Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Restoring Natural Hydrology Improves Fish Habitat
Waterbodv Improved Historic livestock 9razin9- timber harvest activities, and road
" u" ' ' * • 'f ' * an(j (jjkg construction caused excessive sedimentation in
North Fork Spread Creek, which threatened aquatic life and cold water fisheries designated
uses. As a result, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) added a
segment of North Fork Spread Creek to Wyoming's 1998 Clean Water Act (CWA) section
303(d) list of impaired waters. Stakeholders implemented several best management prac-
tices (BMPs) designed to reduce sedimentation, including restoring the stream channel and
floodplain to natural conditions. Water quality improved, and two trout species returned
to the creek. As a result, WDEQ removed North Fork Spread Creek from the CWA section
303(d) list of impaired waters in 2008.
Problem
North Fork Spread Creek is approximately 15 miles
southeast of Moran, Wyoming. The creek's
headwaters begin at approximately 8,242 feet in
elevation, in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The
upper basin is largely undeveloped except for some
gravel roads. Most of the basin is forested upland,
shrubland, and herbaceous upland; the remaining
drainage area is largely barren highlands, with some
wetlands and water (Figure 1). Recreational use
in the basin is common, and grazing occurs in the
lower basin.
The watershed is naturally geologically unstable;
historic livestock grazing has exacerbated the
instability and caused streambank and riparian veg-
etation damage. In addition, timber harvesting and
road and dike construction have resulted in further
damage. When combined, the natural and induced
conditions caused the stream to erode, become
substantially wider and shallower, and form a
braided rather than meandering channel (Figure 2).
Ultimately, excessive sediment in streams can blan-
ket important streambed cobble and gravel habitats
needed for macroinvertebrates to thrive and native
Snake River cutthroat trout to spawn.
WDEQ classifies North Fork Spread Creek as water-
body type 2AB, thus, it is protected for drinking
water, cold-water game and nongame fisheries, fish
North Fork Spread Creek
Barren
IB Forested upland
Shrubland
Herbaceous upland natural
•• Herbaceous planted/cultivated
mm Wetland
1
Map source: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5017
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2004/5017/
Figure 1. Spread Creek
drains to the Snake River in
extreme western Wyoming.
consumption, aquatic life,
recreation, wildlife, indus-
try, agriculture and scenic
value uses. Sedimentation
threatened the creek's cold-
water fishery and aquatic life
designated uses, prompting
WDEQ to add a one-mile
reach of the creek to the
Figure 2. A braided channel along
North Fork Spread Creek before
restoration.
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state's 1998 CWA section 303(d) list for habitat
degradation.
Project Highlights
As early as 1992, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
began recognizing the links between land use
activities and the disturbance issues within the
North Fork Spread Creek watershed and committed
to restoring the stream using a natural approach.
To predict the natural potential of this study reach,
the USFS used an adjacent and structurally intact
upstream stream segment as a reference. USFS
assessed the two streams using the Wyoming
Stream Integrity Index (WSII) and River Invertebrate
Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS).
The USFS completed the North Fork Spread Creek
Riparian Demonstration Project, in part using CWA
section 319 funding. Restoring a 0.5-mile-segment
of North Fork of Spread Creek (within the section
303(d)-listed reach) began in 1997, and included
reestablishing proper width and depth, meander,
slope and bed features
(Figure 3). The effort also
restored or enhanced
the natural floodplain,
riparian community and
fish habitats. New ripar-
ian vegetation included a
mixture of willows, grasses
and forbs. Last, project
partners moved an adjacent
road to a higher elevation,
which lessened the possibil-
ity of seasonal flooding and
erosion.
Figure 3. Restoring a streambank
using buried revetments along
North Fork Spread Creek.
Results
The North Fork Spread Creek Riparian
Demonstration Project successfully restored the
floodplain and appropriate channel form. The
project added 14 meanders within the study reach
using buried revetments to stabilize banks (see
Figure 3). It also included placing large cobbles at
the upstream and downstream ends of riffles to
maintain reach gradient. Project partners planted a
mixture of shrubs, forbs, grasses and several thou-
sand rooted willow cuttings throughout the creek's
floodplain to stabilize soil.
By 1998 fish habitats had increased by 150 percent
(according to Wyoming's WSII and RIVPACS mac-
roinvertebrate indices). The stream included large,
woody debris and pools, which serve as impor-
tant refuge habitats for fish. The success of such
improvements on the biological community can be
seen by comparing fish survey data from before
and after project implementation (Table 1). A WDEQ
assessment indicates that the stream is now meet-
ing its aquatic life and cold-water fisheries uses;
therefore, WDEQ removed the stream from the CWA
section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2008.
Table 1. Number of fish species measured
from 1994to 1998
Fish Species
Snake River Cutthroat
Trout
Brook Trout
1994 counts
0
35
1998 counts
19
41
Partners and Funding
Partners in the North Fork Spread Creek Riparian
Demonstration Project included the USFS, Teton
Science School students (who collected biomoni-
toring data), Wyoming Game and Fish Department,
Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts,
Teton County Natural Resource District, and the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (project
review). Funding for this CWA section 319 project
totaled $88,896; including $27,373 in section 319
grants; $19,475 in nonfederal cash match; $1,538 in
nonfederal, in-kind match; and $41,510 contributed
by the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
UJ
(9
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA841-F-09-001PP
December 2009
For additional information contact:
Richard Thorp, Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality
307-777-3501 • rthorp@wyo.gov
Ronna Simon, Bridger-Teton National Forest
307-739-5598 • rsimon@fs.fed.us
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