. Our reconstruction of historical channel changes shows that the most significant periods of channel narrowing occurred during drought and increased stream-flow management. Management practices also appear to have enabled the invasion of non-native riparian species, which promoted sedimentation, bank stabilization, and additional channel narrowing. In order to restore historical measures of channel width, management options include non-native vegetation removal, common low magnitude dam releases that provide flood disturbance and prevent vegetation establishment, and large dam releases in excess of 1000 m3/s that create and maintain a wide channel. Vegetation management is expensive; and time consuming, and managed dam releases are politically unpopular and expensive, however, without the management of non-native riparian species and reinstatement of portions of the historical flood regime, ecological restoration will be difficult.

Previous scientific research has documented channel narrowing on the Green River near Green River, Utah, but the exact timing, rates, and causal mechanisms of that narrowing have been the source of disagreement in the scientific literature. This thesis demonstrates that the Green River has narrowed in two separate periods during the last 100 years. The narrowing is driven primarily by changes in the hydrologic regime and not by the invasion of saltcedar. The channel narrowed between 1930 and 1938, when a shift from wetter than normal conditions to a period of draught led to a reduction in river discharge. Channel width then remained relatively stable until construction of Flaming Gorge Dam in 1962, despite the presence of saltcedar. Narrowing has occurred since dam construction. Detailed analysis of the formation of an inset floodplain deposit indicates that it formed by a process of vertical accretion, during incremental events. Inset bank deposits within the study area are composed primarily of particles smaller than 0.125 mm. Measurement of suspended sand distribution within the water column shows that particles of this size are carried in suspension by the 2-yr flood. Continued vertical accretion over time elevated the floodplain surface until inundation rarely occurs.