Wills Creek Preassessment Eric Null Len Lichvar Produced by Somerset Conservation District, 6024 Glades Pike Road Suite 103, Somerset, PA 1 2 Wills Creek Preassessment Eric Null Len Lichvar March 2010 Somerset Conservation District Funding for this project provided by the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds With special assistance from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Photos by Len Lichvar, Eric Null, and Amanda Deal Copies of this report may be obtained by contacting the Somerset Conservation District 6024 Glades Pike Road, Suite 103 Somerset, PA 15501 Phone (814) 445-4652 ext.5 Fax (814) 445-2044 E-mail [email protected] Report text may be accessed on the Somerset Conservation District Website http://www.somersetcd.org/ 3 Table of Contents Forward/Acknowledgements………...……………………………………………….7 Introduction………………………………………………………..………………….8 Methods………………………………………………………………………………10 Results…………………………………………………..…………………………....14 Discussion…………………………………………..………………………………..29 Recommendations …………………………………….…………………………….30 Literature Cited……………………………………….……………………………...31 Appendix 1— Macroinvertebrates collected at each site Appendix 2—Fishes collected at each site Wills Creek Sampling Station 5 4 List of Figures Figure 1. The Wills Creek watershed………………………………………………………....8 Figure 2. Wills Creek Preassessment sampling points…………………………………...….11 Figure 3. Macroinvertebrate species richness of the Wills Creek Watershed……………….15 Figure 4. Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index for the macroinvertebrates communities of the Wills Creek Watershed……………………………………………………..16 Figure 5. HBI scores for the Wills Creek watershed………………………………………....17 Figure 6. Percent EPT taxa in the Wills Creek watershed…………………………………....18 Figure 7. Percent Dominant taxa in the Wills Creek watershed……………………………...18 Figure 8. Percent acid tolerant taxa in the Wills Creek watershed…………………………...19 Figure 9. Fish species richness in the Wills Creek watershed ………………………………..21 Figure 10. Shannon-Weaver diversity index for fish communities in the Wills Creek Watershed…………………………………………………………………...22 Figure 11. WC1 trophic feeding levels…………………………………………………….….22 Figure 12 WC2 trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………..23 Figure 13. WC3 trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………..23 . Figure 14. WC4 trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………..24 Figure 15. WC5 trophic feeding levels…………………………………………………….….24 Figure 16. WC6 trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………..25 Figure 17. BC1 trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………...25 Figure 18. BC2 trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………...26 Figure 19. LWC trophic feeding levels……………………………………………………….26 Figure 20. GR trophic feeding levels………………………………………………………….27 Figure 21. Wills Creek watershed PHI scores………………………………………………...28 5 FORWARD and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Wills Creek watershed in Somerset County is a sparsely populated region with some rugged terrain. Perhaps not surprisingly then it has not received a great deal of human intervention. This could be deemed good since it has been spared some of man's intrusions and resultant negative impacts. It could also be considered not such a good thing since the same lack of attention provides for minimal understanding of the region and often can lead to eventual decision making without regard for the important natural resources it harbors. The Wills Creek watershed Preassessment was designed to determine the current status of the watershed and its resources so that as development pressure eventually finds its way into this last vestige of relatively untouched Somerset County landscape, the re- sources that make it a special place will be respected and retained to the greatest extent possible. If and when this lofty goal is accomplished it will be because of the foresighted interest of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds and its willingness to fund and support this important project. It will also be a testament to the Somerset Conservation District for its ability to look to the future and take proactive steps to safeguard an otherwise vulnerable region. Special thanks go to District Biologist Eric Null for taking the lead in this endeavor and to District support staff such as Dave Kemp, Amanda Deal and Bob Hook for their ex- pertise and assistance. Also a special thanks to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commis- sion Area 7 and Area 8 Fisheries Managers and their staff as well as the Habitat Man- agement Division in both areas for their essential assistance in gathering data. The Wills Creek watershed is a special place and the special efforts put forth by all in- volved will be even more appreciated and understood in the future than they are today. Len Lichvar District Manager Somerset Conservation District 6 INTRODUCTION Watersheds in Southwestern Pennsylvania are known for suffering from detrimental im- pacts from abandoned mine drainage (AMD), organic loading, and urban sprawl. Because of these pollution impacts almost all the major watersheds as well as sub watersheds have been assessed and evaluated chemically, physically, and biologically. Extensive remediation efforts have occurred in some of these watersheds and conservation easements and ordnances have been established on some of the more pristine areas. One major watershed in southwestern Pennsylvania that has gone relatively unassessed is the Wills Creek watershed. Wills Creek is a fourth order stream that flows into the North Branch of the Potomac River in the city of Cum- berland, Maryland. The total drainage area of the Wills Creek watershed is 65,682.4 hectares (253.6 square miles), with 50,012.8 hectares (193.1 square miles) located in Pennsylvania. The Wills Creek watershed begins in the Big Savage Mountains in Pennsylvania and flows south- east approximately 64.3 km (40mi) to its confluence with the Potomac River in Cumberland Maryland. Wills Creek does not encounter any large areas of human population until it crosses the Pennsylvania border with Maryland. The highest population in the Pennsylvania portion of watershed is the Borough of Hyndman, located in Bedford County with a population of 1005 residents. The total population of the entire watershed is estimated at 32,017 with the majority of the populace occurring in Maryland. Urbanized land use only comprises 2.4% of the total watershed in Pennsylvania (MDE 2006). Figure 1 illustrates the location and area of the Wills Creek watershed. The Wills Creek watershed is located on the Appalachian Plateau. The surface geology of the watershed is comprised of strongly folded and faulted sedimentary rock providing a rough topography. The Appalachian Plateau is characterized by gently folded shale, siltstone, and sandstone. (MDE 2006) The soils of the watershed are comprised of Dekalb, Ernest, and Hazelton soil series. (MDE 2006) There are no major coal seams located in the Pennsylvania portion of the watershed. The topography of the watershed is characterized by steep peaks and valleys. The creek ranges from extremely high gradient to low gradient flows. The stream is characterized by large stone and boulder bottoms throughout the majority of the mainstem. Most of the tributaries and headwaters are completely forested. Forested land comprises 84.2% of entire Pennsylvania portion of the watershed. Agricultural land uses utilize 13.4% of the Pennsylvania portion of Wills Creek, with water supply only using 18 acres of the watershed. (MDE 2006) The only major physical impact that has occurred in the Pennsylvania portion of the watershed has been very large flood events that have altered the stream channel. These events led to levee construction outside of the stream channel in the borough of Hyndman and City of Cumberland, Maryland. Figure 1 illustrates the area of the Wills Creek watershed. 7 Figure 1 The Wills Creek Watershed 8 Previous assessments and studies The only information that has been attained from the Wills Creek watershed comes from very few non Pennsylvania specific studies, and other small assessments. The Maryland Depart- ment of the Environment investigated the Pennsylvania portion of the watershed for their 2006 reports to the United States Environmental Protection Agency concerning total maximum daily loads for fecal bacteria and sediment for the watershed in regards to possible Chesapeake Bay impacts. These surveys did not utilize specific sites in Pennsylvania and did not assess the physical and biological components of the watershed. Instead the PA portion of the watershed was assessed broadly for its total impact to the North Branch of the Potomac River. The find- ings of this study were that the PA portion contributed far less fecal and sediment impacts than the much smaller more urbanized Maryland portion. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commis- sion performed a small fish survey in 1981 in the Pennsylvania portion of the watershed. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in corporation with the Somerset Conservation District as- sessed an exceptional value tributary, Laurel Run for a Cold Water Conservation Plan in 2006. The survey determined that Laurel Run had a large stable population of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). (WPC 2007) There was a survey conducted by Frostburg State University in 2001 that assessed the hybridization between two species of sculpin in the main stem of Wills Creek (Kinziger and Raesly 2001). The Maryland portion of the watershed has been routinely assessed by the Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS). Samples are collected from the Maryland portion of the watershed on a rotational basis to