The Oral Tradition,Environmental Change and River Basin Management: Case Studies from Queensland and Victoria

River basin management activities are often carried out in the context of real or perceived environmental change. Views of environmental change provided by the oral tradition are compared with histories of change reconstructed from the historical documentary record for the Nogoa River, Queensland, and the Avon River, Victoria. Quite different perspectives on the nature and causes of river channel change are provided by the two types of sources. River basin managers appear to have generally adopted the views provided by the more easily accessible oral tradition, leading to management strategies that are not necessarily justifiable in the light of the documentary history.     

A River Runs Through It: Morphological and Landowner Sensitivities Along the Upper Missouri River, Montana, USA

Landowners along the Missouri River in Montana believe that the operation of Fort Peck Dam has initiated bank erosion, thus threatening agricultural development within the region. Their concerns have been heightened by proposals to increase discharge in order to enhance fisheries and wildlife interests. Geomorphological evaluation indicates that bed degradation and bank erosion have declined since construction of the dam, and the channel is now approaching dynamic equilibrium; public sensitivity to the proposed change is greater than the morphological sensitivity of the river. Sustainable management of the Missouri is now based on strategies that place more emphasis on partnership with local citizens.