2. Study Areas
We include data from 9 sites in the western United States (6 in Oregon,
2 in Utah, 1 in Colorado; Figure 1, Table 1). Each site includes all
three categories of degraded, treatment, and reference floodplain
sampling areas, with multiples of each category of reach where possible.
We combined data for multiple treated reaches along the same stream
where applicable, particularly in Fivemile Bell and Whychus Creek in
Oregon and East Canyon Creek in Utah. In all sites except Colorado,
floodplain categories are as physically close to each other as possible,
typically along the same streams, to reduce variability due to climate
and geology. In Colorado, the first iteration of samples was lost in
transit; thus, we provide all three categories from different locations
within the South Park region of Colorado but acknowledge the limitations
of direct comparison between categories.