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Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan

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Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Hydrologic Recovery with Prairie Reconstruction at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Jasper County, Iowa April 2014 Prepared by Keith E. Schilling1, Pauline Drobney2 1Iowa Geological Survey 109 Trowbridge Hall, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1319 2United States Fish and Wildlife Service Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Prairie City, Iowa Cover photograph: Bill Witt The mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and, where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans. Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 1 Summary of Progress Made Toward Restoring Hydrologic Processes ................................................. 3 Lessons Learned from Hydrologic Monitoring ........................................................................................ 4 Management Implications ....................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1: Introduction and Background ............................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Background ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2: Pre-Settlement Conditions .................................................................................... 6 Pre-Settlement Landscape ..................................................................................................................... 6 Geology ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Topography ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Soils.................................................................................................................................................. 7 Plant Communities ......................................................................................................................... 11 Pre-Settlement Hydrology .................................................................................................................... 13 Water Balance and its Relationship to Vegetation ......................................................................... 13 Stream Network ............................................................................................................................. 16 Groundwater .................................................................................................................................. 19 Water Quality ................................................................................................................................. 20 Chapter 3: Agricultural Intensification ..................................................................................21 Settlement and Land Use History ......................................................................................................... 21 Landscape and Hydrologic Modifications ............................................................................................. 23 Channelization ............................................................................................................................... 23 Artificial Drainage ........................................................................................................................... 25 Conservation Practices .................................................................................................................. 28 Hydrologic Effects ................................................................................................................................. 31 Stream Network ............................................................................................................................. 34 Groundwater .................................................................................................................................. 38 Water Quality ................................................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 4: Restoration of Hydrologic Processes at NSNWR ...............................................45 Vegetation Characteristics at Refuge Establishment ........................................................................... 45 Restoring the Water Balance ................................................................................................................ 48 Restoring Streamflow Hydrology .......................................................................................................... 52 Restoring Groundwater Levels in the Uplands ..................................................................................... 53 Restoring Groundwater Levels in the Riparian Zone ........................................................................... 53 Restoring the Stream Network ............................................................................................................. 54 Restoration of Water Quality ................................................................................................................ 55 Nitrate ............................................................................................................................................. 55 Phosphorus .................................................................................................................................... 58 Sediment ........................................................................................................................................ 58 Summary of Progress Made Toward Restoring Hydrologic Processes ............................................... 60 Scale of Ecological Restoration ..................................................................................................... 62 Landscape Position ........................................................................................................................ 63 Pollutant Type ................................................................................................................................ 64 Timeframe for Hydrologic Restoration .................................................................................................. 65 Chapter 5: Lessons Learned from Hydrologic Monitoring ...................................................69 Chapter 6: Land Management Implications...........................................................................71 Chapter 7: Final Thoughts ......................................................................................................87 Chapter 8: References ............................................................................................................88 Hydrologic Recovery with Prairie Reconstruction at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Jasper County, Iowa i List of Figures Figure 1-1: Location of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge and future acquisition area in the Walnut Creek watershed, Jasper County, Iowa. ....................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2-1: Bedrock geology and depth to bedrock surface in Walnut Creek watershed. ........................... 6 Figure 2-2: Surficial geologic map of Walnut Creek watershed based on soil parent materials. ................. 8 Figure 2-3: Cross section across the floodplain of Walnut Creek showing alluvial stratigraphy (modified from Schilling et al., 2004; Schilling et al., 2006). ......................................................................................... 9 Figure 2-4: Pre-settlement land cover derived from GLO survey. .............................................................. 11 Figure 2-5: Historical alterations of stream discharge patterns in agricultural ecosystems (after Menzel, 1983). .......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2-6: Stream channel delineated in 1847 GLO survey...................................................................... 18 Figure 3-1: Changes in agricultural land use in Iowa, 1866-2008. ............................................................. 22 Figure 3-2: Changes in crop production in Jasper County, 1927–2010. .................................................... 23 Figure 3-3: Locations of straightened and meandering reaches along the main stem of Walnut Creek are not evenly distributed. ................................................................................................................................. 24 Figure 3-4: Hypothesized extent of tile drainage along grass waterways in Walnut Creek watershed (top middle). No drainageway tiling
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