Water Quality Restoration Plan Southern Oregon Coastal Basin North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Medford District Ashland Resource Area Butte Falls Resource Area Lakeview District Klamath Falls Resource Area May 2006 North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed at a Glance Hydrologic Unit Code Number (Little 1710030708 Butte Creek) WQRP Area/Ownership Total: 125,778 acres BLM: 26,959 acres (21%) U. S. Forest Service: 59,875 acres (48%) Bureau of Reclamation: 5 acres (<.01%) Private: 38,939 acres (31%) 303(d) Stream Miles Assessed Total: 65.4 miles BLM Ownership: 15.7 miles 303(d) Listed Parameters Temperature, Sedimentation, E. Coli, pH Key Resources and Uses Salmonids, domestic, aesthetic Known Human Activities Agriculture, forestry, roads, recreation, rural residential development Natural Factors Geology: volcanic Soils: various series and complexes Statement of Purpose This water quality restoration plan is prepared to meet the requirements of Section 303(d) of the 1972 Federal Clean Water Act. Table of Contents Page Element 1 Condition Assessment and Problem Description 1 A. Introduction 1 B. Watershed Characterization 4 C.Temperature 16 D. Sedimentation 23 E.E.Coli 31 F.pH 34 Element 2 Goals and Objectives 36 Element 3 Proposed Management Measures 39 Element 4 Time Line for Implementation 40 Element 5 Responsible Parties 41 Element 6 Reasonable Assurance of Implementation 41 Element 7 Monitoring and Evaluation 42 Element 8 Public Involvement 44 Element 9 Costs and Funding 44 Element 10 Citation to Legal Authorities 45 References 46 List of Preparers 48 List of Tables Page 1. Beneficial uses in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 1 2. Sensitive Beneficial Uses in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 1 3. Draft 2004 303(d) Listings in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 2 4. Ownership within the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 7 5. Summary of Watershed Conditions on BLM-Administered Lands in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 15 6. 303(d) Temperature-Listed Reaches in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek KeyWatershed 17 7. Temperature Summary for the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 18 8. Percent-Effective Shade Targets for BLM-Managed Lands in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 22 9. 303(d) Sedimentation-Listed Reaches in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek KeyWatershed 23 10. Substrate and Streambank Stability for Sedimentation-Listed Streams 24 11. BLM Ownership for Sedimentation-Listed Watersheds 26 12. Road Miles by Surface Type for BLM-Administered Lands and BLM-Controlled Roads on Non-BLM Lands 27 13. Road Miles on Slopes ≥ 60% for BLM-Administered Lands and BLM-Controlled Roads on Non-BLM Lands 27 14. Road Miles within Riparian Reserves for BLM-Administered Lands and BLM- Controlled Roads on Non-BLM Lands 27 15. Road Stream Crossings for BLM-Administered Lands and BLM-Controlled Roads on Non-BLM Lands 28 16. Allotments Containing Sedimentation-Listed Streams (BLM-Administered Lands) 29 17. Proper Functioning Condition Assessment for Sedimentation-Listed Stream Reaches on BLM-Administered Lands 30 18. 303(d) E. Coli-Listed Reaches in the North and South Forks Little Butte CreekKeyWatershed 32 19. 303(d) pH-Listed Reaches in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 34 20. Recovery Goals for BLM-Administered Lands in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 37 List of Figures Page 1. Location of the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 4 2. Rogue Basin and the Upper Rogue Subbasin 5 3. Watersheds in the Upper Rogue Subbasin 6 4. BLM Land Ownership in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 7 5. Coho Distribution in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 11 6. Chinook Distribution in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 12 7. Steelhead Distribution in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 13 8. Resident Trout Distribution in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed 14 9. Draft 2004 303(d) Temperature-Listed Streams in the North and South Forks Little ButteCreekKey Watershed 18 10. Draft 2004 303(d) Sedimentation-Listed Streams in the North and South Forks Little ButteCreekKey Watershed 24 11. Draft 2004 303(d) E. Coli-Listed Streams in the North and South Forks Little Butte CreekKeyWatershed 33 12. Draft 2004 303(d) pH-Listed Streams in the North and South Forks Little Butte CreekKeyWatershed 35 Water Quality Restoration Plan for BLM-Administered Lands in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed – May 2006 Element 1. Condition Assessment and Problem Description A. Introduction This document describes how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will meet Oregon water quality standards for 303(d) listed streams on BLM-administered lands within the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed. It contains information that will support the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) development of the Rogue Basin Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). Its organization is designed to be consistent with the DEQ's Rogue Basin Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) when it is completed. The area covered by this Water Quality Restoration Plan (WQRP) includes all lands managed by the BLM, Medford and Lakeview Districts within the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed, including the North and South Forks but not the mainstem Little Butte Creek. This area is referred to as the Key Watershed or plan area. Beneficial Uses The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission has adopted numeric and narrative water quality standards to protect designated beneficial uses (Table 1). In practice, water quality standards have been set at a level to protect the most sensitive uses. Cold-water aquatic life such as salmon and trout are the most sensitive beneficial uses (Table 2) in the Rogue Basin (ODEQ 2004:5). Seasonal standards may be applied for uses that do not occur year round. Table 1. Beneficial Uses in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed (ODEQ 2004:5) Beneficial Use Occurring Beneficial Use Occurring Public Domestic Water Supply 9 Anadromous Fish Passage 9 Private Domestic Water Supply 9 Salmonid Fish Spawning 9 Industrial Water Supply 9 Salmonid Fish Rearing 9 Irrigation 9 Resident Fish and Aquatic Life 9 Livestock Watering 9 Wildlife and Hunting 9 Boating 9 Fishing 9 Aesthetic Quality 9 Water Contact Recreation 9 Commercial Navigation & Trans. Hydro Power 9 Table 2. Sensitive Beneficial Uses in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed Sensitive Beneficial Use Species1 Salmonid Fish Spawning & Coho (t), summer and winter steelhead trout (c), spring and fall chinook Rearing Resident Fish & Aquatic Resident Fish: Life Rainbow trout, cutthroat trout (c), sucker, sculpin Other Aquatic Life: Pacific giant salamander, western pond turtle (s), beaver, and other species of frogs, salamanders, and snakes 1/ Status: (t) = threatened under Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA); (c) = candidate; and (s) = sensitive. 1 Water Quality Restoration Plan for BLM-Administered Lands in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed – May 2006 Listing Status Section 303 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987, provides direction for designation of beneficial uses and limiting discharge of pollutants to waters of the state. The DEQ includes streams that do not meet established water quality criteria for one or more beneficial uses on the state’s 303(d) list, which is revised every two years, and submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval. Section 303 of the Clean Water Act further requires that TMDLs be developed for waters included on the 303(d) list. A TMDL defines the amount of pollution that can be present in the waterbody without causing water quality standards to be violated. A WQMP is developed to describe a strategy for reducing water pollution to the level of the load allocations and waste load allocations prescribed in the TMDL. The approach is designed to restore the water quality and result in compliance with the water quality standards, thus protecting the designated beneficial uses of waters of the state. At the time of this writing, the draft 2004 303(d) list has been released (ODEQ 2005). This WQRP addresses all stream listings on the draft 2004 303(d) list for the plan area: two streams listed for exceeding the bacteria (E. coli) criterion, one stream exceeds the pH criterion, four streams listed for exceeding the sedimentation criterion, and six streams listed for exceeding the temperature criterion (Table 3). In addition to the stream listings, Fish Lake on North Fork Little Butte Creek exceeds the pH criterion (Table 3). Fish Lake is located on U.S. Forest Service (USFS)-administered land and will not be addressed in this WQRP for BLM-administered land. Changes from the 2002 303(d) list for streams in the plan area include the addition of Conde and Dead Indian Creeks for summer temperature, North Fork Little Butte Creek for fall/winter/spring E. coli and summer pH, and South Fork Little Butte Creek for summer E. coli. Table 3. Draft 2004 303(d) Listings in the North and South Forks Little Butte Creek Key Watershed (ODEQ 2005) 303(d) Applicable Rule Total Listed List Date Stream Segment Season (at time of listing) Miles Parameter Affected 2004 Conde Creek Temperature Year around OAR 340-041-0028(4)(b) 4.4 2004 Dead Indian Creek Temperature Year around OAR 340-041-0028(4)(b) 9.6 1998 Deer Creek Sedimentation OAR 340-041-0365(2)(j) 3.2 1998 Lost Creek Sedimentation OAR 340-041-0365(2)(j) 8.4 1998 Lost Creek Temperature Summer OAR 340-041-0365(2)(b)(A) 8.4 North Fork Little 2004 E.