Randy Foltz
Research Engineer at the Moscow Forestry Sciences Laboratory

e-mail: rfoltz[at]fs.fed.us
phone:208-883-2312

Personal Research Program

Recent Publications

Primary focus is on Human Connections of Water Supply and Quality.  Specifically:

In Water Supply and Quality and Human Connections Research Questions:

• As recreation increases, what will be the effect on water quality?

In Terrestrial Ecosystems and Human Connection Research Questions:

• What are the effects of recreation, urbanization, energy development, ATVs, and other human activities on wildlife, soils, and water?
• What methods for managing visitor use can be used to reduce recreation impacts?
• What methods can we use to assess the effectiveness of restoration options?

In Wildland Fire and Human Connection Research Questions:

• What are the tradeoffs and costs of protecting important values at risk, such as old growth forests, endangered species, communities, and watersheds?

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• Effectiveness of BAER road treatments
• Efficacy of wood-based water and wind erosion control materials
• Relationships between ATV traffic and erosion
• Use of WEPP on forest roads
• Environmental impact of forest road removal

• Water Quality
  • Impacts of culvert removals and replacements on water quality

Foltz, R. B. 2012. A comparison of three erosion control mulches on decommissioned forest road corridors in the northern Rocky Mountains, United States. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 67(6):536-544.

Foltz, Randy B.; Westfall, Breann; Kopyscianski, Ben. 2012. Turbidity changes during culvert to bridge upgrades at Carmen Creek, Idaho. Report to Bureau of Land Management; FFIS Agreement 2216-07-IA287. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 8 p.

Foltz, R. B. Elliot, W.J., and N. S. Wagenbrenner. 2011. Soil erosion model predictions using parent materials/soil testure-based paramaters compared to using site-specific parameters. Transactions of the ASABE. Vol. 54(4): 1347-1356.

Foltz, R. B. and N. S. Wagenbrenner. 2010. An Evaluation of Three Wood Shred Blends for Post-Fire Erosion Control Using Indoor Rain Events on Small Plots. CATENA 80(2010) 86-94, doi:10.1016/j.catena.2009.09.003

Robichaud, Pete R.; MacDonald, Lee H.; Foltz, Randy B. 2010. Fuel management and erosion. Chapter 5 in: Elliot, W.J.; Miller, I.S.; Audin, L., eds. 2010. Cumulative watershed effects of fuel management in the western United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-231. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 79-100.

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Foltz, Randy B.; Copeland, Natalie S. 2009. Evaluating the efficacy of wood shreds for mitigating erosion. Journal of Environmental Management. 90: 779-785.

Foltz, R.B.; Copeland, N.S.; Elliot, W.J. 2009. Reopening abandoned forest roads in northern Idaho, USA: quantification of runoff, sediment concentration, infiltration, and interrill erosion parameters. Journal of Environmental Management 90(2009):2542-2550.

Foltz, R. B., P. R. Robichaud, and H. Rhee. 2009. A Synthesis of Post-Fire Road Treatments for BAER Teams: Methods, Treatment Effectiveness, and Decisionmaking Tools for Rehabilitation. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-228 Fort Collins, CO: U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 152 p.

Elliot, W.E.; Foltz, R.B.; Robichaud, P.R. 2009. Recent findings related to measuring and modeling forest road erosion. In Anderssen, R.S.; Braddock, R.D.; Newham, L.T.H., eds. Proceedings of the 18th World IMACS / MODSIM Congress, Cairns, Australia, 13-17 July 2009. International Congress on Modelling and Simulation. Interfacing Modelling and Simulation with Mathematical and Computational Sciences.

Copeland, N. S.; Foltz, R. B.  2009.  Improving erosion modeling on forest roads in the Lake Tahoe Basin: Small plot rainfall simulations to determine saturated hydraulic conductivity and interrill erodibility.   Paper No. 095553. Paper presented at: 2009 ASABE annual international meeting; June 21-24, 2009; Reno, NV. St. Joseph MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. 12 p..

Copeland, N.S.; Sharratt, B.S.; Wu, J.Q.; Foltz, R.B.; Dooley, J.H. 2009. A wood-strand material for wind erosion control: effects on total sediment loss, PM₁₀ vertical flux, and PM₁₀ loss. Journal of Environmental Quality. 38:139-148.

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Meadows, D; Foltz, R.B.; Geehan, N. 2008. Effects of All Terrain Vehicles on Forested Lands. USDA Forest Service, San Dimas Technology and Development Center. 0823 1811-SDTDC

Foltz, R.B.; Rhee, H.; Elliot, W.J. 2008. Modeling changes in rill erodibility and critical shear stress on native surface roads. Hydrological Processes. 22:4783-4788.

Foltz, R.B.; Copeland, N.S. 2008. Evaluating the efficacy of wood shreds for mitigating erosion. Journal of Environmental Management 90(2):779-785. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.01.006

Foltz, R.B.; Yanosek, Y.A.; Brown, T.M. 2008. Sediment concentration and turbidity changes during culvert removals. Journal of Environmental Management 87(3):329-340. May 2008.

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Foltz, R.B.; Copeland, N.S. 2007. Field testing of wood-based biomass erosion control materials on obliterated roads. 2007 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Paper No: 078046. Minneapolis, MN, 17-20 June 2007. July 2007.

Foltz, R.B.; Rhee, H.; Yanosek, K.A. 2007. Infiltration, erosion, and vegetation recovery following road obliteration. Transactions of the ASABE 50(6):1937-1943. December 2007.

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Gorsevski, P.V.; Gessler, P.E.; Foltz, R.B.; Elliot, W.J. 2006. Spatial Prediction of Landslide Hazard Using Logistic Regression and ROC Analysis. Transactions in GIS 10(3):395-415.

Foltz, R.B.; Tyler, K.Y. 2006. Modeling infiltration under wood byproducts used for erosion control. Written for presentation at the 2006 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Sponsored by ASABE, Portland Convention Center, Portland, OR. 9 - 12 July 2006. ASABE Paper No. 068053. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Lanning, D.N.; Burks, J.E.; Foltz, R.B. 2006. Field performance of long-strand wood erosion control mulch and agricultural straw under natural rainfall events. Written for presentation at the 2006 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Sponsored by ASABE, Portland Convention Center, Portland, OR. 9 - 12 July 2006. ASABE Paper No. 068028. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Copeland, N.; Sharratt, B.; Wu, J.Q.; Foltz, R.B.; Dooley, J.H. 2006. Evaluating material properties to optimize wood-strands for wind erosion control. Written for presentation at the 2006 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Sponsored by ASABE, Portland Convention Center, Portland, OR. 9 - 12 July 2006. ASABE Paper No. 062199. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Foltz, R.B. 2006. Erosion from all terrain vehicle (ATV) trails on National Forest lands. Presented at the 2006 ASABE Annual International Meeting. ASABE, Portland Convention Center, Portland, OR. 9-12 July 2006. Paper No. 068012. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. 10 p.

Research Scientists