THIEF RIVER WATERSHED FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY REPORT MN DNR June 2015
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THIEF RIVER WATERSHED FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY REPORT MN DNR June 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHORS Dave Friedl Jason Vinje Lori Clark Stephanie Klamm CONTRIBUTORS / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Corey Hanson, Red Lake Watershed District Cover Photo Credit: Corey Hanson, October 2011. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: DNR Information Center 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155‐4040 (651) 296‐6157 (Metro Area) 1 888 MINNDNR (1‐888‐646‐6367) TTY (651) 296‐5484 (Metro Area) 1 800 657‐3929 http://www.mndnr.gov Thief River Watershed Fluvial Geomorphology Report June 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................vii Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Fluvial Geomorphology Study ................................................................................................................................... 1 Healthy Watersheds ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 Current Resource Concerns ........................................................................................................................................ 3 General Description ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Surface Waters ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Geology ................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Land Use .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................... 15 Field Assessments ....................................................................................................................................................... 15 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Hydrology......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Annual Precipitation .................................................................................................................................................... 21 Stream Gages .................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Mean Annual Flow ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 Flood Frequency ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 Magnitude & Frequency ............................................................................................................................................. 26 Streambank Erosion..................................................................................................................................... 28 BANCS Model ................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Thief River .................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Moose River ................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Mud River ...................................................................................................................................................................... 31 County Ditch 20 .......................................................................................................................................................... 32 Stability ............................................................................................................................................................. 33 Thief River Watershed Fluvial Geomorphology Report June 2015 Discussion ......................................................................................................................................................... 34 Thief River ....................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Thief Lake to Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge .............................................................................................. 34 Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge to Thief River Falls .................................................................................. 38 Moose River..................................................................................................................................................................... 40 Mud River ......................................................................................................................................................................... 41 County Ditch 20 ............................................................................................................................................................. 44 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................................... 47 Thief River ....................................................................................................................................................................... 47 Thief Lake to Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge .............................................................................................. 47 Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge to Thief River Falls .................................................................................. 49 Moose River..................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Mud River ......................................................................................................................................................................... 51 County Ditch 20 ............................................................................................................................................................. 52 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Thief River Watershed Fluvial Geomorphology Report June 2015 List of Acronyms BANCS Bank Assessment for Nonpoint Source Consequences of Sediment BEHI Bank Erosion Hazard Index CD County Ditch CR County Road CSG Cooperative Stream Gaging HUC Hydrologic Unit Code IBI Index of Biological Integrity JD Judicial Ditch MN DNR Minnesota Department of Natural Resources NBS Near Bank Stress NLCD National Land Cover Dataset NWI National Wetland Inventory NWR National Wildlife Refuge RLWD Red Lake Watershed District SPI Stream Power Index TRW Thief River Watershed USGS United States Geological Survey WMA Wildlife Management Area Thief River Watershed Fluvial Geomorphology Report June 2015 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Map of the watercourse types within the Thief River Watershed ................................................... 5 Figure 2. National Wetland Inventory of the Thief River Watershed ................................................................ 6 Figure 3. Public Waterbasins and Watercourses within the Thief River Watershed .................................. 7 Figure 4. Simplifed drawing of ice lobes about 14,000 years ago ....................................................................... 8 Figure 5. Geology of the Thief River Watershed ......................................................................................................... 9 Figure 6. 2011 Land use within the Moose River drainage area ...................................................................... 11 Figure 7. 2011 Land use within the Mud River drainage area ..........................................................................