Yaak River Watershed Sediment Total Maximum Daily Loads
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Yaak River Watershed Sediment Total Maximum Daily Loads Montana Department of Environmental Quality September 10, 2008 Yaak River Watershed Sediment TMDL – Table of Contents Table of Contents Section 1.0 Introduction & Executive Summary ........................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Purpose ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The TMDL Planning Process ............................................................................................... 1 1.3 Yaak Watershed TMDLs: Executive Summary ................................................................... 2 Section 2.0 Watershed Characterization......................................................................................... 5 2.1 Physical Characteristics ........................................................................................................ 5 2.1.1 Location and Ecoregion ................................................................................................. 5 2.1.2 Topography .................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.3 Climate........................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.4 Hydrology ...................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.5 Geology and Soils.......................................................................................................... 9 2.1.6 Land Use and Land Cover ........................................................................................... 10 2.2 Biological Characteristics................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Fisheries and Associated Aquatic ................................................................................ 10 2.2.2 Threatened and Endangered Species (and Species of Special Concern) ..................... 14 2.3 Cultural Characteristics....................................................................................................... 15 2.3.1 Population and Land Use History ................................................................................ 15 2.3.2 Land Use and Ownership............................................................................................. 17 2.3.3 Recreation .................................................................................................................... 17 2.3.4 Resource Management................................................................................................. 17 Section 3.0 TMDL Regulatory Framework and Water Quality Standards.................................. 19 3.1 TMDL Regulatory Requirements ....................................................................................... 19 3.2 Water Bodies and Pollutants of Concern............................................................................ 20 3.3 Applicable Water Quality Standards .................................................................................. 24 3.3.1 Classification and Beneficial Uses............................................................................... 25 3.3.2 Standards...................................................................................................................... 25 Section 4.0 Water Quality Assessment........................................................................................ 27 4.1 Water Quality Assessment Framework .............................................................................. 27 4.2 Sediment Impairment Indicators......................................................................................... 29 4.2.1 Reference Condition .................................................................................................... 30 4.2.2 In-Stream Sediment Indicators..................................................................................... 31 4.2.3 Biological Indicators.................................................................................................... 38 4.2.4 Landscape-Scale Sediment Indicators ......................................................................... 40 4.2.5 Additional/Supplemental Information ......................................................................... 42 4.3 Water Quality Impairment Summary ................................................................................. 43 4.3.1 Seventeenmile Creek ................................................................................................... 43 4.3.2 Lap Creek..................................................................................................................... 53 4.3.3 South Fork Yaak River ................................................................................................ 62 Section 5.0 Yaak TPA Sediment Source Characterization and Assessment ............................... 75 5.1 Sediment Source Assessment and Load Estimates Summary ............................................ 75 5.1.1 Natural Sources............................................................................................................ 75 5.1.2 Anthropogenic Sources................................................................................................ 75 5.1.3 Source Assessment Summary ...................................................................................... 76 5.2 Sediment Source Assessment and Loading Estimates........................................................ 77 5.2.1 Sediment Sources......................................................................................................... 77 10/8/2008 i Yaak River Watershed Sediment TMDL – Table of Contents Section 6.0 Total Maximum Daily Load & Load Allocations..................................................... 95 6.1 Total Maximum Daily Load ............................................................................................... 95 6.2 Load Allocations................................................................................................................. 96 6.2.1 Forest Roads Allocation............................................................................................... 98 6.2.2 Upland Erosion from Management Activities Allocation ........................................... 99 6.2.3 Bank Erosion & Mass Wasting/Hillslope Failure Allocation.................................... 100 6.2.4 Future Development Allocation................................................................................. 101 6.3 Margin of Safety ............................................................................................................... 101 6.4 Seasonality........................................................................................................................ 102 6.5 Uncertainty and Adaptive Management ........................................................................... 102 6.6 Total Maximum Daily Loading Expression ..................................................................... 103 Section 7.0 TMDL Implementation and Monitoring................................................................. 105 7.1 TMDL Implementation and Monitoring Framework ....................................................... 105 7.2 Agency and Stakeholder Coordination............................................................................. 106 7.3 Implementation Strategies and Recommendations........................................................... 107 7.3.1 Forest Roads & Culverts............................................................................................ 107 7.3.2 Additional Implementation Recommendations ......................................................... 108 7.4 Monitoring Recommendations ......................................................................................... 109 7.4.1 Water Quality Target Monitoring & Evaluation........................................................ 109 7.4.2 Implementation and Restoration Monitoring & Evaluation ...................................... 111 Section 8.0 Public Involvement ................................................................................................. 113 Section 9.0 References and Acronyms ...................................................................................... 115 References............................................................................................................................... 115 Acronyms................................................................................................................................ 123 10/8/2008 ii Yaak River Watershed Sediment TMDL – Table of Contents Table of Tables Table 1-1. Water Quality Plan and TMDL Summary Information ................................................ 3 Table 2-1. Land use/cover in Yaak River Watershed................................................................... 10 Table 2-2. Species and relative abundance for the Yaak River .................................................... 12 Table 2-3. Species and relative abundance for 303(d) Listed streams in the Yaak River Watershed ................................................................................................................... 13 Table 2-4. Yaak Watershed Species of Concern .......................................................................... 14 Table