Human activities, past and present,
have systematically stripped watersheds
of those features that once helped store
and slowly release water, dampen flood
peaks, and sustain stream flows during
droughts. Now connected, incised river
systems function as sewer lines, rapidly
moving water from the upper to the
lower watershed with little water storage,
and wetlands are a fraction of their past
extent. These changes have severely
compromised the ability of human and
wild communities to successfully deal
with climate change and increased climate
variability.