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Ecosystem Flow Recommendations for the Upper Ohio River Basin in Western Pennsylvania

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Ecosystem Flow Recommendations for the Upper Ohio River Basin in Western Pennsylvania Ecosystem Flow Recommendations for the Upper Ohio River Basin in Western Pennsylvania Report to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection French Creek © The Nature Conservancy Submitted by The Nature Conservancy March 2013 Ecosystem Flow Recommendations for the Upper Ohio River Basin in Western Pennsylvania March 2013 Report prepared by The Nature Conservancy Michele DePhilip Tara Moberg The Nature Conservancy 2101 N. Front St Building #1, Suite 200 Harrisburg, PA 17110 Phone: (717) 232‐6001 E‐mail: Michele DePhilip, [email protected] Suggested citation: DePhilip, M. and T. Moberg. 2013. Ecosystem flow recommendations for the Upper Ohio River basin in western Pennsylvania. The Nature Conservancy. Harrisburg, PA. i Acknowledgments We thank Sue Weaver and Hoss Liaghat of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection who served as project managers. We thank all who generously contributed their time, invaluable expertise and resources through each of our technical workshops, in‐person meetings, phone calls and other means of consultation. We especially thank Mark Hartle, Bob Ventorini, Rick Lorson, Doug Fischer and Nevin Welte (Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission); Beth Meyer, Mary Walsh, Charles Bier, Ephraim Zimmerman and Eric Chapman (Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program); Rick Spear, Tony Shaw, Rita Coleman, Julie Baldizar Dana Drake, Dan Counahan and Brian Dillemuth (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection); Sam Dinkins and John Spaeth (Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission); Lou Reynolds, Frank Borsuk and Kelly Krock (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3); Rose Reilly, Ashley Petraglia, Mark Wozniak and Werner Loehlein (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District); Lora Zimmerman and Bob Anderson (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service); Than Hitt and Clinton Hittle (U.S. Geological Survey); Scott Wissinger (Allegheny College); Dave Argent (California University of Pennsylvania); Susan Kalisz (University of Pittsburgh); Eric Straffin (Edinboro University) and Jason Taylor (Cornell University). We thank our colleagues from The Nature Conservancy who helped facilitate workshops and provided regional expertise including Darran Crabtree, Eloise Kendy, Andy Warner, Kathy Boomer, John Stark and Anthony Sasson. We also thank Jessica Seminara for helping with workshop logistics and Jennifer Esch for her assistance with report edits. We thank Cokie Lindsay and John Wenzel who hosted us at the Powdermill Nature Reserve. These recommendations reflect the invaluable knowledge of the basin’s scientists and resource managers. Recognizing they have many competing demands for their time, we were humbled by their active engagement and thoughtful dialogue. This study could not have been completed without their expertise, patience, communication, creativity, good humor and shared vision to articulate the relationships between flow and the ecology of the Upper Ohio River basin. This project was funded by a Growing Greener Grant provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Environmental Protection. Finally, we thank the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Colcom Foundation for providing additional funding. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... ii Project Summary ........................................................................................................................................... v Section 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project Description and Goals ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Project Approach ................................................................................................................................ 2 Section 2: Basin Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Physiography, Climate, and Vegetation .............................................................................................. 6 2.2 Seasonal Hydrologic Variability ........................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Flood and Drought History ................................................................................................................ 10 2.4 Historical and Current Impacts to Water Quality ............................................................................. 10 2.5 Water Use and Water Resource Management ................................................................................. 13 2.6 Major Habitat Types .......................................................................................................................... 16 Section 3: Flow Components and Hydrologic Characterization ................................................................. 21 3.1 Flow Components ............................................................................................................................. 21 3.2 Flow Statistics .................................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Hydrologic Characteristics of Major Habitat Types .......................................................................... 28 Section 4: Defining Ecosystem Flow Needs ................................................................................................ 31 4.1 Fish .................................................................................................................................................... 32 4.2 Mussels ............................................................................................................................................. 34 4.3 Aquatic Insects and Crayfish ............................................................................................................. 36 4.4 Reptiles and Amphibians .................................................................................................................. 38 4.5 Floodplain, Riparian and Aquatic Vegetation ................................................................................... 39 4.6 Birds and Mammals .......................................................................................................................... 41 4.7 Floodplain, Island and Channel Maintenance ................................................................................... 42 4.8 Temperature and Water Quality ....................................................................................................... 43 Section 5: Flow Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 45 5.1 Using Literature to Support Recommendations ............................................................................... 46 5.1.1 Summer ...................................................................................................................................... 52 5.1.2 Fall .............................................................................................................................................. 56 5.1.3 Winter ........................................................................................................................................ 60 iii 5.1.4 Spring ......................................................................................................................................... 62 5.2 Using Hydrologic Analysis to Support Recommendations ................................................................ 66 5.3 Structure and Principles for Flow Recommendations ...................................................................... 69 5.4 Flow Recommendations by Habitat Type ......................................................................................... 70 5.4.1 Headwaters (< 4 mi2) and Creeks (< 40 mi2) .............................................................................. 70 5.4.2 Small Rivers (40‐200 mi2) ........................................................................................................... 73 5.4.3 Medium Tributaries (200‐1000 mi2) and Large Rivers (> 1000 mi2) .......................................... 74 5.5 Summary of Supporting Information ................................................................................................ 77 5.5.1 Literature ................................................................................................................................... 77 5.5.2 Hydrologic characteristics .......................................................................................................... 78 Summary of Flow Recommendations for all Habitat Types – Upper Ohio River Basin .......................... 80 Summary of Flow Needs in Each Season – Upper Ohio River Basin ....................................................... 81 Section 6: Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 82 6.1 Conclusions from Other Ecological Flow Studies in Pennsylvania’s Rivers
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