Jeffrey F. Mount

Jeffrey Mount in a kayak. 2024.

Faculty
Emeritus

  • Geology

Jeffrey Mount is professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Geology and the founding director of the Center for Watershed Sciences.

He currently is a senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute in California.

Mount held the Roy Shlemon Chair in Applied Geosciences, co-held the Presidents Chair in Undergraduate Education with Peter Moyle, and received the 2005 Distinguished Scholarly Public Research Award for his contributions on issues of public concern such as flood risk, watershed management and river restoration.

Mount has served as chair of the CALFED Independent Science Board and as a member of California State Reclamation Board.

He authored of "California Rivers and Streams: The Conflict Between Fluvial Process and Land Use" (UC Press).

Mount's research and teaching interests include fluvial geomorphology, river ecology and water resource management.

At UC Davis, he directed research projects on restoring salmonids in North Coast streams, restoring lowland floodplains and mountain meadows, managing Sierra hydropower systems in response to climate change, and alternative futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

He also co-taught Ecogeomorphology with Peter Moyle. This capstone undergraduate course provides field-based, interdisciplinary training in river and stream management.

Research Interests & Expertise
  • Geology
  • Fluvial Geomorphology
  • River Ecology
  • Water Resources Management

Jeffrey F. Mount's Recent Projects

Shasta River

Interdisciplinary teams of Center scientists are investigating the causes for the decline of salmon and steelhead in Shasta River, historically one of the most productive tributaries in the lower Klamath Basin. A large spring complex (Big Springs Creek) provides the majority of its water, particularly during the summer.

Habitat Models for the Foothill Yellow-legged Frog

This study compares commonly used methods of defining habitat suitability criteria and applying those to instream flow models for R. boylii in the Sierra Nevada of California. First, regional habitat suitability criteria (HSC) are developed using standard univariate and multivariate techniques, and the predictive performance and transferability of different HSC methods are evaluated. Second, three of the most commonly used instream flow assessment techniques are evaluated: (1) one-dimensional habitat modeling, (2) two-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling, and (3) expert habitat mapping (judgement-based mapping by species experts). A comparison table is provided to aid resource managers in selecting the most appropriate habitat assessment method for R. boylii given the specific conditions of a hydropower relicensing project.

Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (2007)

Beginning in December 2005, a group of faculty and researchers affiliated with the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences/John Muir Institute of the Environment and the nonprofit Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) began meetings to discuss the future of the Delta. The intent was to complete a major independent report analysing options for managing the increasingly unstable Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The group included Ellen Hanak (Economist) with PPIC and from UC Davis: Jay Lund (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Jeff Mount (Geology), Peter Moyle (Wildlife and Conservation Biology), Richard Howitt (Agricultural and Resource Economics), and William Fleenor (Civil and Environmental Engineering).

Comparing Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

The 2007 Envisioning Futures report (below) concluded that the Delta is no longer sustainable and that the need for a new Delta strategy is urgent. A follow-up report in 2008, Comparing Futures for the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, took a closer look at the range of viable options for the Delta. Among the central findings: A peripheral canal—conveying water around the Delta instead of through it—should be part of a long-term strategy for the Delta to serve both water supply and environmental objectives. The report was authored by a multidisciplinary team of experts, including University of California, Davis scientists Jay Lund, William Fleenor, William Bennett, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, and Peter Moyle and the Public Policy Institute’s (PPIC) Ellen Hanak.