The re-introduction of the federally threatened Cherokee darter at the Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank

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Lawrence Fisher
7 years ago
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1 The re-introduction of the federally threatened Cherokee darter at the Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank Shane Keebaugh, Senior Biologist Wildlands Engineering Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank Project Overview Bank is located in Forsyth County, GA Commercial mitigation bank providing offsets for impacts to streams in the Etowah service area Restored stream length = 9,966 LF Preserved stream length = 7,996 LF Restoration Completed In December 2008 (Thanks North State Environmental, Inc.) Potential to restore Cherokee Darter habitat 1

2 Cherokee Darter Federally threatened Know from only about 20 streams in the Etowah basin Prefers small streams and can be found in small pools and in runs/riffles over course gravel and cobble One of the fish species covered in the Etowah Aquatic Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) In 2002 municipalities and Counties in the Etowah basin began working with FWS to ensure protection of fish and ability of the region to continue to grow The HCP has been submitted to FWS for review 2

3 Bannister Creek (8mi 2 ) Etowah River Brewton Creek (5mi 2 ) Design Considerations Rather than attempt to design a reference type darter stream, current design practices were optimized for potential influence on fisheries Allowed us to stay on track with scope and budgets Focused on two categories that could affect fisheries Stresors Specific habitat requirements 3

4 Stressors These apply to most sensitive fish in the Etowah basin Sedimentation Channel erosion Hydrologic alteration Extensive riparian buffer loss Contaminants Movement barriers Channelization / piping Invasive species Tempurature alteration Loss of large woody debris Eutrophication From: Stressor of Imperiled Fish in the Etowah Basin, Mechanisms, Sources and Management under the Etowah HCP. Stressors Optimization Sedimentation Channel erosion Channel restoration BEHI analysis indicates over a 90% reduction in stream bank erosion Loss of riparian buffer Riparian buffers were restored to 200' Barriers to movement Insure that no structure exceeded 4-6 drop Loss of large woody debris Structures that incorporate wood were prioritized 4

5 Specific Habitat Optimization Crevice spawners that prefer to spawn over coarse gravel to cobble in flowing/turbulent pools and runs Optimized design to include this substrate in the design and the use of constructed riffles where appropriate Prioritized the use of structures that provide flowing/turbulent pools and runs Utilized existing riffle material to seed new channel riffles Research suggests they may prefer to spawn on the vertical surfaces of the substrates Optimized design to provide many vertical substrate surfaces including logs, cobble, and boulders Large woody debris Flowing / turbulent pools and runs Cobble, course gravel Vertical substrate 5

6 Flowing pools / runs + Cobble / coarse gravel + Vertical substrate Had to consider that mobility Impediments could not exceed 6 Utilize native riffle material 6

7 Cherokee Darter Relocation Cherokee darters were relocated from the Hickory Log Creek Reservoir FWS Biological Opinion provided to the DoA included an applicant proposed conservation measure to relocate Cherokee darters Rational for selecting Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank as the relocation site Fish occurrence records indicate BCMB lies within potential range of species and baseline fisheries surveys performed for the Bank found 3 Cherokee darters in the upstream preservation section of Brewton Creek Likely in the same Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) Relocation Details Preliminary fisheries surveys at Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank Conducted June 2009, Approximately 6 months after completing channel restoration Total of 35 fish species from seven families were collected. No Cherokee darters encountered Relocation 1,180 Cherokee darters were relocated 7

8 Preliminary Results General fisheries response Increased diversity from 25 to 35 species after only 6 months post- restoration Occurrence of several additional sensitive species over baseline Specific Cherokee darter response Recent surveys found many Cherokee darters Darters were found in spawn and postspawn condition In 2010 first documented record of the Etowah darter was made in the restored reach of Brewton Creek 8

9 Conclusions and Acknowledgements Encouraging results but more data and analysis are needed Planning to tie geomorphic / stability monitoring to fisheries monitoring A bias towards sensitive species appears to benefit multiple species Thanks: The Garmon Family Wolfcreek Engineering North State Environmental Megan Hagler - UGA 9

COMPLIANCE REPORT MUDDY HOLLOW CULVERT REMOVAL FILE NUMBER 25358N

COMPLIANCE REPORT MUDDY HOLLOW CULVERT REMOVAL FILE NUMBER 25358N Submitted by the National Park Service Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes Station, California, 94956 Project Description: Muddy