Ecological Assessment of Streams in the Powder River Structural Basin, Wyoming and Montana, 2005–06
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Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Ecological Assessment of Streams in the Powder River Structural Basin, Wyoming and Montana, 2005–06 Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5023 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Front cover photographs: Hanging Woman Creek below Horse Creek, Wyo. (site T11), June 22, 2005. Cheyenne River near Spencer, Wyo. (site C6), Photograph by Seth Davidson, U.S. Geological Survey. June 22, 2005. Photograph by Kendra Remley, U.S. Geological Survey. Youngs Creek near Crow Indian Reservation boundary, Mont. (site T3), June 14, 2005. Photograph by Peter Wright, U.S. Geological Survey. Cheyenne River near Dull Center, Wyo., (site C3), June 19, 2006. Photograph by Greg Boughton, U.S. Geological Survey. Ecological Assessment of Streams in the Powder River Structural Basin, Wyoming and Montana, 2005–06 By David A. Peterson, Peter R. Wright, Gordon P. Edwards, Jr., Eric G. Hargett, David L. Feldman, Jeremy R. Zumberge, and Paul Dey Prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Montana Depart- ment of Environmental Quality, and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5023 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2009 This and other USGS information products are available at http://store.usgs.gov/ U.S. Geological Survey Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 To learn about the USGS and its information products visit http://www.usgs.gov/ 1-888-ASK-USGS Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Peterson, D.A., Wright P.R., Edwards, G.P., Jr., Hargett, E.G., Feldman, D.L., Zumberge, J.R., and Dey, Paul, 2009, Ecological assessment of streams in the Powder River Structural Basin, Wyoming and Montana, 2005–06: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5023, 139 p. iii Preface The work described in this report was performed under the direction of a multiagency Aquatic Task Group (ATG) formed to address issues related to development of coalbed natural gas in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. In addition to the multiagency participation in design and sampling, the multiple aspects of aquatic ecology led to a collaborative multi- agency effort on this report. The sampling was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with the exception of sampling on the main stem of the Powder River in Wyoming that was coordinated with personnel from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD). Personnel from the WGFD collected fish samples and conducted much of the habitat work at eight sam- pling sites on the Powder River in Wyoming. Gordon Edwards, Jr., of the WGFD is the author of the report sections describing the Powder River fish community and Powder River habitat. Peter Wright of the USGS is the author of the habitat section that encompasses all of the streams, including some habitat data collected by the USGS from the Powder River. Peter Wright and Dave Peterson condensed and rewrote habitat mapping information from a WGFD administrative report by Paul Dey after Mr. Dey took a different job assignment within WGFD. Dave Peterson of the USGS authored the fish section on other streams of the study area, as well as the sections on algae and macroinvertebrate communities with the exception of the sections on macroinver- tebrate models and indices. Eric Hargett and Jeremy Zumberge of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and David Feldman of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality authored the report sections on macroinvertebrate models and indices. Other members of the ATG helped to improve the report through comments during the review process. Thank you to everyone for their collaboration and cooperative spirit. iv Contents Preface ...........................................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2 Purpose and Scope .............................................................................................................................2 Description of the Study Area ............................................................................................................5 Geographic Setting ......................................................................................................................5 Climate and Hydrology ................................................................................................................5 Land and Water Use .................................................................................................................10 Water Quality ..............................................................................................................................10 Acknowledgments ..............................................................................................................................11 Methods of Sample Collection and Analysis ..........................................................................................11 Habitat ..................................................................................................................................................11 Basinwide Habitat Assessment ..............................................................................................11 Main-Stem Powder River Habitat Assessment ....................................................................15 Water Chemistry .................................................................................................................................17 Macroinvertebrates and Algae ........................................................................................................17 Fish Communities ................................................................................................................................19 Basinwide Fish Community Assessment ...............................................................................19 Main-Stem Powder River Fish Community Assessment .....................................................19 Ancillary Investigations .....................................................................................................................20 Ecological Assessment ...............................................................................................................................21 Habitat Assessment............................................................................................................................21 Habitat Characteristics of Streams in the Powder River Structural Basin ......................21 Channel Characteristics ..................................................................................................21 Substrate Characteristics ...............................................................................................29 Riparian Characteristics ..................................................................................................29 Reach Characteristics .....................................................................................................35 Habitat Characteristics of the Main-Stem Powder River in Wyoming ............................38 Macroinvertebrate Community Assessment .................................................................................48 Community Characteristics at Sites with Riffles ..................................................................48 Community Composition ..................................................................................................48 Effect of Environmental Variables on Macroinvertebrate Communities .................53 Modeling and Metric Indices ..................................................................................................58 Wyoming Observed/Expected Index Biological Condition ........................................58 Tongue River Drainage ............................................................................................58 Powder River Drainage ...........................................................................................58 Belle Fourche and Cheyenne River Drainages ...................................................63 Wyoming Stream Integrity Index Biological Condition...............................................64 Tongue River Drainage ............................................................................................64