areas. In addition, even if the newly exposed banks are stable the hydraulic 

 forces occurring over the disturbed site would retard the re-establishment 

 of terrestrial floodplain habitat. 



The effect on the scenic quality of the area will reflect the changes 

 occurring to the terrestrial environment and to the hydraulic geometry of 

 the river channel. Major changes to these aspects will greatly alter the 

 appearance of the floodplain in the affected reach. 



Lo cations Separated From Active Channel 



The five specific site locations identified in the Major Variables 

 Matrix (Table I) that are separated from the active channel are not mutually 

 discrete locations. That is, a site can exhibit a combination of these 

 locations by for example, being located near the channel on the outside of a 

 meander. Hence it is more difficult to assess the potential impact for these 

 locations than for those previously discussed. The following discussion has 

 been separated into two sections: inside and outside of meanders, and 

 islands. These then are discussed from the standpoint of whether a material 

 site is near or distant from the active channel. 



The essential factor with sites in all of these locations is whether 

 diversion of the water out of the active channel and through the site is 

 possible. The distance between the material site and the active channel is 

 of major concern, but the height of the intervening bank certainly would be 

 a necessary consideration in this evaluation. 



Inside and Outside of Meanders. The location of a site on the outside 



of a meander is possible on any sized river system regardless of the areal 

 extent of the material site. This, however, is not the case on the inside 

 of meanders. In small river systems the areal extent of the floodplain or 

 terrace circumscribed by the meander can be quite small. In cases where 

 these were used for material sites, the surrounding areas, including the 

 channel, were often disturbed by the gravel removal operation. Therefore, to 



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