STOUGHTON AREA FUDA Natural Resources Environmental Conditions Report | Natural Resources i Stoughton Area Future Urban Development Area Planning Study Environmental Conditions Report: Natural Resources Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 A. Physical Geography and Surface Geology .................................................................................. 3 1. Mineral Resources .................................................................................................................. 5 2. Steep Slopes and Woodlands ................................................................................................. 5 3. Soils ....................................................................................................................................... 14 a. Soils Underlain by Sandy Loam Glacial Till ........................................................................ 14 b. Soils Formed in Outwash Material.................................................................................... 15 c. Hydric Soils ........................................................................................................................ 15 d. Depth to Bedrock .............................................................................................................. 17 e. Development Site Analysis ................................................................................................ 21 f. Relative Infiltration ............................................................................................................ 21 B. Surface Water ........................................................................................................................... 23 1. Watersheds and Drainage..................................................................................................... 24 a. Floodplains ........................................................................................................................ 25 b. Internally Drained Areas ................................................................................................... 27 a. Designated Uses ................................................................................................................ 30 b. Current and Attainable Uses ............................................................................................. 34 c. Stream Restoration ........................................................................................................... 38 3. Surface Water Features ........................................................................................................ 42 a. The Yahara Chain of Lakes ................................................................................................ 43 c. Wetlands ........................................................................................................................... 60 C. Groundwater ............................................................................................................................. 74 1. Groundwater Quality ............................................................................................................ 84 2. Groundwater Quantity .......................................................................................................... 87 a. Pumping and Diversion ..................................................................................................... 87 b. Groundwater Recharge Loss ............................................................................................. 88 c. Relative Infiltration ............................................................................................................ 89 D. Open Space Corridors ............................................................................................................... 95 E. Endangered Resources ............................................................................................................ 101 F. Wildlife Resources and Biodiversity ........................................................................................ 108 G. Parks and Open Space ............................................................................................................ 118 H. Natural Resource Impacts from Urban Development ............................................................ 122 1. Hydrologic Impacts (Water Quantity and Quality) ............................................................. 122 2. Habitat Loss and Landscape Connectivity ........................................................................... 127 I. Urban Development Strategies to Maintain and Improve Natural Resource Integrity .......... 135 ii Stoughton Area FUDA Study | February 2014 Introduction This chapter of the Environmental Conditions Report has three main purposes: 1. Provide a natural resource inventory and assessment based on local and regional considerations. 2. Outline considerations for land use planning and decision-making that protect and enhance the integrity of natural areas, both locally and regionally. 3. Outline opportunities for incorporating environmental features in local urban design to enhance the quality of life of local residents and to reduce costs for maintenance and infrastructure locally and regionally. Conserving and restoring regionally important natural resources contributes to a healthy natural environment and makes the region a desirable place to live and work. Conserving and restoring local natural resources improves the quality of life of residents and enhances beauty of our cities and villages. Connecting these regional and local features within environmental corridors helps protect water quality, sustain wildlife and plant habitat, and provides valuable opportunities for recreation and education. Assessing this natural resources information along with agricultural, economic, and community information, provides the foundation for local communities to evaluate where development should be encouraged, where resources should be protected, and where both can occur together and in harmony. The present condition of the region’s natural resources is dramatically different from pre-European settlement times and continues to be altered for agriculture and urban development. Agricultural land use dominates where prairies and scattered oak savanna once flourished. Many wetland acres that once filled the river bottoms and other low lying areas were ditched and drained. Stream channels were dredged and straightened. Development increased as populations in cities and villages and scattered rural communities grew, often with little regard for the natural surroundings. Natural communities and ecological systems were fragmented. Urban development in the 19th and much of the 20th centuries was accompanied by uncontrolled runoff from streets and parking lots, and erosion from construction sites and stream banks added sediment and pollutants and degraded water quality and wildlife habitat. With thoughtful planning, development and management practices these resources can be protected from such impacts, and degraded resources can be restored and enhanced. Impacts from development are, for most individual sites, relatively small. Environmental Conditions Report | Natural Resources 1 When considered on a regional basis, however, their cumulative impact can result in substantial consequences. To manage these impacts effectively, it is critical to understand them on a regional basis, and collectively address them at the individual site level. In the end, the site level is where the physical changes to the environment are being made and mitigation measures are easier to implement. Many communities across the U.S. are discovering that a natural resource- based development strategy is a much better alternative to conventional urban design and development, where traditionally less attention has been focused on the environment. The primary objective is relatively straight forward. The quality of our natural environment and the associated resource functions and values should be maintained and, where possible, enhanced. This dovetails with a host of related growth and development strategies related to infrastructure planning, community development, agriculture, and open space. A resource-based development approach has several characteristics: 1. Tangible, measurable, and readily understood by the participants in the local development review process. 2. Directly linked to the local development review process by making natural resources protection a priority during all stages of the development process – from the conception of how the landscape is to be altered, through the planning, design, and construction of individual projects, to the maintenance of the necessary infrastructure such as stormwater management facilities after it is completed. Each step of the development process should only proceed when it can be reliably determined that the impacts of the development will be mitigated or minimized. 3. Clear and practical management approaches towards local development by explicitly directing development away from environmentally sensitive areas along with other necessary protections and safeguards. A resource-based strategy should streamline the local review process, reduce administrative burdens on local government, and be fully responsive to the needs of the development community for clear direction, timely review,