Stream Habitat Improv

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD

STREAM HABITAT IMPROVEMENT AND MANAGEMENT (Ac.) CODE 395

DEFINITION Manage adjoining riparian areas to support diverse natural vegetation suitable for the site conditions Maintain, improve or restore physical, chemical and desired ecological benefits. Such benefits and biological functions of a stream, and its include stream temperature moderation, recruitment associated riparian zone, necessary for meeting the of instream large wood and fine organic matter, life history requirements of desired aquatic species. input of riparian nutrients and terrestrial insects, stream bank stability, and filtration of contaminants PURPOSE from surface runoff. 1. Provide suitable habitat for desired aquatic Where practical, restore or maintain species. stream habitat and channel forming 2. Provide stream channel and associated riparian processes such as natural flow regime, conditions that maintain ecological processes meander migration, sediment transport, and connections of diverse stream habitat recruitment and storage of large wood, and types important to aquatic species. floodplain interactions with the stream. All stream and riparian activities will occur within CONDITIONS WHERE PRACTICE APPLIES state and federal guidelines with regard to timing of spawning, incubation, and rearing of aquatic All streams and their adjoining backwaters, organisms, and breeding and nesting of terrestrial floodplains, associated wetlands, and riparian areas organisms. where geomorphic conditions or habitat deficiencies limit reproduction, growth, survival Manage livestock to sustain a healthy stream and diversity of aquatic species. corridor and associated habitats. All required local, state, and federal permits will be GENERAL CRITERIA obtained by the landowner prior to installation of any stream improvement measures. Planned stream habitat improvements will Criteria for instream structures  address the aquatic species and life history stages for which the stream is being managed, Design instream structures that are compatible with the dynamic nature of streams and rivers,  be based on a site-specific assessment of local encourage natural geomorphic recovery when hydrology, channel morphology, geomorphic possible and minimize disruption of recreational setting, aquatic species, riparian and floodplain and other traditional uses of the stream corridor. conditions, and any habitat limitations including water quantity and quality, food Structures installed for the purposes of this standard supply, and restriction of upstream and will not downstream movement of aquatic species  impede or prevent passage of fish and other using the NRCS Stream Visual Assessment aquatic organisms at any time; Protocol or comparable evaluation tool.  cause excessive bank erosion;  when applied, result in a conservation system that meets or exceeds the minimum quality  cause unintentional lateral migration, criteria for stream habitat established in aggradation or degradation of the channel; Section III of the FOTG.  hinder channel-floodplain interactions.

NRCS-Minnesota February 2007

Conservation practice standards are reviewed periodically and updated if needed. To obtain the current version of this standard, contact the MN Natural Resources Conservation Service in your area, or download it from the electronic Field Office Technical Guide for Minnesota. (Practice Code) - 2

Structural instream improvement measures applied Before designing and implementing stream habitat will be compatible with the geomorphologic stream improvements, consider the known or expected type. All structural measures applied will be concerns within the watershed, such as: point and analyzed for stability for the bank full and 25-year non-point source pollution, water diversions, and flow events. land management activities likely to influence stream habitat conditions. Additional measures that All instream devices will be installed according to a should be taken singularly or in combination to design approved by the NRCS State Biologist and improve stream habitat include: the MDNR Area Fisheries Manager. 1. Complete a general assessment of watershed Instream devices will be protected from erosion by conditions that are likely to affect the functions using loose rock riprap and/or shaping and seeding of the stream and its riparian area. the bank. 2. Incorporate stream habitat improvements into a conservation plan that addresses soil quality, Criteria for Improving Trout Spawning and nutrient management, pest management and Incubation Areas. other management practices for reducing non- point sources of pollution. All practices that reduce stream bank and upland erosion to the stream as off site sources of 3. Provide fish passage upstream and downstream sediment, will improve spawning habitat by and allow movement of other aquatic species maintaining clean gravels in riffles. and organic matter to the extent possible and when compatible with state and federal fish Riffles and gravel spawning beds may be management objectives (see Code 396 – Fish established in appropriate situations. Consult with Passage). the NRCS State Biologist and MDNR Area Fisheries Manager for sources of information. 4. Reduce or manage excessive runoff due to watershed development, roads or land-use Spawning gravel size and configuration will be activities. appropriate for the target fish species and consistent 5. Restore or protect riparian and floodplain with substrate size of the channel type within the vegetation and associated riverine wetlands. treatment reach. Contact the NRCS State Biologist or MDNR Area Fisheries Manager for information 6. Maintain adequate in-stream flows to sustain about spawning gravel requirements and/or sources diverse habitats for aquatic species, especially of local fisheries expertise. during critical life history stages of spawning, incubation and rearing. Criteria for Improving Stream Habitat for 7. Provide heterogeneous and complex physical Warm Water Fishes. habitat components consistent with the physiographic setting and important to aquatic In warm water (walleye, northern pike, and species in the watershed. These include smallmouth bass) prairie streams, the emphasis will suitable spawning substrates, structural be on the development of large, complex pools with elements such as boulders and/or large wood much of the area greater than 30 inches in depth, where appropriate, resting pools, overhead and the banks well vegetated with grasses and cover, and riparian vegetation. forbs. 8. Provide barriers to exclude aquatic nuisance species from stream habitats where prescribed CONSIDERATIONS by the appropriate state and federal fish management agencies. Any stream habitat management project is most effective when applied within the context of overall 9. Provide screens on water pumps, diversion watershed conditions and with clear objectives for ditches, or any area where unintentional stream management goals. Stream habitat entrapment of aquatic species is likely to occur. management provisions should be planned in 10. Improve floodplain-to-channel connectivity for relation to other land uses that may affect stream development of seasonal or permanent corridors. backwater, wetland and off-channel habitats NRCS, ALASKA (Month), (Year) 395RevisionDraft1 - 3

consistent with the local climate and hydrology All structural measures shall be evaluated on an of the stream. annual basis. Any repair actions, if needed, shall comply with state and federal guidelines for 11. Maintain natural surface water and ground protecting spawning, incubation and rearing times water interactions to the extent possible. of aquatic species and breeding and nesting times 12. Control spread of exotic plant and animal of terrestrial species. species. 13. Manage recreational and other land use REFERENCES activities to minimize impacts on stream banks, Bureau of Land Management. 1998. Riparian riparian vegetation and water quality. Area Management: A User Guide to Assessing Proper Functioning Condition and the Supporting PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS Science for Lotic Areas. TR-1737-15. Plans and specifications shall be developed for each Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working site where management and improvement actions Group (FISRWG). 1998. NEH-653 –Stream are to be implemented. Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes and Practices. The plan will include a detailed site description, the sequence in which improvements or management Newbury, F.W. and Gaboury, N.N., 1983. Stream actions will be completed, a vegetation planting Analysis and Fish Habitat Design - A Field Manual. plan and maintenance requirements. Newbury Hydraulics Ltd. Gibsons, British Columbia, Canada. 262 pp. Specifications shall include: (a) Location and extent of modification of the NRCS. 1998. Tech. Note 99-1: Stream Visual stream reach to accomplish the planned purpose; Assessment Protocol. (b) Riparian plant species and stocking rates if NRCS. 1998. The Practical Streambank needed to accomplish the planned purpose; Bioengineering Guide. (c) Planting dates, care and handling of seed or NRCS. 2002. Streambank Soil Bioengineering planted materials to ensure an acceptable rate of Field Guide for Low Precipitation Areas. survival; NRCS. 2005. National Biology Handbook, (d) Site protection and preparation requirements for Aquatic and Terrestrial Habitat Resources. establishment or recruitment of riparian vegetation if needed. NRCS. 2006. NEH-654 – Stream Restoration Design Handbook. (e) Drawings to illustrate installation or implementation requirements. Stream Habitat Improvement Handbook, 1992. US Forest Service. Technical Publication R8-TP16.

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE The Guidelines for Management of Trout Streams A detailed operation and maintenance plan shall be in Wisconsin, 1967. Technical Bulletin #39. developed for all applications. The plan shall provide for periodic inspection and prompt repair or modification of any structures that are found to cause excessive streambank or streambed instability.

NRCS, NHCP February 2006