Briar Creek Watershed Coldwater Conservation Plan Columbia County, PA Prepared by: B.C.A.W.S ‐ Briar Creek Association for Watershed Solutions In conjunction with Columbia County Conservation District 702 Sawmill Road, Suite 204 Bloomsburg PA Funded by: Coldwater Heritage Partnership December 12th, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction and Background..................................................................................................................................... 1 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Glossary .................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Section 1: Watershed Description ........................................................................................................................... 3 History ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Location .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Stream Characteristics ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Climate ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Geology ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Soils ............................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Biology ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Land Use ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Section 2: Methodology .............................................................................................................................................. 19 BCAWS Site Monitoring and Data Collection Overview ...................................................................... 19 Water Quantity ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 Water Quality ........................................................................................................................................................... 19 Visual Assessment .................................................................................................................................................. 20 Secondary Data Collection ................................................................................................................................. 20 Section 3: Findings ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 BCAWS‐Conducted Water Quantity and Quality .................................................................................... 21 PA Code, Chapter 93 Cold Water Fisheries Parameters ...................................................................... 22 Visual Assessment Scores ................................................................................................................................... 23 Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania: Geochemical Study.......................................................... 23 Briar Creek Sub‐Watershed Findings ........................................................................................................... 24 West Branch of Briar Creek ......................................................................................................................... 24 Cabin Run .............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Fester Hollow ...................................................................................................................................................... 26 Briar Creek (main branch) ........................................................................................................................... 27 East Branch of Briar Creek ........................................................................................................................... 29 Kachinka Hollow................................................................................................................................................ 30 Glen Brook ............................................................................................................................................................ 31 Section 4: Discussion ................................................................................................................................................... 32 Section 5: Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 34 Citations .............................................................................................................................................................................. 35 i LIST OF FIGURES Number Page 1.1 Location Map with Local Municipalities ............................................................................................... 4 1.2 Briar Creek Sub‐Watersheds and Monitoring Site Locations .................................................... 6 1.3 Climate Divisions ............................................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 General Bedrock Geology .......................................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Soils with Select Labels .............................................................................................................................. 12 1.6 Land Use ............................................................................................................................................................ 17 3.1 West Branch Briar Creek Sub‐Watershed ........................................................................................ 24 3.2 Cabin Run Sub‐Watershed ....................................................................................................................... 25 3.3 Fester Hollow Sub‐Watershed ............................................................................................................... 26 3.4 Briar Creek (main branch) Sub‐Watershed ..................................................................................... 27 3.5 East Branch Briar Creek Sub‐Watershed .......................................................................................... 29 3.6 Kachinka Hollow Sub‐Watershed ......................................................................................................... 30 3.7 Glen Brook Sub‐Watershed ..................................................................................................................... 31 ii LIST OF TABLES Number Page 1.1 Municipal Area Coverage of the Watershed ......................................................................................... 4 1.2 Sub‐Watershed Descriptions ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Division 5 Climate Data ................................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Division 1 Climate Data ................................................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Site‐Select Geologic Properties ................................................................................................................ 11 3.1 Water Quantity and Quality ....................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Visual Assessment Scores for Briar Creek Watershed Streams .............................................. 23 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Funding for the Coldwater Conservation Plan (CCP) was provided by the Coldwater Heritage Partnership