The Kickapoo River Watershed: a Focus on Water Protection and Stewardship FOREWORD
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Produced by the Valley Stewardship Network The Kickapoo River Watershed: A Focus on Water Protection and Stewardship FOREWORD For over a decade, Valley Stewardship Network has scientific report that investigates the water quality focused on local water quality through water quality of the Kickapoo Watershed. Data gathered from monitoring and public outreach programs. Valley 2000-2010 by VSN’s dedicated citizen-based Stewardship Network’s dedicated volunteer water volunteer water monitors and by Wisconsin’s monitors have recorded over 10,000 data points Department of Natural Resources formed the basis from the Kickapoo Watershed. The analysis of this for this report, which gives those who live, work and data suggests areas of high quality waterways as play within the Kickapoo a glimpse into the health well as areas needing improvement. Clean water of our streams and rivers. is essential to healthy food and local communities, and because water quality is greatly influenced by In many cases, there was not enough data to make our actions, we can all play an important role in conclusive determinations affecting the health conserving and protecting this valuable resource. of each stream and river within the watershed. However, the assessment does offer a rare snapshot Characterized by unique beauty and ecological of the state of our unique water resources at this diversity, the Kickapoo Watershed lies in the heart point in time. While many of the streams of the of the Driftless Region, an area untouched by Kickapoo valleys are high quality and considered glaciers. This watershed, defined as an “area of land in good health, some water bodies exhibit definite that catches rain and snow and drains into a marsh, indications of compromised water health. These stream, river, lake or groundwater,” lies in portions generalizations reinforce the idea that taking care of of Monroe, Richland, Vernon and Crawford County our water is essential to our economy, environment, in rural southwestern Wisconsin. The Kickapoo and us…now and into the future. Watershed is also characterized by streams and rivers, many supporting native brook trout or brown For more information on specific streams and trout. rivers, please read VSN’s “Kickapoo River Watershed Assessment” and Appendices A-E, available online The Valley Stewardship Network’s Water Quality at VSN’s website (kickapoovsn.org) and local Program recently completed a highly detailed, libraries. WATER Water is perhaps the most unique natural substance on Earth, and it is vital to the creation and survival of all living organisms. As a building block for life, water is neutral, with a pH of 7, meaning that it is neither acidic nor basic. In its pure form water is tasteless, odorless, and colorless, and unlike all other natural substances, water naturally exists in all three states: gas (vapor), liquid, and solid (ice). Also distinctive, water in the solid state is less dense than as a liquid. As a result, ice has the capacity to float in water. Ice forms at the uppermost surface of a waterbody, acting as an insulating layer for life below. This unique property allows life to flourish even in extreme climates. Water is considered a “universal solvent,” which means it has the ability to dissolve almost all other substances. Oceans, saltwater bodies that comprise about 70% of Earth’s surface, are perhaps the greatest example of this capability. Water is cohesive, or sticky, due to a high surface tension. In other words, water molecules cling to other water molecules. This property leads to the formation of water droplets, which in turn attract other neighboring water molecules to create such natural phenomena as humidity, precipitation, streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. 2 condensation water storage in ice and snow water storage precipitation sublimation in the atmosphere snowmelt runoff to streams evapotranspiration evaporation streamflow surface runoff water storage in oceans spring infiltration freshwater storage groundwater discharge THE IMPORTANCE OF CLEAN WATER QUALITY The better the water quality, the cleaner the water! Water quality: The health of our streams and rivers may be Encompasses all biological, chemical, and • negatively affected by: physical properties of a waterbody, Runoff of toxins, nutrients, and metals; Supports all living organisms which are • • Erosion of soil; dependent on water, and • Natural disasters such as flooding and Defines limits which meet or exceed • • droughts; and drinking water standards for consumption • • Human activities. Our waterways interconnect as water Examples of human activities include recycles throughout the atmosphere, both nonpoint and point sources of land, soil, vegetation, groundwater, and pollution. Point source pollution can be surface waters. Within the water cycle, traced back to a single source, such as a pollution can enter and spread throughout factory pipe discharging toxic materials this intertwined system. directly to a waterbody. Nonpoint source pollution may be difficult to pinpoint to an Clean water is especially important as it identifiable source, and in fact, may come is a priceless resource that becomes from many different human activities which expensive to fix when contamination make the pollution difficult to isolate and occurs. control. Examples of nonpoint source pollution may include runoff from construction sites, urban and residential areas, and improperly managed farming practices. 3 KICKAPOO VALLEY er iv R WATERSHED o o p k a c i K MONROE ONTARIO W e s t F o r k VERNON K i c LA FARGE k a VIROQUA p o o RICHLAND r e v i R o o p a k c i K 0 5 10 CRAWFORD Miles Kickapoo Valley Watershed Major Rivers and Streams Communities County Boundaries A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE KICKAPOO WATERSHED Meandering throughout the valleys, the the Kickapoo River include Moore Creek, Kickapoo River twists and turns for 130 Billings Creek, West Fork of the Kickapoo, flowing miles. Yet, the Kickapoo River only Reads Creek and Tainter Creek. covers 60 miles as the crow flies. Because of its winding nature, indigenous people Untouched by glaciers, the Kickapoo to this area named the primary river of Watershed encompasses an ancient, our watershed “Kickapoo” (Algonquin for unique landscape lying at the heart of “One who goes here, then there”). The the Driftless region, giving us a glimpse Kickapoo River and its tributaries form into the past of pre-glacial Wisconsin. a dendritic stream pattern, resembling In fact, some geologists believe that the branching of trees such as oaks and the Kickapoo may well be one of the maples. The largest tributaries feeding oldest rivers in existence today. 4 The landscapes of the Kickapoo have and native brook trout. These high quality abundant karstic features. Karst refers to waterways also support diverse populations countless cracks, fissures, underground of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. streams, and caves that are formed in highly-soluble dolomite and limestone At the turn of the 20th century, unsuitable bedrock. Interestingly, many of these farming practices on steep terrain and karstically-formed caves within the heavy logging took a toll on land and Kickapoo region house archeological water resources. Such activities on the records of native societies, and these lands vastly accelerated soil erosion and records are incredibly important as deposited sediment into the waterways of historic bookmarks of ancient culture. the Kickapoo. In the 1930s dust-bowl era, Bedrock, mostly comprised of dolomite the Soil Conservation Service (now known and sandstone with some shale and as the Natural Resources Conservation limestone, is steeper in the upper watershed, Service, or NRCS) formed to develop transitioning into the gently rolling, forested nationwide conservation practices. The hills of the lower watershed. Following the very first of these projects began in Coon course of the Kickapoo River, sandstone Valley, Wisconsin. Today, better water outcroppings dominate the landscape, quality and appropriate farming practices adding beauty and fostering a diverse flourish throughout the watershed. habitat that supports rare plants and animals. Prairies dot this unique landscape However, soil erosion and deposition and provide high-quality plant and animal still threaten the quality of our rivers habitats. However, these ecologically and streams. Other threats include sensitive and important habitats are runoff, nonpoint and point source considerably smaller in number and size pollution, aquatic invasive species, and since the influx of European settlers to the flooding. Most recently, major flooding area in the late 1800s and early 1900s. in both 2007 and 2008 had devastating economic and environmental impacts Natural springs are common throughout in communities of the Kickapoo, such as the Kickapoo Valley. These feed over 200 Gays Mills, Soldiers Grove, Readstown, miles of Class I and Class II trout streams, Ontario, La Farge, and Viola. home to aquatic life including brown trout MONITORING THE HEALTH OF A WATERWAY Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources VSN has been successful in providing (WDNR) staff performs water quality testing extensive water quality data for improving throughout Wisconsin. However, WDNR’s water and maintaining the health of streams and division team cannot possibly monitor every rivers within the watershed. One of the most water body in the state and have historically sustainable aspects of VSN’s efforts is human depended on outside organizations and power in the form of volunteer