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Donner und Blitzen Sub-basin Watershed Assessment Harney County Watershed Council 450 N. Buena Vista Burns, Oregon 97720 (541) 573-8199 June, 2003 This project was funded in part by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board TABLE OF CONTENTS Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Assessment TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Harney County Watershed Council 1 Sub-Basin Description 2 Map #1 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Vicinity Map 3 Map #2 - Sub-Basins Within Malheur Lake Basin 4 Map #3 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Ownership Before Steens Legislation 5 Map #4 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Current Ownership, Road System 5 Historical Land Use History of the Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin and Surrounding Area 7 Cultural Resources 9 Human Uses 10 Visual Resource Management 11 Special Management Areas 12 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 14 Steens Mountain CMPA 15 Historical Land Use Issues 17 Basin Setting Climate 19 Table #1 - Burns, OR Monthly Climate and Precipitation Averages 20 Table #2 - Voltage, OR Monthly Climate and Precipitation Averages 21 Table #3 - P Ranch Refuge, OR Monthly Climate and Precipitation Averages 22 Geology 23 Soils 23 Table #4 - Soil Types in the Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin 24 Watershed Assessment Hydrology and Water Use 25 Surface Water 25 Ground Water 25 Water Use 26 Water Rights 26 New Water Rights Application 26 Channel Habitat 28 Map #5 Donner und Blitzen Sub-BasinHydrologic Units, Level 5 31 Fish and Fish Habitat 32 Wetlands 34 Map #6 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-BasinNational Wetlands Inventory 36 Riparian Zones 37 Water Quality 38 Sedimentation 39 Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Assessment aA S S Land & Resource Use 41 Vegetation Table #5 - General Vegetation Types in the Andrews PlanningArea 41 Table #6 - Special Status Species Plants in the Sub-Basin 44 46 Noxious Weeds Table #7 - Noxious Weeds on BLM Lands in the Sub-Basin 47 47 Juniper Encroachment 48 Wildlife 50 Range Management 51 Fire and Fire Management 52 Energy and Mineral Resources 53 Land and Resource Use Issues 55 Map #7 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Recreation 56 Map #8 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Big GameWinter Range Map #9 Donner und B!itzen Sub-Basin Vegetation Management 57 Map #10 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Historic PlantAssociations (NRCS) 58 Map #11 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin General Soils(NCRS) 59 Map #12 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Stream Condition 60 Map #13 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Redband Trout 61 Map #14 - Principal Spring Duck and Goose Use Areas(1975-1978) 62 64 Map #15 - Principal Spring/Fall Swan Use Areas(1975-1978) Map #16 - Principal Duck and Goose Use Areas(1975-1978) 66 Map #17 - Principal Fall Duck and Goose Use Areas(1975-1 978) 68 70 Map #18 - Principal Shorebird Use Areas (1975-1978) Map #19 - Principal Long-Billed Curlew Use Areas (1 975-1978) 72 Map #20 - Principal Long-Legged Waders Use Areas(1975-1978) 74 Map #21 - Principal Spring/Fall Marshbird Use Areas(1975-1 978) 76 Map #22 - Principal Raptor Use Areas (1975-1 978) 78 Map #23 - Special Management Areas 80 Map #24 - Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin NoxiousWeeds 81 Summary of Watershed Issues 82 Historical Land Use 82 Hydrology and Water Use 82 Channel Habitat 83 Fish and Fish Habitat 83 Wetlands 84 Riparian Zones 84 Water Quality 84 Sedimentation 85 Land and Resource Use Appendix Appendix A - Special Status Animal Species in the Donner undBlitzen Sub-Basin 86 Appendix B - Plants Used by the Burns Paiute Indian Tribe 89 Appendix C - Fish Species, Subspecies or Distinct FishPopulations 90 Appendix D - Noxious Weed Species in the Donner undBlitzen Sub-Basin 91 Appendix E - Water Quality Limited Streams 93 Appendix F - Steens Mountain Research Projects 94 Appendix G - Terrestrial Species Occurring in the Donnerund Blitzen Sub-Basin 97 Appendix H - Groundwater Wells in the Donner undBlitzen Sub-Basin 106 Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Assessment I, S S Appendix I - Public Comments on Assessment 107 Glossary Glossary 132 References References 146 Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Assessment ill INTRODUCTION Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin Assessment S HARNEY COUNTY WATERSHED COUNCIL PURPOSE: The purpose of the Harney County Watershed Council is to address issues and concerns about watershed health in Harney County and to promote existing good and beneficial conditions. The Council will provide a framework for education, coordination, and cooperation among all interested parties for the development and implementation of watershed plans beneficial to the people and the environment. MISSION: The Council recognizes that local economic and ecological prosperity is dependant upon the current and future availability and quality of water. Therefore, the Harney County Watershed Council is committed to this three-part goal: Determine the health of individual watersheds or watershed segments. Retain the health of high quality watersheds. Restore and enhance those watersheds, or portions thereof, that can be improved. MALHEUR LAKES BASIN WATERSHED ASSESSMENT: The purpose of watershed assessment is to provide a factual basis for watershed management plans. The assessments serve as a planning tool for the Harney County Watershed Council (HCWC) and others. Some assessments are grant funded and developed under contract with the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) using the guidelines in the OWEB Assessment Manual. The Malheur Lakes Basin Watershed covers approximately 6.1 million acres, which is about 95% of the area of Harney County. The basin is comprised of seven sub-basins, some of which reach into Grant and Lake County, and Nevada: Silver, Silvies, Harney-Malheur Lakes, Donner und Blitzen, Guano, Thousand Virgin and Alvord Lake. See Maps 1 and 2. Given the large geographic land mass that these basins cover, assessing the health of a single sub-basin watershed is a difficult and complex task that includes finding and compiling available data, determining what additional data is needed, and analyzing the available data to identify issues or problems, and ultimately to identify and prioritize actions to address those issues. The Harney County Watershed Council was created in 1998, and was new to the business. Funds were limited and thus the council elected to address only one sub-basin assessment at a time. The council decided to not address specific issues or projects until all the sub-basin assessments were done, and in the process they would educate themselves and the community about watershed health issues. Toward this end, three sub-basin assessments have been done: Silver, Silvies, and Harney-Malheur Lakes. The Donner und Blitzen is the fourth. Three more in the south end of the basin have yet to be done. The Donner und Blitzen Sub-basin Assessment is essentially the fourth chapter in a book about the Malheur Lakes Basin Watershed, and is therefore part of a work-in-progress. When all the chapters (seven sub-basins) are done, the watershed council will initiate a process to review all the sub-basin assessments and complete a Basin Action Plan, compiling all the old and new data into a meaningful picture of the watershed, and then work to identify and prioritize specific projects to improve watershed health for the entire basin. For this process to be effective, the community needs to be fully engaged. The Harney County Watershed Council has good collaboration with the public land managers (BLM, USFS, USFWS) that control over three-quarters of the land in Harney County, but the involvement of private landowners that manage the remaining lands has been limited. The council will strive to expand private landowner and private citizen involvement in the process through education and opportunities to participate in the collection and analysis of data, and decisionmaking about actions. COLLABORATION: The Council enjoys the active involvement of the following entities: private landowners, Oregon Water Resources Department, Harney County Court, USD1 Bureau of Land Management, Burns Paiute Tribe, OWEB, USDA Forest Service, lzaak Walton League, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Farm Service Agency, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Harney Soil and Water Conservation Donner und Blitzen Sub-basin Assessment I District, Oregon State University, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDAAgriculture Research Service and the Malheur Lake Basin Working Group. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Funding for the Donner und Blitzen Sub-basin Assessmentwas provided by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Harney County Watershed Council, and the Burns District Bureau of Land Management. Contributors: These individuals provided their time, effort and expertise. The completion of this document would not have been possible without their willingness and assistance. Tim Walters, Fisheries Biologist, Malheur Watershed, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Pam Keller, GIS Information Specialist, Burns District BLM Cindy Weston, Fish Biologist, Burns District BLM Rick Roy, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, USF&W Rick Vetter, Emigrant Creek Ranger District, USFS Mitch Lewis, Harney County Watermaster, District 10, OWRD Bonnie Rasmussen, Weed Specialist, ODA Tony Svejcar, Lead Research Scientist, USDA ARS EOARC Richard Miller, Professor of Rangeland Ecology, OSU Tim K. Smith, Geologist & Landowner, TKS Consulting Susan Hammond, Landowner & Council Member Fred Otley, Landowner & Council Member Larry Hammond, Concerned Citizen Production: Strategic Staffing Services, Inc. Michael Sirrine, Writer/Editor Lynn Sirrine, Publisher Lewis Maher, Technical Consultant Dedication: This document is dedicated to Lewis Maher who's tireless effort to compile the data for this document, in spite of a body which has betrayed his very healthy and determined mind, saw it through despite the physical pain and limitations. Thank you, Lew, fora job well done. SUB-BASIN DESCRIPTION The Donner und Blitzen Sub-Basin is located in the center of Harney County, Oregon (Map 1). The sub- basin has 505,127 acres. BLM GIS mapping indicates the sub-basin is 54.6 miles long, north to south, and 27.2 miles wide near the middle.
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