Arroyo Colorado Habitat Restoration Plan Arroyo Colorado Habitat Restoration Plan Developed by the Habitat Restoration Workgroup of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership and prepared by Kay Jenkins, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as a component of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan. 2006 This is a report of the Coastal Coordination Council pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA04NOS4190058. This report is funded in part by grants/cooperative agreements from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. The views expressed herein are those of the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA and EPA or any of their sub-agencies. i Arroyo Colorado Habitat Restoration Plan Table of Contents List of Tables........................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ vi Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 1 Arroyo Colorado Habitat Restoration Workgroup ..................................................................... 1 Goals ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Study Area .................................................................................................................................. 3 State of the Habitat ............................................................................................................. 4 Terrestrial Habitats...................................................................................................................... 5 Aquatic Habitats........................................................................................................................ 16 Historic and Current Monitoring Efforts or Studies of Fish and Wildlife Resources .............. 23 Non-Tidal Segment............................................................................................................... 23 Tidal Segment ....................................................................................................................... 24 Threats to Habitats Associated with the Arroyo Colorado ....................................................... 26 Continued Loss of Wetlands and Riparian Areas................................................................. 26 Continued Channel and Streambank Erosion ....................................................................... 27 Invasive Plant Species........................................................................................................... 29 Continued Dissolved Oxygen Problems in the Arroyo Colorado......................................... 30 Existing Habitat Conservation Plans and Efforts...................................................................... 31 Institutional Framework.................................................................................................. 39 Managing Entities and Policies of the Arroyo Colorado.......................................................... 39 Regulatory Programs Pertaining to Fish and Wildlife Resources ............................................ 40 Rivers and Harbors Act (1899)............................................................................................. 40 Clean Water Act.................................................................................................................... 40 The Endangered Species Act (1973)..................................................................................... 41 Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (1934).......................................................................... 41 401 Water Quality Certification............................................................................................ 41 Non-Regulatory Programs Beneficial to Fish and Wildlife Resources .................................... 41 Natural Resource Damage Assessment Program.................................................................. 41 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Kills and Spills Team (KAST).............................. 42 Toolkit of Strategies for Improving Water Quality and Fish and Wildlife Habitat in the Arroyo Colorado.................................................................................... 43 Habitat Feasibility Study........................................................................................................... 43 Compilation and Summary of Relevant Literature and Data.................................................... 43 Development of the Preliminary Habitat Alternatives.............................................................. 43 Selection of Ten Strategies for Further Evaluation................................................................... 44 Ponds (Strategy 1)................................................................................................................. 45 Stormwater wetland systems using a series of wetland cells within small drainages and wetland swales (Strategy 2) .................................................................................................. 45 ii Arroyo Colorado Habitat Restoration Plan Stormwater wetland treatment systems using extended detention shallow wetlands, pocket wetlands and pond/wetland systems (Strategy 3) ................................................................. 46 Bank/slope stabilization using bioengineering with vegetation for erosion control (Strategy 4) ........................................................................................................................................... 46 Filtration using vegetated filter strips (Strategy 5) ............................................................... 47 Channels with wet swales or wetlands (Strategy 6).............................................................. 47 Constructed wetlands for tertiary treatment following an individual wastewater treatment plant (Strategy 7)................................................................................................................... 47 Regional constructed wetlands polishing flows from multiple wastewater treatment plants in close proximity (Strategy 8).................................................................................................. 48 Large scale on-channel constructed wetland systems (Strategy 9)....................................... 48 Large scale off-channel constructed wetland systems (Strategy 10).................................... 48 Final Technical Report (Toolkit) .............................................................................................. 50 Recommended Habitat Restoration Implementation Plan for the Arroyo Colorado................................................................................................................................... 52 Conserve Existing Riparian and Wetland Habitats................................................................... 53 Action 1................................................................................................................................. 53 Action 2................................................................................................................................. 54 Reduce Channel and Streambank Erosion................................................................................ 54 Action 3................................................................................................................................. 54 Action 4................................................................................................................................. 55 Action 5................................................................................................................................. 55 Action 6................................................................................................................................. 55 Action 7................................................................................................................................. 55 Construct Wetlands to Improve the Water Quality in the Arroyo Colorado ............................ 55 Action 8................................................................................................................................. 56 Action 9................................................................................................................................. 56 Action 10............................................................................................................................... 56 Factors Affecting the Selection of Recommended Actions...................................................... 56 Constructed wetlands for tertiary treatment of waste streams.............................................. 56 Ponds, bioengineering, vegetated filter strips and constructed wetlands for treatment of non- point source discharges......................................................................................................... 58 Large off-channel constructed wetlands for treatment of point source and non-point source pollutants............................................................................................................................... 59