Willi, Kathryn Rosalie, authorKampf, Stephanie K., advisorRoss, Matt R. V., advisorBadia, Lynn, committee member2021-06-072021-06-072021https://hdl.handle.net/10217/232478This study quantified the "free-flowing" character of wild and scenic river watersheds by first developing linear regression models to predict the "natural condition" of a river's magnitude, timing, frequency, and variability of flows. We compared these estimates of "natural" flow to the observed values for stream gages within wild and scenic river watersheds and found that nearly half (45.1%) had at least one altered flow metric. This was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than the fraction of altered gages outside wild and scenic river watersheds, and supported our other conclusion that wild and scenic rivers are associated with protected areas. On the other hand, wild and scenic river watersheds had a significantly higher (p < 0.05) fraction of gages with dam storage densities ≥ 100 megaliters·km-2 than gages outside wild and scenic river watersheds. Because the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was designed as a complement to dam development, many wild and scenic rivers are designated in direct response to the threat of dam construction, or to counterbalance special rivers that have already been dammed. We posit that this biases wild and scenic river designations towards locations where dam development is common. Our study's findings expose a paradox in how a wild and scenic river designation can fully "protect and enhance" a river's free-flowing character. True protection of these special resources does not stop at designation, and requires additional support from managing agencies and stewardship groups to make improvements to their watersheds.born digitalmasters thesesengCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.free-flowingmodificationwild and scenic rivershydrologyalterationwatershedText