REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK STUDIES, DATA RELEASE NUMBER 2, REDWOOD CREEK, HUMBOLDT COUNTY, AND MILL CREEK, DEL NORTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 11, 1974-SEPTEMBER 30, 1975 By Rick T. Iwatsubo, K. Michael Nolan, Deborah R. Harden, and G. Douglas Glysson U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY -Open-File/Report 76-678 Prepared in cooperation with the National Park Service oi Menlo Park, California December 1976 CONTENTS Page Conversion factors V Abstract : 1 Introduction -; 2 Description of study area .; 6 Redwood Creek 6 Mill Creek 15 Types of data collected 17 Synoptic 18 Data collected 18 Physical features - 19 Nonsynoptic 21 Data collected 21 Physical features - 21 Summary of data collection 32 Physical data 32 Channel cross sections 32 Erosional landforms Mill Creek drainage basin 35 rv.d-Llli.clTJ_ J_^T_T J. j_-I _ _ _ _ ___ _ _. __ _ ______ _ _ _ __ _ _ jo"3Q Water temperature 66 Stage 66 Stream discharge 66 'Turbidity ' 67 Sediment oo Particle size 107 Intragravel-streambed conditions 124 Cnemical data~~ - x ju pji__ __________ _________________________________ j. jU Total a IKS. J. in ity ____ ___ _ ___ ______ _ _._ _ _ _ _ _ .LJU Specific conductance 130 Disso J-ved oxygen~ ~ "~ ~~""~ ~~"~"~ ~ ~~"~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~ ~"~ ~ """ J- J J. Dissolved solids 193 Trace elements 193 Nitrogen and phosphorus 194 Organic carbon .194 fT}_ CO 4. C.J.t^J.ClGo"""""' -! .-,-! J r^r* _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ ___.- ._ _ _ _ _ ___ _ __ _ __._ _ £*£.!.OO1 n«it\Ci J-IIWCI4 vtv *^ 4-^\-tJjL~" v* _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _. _. f,f.jL.OOT Biological data~ _ ____. __ ___.» _ _ __. ____ 224 Oo.Q t._ ,4. L-tJ _.... X. xd : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. _ _ ___ £.£,**OO./1 Benthic invertebrates - 224 Refer ences citgd 244 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Index map of Redwood ..National Park 4 Maps showing 2. Sampling stations in Redwood Creek area 8 3. Sampling stations in Redwood Creek estuary area 14 4. Sampling stations in Mill Creek area 16 Diagram showing changes in stream channel- 34 Map showing erosional landforms, Mill Creek drainage basin- 36 TABLES Page Station and drainage basin descriptions for synoptic sampling stations . 22 2. Physical properties of soil series 26 3. Station and drainage basin descriptions for nonsynoptic sampling stations 28 4. Summary of changes in Mill Creek stream channel at cross 0 sections 33 5. Rainfall 40 6. Water temperature, stage, instantaneous discharge, turbidity, suspended-sediment concentration and sieve diameter percentage finer than 0.062 millimeter, and bedload discharge 70 7. Maximum-minimum water-temperature measurements > 105 8. Particle-size distribution of suspended sediment - 108 9. Particle-size distribution of bedload 118 LO. Weekly measurements of temperature and dissolved-oxygen concentration of surface arid intragravel water, June-November 1974 - 125 LI. Biweekly measurements of temperature and dissolved- oxygen concentration of surface and intragravel water at four stations on Little Lost Man Creek, December 1974-March 1975 - 127 12. Particle-size distribution of streambed materials 128 13. Onsite determinations of water quality 132 14. Chemical analyses of water samples 196 15. Analyses of organic carbon in bottom material, Redwood Creek estuary " 220 IV Page Table 16. Concentration of pesticides in bottom sediment, Redwood Creek drainage basin, July 1974 222 17. Chemical analyses of rainfall, February 5-9, 1975 223 18. Bacteria analyses of water samples 225 19. Taxa and number of benthic invertebrates In pocket 20. Taxa and number of fish 228 21. Taxa and number of periphyton In pocket 22. Analyses of periphyton biornass 238 23. Taxa and number of phytoplankton In pocket 24. Seston analyses of water samples 240 CONVERSION FACTORS Factors for converting English units to metric units are shown to four significant figures. However, in the text the metric equivalents are shown only to the number of significant figures consistent with the values for the English units. English Multiply by Metric ft (feet) 3.048 x 10" 1 m (meters) ft/mi'(feet per mile) 1.894 x 10" 1 m/km (meters per kilometer) ft2 (square feet) 9.290 x 10" 2 m2 (square meters) ft^/s (cubic feet per 2.832 x 10~2 m /s (cubic meters per second) second) in (inches) 2.540 x 10 1 mm (millimeters) in2 (square inches) 6.452 x 102 mm2 (square millimeters) mi (miles) 1.609 km (kilometers) mi 2 (square miles) 2.590 km2 (square kilometers) tons (short) ' 9.072 x 10" * t (tonnes) t/day (tons per day) ' 9.072 x 10" 1 t/d (tonnes per day) Use the following to convert degrees Fahrenheit (°F) to degrees Celsius (°C): 5/9 (°F-32). REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK STUDIES/ DATA RELEASE NUMBER 2, REDWOOD CREEK, HUMBOLDT COUNTY, AND MILL CREEK, DEL NORTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 11, 1974-SEPTEMBER 30, 1975 By Rick T. Iwatsubo, K. Michael Nolan, Deborah R. Harden, and G. Douglas Glysson ABSTRACT An interdisciplinary study has been undertaken in Redwood National Park to describe parts of the ecosystems and recent changes in the intensity of erosion and sedimentation, define processes that may alter .the natural ecosystems, and assess the impact of recent road construction and timber harvest. This report is the second of a series that will present data collected in this study. Stream-discharge and water-quality data were collected at 53 sampling stations in the Redwood Creek and Mill Creek drainage basins. Measurements included the following variables: Stream stage and discharge; turbidity; sediment; onsite water-quality determinations of temperature, pH, total alkalinity, specific conductance, and dissolved-oxygen concentration; chemical analyses of water samples for major dissolved solids, selected trace elements, nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon; chemical analyses of bottom sediment for organic carbon and pesticides; bacteria; benthic invertebrates; fish; periphyton; phytopiankton; and seston. Additional data include changes in geometry at 10 stream-channel cross sections along Mill Creek and the distribution of erosional landforms in the Mill Creek drainage basin; quantity and chemical composition of rainwater; arid the intragravel-streambed condition at selected stations in the Redwood Creek drainage basin. INTRODUCTION Redwood National Park was created by Congress (Public Law 9CH545) on October 2, 1968, to preserve examples of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems associated with coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in northwestern California. The coast redwoods are the tallest trees on earth and, with their associated vegetation, streams, seashore, and wildlife, provide esthetic and recreational enjoyment for visitors. The coast redwood is also an important commercial resource providing a soft, strong, colorful wood that is resistant to decay and insect infestation. Nowhere else is the coast redwood found in such extensive dense stands. The boundaries of Redwood National Park enclose virgin forest, prairies, and second-growth forest in formerly private timber and ranch land, small homesites, and three California State parks (fig. 1). The park is an irregularly shaped entity that extends northward from a point about 28 mi (45 km) north-northeast of Eureka to the Smith River in northern Del Norte County (fig. 1). In many places the park comprises small areas in the downstream parts of watersheds, and no direct Federal control is exercised on land-management practices in headwater areas. The boundary configuration presents the National Park Service with many difficult management problems related mostly to the potential impact of timber harvest and related road construction on mass movement, fluvial erosion and deposition, and water quality. Land-use and related park-management problems, probably are most acute in the one-half-mile (0.8 km) wide corridor that extends north-northwestward along Redwood Creek from the southern boundary of the park to a point near the mouth of Oscar Larson Creek (fig. 2). The corridor is in the downstream end of a 282 mi2 (730 km2 ) drainage basin, the majority of which is naturally unstable terrain that has recently undergone and is presently undergoing intensive timber harvest. In the vicinity of the park, the dominant mode of logging in recent years has involved clearcutting of adjoining harvest units that are several hundred acres in size and downhill tractor-yarding of the fallen timber. While this study has been in progress, timber-harvest practices in the vicinity of the park have been modified to reflect recent changes in California State forest practice regulations and cooperative agreements between the National Park Service and adjacent private landowners. These changes have been most significant in the vicinity of the Redwood Creek unit of Redwood National Park and include the adoption of smaller, staggered harvest units and uphill yarding by various cable systems. If the data in this report contain any implications concerning the impact of timber harvest on runoff, stream-sediment loads, chemical quality of surface water, and aquatic biota, those implications are specific to the mode of logging practiced in that particular setting. Their transfer value to other areas and other modes of logging is unknown at this time. To gain information needed to decide on the relative merits of various park management options, an interagency-interdisciplinary team assembled in February 1973 by the National Park Service, Western Region, proposed a study to delineate and describe particular parts of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in the park; describe recent changes in the intensity of erosion and sedimentation; define, insofar as possible, processes that may alter the natural ecosystems; and assess the impact of recent road construction and timber harvest on those processes.