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Natural Resources Foundation Report Big Thicket National Preserve

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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Program Center Natural Resources Foundation Report Big Thicket National Preserve Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2010/180 ON THE COVER Photographs of Big Thicket National Preserve by: Robert Sobczak Natural Resources Foundation Report Big Thicket National Preserve Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2010/180 Robert Sobczak Big Cypress National Preserve 33100 Tamiami Trail East Ochopee, Florida 34141 James C. Woods National Park Service Natural Resources Program Center Geological Resources Division P.O. Box 25287 Denver, Colorado 80225 Greg Eckert National Park Service Natural Resources Program Center Biological Resources Management Division 1201 Oak Ridge Dr. Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 Ellen Porter National Park Service Natural Resources Program Center Air Quality Division P.O. Box 25287 Denver, Colorado 80225 David L. Vana-Miller National Park Service Natural Resources Program Center Water Resources Division P.O. Box 25287 Denver, Colorado 80225 February 2010 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Program Center Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate high-priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and many contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues of management applicability. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. This report is available from the Water Resources Division website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/water/wrdpub.cfm) and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/NRPM ). Please cite this publication as: Sobczak, R., G. Eckert, J. Woods, E. Porter, and D. Vana-Miller. 2010. Natural resources foundation report: Big Thicket National Preserve. Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/WRD/NRR—2010/180. National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 341/101187, February 2010 ii Contents Page Figures……………………………………………………………………………………vi Tables…………………………………………………………………………………...viii Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………...ix Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………..xviii Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….1 Purpose Statement………………………………………………………………...3 Significance Statements…………………………………………………………..3 Natural Resources Planning………………………………………………………………5 The Natural Resources Foundation Report and its Objectives…………………...6 Description of Natural Resources………………………………………………………...7 Climate……………………………………………………………………………7 Physiography/Geology/Soils……………………………………………………..7 Vegetation……………………………………………………………………….15 Hydrography…………………………………………………………………….17 Surface Water Hydrology……………………………………………………….18 Ground Water Hydrology……………………………………………………….23 Water Quality……………………………………………………………………25 Wetlands and Riparian Areas……………………………………………………33 Floodplains………………………………………………………………………34 Air Quality.……………………………………………………………………...35 Biological Resources……………………………………………………………37 iii Fundamental Natural Resources and Values…………………………………………….45 Fundamental Resource: Flowing Water and Associated Dependent Systems…..45 What Is the Importance of Flowing Water and Associate Dependent Systems to the Preserve?...............................................................46 What Are the Current State or Conditions and the Related Trends of Flowing Water and Associated Dependent Systems Within the Preserve?.....................................................................51 What Are the Current and Potential Threats to Flowing Water and Associated Dependent Systems Within the Preserve?...........57 Who Are the Stakeholders Who have an Interest in Flowing Water and Associated Dependent Systems?.................................63 Which Laws and Policies Apply to Flowing Water and Associated Dependent Systems, and What Guidance do the Laws and Policies Provide?.....................................................................67 Fundamental Resource: The Thicket…………………………………………….74 What Is the Importance of the Thicket to the Preserve?...........................74 What Are the Current State or Conditions and the Related Trends of the Thicket Within the Preserve?........................................................75 What Are the Current and Potential Threats to the Thicket Within the Preserve?.......................................................................................77 Who Are the Stakeholders Who Have an Interest in the Thicket?.........................................................................................78 Which Laws and Policies Apply to the Thicket, and What Guidance Do the Laws and Policies Provide?...............................................79 Fundamental Value: Scientific Value………………………………………….. 82 What Is the Importance of Scientific Value to the Preserve?.................. 82 What Are the Current State or Conditions and the Related Trends of Scientific Value within the Preserve?.......................................82 iv What Are the Current and Potential Threats to Scientific Value Within the Preserve?.....................................................................83 Who Are the Stakeholders Who Have an Interest in the Scientific Value of the Preserve?..................................................................83 Which Laws and Policies Apply to Scientific Value, and What Guidance Do the Laws and Policies Provide?..............................84 Climate Change and Big Thicket National Preserve…………………………….……...85 Literature Cited……………………………………………………………………….....89 Appendix Unifying Concepts in River Ecology and the Neches River…………………………….99 v Figures Page Figure A. Cross-sectional view of the floodplain along riparian corridors in Big Thicket National Preserve……………………………………………xii Figure 1. Map showing the location of Big Thicket National Preserve and its units in southeastern Texas…………………………………………… 2 Figure 2. Maps of the Big Thicket region in relation to major physiographic zones of Texas and Big Thicket National Preserve in relation to various definitions of the Big Thicket…………………………………….. .4 Figure 3. The National Park Service framework for planning and decision making….. .5 Figure 4. Annual minimum temperatures for Texas and annual average temperature for Beaumont, TX………………………………………………. 7 Figure 5. Three-dimensional and surficial diagrams of the geologic formations of Big Thicket National Preserve……………………………………………..10 Figure 6. Major drainage basins of Texas with a more detailed view of the major drainages that comprise Big Thicket National Preserve…………………….. 18 Figure 7. Map showing the four major watersheds that comprise Big Thicket National Preserve and the locations of the Neches River Saltwater Barrier, B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir and Sam Rayburn Reservoir…………… 19 Figure 8. Weekly-calculated median discharge rates for major monitored waterways in and near Big Thicket National Preserve……………………….20 Figure 9. Ten-year average annual and half-year flow volume comparison of the Neches River, Village Creek, Pine Island Bayou, Menard Creek and the Trinity River………………………………………………...... 21 Figure 10. Average annual rainfall across the United States……………………………22 Figure 11. Seasonal rainfall distribution at Town Bluff………………………………...22 Figure 12. Annual and seasonal distribution of rainfall at Town Bluff…………………23 Figure 13. Generalized location of the Gulf Coast Aquifer and its component aquifers near Beaumont and the Preserve……………………………………24 Figure 14. State-designated, stream segment identifiers for Preserve waterways………28 vi Figure 15. Trends in ozone concentrations, Beaumont, TX…………………………...35 Figure 16. Map showing location of Big Thicket National Preserve and counties Designated nonattainment for the ozone standard……………………….....36 Figure 17. Comparison of average weekly discharge in the Neches River and average monthly rainfall at Town Bluff………………………………..46 Figure 18. Calendar graph of weekly rain recorded at B.A. Steinhagen Reservoir depicting extreme flood and drought events……………………..47 Figure 19. Cross-sectional view of the floodplain along riparian corridors in the Preserve……………………………………………………………....48 Figure 20. Peak weekly stage of the Neches River near Evadale, 1995-2007…………50 Figure 21. Annual flow rate summary and historic discharge volume of Village Creek at Kountze…………………………………………………...52 Figure 22. Annual flow rate summary and historic discharge volume of the Neches River at Evadale……………………………………………………52
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