i Q'
1 :
Section 319
NONPOINI SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STURY
TM
Q
Removing Forest Roads and Restoring Streams Reduces Sediment
in Yellowdog Creek
Waterbody Improved
Eroding forest roads had contributed excessive sediment to northern
Idaho's Yellowdog Creek. As a result, the Yellowdog Creek assess-
ment unit, encompassing 12.2 stream miles, was added to the state's 1994 Clean Water Act (CWA)
section 303(d) list for sediment impairment. Beginning in 2000, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) removed
or repaired failing roads, restored riparian areas and implemented in-stream habitat improvement proj-
ects. Sediment loads in Yellowdog Creek have declined, and monitoring results show that sediment no
longer impairs cold-water aquatic life such as the native westslope cutthroat trout. Therefore, the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will propose removing the Yellowdog Creek assessment
unit from the state's list of impaired waters in 2012 for sediment.
Problem
The 7.8-square-mile Yellowdog Creek watershed
is in the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River Subbasin,
which drains the westflank of Idaho's Bitterroot
Mountain Range in the northern Rocky Mountains
(Figure 1): Idaho Panhandle National Forests man-
ages the entire Yellowdog Creek watershed.
Intensive timber harvest and road building occurred
through much of the North Fork Coeur d'Alene
River Subbasin from 1890 until the early 2000s. A
dense network of roads was constructed, including
some roads that were spaced 300 feet apart across
hillsides to accommodate "jammer logging," a sys-
tem in which logs are pulled with cables from the
cutting area to a collection point. Access roads were
often built directly adjacent to streams. Historically,
sediment Inputs from forest roads were excessive.
Over the years, runoff and floodwaters continued to
erode and wash out roads, particularly those near or
adjacent to streams.
Water quality investigations in the early 1990s sug-
gested that sediment inputs were impairing cold-
water aquatic life in Yellowdog Creek. As a result,
the Yellowdog Creek assessment unit (12.2 stream
miles) was added to the 1994 CWA section 303(d)
'ist for sediment. To confirm sediment impair-
ment, in 1996 DEQ completed a Beneficial Use
Reconnaissance Program (BURP) wadeable streams
rapid bioassessment on two Yellowdog Creek sites,
which yielded low scores for both the stream habitat
index (SHI) and stream macroinvertebrate index
(SMI). Because fish were not sampled, the stream
fish Index (SFI) could not be calculated. The middle
Figure 1. The Yellowdog Creek watershed is in
the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River Subbasin in
northern Idaho. USFS, as part of its extensive
restoration efforts, removed a 2-mile-long road from
the riparian area, added large woody debris and
restored riparian and in-stream habitat.
site had an SHI score of 1 and an SMI score of 0,
for an average score of 0.5; the lower site had an
SHI score of 2 and an SMI score of 1, for an aver-
age score of 1.5. index scores at both sites failed to
meet the minimum average score of 2.0 that would
have indicated fuil support of cold-water aquatic
life according to DEQ's Water Body Assessment
Guidance. When DEQ completed a total maximum
daily load (TMDL) for the North Fork Coeur d'Alene
Subbasin in 2001, the TMDL study identified erosion
iTom road encroachment as the subbasin's largest
sediment source.

-------
Yellowdog Creek
Before and After Restoration
Legend
2007 Roads
— Streams
Legend
1986 Roads
Streams
V
Pre-Restoration
76 Miles of Road
Post-Restoration
30 Miles of Road
Miles
Miles
Figure 2. Road density declined following road decommissioning
in the Yellowdog Creek watershed.
Project Highlights
The DEQ Nonpoint Source Management
Program developed a statewide Nonpoint Source
Management Plan in 1999. The plan included a
memorandum of understanding between state and
federal agencies that encouraged restoration on
federal lands. In accordance with the plan, USFS
implemented numerous restoration projects in the
Yellowdog Creek watershed from 2000 to 2006.
USFS decommissioned 46 miles of roads in the
watershed (60 percent) and removed 111 stream
crossings (Figure 2). The projects reduced sediment
loads by stabilizing eroding streambanks and reveg-
etating road surfaces and riparian areas. The most
significant improvements occurred in the lower
watershed, where USFS removed two miles of road
directly adjacent to the stream. USFS restored the
streambanks and riparian areas, placed 765 logs in
the channel and used boulders to construct more
than 100 pool-forming structures (see Figure 1).
The structures (1) helped to stabilize the stream by
providing additional grade control and (2) created
cold-water aquatic life habitat by providing cover
(hiding places) and increased channel complexity
(different types of habitat in the same area).
Results
In 2008 DEQ and USFS initiated a state-mandated
TMDL five-year review of Yellowdog Creek (and other
watersheds within the North Fork Coeur d'Alene
River Subbasin). In phase one, the partners selected
19 watersheds that had undergone extensive
restoration work and then performed modeling and
geographic information system analyses to evalu-
ate which ones had likely made significant progress
toward meeting the sedimentTMDL goals. The mod-
el indicated that sediment loads in Yellowdog Creek
had declined by an estimated 44 percent between
1986 and 2007, which prompted further study.
In the second phase of the TMDL review, DEQ and
USFS verified modeling results in eight watersheds
(including Yellowdog Creek watershed) using DEQ's
BURP assessment and USFS' PACFISH/INFISH
Biological Opinion (PIBO) Effectiveness Monitoring
Program protocols. BURP data collected near the
mouth of Yellowdog Creek in 2009 showed that
the SHI, SMI and SFI scores had each improved to
scores of 3, 3 and 2, respectively, for an average
score of 2.7. Macroinvertebrate sampling showed
an increase in diversity and included species asso-
ciated with cold, clear mountain streams. The fish
survey detected sculpin, westslope cutthroat trout
and longnose dace—all native species associated
with good water quality.
The BURP index scores and PIBO data on physical
habitat, temperature and macroinvertebrates indi-
cate that Yellowdog Creek fully supports cold-water
aquatic life with respect to sediment. Following res-
toration, sediment loading is now within the assimi-
lative capacity of the stream, based on modeling
and post-restoration monitoring results. On the
basis of these data, DEQ will propose removing the
Yellowdog Creek assessment unit from the state's
list of impaired waters in 2012 for sediment. The
assessment unit will remain listed for a temperature
impairment, which was added in 2010.
Partners and Funding
USFS spent approximately $1 million in funding
collected from timber sale receipts on restoration
projects in the Yellowdog Creek and the adjacent
Downey Creek watersheds. Numerous partners col-
laborated with USFS on planning and implementa-
tion, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Idaho
Department of Water Resources, Idaho Department
of Fish and Game, DEQ, North Idaho Fly Casters
and the Kootenai Environmental Alliance. Partners
in the TMDL five-year review included the USFS
Idaho Panhandle National Forests Coeur d'Alene
River Ranger District, the USFS PIBO Effectiveness
Monitoring Program, DEQ's Coeur d'Alene Regional
Office, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and the North Fork Coeur d'Alene River Watershed
Advisory Group.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
^	^ Washington, DC
|	g
EPA 841-F-11-001RR
^5^	December 2011
PRO"^
For additional information contact:
Kajsa Eagle Stromberg, Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality, Coeur d'Alene Regional Office
208-769-1422 • kajsa.stromberg@deq.idaho.gov
Chris James, Idaho Panhandle National Forests
Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District
208-769-3030 • cjjames@fs.fed.us

-------