University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2012 Underwater Video Mapping of the Pigeon River in Haywood County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee Michael Scott Gaugler [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Recommended Citation Gaugler, Michael Scott, "Underwater Video Mapping of the Pigeon River in Haywood County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2012. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1468 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Michael Scott Gaugler entitled "Underwater Video Mapping of the Pigeon River in Haywood County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Natural Resources. Larry Wilson, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Ray Albright, David Etnier, Jason Henning, Joanne Logan Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Underwater Video Mapping of the Pigeon River in Haywood County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Michael Scott Gaugler August 2012 Copyright © 2012 by Michael S. Gaugler All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to my wife Misty for helping me get here. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Anyone who has attempted to complete a dissertation understands that even though the name on it is their own, that many stood beside and provided the support necessary to achieve this life-long goal. First, I would like to thank each of my committee members: Drs.Ray Albright, David Etnier, Jason Henning, and Joanne Logan who agreed to provide me guidance in this most difficult task. Each of them provided a unique view on this work as well as life and because of that I am a better person. I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Larry Wilson, who gave me an opportunity to do something that I have wanted for a long time. I will always be grateful to each of them. Thank you to the Pigeon River Trust Fund which provided financial support of this project. I hope that this work helps meet their mission of continued improvements on this beautiful river. Thank you to the University of Tennessee's Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries. I am grateful for this opportunity to fulfill a life-long goal. I would like to thank Joyce Coombs, who helped me with the field work and always being a spark plug that few have ever matched. In addition to professional guidance, one needs support and understanding of family. I would like to thank my parents, Don and Nancy Gaugler, who provided me with a quest for knowledge. That desire has always been there and I hope that it continues. I would like to thank Larry and Sharon May for everything they did for us while working on this. It would have been impossible to do this without their support. I would also like to iv thank my children, Madison, Grayson, and Brayden, who taught me what really is important in life. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Misty, for all of her support and putting up with this process. There is not enough that I can say other than “Thank you” and that I believe that her name should be there as much as mine. Without you I would never have taken the chance. v ABSTRACT The Pigeon River, which is located in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, is one of three major drainages of the French Broad River Basin. The river begins at the confluence of the East Fork Pigeon and the West Fork Pigeon Rivers in Haywood County, North Carolina, and flows north to northwest for approximately 70 river miles to the French Broad River in Cocke County, Tennessee. The river has had historical anthropogenic impacts to the system since the area was settled. These included forestry practices and agriculture, a paper mill in Canton, North Carolina, the Walters Dam for hydroelectric power, and more recently a change in land use patterns to development. As a result, the river's biological communities were impacted and many species were extirpated. Since the early 1990s, water quality improvements and the efforts of numerous organizations have led to the re-introduction of some of the original species native to the Pigeon River. The current study used underwater video to record current conditions of the mainstem river bottom from the confluence of the East Fork and West Fork Pigeon Rivers to Panther Creek at PRM 47.0. Also located were tributaries that flowed into the river. The sediment deltas at the mouth of each of these were video-taped and sediment depth measurements were recorded. Turbidity levels (NTUs) were record above, in, and below each of the tributaries entering the Pigeon River. The study also: 1) developed a continuous geo-referenced video of Pigeon River's substrate in Haywood County, North Carolina, and Cocke County, Tennessee, 2) identified tributaries impacting the Pigeon River by transporting sediment loads, 3) identified locations vi suitable for future recovery efforts, and 4) created a Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). Deliverables from the study included a video record of approximately 22 river miles of the Pigeon River substrate North Carolina and 11 river miles in Tennessee, documentation of 17 flowing Pigeon River tributaries in North Carolina, the identification of fish collection sites above Canton, and the calculation of a Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index. vii PREFACE The Pigeon River Fund (PRF) was formed in 1996 to improve surface water quality, to enhance fish and wildlife management habitats, to expand public use and access to waterways, and to increase citizens' awareness about their roles in protecting these resources. Through May 2010, a total of $3,441,947 has been awarded in grants by the fund, including $1,819,088 for projects in Haywood County In response to a public interest in the quality of the surface waters in Haywood County, North Carolina, one organization that PRF works closely with has been Haywood Waterways Association (HWA) was formed in 1994. The group was created as a response to the Pigeon River Fund (PRF). HWA, a non-profit organization, has grown with over 200 members as of January, 2002. The purpose of HWA is to reduce nonpoint pollution in the Pigeon River Watershed through public awareness, education, and water quality monitoring. Through their efforts the organization has been able to identify many sources of nonpoint pollution. This led to analysis of the system, as well as plans to address current and future issues. The PRF has been used to raise funds to correct sedimentation issues in several subwatersheds. The product of these efforts has been the Watershed Action Plan that was created by the Technical Advisory Committee. One key component to the work was public involvement. The goal of the plan was to outline strategies to correct past and current problems and to formulate a plan in place for future and possible problems as they are identified in the watershed. Another component of HWA has been public education outreach through the local secondary school system with the annual Kids in the Creek program for all 8th grade students in viii the Haywood County School System. HWA leads summer youth programs and publishes information for other interested parties. Finally, the organization works with other organizations to train for erosion control measures. Because funding is vital to the organization's purpose, HWA has been able to obtain funding of $1,409,060 since 1997, including $500,000 for the sediment removal from Lake Junaluska. The monies have benefited several local communities, towns, and organizations as well as several agencies and organizations. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I ................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION ..............................................................1 Project Description ..................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER II ..............................................................................................................................4 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................4 Physical Conditions in Freshwater Systems .............................................................................4 Historical Habitat Assessments in Freshwater Systems ............................................................6 Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) ............................................................................................... 11 Physical Habitat Suitability Index .........................................................................................