# Powder River Biological Survey and Implications for Coalbed Methane Development

:

Prepared For:

Mr. Kevin Lind

Powder River Basin Resource Council

23 N. Scott Sheridan, WY 82801

10 March 2004 Prepared By:Powder River Biological Survey 10 March 2004 Confluence Consulting, Inc.



## Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1

1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................... ......3 2.0 Study Area ................................................................................................................ ......5 2.1 Setting .................................................................................................................5

2.2 Water Use Classifications ...................................................................................5 2.3 Hydrology ...........................................................................................................7 2.4 Fluvial Geomorphology....................................................................................13

2.5 Land Use ...........................................................................................................13

3.0 Methods.................................................................................................................... ......14 3.1 Physicochemical Water Quality Parameters..................................................... 14

3.2 Initial Site Procedures....................................................................................... 17

3.3 Biota..................................................................................................................18

4.0 Results and Discussion ................................................................................................27 4.1 Physicochemical Water Quality........................................................................27 4.2 Periphyton.........................................................................................................29

4.3 Macroinvertebrates ...........................................................................................40

4.4 Fish....................................................................................................................44 4.5 Reptiles and Amphibians .................................................................................. 47

4.6 Birds..................................................................................................................48

4.7 Habitat...............................................................................................................48 5.0 Conclusions and Management Implications ................................................................ 61

5.1 Clear Creek .......................................................................................................61 5.2 Piney Creek.......................................................................................................62

5.3 Powder River ....................................................................................................62 5.4 Summary of Recommendations........................................................................ 65

6.0 Literature Cited .......................................................................................................... ..67 Appendix A: Diatom Counts ........................................................................................... 70 Appendix B: Macroinvertebrate Coun ts and Metric Calculations.................................. 103 Appendix C: Lab Reports .............................................................................................. 128Powder River Biological Survey 10 March 2004 Confluence Consulting, Inc.



## Table of Figures

Figure 2-1: Map of the study area...................................................................................... 6 Figure 2-2: Mean monthly stream flows m easured at gaging stations on Clear Creek (06324000) and Piney Creek (06326500).......................................................................... 8 Figure 2-3: Maximum mean daily flows measur ed at gaging stati ons on Clear Creek and Piney Creek during the period of record............................................................................ 8 Figure 2-4: Mean monthly flow measured at gaging stations on the Powder River within the study area. ............................................................................................................... .... 9 Figure 2-5: Maximum mean daily flows meas ured at gaging stations on the Powder River within the study area. ............................................................................................ 10 Figure 2-6: Stream flow measured at the Arvada gaging station (6317000) and Moorhead gaging station (6324500) from Ma y 19, 2002 through October 31, 2002....................... 11 Figure 2-7: Mean daily flows measured at Sussex and Arvada gaging stations on the Powder River in 1951, 1978, 1980, and 1990................................................................. 12 Figure 4-1: Percent of diatoms from Clear Cr eek in each of four salinity classes as assigned by Van Dam et al. (1994).................................................................................. 32 Figure 4-2: Percent of diatoms from Clear Creek in each of five moisture classes (Table 4-6) as assigned by Van Dam et al. (1994)...................................................................... 32 Figure 4-3: Percent of diatoms from Piney Cr eek in each of four salinity classes as assigned by Van Dam et al. (1994).................................................................................. 34 Figure 4-4: Percent of diatoms from Piney Creek in each of five moisture classes (Table 4-6) as assigned by Van Dam et al. (1994)...................................................................... 35 Figure 4-5: Percent of diatoms from Powder River in each of four salinity classes as assigned by Van Dam et al. (1994)................................................................................. 39 Figure 4-6: Percent of diatoms from the Powder River in each of five moisture classes (Table 4-6) as assigned by Van Dam et al. (1994). ........................................................ 40 Figure 4-7: Wetted widths measured on reaches of Clear Creek and the Powder River. 51 Figure 4-8: Width-to-depth ratios measured on Clear Creek and the Powder River....... 51 Figure 4-9: Bank angles m easured on Clear Creek and the Powder River...................... 52 Figure 4-10: Depth or distance of bank unde rcut measured on Clear Creek and the

Powder River. ................................................................................................................. . 52 Figure 4-11: Fish habitat cove r types observed on Clear Creek and the Powder River. . 54 Figure 4-12: Water depths measured along th e thalweg on Clear Creek and the Powder

River.......................................................................................................................... ....... 55 Figure 4-13: Channel units comprising sites on Clear Creek and the Powder River. ..... 55 Figure 4-14: Percent of pool forming feature classes obs erved on Clear Creek and the

Powder River. ................................................................................................................. . 56 Figure 4-15: Substrate composition measured with pebble counts on Clear Creek and the

Powder River. ................................................................................................................. . 56 Figure 4-16: Average percent cover by ripari an cover types on Clear Creek and the

Powder River. ................................................................................................................. . 59 Figure 4-17: Proximity weighted human infl uence index reaches on Clear Creek and the

Powder River. ................................................................................................................. 60Powder River Biological Survey 10 March 2004 Confluence Consulting, Inc.



## Table of Tables

Table 2-1: USGS gaging stations used to describe surface water hydrology for Clear Creek, Piney Creek, and th e Powder River................................................................. 7 Table 3-1: Physicochemical water quality para meters assessed for streams in the Tongue

River basin. ............................................................................................................... 15 Table 3-2: USGS sampling stations used in generating descriptive statistics for evaluating physicochemical wate r quality parameters. ............................................ 15 Table 3-3: Distribution statistics for physicoc hemical water quality parameters sampled in the Powder River, Wyoming used as a reference for all Powder River sites. ...... 16 Table 3-4: Distribution statistics for physicoc hemical water quality parameters in Clear Creek near Arvada (USGS Station 6324000) us ed a reference for site Clear Creek C.

............................................................................................................................... ... 16 Table 3-5: Distribution statistics for physicoc hemical water quality parameters in Clear Creek near the Ucross, Wyoming (USGS Station 6320400) used as a reference for

sites Clear Creek A and B......................................................................................... 16 Table 3-6: Distribution statistics for physicoc hemical water quality parameters in Piney Creek near Ucross, Wyoming (USGS Station 6323500).......................................... 17 Table 3-7: Distribution statistics for physicoc hemical water quality parameters sampled in tributary streams in the Tongue and Powder River basins (STORET database) used as a reference for Spotted Horse Creek ............................................................ 17

Table 3-8: Diatom association metrics used to evaluate biological integrity in Montana streams: reference, range of values in M ontana streams, and expected direction of metric response to increasing anthropoge nic perturbation or natural stress (Bahls 2001). ........................................................................................................................ 19 Table 3-9: Criteria for rating levels of bi ological integrity, environmental impairment or natural stress, and aquatic life use support in wadeable plains streams of Montana using selected metrics for benthic diatom associations ............................................ 20

Table 3-10: Metrics calculated for macroinv ertebrate populations sampled on streams in the Tongue River basin, June 2001. (Modifi ed from Barbour et al. 2000)............... 22 Table 3-11. Criteria for metric scoring for Montana plains streams (Bukantis 1998)..... 24 Table 3-12: Fish metrics, metric categories, catchment adjustment equations and scoring

calculation after Bramble tt et al. (2003). .................................................................. 25 Table 3-13: Catchment area for sampling si tes on Clear Creek and the Powder River used in normalizing fish taxa richness metrics. ........................................................ 25 Table 4-1: Results of field meter readings collected on the Powder River and assessed

tributaries. ................................................................................................................. 28 Table 4-2: Results of water chemistry anal yses conducted on grab samples collected on

the Powder River and tributaries............................................................................... 28 Table 4-3: Physicochemical measures of wa ter quality collected on Spotted Horse Creek following advent of coalbed methane development.. ............................................... 29

Table 4-4: Relative abundance of cells and rank by biovolume of diatoms and genera of non-diatom alge in periphyton samples co llected from Clear Creek (2002). ........... 30

Table 4-5: Percent relative a bundance of major diatom specie s and values of selected association metrics for periphyton samples collected from Clear Creek (2002). . .. 31Powder River Biological Survey 10 March 2004 Confluence Consulting, Inc.

Table 4-6: Classifications of diatom s based on moisture affinities. ................................ 33

Table 4-7: Relative abundance of cells and ordinal rank by biovolume of diatoms (Division Bacillariophyta) and genera of non-diatom algae in periphyton samples collected from Piney Creek in 2003.......................................................................... 33 Table 4-8: Percent abundance of major diatom species and values of selected diatom association metrics for periphyton sample s collected from Piney Creek and the

Powder River in 2003.. ............................................................................................. 36

Table 4-9: Relative abundance of cells and ordinal rank by biovolume of diatoms (Division Bacillariophyta) and genera of non-diatom algae in periphyton samples

collected from Powder River in 2002 and 2003. ...................................................... 37 Table 4-10: Percent abundance of major diatom species 1 and values of selected diatom association metrics for periphyton sample s collected from Piney Creek and the

Powder River in 2003.. ............................................................................................. 38 Table 4-11: Metrics and scoring for macroi nvertebrates collected on Clear Creek using criteria developed for plains str eams in Montana (Bukantis 1998). ......................... 41 Table 4-12: Metrics and scoring for macroi nvertebrates collected on Piney Creek using criteria developed for plains str eams in Montana (Bukantis 1998). ......................... 42 Table 4-13: Metrics and scoring for macroi nvertebrates collected on the Powder River using criteria developed for plains st reams in Montana (Bukantis 1998). ............... 43 Table 4-14: Fish captured on sampling sites on Clear Creek and the Powder River (2002 and 2003). ................................................................................................................. 44

Table 4-15: Fish metrics and classification of fishes captured on Clear Creek and the Powder River (2002 and 2003). ................................................................................ 45

Table 4-16: Scores for fish metrics calcul ated for fish communities sampled on Clear Creek. See (Table 3-12) for formulas. ..................................................................... 46

Table 4-17: Scores for fish metrics calcul ated for fish communities sampled on the Powder River. See (Table 3-12) for formulas.......................................................... 47 Table 4-18: Reptiles and amphibians encount ered at sampling sites on Clear Creek, Piney Creek, and the Powder River (A = abundant, C = common, P = present)...... 47 Table 4-19: Bird species obser ved at sampling sites on the Powder River, Clear Creek, and Piney Creek. ....................................................................................................... 48 Table 4-20: Results of rapid habitat assessments conducted on reaches of the Powder River and Clear Creek using the glide/pool questionnaire. ...................................... 49 Table 4-21: Results of rapid habitat assessments conducted on reaches of Clear Creek and Piney Creek using the riffle/run questionnaire................................................... 50

Table 4-22: Noxious weeds and invasive plants observed at sites on the Powder River

and Clear Creek......................................................................................................... 59

Table 5-1: Rare invertebrates collected fr om the Powder River by Dr. Dan Gustafson, Montana State University, Bozeman (unpublished data). ........................................ 64Powder River Biological Survey 10 March 2004 Confluence Consulting, Inc. 

## Executive Summary

Coalbed methane development in the Powder River basin involves the discharge or surface storage of large quantitie s of saline water. This invest igation presents the results of a monitoring and assessment approach to evaluate the effects of coalbed methane development on three streams in Wyoming, Clear Creek, Piney Creek and the Powder River. The analysis included characterization of baseline conditions at current levels of coalbed methane development and in some cases allowed inference on the impacts of existing coalbed methane development. Para meters assessed included fish populations, algal assemblages, aquatic invertebrate communities, habitat c ondition measures, and assessment of chemical water quality. Results provided the basis for the generation of management recommendations to promote the sustainable development of coalbed methane while conserving ecological and agricultural values.

Clear Creek and Piney Creek had high levels of biologi cal, chemical, and physical integrity. These streams supported healthy aquatic communities and had water low in

dissolved salts. Habitat conditions were typically excellent indicating existing agricultural practices were compatible with maintaining ecological values. Conservation of the agricultural and ecological signif icance of these streams should guide the sustainable development of coalbed me thane development in these basins.

The Powder River also had a high level of biological, chemical, and physical integrity although its unique nature does not represent the typical ideal of a healthy stream. Nevertheless, the Powder River maintained a mostly native assemblage of fish, including species such as flathead c hub and sturgeon chub that are in decline throughout their range. Evaluations of conditions in the Powder River provided cause for concern for the persistence of this rare and special ecosystem.

Analyses of water chemistry suggested that coalbed methane development might be resulting in degradation of water quality du e to increased loading of salts. Sodium adsorption ratio, a measure of the suitability of water for irrigation uses, was substantially elevated above typical levels for this river below an area of considerable coalbed methane development. In addition, several sampling sites had relatively high levels of salts, compared to typical values. Furthermore, high concentrations of dissolved solids in Spotted Horse Creek, possibly the result of co albed methane wastewater, may threaten an important channel catfish rearing area downstream in the Powder River.

The biological communities sampled in the Powder River were adapted to the high turbidity, great variability in flows, and moderate salinity. Of concern, however, was the rarity of the sturgeon ch ub, a Wyoming and Montana species of special concern. Biologists captured only two sturgeon c hub at one location on the Powder River. Sampling in the early 1990s found sturgeon chub to be present at considerably more

locations in the Powder River. These results emphasize the need for additional investigation into the stat us and trend of sturgeon chub in the Powder River.Powder River Biological Survey 10 March 2004 Confluence Consulting, Inc.

Another concern was the preval ence of salt cedar, an introduced shrub along most of the Powder River. This species may have a competitive adva ntage over cottonwood, especially with increased loading of salts . Cottonwoods, however, are vital to both wildlife and fish along the Powder River. Th ey provide critical habitat features for wildlife such as nesting, roosting, and cover. Cottonwoods also provide large woody debris that forms pools, important habita t features for fish. Management of CBM

wastewater should consider concerns regarding recrui tment and maintenance of cottonwood stands along the Powder River.

The use of an adaptive management approach to coalbed methane development was the major recommendation from this investigati on. Adaptive management entails a strong monitoring component to provide feedback and continual refinement of management

activities. The amount of uncer tainty regarding th e potential impacts of coalbed methane development necessitates an adaptive approach.

**** Powder River Note:

Powder River has the entire Confluence Re port available. If you are interest please email your request to info@powderriverbasin.org . Thank you