Marys River Watershed Preliminary Assessment
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Marys River Watershed Preliminary Assessment Prepared by Ecosystems Northwest Corvallis, OR for The Marys River Watershed Council Philomath, OR April 1999 Contributing authors Tasks Kim Mattson Project management / Fish and wildlife John Runyon History Sam Fernald Water quality Andy Gallagher Soils Rebecca Johnson Social Kai Snyder GIS Scott Eden Fish and wildlife Robert Zybach History ii Marys River Preliminary Watershed Assessment Ecosystems Northwest Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................................V INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION ........................................................................ 2 LOCATION.................................................................................................................................... 2 THE W EST SLOPE OF THE WILLAMETTE BASIN................................................................................... 2 THREE CHARACTERISTIC AREAS...................................................................................................... 2 LAND USE, OWNERSHIP, AND POPULATION....................................................................................... 4 SUB-BASINS WITHIN THE WATERSHED............................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL CONDITIONS......................................................................................11 THE KALAPUYAN LANDSCAPE: PRE-COLUMBIAN–1845.......................................................................11 AMERICAN PIONEERS: 1846–1879 .................................................................................................14 TRANSITION TO MODERN TIMES: 1880–1940 ...................................................................................16 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 3: WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY..........................................................................20 WATER QUALITY BACKGROUND......................................................................................................20 WHAT IS THE 303(D) LIST? ............................................................................................................24 MARYS RIVER WATERS ON 303(D) LIST...........................................................................................25 MARYS RIVER WATER QUALITY ......................................................................................................25 MUDDY CREEK AND TRIBUTARIES WATER QUALITY ...........................................................................30 ROCK CREEK WATER QUALITY.......................................................................................................33 OTHER RELEVANT WATER QUALITY STUDIES IN THE W ILLAMETTE BASIN ..............................................36 WITHDRAWALS ............................................................................................................................36 GROUNDWATER QUALITY ..............................................................................................................40 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................41 CHAPTER 4: AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL HABITAT.................................................................42 FISH DIVERSITY AND SENSITIVE SPECIES .........................................................................................42 FISH-BEARING WATERS.................................................................................................................48 STREAM CONDITIONS....................................................................................................................48 CULVERTS AND FISH BARRIERS......................................................................................................54 RIPARIAN ZONES AND W ETLANDS ...................................................................................................56 SENSITIVE, NON-FISH SPECIES ......................................................................................................57 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................62 CHAPTER 5: SOIL QUALITY AND LAND HEALTH........................................................................63 SOIL GROUPS ..............................................................................................................................63 LOSS OF PRODUCTIVE LANDS TO URBAN DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................63 SOIL EROSION AND DELIVERY TO STREAMS ......................................................................................64 MASS EROSION............................................................................................................................65 FACTORS INFLUENCING SOIL EROSION............................................................................................66 STREAMBANK EROSION.................................................................................................................68 SEDIMENT SOURCES AND DELIVERY ................................................................................................69 FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES ........................................................................................................70 FOREST ROADS ...........................................................................................................................71 LIVESTOCK ..................................................................................................................................73 GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS TO AID WATERSHED MANAGEMENT............................................................74 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................74 CHAPTER 6: SOCIOCONOMICS ...................................................................................................76 ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS........................................................................................................76 Ecosystems Northwest Marys River Preliminary Watershed Assessment iii POPULATION GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES.....................................................................83 RECREATIONAL RESOURCES AND USE IN THE MARYS RIVER WATERSHED.............................................86 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................87 CHAPTER 7: PRIORITIZATION OF ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................89 HISTORICAL ................................................................................................................................89 WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY .....................................................................................................89 AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL HABITAT ..............................................................................................90 SOILS.........................................................................................................................................90 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS...............................................................................................91 RECOMMENDATIONS .....................................................................................................................92 ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS TO REMOVE UNCERTAINTIES....................................................................92 MONITORING TO TRACK PROBLEMS AND ASSESS CHANGE..................................................................93 PROJECTS TO ENHANCE WATERSHED CONDITION AND FUNCTION........................................................93 EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY ..........................................................................................................93 APPENDIX 1: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, CARTO-BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND RELATED INTERNET RESOURCES................................................................................................................................95 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...........................................................................................................95 CARTO-BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................114 INTERNET SITES .........................................................................................................................116 APPENDIX 2: PHOTOS...............................................................................................................118 PHOTO 3A: 1937 AERIAL PHOTO OF THE CONFLUENCE OF MARYS RIVER AND MUDDY CREEK.................118 PHOTO 3B: 1956 AERIAL PHOTO OF THE CONFLUENCE OF MARYS RIVER AND MUDDY CREEK . ...............118 PHOTO 3C: 1994 ORTHOPHOTO OF THE CONFLUENCE OF MARYS RIVER AND MUDDY CREEK. ................118 PHOTO 4 : A CONTROVERSIAL PHOTO ABOUT WHETHER SALMON EVER USED THE MARYS RIVER .............119 APPENDIX 3: FIGURES NOT IMBEDDED IN TEXT......................................................................120