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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STURY
Vermont
Logging Management Restores Dowsville Brook
Waterbodv Improved Erosion and sediment runoff from P°or|y managed logging
^ y H	operations degraded the biological communities in Vermont's
Dowsville Brook and Dowsville Brook Tributary #1. As a result, Vermont placed both streams
(combined into one listed segment) on its 1998 Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list for
aquatic life use impairments due to excessive sediment. Implementing Vermont's accepted
management practices for logging operations and the subsequent cessation of logging in
the watershed brought the streams into compliance with Vermont's water quality standards.
Vermont removed this segment from the CWA section 303(d) list in 2010.
Problem
Dowsville Brook (Figure 1) is a 4-miie-long stream in
north-central Vermont that drains a forested water-
shed bordering Camel's Hump State Forest in the
Town of Duxbury. The headwaters of the Dowsville
Brook watershed are at approximately 1,900 feet of
elevation. Tributary #1 feeds into Dowsville Brook
near its mouth in the vicinity of Vermont Route 100.
The Vermont Department of Environmental
Conservation (VTDEC) has classified the streams as
Class B waters—a designation defined as "suitable
for bathing and recreation, Irrigation and agricul-
tural uses; aquatic biota sustained by high quality
habitat; good aesthetic value; acceptable for public
water supply with filtration and disinfection."
VTDEC monitored macroinvertebrates in both
streams using several different techniques, includ-
ing the EFT index (short for the macroinvertebrate
order names Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and
Trichoptera). The index is a measure of number and
types of pollution-sensitive, aquatic insects inhabit-
ing a waterbody. Streams with a high EFT value
contain a greater richness (diversity) of pollution-
sensitive aquatic insects, indicating higher water
quality. VTDEC also assessed macroinvertebrate
densities (total number of organisms present) and
the percentage of macroinvertebrates consisting
of pollution-tolerant worms of the taxonomic class
Oligochaeta.
Biological monitoring found that short segments
(approximately 0.5 miles) of each stream did not
fully meet Vermont's Class B water quality stan-
dards for aquatic life in 1997. Both segments had
low macroinvertebrate densities and the Dowsville
Brook segment had a low EFT value as well. These

Figure 1 Dowsville Brook is near the Town of
Duxbury, VT.
findings put the segments in noncompliance with
Vermont Class B water quality standards for aquatic
life support. As a result, Vermont placed the two
stream segments (combined into listing VT08-19)
on its CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters in
1998. VTDEC attributed the impairments to sedi-
ment in runoff from logging road construction areas,
stream crossings and forest clear-cuts. The sedi-
ment smothered benthic (bottom-dwelling insect)
habitat In the streams.

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Table 1. Dowsville Brook and Tributary #1
Biomonitoring Results (1996-2009)
Figure 2. A V I DEC staff member collects biomonitoring
data.
Project Highlights
Major logging operations occurred in both water-
sheds in 1997. Large amounts of sediment from log-
ging roads (both during and after construction) were
transported by runoff to streams. In addition, a large
clear-cut operation occurred in the Tributary #1
watershed, resulting in substantial erosion of soil
from the steep terrain. Part way through the logging
operation, the logging company installed several
practices consistent with Vermont's accepted man-
agement practices for logging operations, including
inserting a plastic liner under a main bridge crossing
Dowsville Brook, installing waterbars to dissipate
flows along the roads, and adding silt fences and
hay bales to slow water flow and capture sediment
The logging operations ended in 1998, and the tree
canopy was found to be 90 percent restored by the
next stream monitoring effort in 2008 and 2009.
Results
Implementing logging erosion management prac-
tices helped to control sediment transported from
a temporary logging operation. Cessation of the
logging operation allowed the remaining damaged
areas of the watershed to revegetate naturally.
Biomonitoring conducted in 2008 and 2009 (Figure 2)
shows that biological integrity has improved as a
result. Data show that Dowsville Brook experienced
substantial increases in macroinvertebrate density
and EFT richness between the 1997 and 2009
sample dates (Table 1). As a result, VTDEC assigned
Dowsville Brook a rating of "excellent-very good" in
2009. Data for Dowsville BrookTributary #1 showed
Sampling
site
Date
Assessment
Rating
EPT
Index
Score
Macroinvertebrate
Density
(Individuals/
Square Meter)
Percent of
Individuals
from
Oligochaeta

9/9/1996
Excellent
22
653
0
> ^t"
10/9/1997
Fair
15
183
1.1
% ®
,§1
9/4/2009
Excellent-
Very
good
21
754
0.3
Oi Ifc —
9/26/1997
Fair
18
216
0.89
> 2S-
? ® ®
10/24/2008
Very
good
24
1452
0.87
I—
10/2/2009
Good
16
1296
0.94
Class B Guideline
> 16.0
>300
< 12.0
Note: Values in red indicate non-compliance.
little change in EFT (the Class B guideline was met
for all three sample years), but did show a major
increase in density, earning ratings of "very good"
and "good" in 2008 and 2009, respectively. All of
these ratings indicate compliance with Vermont's
water quality standards.
The data indicate that the erosion control prac-
tices and subsequent re-growth of the forest
canopy reduced sediment delivery to the streams,
Improved stream habitat and allowed both streams
to meet Vermont water quality standards by the fall
of 2009. As a result, the state removed iisting ID
VT08-19 (which includes both the Dowsville Brook
and Dowsville Brook Tributary #1 segments) from
its CWA section 303(d) list in 2010 The streams are
scheduled to be monitored again in 2014.
Partners and Funding
A few key partners worked to minimize the ero-
sion caused by logging in the Dowsville Brook
watershed. VTDEC staff conducted site bioassess-
ments and aquatic studies. Vermont Department of
Forests, Parks and Recreation provided oversight
and technical assistance to the state's logging
contractor to ensure proper implementation of
Vermont's accepted management practices for
logging operations. Approximately $3,000 in CWA
section 319 funds supported stream monitoring
work by VTDEC.
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PRO

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CD
/
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841 F 11 00111
September 2011
For additional information contact:
Eric Perkins
EPA Region 1
617-918-1602 • perkins.eric@epa.gov
Steve Fiske
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
802-242-1378 • steve.fiske@state.vt.us

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