Draft State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan 1999 Streamside Tailings Consent Decree Habitat Creation and Enhancement Obligations Upper Clark Fork River Basin Wetlands and Riparian Areas July 2018 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Site Descriptions .................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Wetlands / Riparian Areas Actions ...................................................................... 6 2. RESTORATION MONITORING .............................................................................. 7 2.1 Baseline Data........................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Ongoing Monitoring Efforts................................................................................. 7 2.3 Vegetation and Physical Habitat .......................................................................... 8 2.4 Fish and Wildlife Populations .............................................................................. 8 2.5 Public Use ............................................................................................................ 9 3. MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ..................................................................................... 9 3.1 Vegetation ............................................................................................................ 9 3.2 Erosion Control .................................................................................................. 10 3.3 Grazing ............................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Public Use .......................................................................................................... 10 3.5 Costs ................................................................................................................... 10 4. REPORTING ............................................................................................................ 11 5. REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 12 Appendix A: State Restoration Monitoring and Maintenance Plan (for the Milltown site) (Draft) (NRDP 2008) Appendix B: Spotted Dog Reach SD‐01b and SD‐01c Restoration Concept (NRDP 2014) Appendix C: Upper Clark Fork River Basin Aquatic Resources Restoration Plan Monitoring and Maintenance Plan (NRDP 2014) Appendix D: Wetlands/Riparian Areas Restoration Costs Incurred to Date 1. INTRODUCTION Paragraph 22 of the 1999 Streamside Tailings Consent Decree (SST CD) requires the State to develop, in consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan. Paragraph 22 requires the State to create in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin (UCFRB) up to 400 acres of any combination of the following: newly constructed wetlands or restoration of destroyed wetlands, enhancement of existing wetlands, or enhancement of riparian areas on or along the Clark Fork River or its tributaries. In fulfilling the requirements of Paragraph 22, the State is not required to incur more than $3.2 million in wetlands / riparian areas restoration costs, as that term is defined in the SST CD. In accordance with the SST CD, upon concurrence of this State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan by the USFWS Regional Director, and after reasonable opportunity for review and comment by the public, including the Tribes and ARCO, the State, through the Natural Resource Damage Program (NRDP), will implement the State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan, in accordance with the schedules and requirements of the plan. To meet the requirements of the SST CD, as well as to protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources within the UCFRB, NRDP proposes to perform the following wetlands / riparian areas actions: Wetlands / riparian areas restoration, creation, protection, and enhancement projects will be implemented on State-owned land within the Milltown area. The predominant tasks include maintaining and protecting wetland / riparian area vegetation through invasive species control, additional plantings, streambank maintenance, and soil treatment. Control of these invasive species will continue to promote the development of high quality wetlands / riparian areas. The majority of the wetlands / riparian areas funding would be expended here. Under Paragraph 22 of the SST CD, the State will not receive credit for any acres created, restored, or enhanced as mitigation for the net loss of functional wetlands resulting from the implementation of response actions at any of the Clark Fork NPL Sites. Riparian habitat protection and enhancement projects will be implemented within the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area on Spotted Dog Creek and Trout Creek. These include riparian fencing, weed control, beaver mimicry, streambank and channel restoration to enhance floodplain connectivity. All work is expected to occur within the next ten years, and on State property, thereby adding to the State’s ability to protect and maintain restoration efforts in future years. In accordance with the SST CD, the State will allow the USFWS access to these sites for the purpose of monitoring State implementation of the State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan. 1 Draft Interim State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan (June 2018) 1.1 Site Descriptions Milltown The State-owned Milltown property is located near Milltown, Montana approximately four miles east of Missoula, Montana (Figure 1). The State of Montana owns approximately 450 acres at this site upstream of the former Milltown Dam. This site underwent an integrated remediation/restoration action. Remediation and restoration actions included removal of Milltown Dam along with some of the contaminated sediments that had accumulated behind the dam, and construction of a new Clark Fork River channel and floodplain through the site. The Milltown property is currently managed by NRDP, but in the near future the property will be transferred to Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) for the development and operation of the Milltown State Park. The NRDP will maintain certain restoration monitoring and maintenance responsibilities associated with the restoration actions that took place at the site. The NRDP led restoration actions at the site through implementation of the Milltown Conceptual Restoration Plan for the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers near the Milltown Dam (NRDP, 2005). The main goal of the Milltown Conceptual Restoration Plan was to develop a site that was naturally functioning and self-maintaining. To meet this goal, the floodplain was designed to be hydrologically connected to the river to promote natural processes needed for riparian and wetland development. These processes include deposition of sediment and seeds during high water events, recharge of nutrients and food web support, and creation of diverse temporal and spatial habitats in the floodplain. The Milltown Conceptual Restoration Plan included the construction of a new Clark Fork River channel, with a bankfull floodplain that includes wetlands and swales, off-channel wetlands and swales, and floodplain terraces. The entire site was revegetated with plant species appropriate for the various floodplain elevations associated with the surface water elevation of the river. NRDP developed the State Restoration Monitoring and Maintenance Plan for the Milltown site) (Draft) (Milltown M&M Plan) (NRDP 2008) to measure the success of the Milltown restoration and to guide maintenance actions to ensure the goals of the restoration plan are met. Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area Spotted Dog Creek and Trout Creek are located within the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area (WMA) that is east of Garrison, Montana and north of Deer Lodge, Montana between Highway 12 and Interstate 90. The Spotted Dog WMA is over 27,000 acres in size and contains extensive native grasslands and rolling foothills defined with springs, gulches and creeks. Riparian areas within the WMA include 4 ½ miles of Spotted Dog Creek and 4 miles of Trout Creek. A recent riparian assessment of the 4 ½ miles of Spotted Dog Creek noted areas of high quality riparian habitat that should be protected as well as areas that needed to be enhanced and restored. Some areas of Spotted Dog Creek within the WMA are entrenched and disconnected from the floodplain. This is a result of reduced beaver activity and historic grazing of the riparian area. Trout Creek also has high quality riparian areas that should be protected as well as areas that needed to be enhanced and restored. Similar to Spotted Dog Creek some areas of Trout Creek are also entrenched and disconnected from the floodplain. Riparian and wetland restoration actions on Spotted Dog Creek and Trout Creek within the WMA would be 2 Draft Interim State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan (June 2018) coordinated with similar riparian and wetland restoration work being implemented by NRDP on adjacent reaches of Spotted Dog Creek and the Little Blackfoot River outside the WMA as well as management actions being implemented in the WMA by FWP. 3 Draft Interim State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan (June 2018) Figure 1. Vicinity map of Milltown Dam site. 4 Draft Interim State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan (June 2018) Figure 2. Vicinity map of Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area. 5 Draft Interim State Wetlands / Riparian Areas Plan (June 2018) 1.2 Wetlands