DEEP CREEK WATERSHED Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale
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p Creek Waters Dee hed E July 1998 co le sy ca stem ed S Analysis at the Watersh Hypsometric Shading meters above sea level 2300 2000 1700 Fremont National Forest Bureau of Land Management 1400 Lakeview Ranger District Lakeview Resource Area DEEP CREEK WATERSHED Ecosystem Analysis at the Watershed Scale TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ...........................................................INTRODUCTION-1-2 STEP 1. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE WATERSHED ..............CHARACTERIZATION-1-11 STEP 2. IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUES ...........................ISSUES& KEYQUESTIONS-1-4 STEP 3. DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT CONDITIONS ..............CURRENT CONDITIONS-1-48 STEP 4. REFERENCE CONDITIONS.........................REFERENCE CONDITIONS-1-20 STEP 5. SYNTHESIS AND INTERPRETATION ...............SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-1-39 STEP 6. RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................RECOMMENDATIONS-1-24 APPENDIX Core Team Fish Distribution and Density in the Deep Creek System Maps Map 1 - Locator Map Map 2 - Subsheds and Ownership Map 3 - Special Management Areas Map 4 - Geology Map 5 - Noxious Weed Locations Map 6 - Grazing Allotments Map7-Stream Types Map 8 - 303d Listed Streams Map 9 - Stream Reaches and Improvement Projects Map 10 - Water/Soil/Fish Management Priorities Map 11 - Fire Management Priorities Map 12 - Silviculture/Wildlife Management Priorities Map 13 - Late/Old Seral Forest Patch and Linkage System References LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Flow Duration Curves, Deep Creek Above Adel .............CURRENT CONDITIONS-7 Figure2. DeepCreek..........................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-9 LIST OF FIGURES-1 LIST OF TABLES Page Table1. GeologicErosionRates...................................CHARACTERIZATION-1 Table2. MajorStreams/TributariesbySubshed.......................CHARACTERIZATION-5 Table 3. Estimated Erosion Relating to Roads .......................CURRENT CONDITIONS-2 Table 4. Estimated Erosion Relating to Timber Harvest ................CURRENT CONDITIONS-2 Table 5. Estimated Current Disturbances of Subsheds .................CURRENT CONDITIONS-3 Table6. BaseFlowsForSelectStreams............................CURRENT CONDITIONS-5 Table7. MeanDailyFlow......................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-6 Table8. AverageAcreFeetPerInchPrecipitation...................CURRENT CONDITIONS-6 Table9. OverallDrainageDensity................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-8 Table10. ForestedEcoclassesinDeepCreekWatershed..............CURRENT CONDITIONS-10 Table11. ElevationandAspectZonesforDeepCreekWatershed.......CURRENT CONDITIONS-10 Table 12. Canopy Cover (Current Condition) .......................CURRENT CONDITIONS-11 Table13. StandStructure......................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-13 Table 14. Condition Class for Deep Creek Watershed................CURRENT CONDITIONS-14 Table 15. Timber Production Potential ............................CURRENT CONDITIONS-14 Table 16. Wildfires From 1950 to 1997...........................CURRENT CONDITIONS-15 Table17. DeepCreekFireDisturbance(Acres).....................CURRENT CONDITIONS-15 Table18. AreasUnderburned...................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-16 Table 19. Acres by Vegetation Type and Percent of Vegetation Type by SeralCondition,BLMPortionofWatershed...............CURRENT CONDITIONS-18 Table 20. Total Acres and Percent of Acres by Subshed by Seral Stage . CURRENT CONDITIONS-19 LIST OF TABLES-1 Table 21. Acres of Vegetation Type by Subshed and Land Status, BLMPortionofWatershed ............................CURRENT CONDITIONS-20 Table22. RiparianVegetationAcresbySubshed................... CURRENT CONDITIONS-21 Table23. PFCRatings........................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-22 Table 24. Summary of Proper Functioning Conditions Assessments of Stream Reaches on BLM and National Forest System Lands . CURRENT CONDITIONS-23 Table25. StreamMilesbySubshed..............................CURRENT CONDITIONS-25 Table26. PhysicalFeaturesofStreamChannels.................... CURRENT CONDITIONS-26 Table 27. Streams on Draft 1998 EPA 303(d) List ...................CURRENT CONDITIONS-29 Table 28. USFS Physical Measurements of Fines in Spawning Habitat . .CURRENT CONDITIONS-30 Table29. StreamTemperature...................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-31 Table30. MacroinvertebrateBCIRating...........................CURRENT CONDITIONS-32 Table31. PeregrineCliffSiteEvaluation..........................CURRENT CONDITIONS-35 Table 32. Hiding Cover and Road Densities on National Forest System Lands.............................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-36 Table33. OldGrowthandLOSAcres.............................CURRENT CONDITIONS-38 Table34. LOSandInteriorHabitat.............................. CURRENT CONDITIONS-38 Table35. TimberHarvest......................................CURRENT CONDITIONS-42 Table 36. Estimated Erosion Rates Relating to Moderately Intense Wildfire........................................... REFERENCE CONDITIONS-2 Table 37. Forest-wide Estimate of Ponderosa Pine, Pine Associated and Lodgepole Pine by Structural Condition...............REFERENCE CONDITIONS-4 Table 38. Canopy Cover (Reference Conditions) ...................REFERENCE CONDITIONS-4 Table39. FloristicCharacteristics...............................REFERENCE CONDITIONS-8 Table40. NaturalandNearNaturalStreamData...................REFERENCE CONDITIONS-9 LIST OF TABLES-2 Table41. ReferenceConditionsbyStreamReach..................REFERENCE CONDITIONS10 Table42. CurrentandHistoricRangeofStructuralStage...........REFERENCE CONDITIONS-17 Table43. SoilErosionRatesbySubshed..................... SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-2 Table44. RoadDensity..................................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-15 Table45. WatershedRiskRating...........................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-15 Table 46. Percentile Rating ...............................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-16 Table47. WaterTemperatureRating........................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-16 Table 48. Habitat Condition by Fines in Potential Spawning Substrate.......................................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-17 Table 49. Habitat Condition by Bank Stability .................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-17 Table 50. Channel Condition by Stream Reaches .............. SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-17 Table 51. Stream Reach Summary of Proper Functioning Condition......................................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-22 Table 52. Roads within 300 Feet of Streams and Road Crossings......................................SYNTHESIS/INTERPRETATION-23 Table53. CrossDrainSpacing....................................RECOMMENDATIONS-3 Table 54. SDI (Stand Density Index) Management Zones by PlantAssociation.......................................RECOMMENDATIONS-4 Table55. RecommendedRHCAs.................................RECOMMENDATIONS-12 LIST OF TABLES-3 INTRODUCTION It is the goal of the federal agencies to have healthy ecosystems which provide sustainable and beneficial uses to the public. Watershed analysis looks at the ecosystem as a whole and not just the individual parts. This analysis provides a logical way to learn more about how ecological systems function within the watershed by incorporating knowledge specific to the watershed into the planning process. It is intended to help the agencies gain a better understanding of how past land use activities interact with the physical and biological environments in the watershed. This information is essential to protect and sustain the beneficial uses and to protect the natural systems occurring within the watershed. This document presents a current understanding of the processes and interactions of concern occurring within the Deep Creek watershed. The Deep Creek watershed is located in southcentral Oregon (see Map 1). The southern tip extends into California. There are 15 subsheds (180,046 acres) within the watershed. Map 2 identifies the subsheds and ownership. Public lands account for 68% of the watershed: USDA Forest Service, Lakeview Ranger District, 36%; USDI, Bureau of Land Management, Lakeview District, Lakeview Resource Area, 31%; and the State of Oregon and Modoc National Forest (California), 1%. The remaining 32% is in private ownership. The watershed is within the Basin and Range physiographic province characterized by fault- block mountains enclosing basins with internal drainages. It is located in the Warner Mountains immediately to the east of Lakeview, Oregon and includes Drake Peak (8,407 feet), Rogger Peak (7,302 feet) and Crane Mountain (8,456 feet). This range is the southern continuation of Abert Rim, the largest exposed fault on the North American Continent, and is a series of north to south running ridges separating Goose Lake Valley from the eastern Oregon high desert. It is in the semiarid rain shadow region east of the Cascade Mountains characterized by cool temperatures, light precipitation and moderate winds. The watershed is not prone to large scale fire disturbances. Basalt and tuff derived soils are the most common. Three vegetation types dominate the watershed: upland forest, riparian and rangeland. Forested vegetation consists of ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, mixed conifer and juniper woodlands. Seventy percent of riparian vegetation is on private land. On National Forest System lands, the majority of riparian acres support coniferous and deciduous tree cover. Herbaceous meadows are the second greatest vegetation. Riparian vegetation on BLM-administered lands are represented by silver sagebrush- grass types in drier areas and grasslike