(/ft^flu^> L/Z^tKC National Park Service U.S. Departmentofthe Interior WaterResources Division Natural Resource Program Center FortCollins, Colorado WATER RESOURCES FOUNDATION REPORT Ozark National Scenic Riverways NPS/NRWRD/NRR— Natural Resource Report 2007/363 NATO Wptef;; FORT C RES ON THE COVER Photographsby(clockwise from top): www.mocnviron.org/FOR.dsl www2.nature.nps.gov/YearinReview/02 L.html Ronal Kerbo, National Park Service www,nature,org/wherewework/fieldguide/proiectprofiles/low.html WATER RESOURCES FOUNDATION REPORT Ozark National Scenic Riverways NPS/NRWRD/NRR— Natural Resource Report 2007/363 David L. Vana-Miller National Park Service Water Resources Division P.O. Box 25287 CO Denver, 80225 April 2007 U.S. Department ofthe Interior National Park Service Water Resources Division NATIONAL N Fort Collins, Colorado WATER REt g FORTCOL 4cdtv RESOURCE !PERTY The Natural Resource Publication series addresses natural resource topics that are of interest and applicability to a broad readership in the National Park Service and to others in the management ofnatural resources, including the scientific community, the public, and the NPS conservation and environmental constituencies. Manuscripts are peer- reviewed to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and is designed and published in a professional manner. Natural Resource Reports are the designated medium for disseminating high priority, current natural resource management information with managerial application. The series targets a general, diverse audience, and may contain NPS policy considerations or address sensitive issues ofmanagement applicability. Examples ofthe diverse array of reports published in this series include vital signs monitoring plans; "how to" resource management papers; proceedings ofresource management workshops or conferences; annual reports ofresource programs or divisions ofthe Natural Resource Program Center; resource action plans; fact sheets; and regularly-published newsletters. Views and conclusions in this report are those ofthe authors and do not necessarily reflect policies ofthe National Park Service. Mention oftrade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the National Park Service. Printed copies ofreports in these series may be produced in a limited quantity and they are only available as long as the supply lasts. This report is also available from the Water Resources Division website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/water/wrdpub.cfm) on the internet, or by sending a request to the address on the back cover. Please cite this publication as: Vana-Miller, D. L. 2007. Water Resources Foundation Report, Ozark National Scenic NPS/NRWRD/NRR— Riverways. Natural Resource Report 2007/363. National Park Service, Water Resources Division, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS D-159, April 2007 ii 7 88 1 CONTENTS List ofFigures/ iv List ofTables/ iv Acknowledgments/ v Executive Summary/ vi Introduction/ 1 Purpose Statements/ 2 Significance Statements for Natural Resources/ 2 Water Resources Planning/ 3 Water Resources Foundation Report Objectives/ 4 Description ofNatural Resources/ 6 Climate/ 5 Air Quality/ 5 Physiography/ 5 Geology/ 6 Soils/ 6 Hydrology/ 7 Watersheds/ 7 Rivers and Streams/ 8 Springs/ 9 Riparian Areas and Wetlands/ 1 Ground Water/ 12 Water Quality/ 14 Biological Resources/ 15 Fundamental Water Resources and Values/ 16 Who • are the stakeholders that have an interest in the water resources ofthe Ozark National Scenic Riverways and what is the level ofinterest related to those resources?/ 1 Federal/ 17 State/ 18 Regional/ 18 Non-Profit Groups/ 1 Advocacy Groups/ 1 What are the relevant laws and policies that guide the management ofthe parks's water resources and values and what guidance do they provide?/ 19 Park-specific/ 19 Federal/ 19 State ofMissouri/ 23 Missouri Water Rights/ 24 in 1 3 1 Specific Fundamental Water Resources/ 25 A Significant Diversity ofHigh-Quality Ecosystems within the River Corridors/ 25 The Assemblage ofUnique Plants and Animals/ 28 The Fragile, Karst-Based Hydrogeological System/ 3 The High Density ofExceptional Caves and Springs/ 33 High Water Quality and Clarity in the Free-Flowing Current and Jacks Fork Rivers/ 35 What Are the Current and Potential Future Threats to the Fundamental Water Resources?/ 37 Literature Cited/ 41 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Location ofOzark National Scenic Riverways along the Current and Jacks Fork 1. Rivers/ 1 Figure 2. The 'new' NPS framework for planning and decision making/ 3 Figure 3. Estimated mean annual precipitation (a) and mean monthly precipitation (b) in the Current River basin, 1923-1994/ 5 Figure 4. Eleven digit hydrologic units in the Current River watershed in Missouri/ 6 Figure 5. Fourteen digit hydrologic units for the Jacks Fork Riverwatershed/ 7 Figure 6. Hydrographs for 5-year period (October 2001- October 2005) for U.S. MO Geological Survey gaging stations on the Jacks Fork River at Eminence, and the Current River at Van Buren, MO/ 9 Figure 7. Selected spring locations in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and their estimated recharge areas/ 1 Figure 8. Example ofNational Wetland Inventory map printout for a portion ofthe Current River in Ozark National Scenic Riverways/ 1 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Flow statistics for U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations within the Current and Jacks Fork river watersheds/ 9 Table 2. Two to 100-year flood discharges for selected U.S. Geological gaging stations on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers/ 9 Table 3. Major springs ofthe Ozark National Scenic Riverways and their approximate mean annual discharges and recharge areas/ 10 Table 4. Designated uses for the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in Ozark National Scenic Riverways/ 14 Table 5. Bacterial standards applicable to the Current and Jacks Fork rivers and tributaries/ 38 IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to many individuals who contributed to this report. I thank Ozark National Scenic Riverways Superintendent Noel Poe for his support ofthe project and for providing insightful comments on several drafts ofthe report. I thank Ann Van Huizen, General Management Plan Project Leader from the Denver Service Center for recognizing the utility ofthis type ofnew report for the general management planning process. Denver Service Center team members, Erin Flanagan and Mary McVeigh were instrumental in shaping the final product. Victoria Grant ofthe park provided important information about the park's water resources. This document was improved by the thoughtful review comments ofstafffrom the park (Victoria Grant, Mike Gossett), National Park Service Midwest Regional Office (Brenda Moraska Lafrancois, Sharon Miles, Sue Jennings), Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (David Bowles), Water Resources Division (Mark Flora, Don Weeks, Gary Rosenlieb, Dan McGlothlin), Geological Resources Division (Ronal Kerbo, Sid Covington), and Denver Service Center (Ann Van Huizen). Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/waterresourcesfoOOvana VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Water Resources Foundation Report is oneofseveral planningproducts offeredbythe NPS Water Resources Division that assistnational park units with achievingor maintainingwaterresource integrity. Following the 2004 Park Planning Program Standards, parks are toprepare aFoundationforParkPlanning andManagementdocument (Foundation Document), which describes apark'spurpose, significance, primary interpretive themes and special mandates, and identifies andanalyzes thoseresources and values determined to warrant primary consideration (FundamentalandImportantResourcesand Values) in park planning and management. The Foundation Document may bedeveloped as the first stageofapark's general management planningprocess or independentlyofa general management plan. This WaterResourceFoundation Report is designed to support development oftheFoundation Document forOzark National Scenic Riverways (OZAR) and extendas areference for its general management plan. Theprimary objectives ofthis forOZAR are to: 1) providebackground forwaterresources; and 2) identify and describe the fundamental waterresources at OZAR, along with the identification ofstakeholders and laws and policies that apply to those fundamental waterresources. Workshops were held to generatePurposeStatements, whichdescribe the specificreason(s) for establishing the park andSignificanceStatements, which definewhat is most important about the park's resources and values, based on thepark purpose. ThePurposeStatements forOZARare: • Topreserve andprotect unimpaired the unique scenic andnatural values, processes, and unspoiled setting derived from the clear, free-flowingCurrent andJacks Fork Rivers and springs, caves, and their karstorigins and; • Toprovide forand promote opportunities forthe scientific andpublic understandingofthe natural and cultural resources and; • To provide opportunities forunderstanding and appreciationofthe human experienceassociated with the OzarkHighlands landscape and; • Toprovide foruses and enjoyment ofthe outdoorrecreation opportunities consistentwith the preservation ofthe park's resources. TheSignificanceStatements forOZAR that pertain to waterresources are: • The ancient Ozark Highlands is an important centerofbiodiversity in North Americawith over200 endemic species. The large variety ofspecies found within OZAR isduethe integrity ofits connected region and to therich array ofaquatic, terrestrial, and subterranean habitatsconcentratedwithin the rivercorridors. In particular, the park supports unique species foundnowhere outsideofthis region. • The impressive hydrogeologic characterofthe Ozarkkarst landscape supports an amazing variety of natural features in the park, including a spring systemthat is world-class andunparalleled in North America. Thepark features the largest spring in the national parksystem, atotalofsix first magnitude springs and spring complexes, andover 350 springsparkwide. Thecave system is equally impressive, with 338 recordedcaves-one ofthe highest densities ofany national park unit. • OZAR contains 134 miles ofclear, free-flowing spring-fedrivers. Both theJacksForkandCurrent Rivers within OZARboundaries are Outstanding National Resource Waters (ONRW) becauseoftheir high waterquality. OzarkNSR contains two ofthe three rivers designated as ONRWs in Missouri. Vll Building from the SignificanceStatements, five natural resources can be definedasfundamental resources at OZAR. Ofthese five fundamental natural resources, three are specific to waterresources {thefragile, karst-basedhydrogeologicalsystem; thehighdensityofcaves andsprings; and thehigh waterqualityand clarityin thefree-flowing CurrentandJacksForkrivers). The othertwo {asignificantdiversityofhigh- qualityecosystems within therivercorridors and theassemblageofuniqueplantsandanimals) arean amalgamation ofwaterand terrestrial resources. However, because ofthe importance and significant contribution ofwaterresources, these two are considered fundamental waterresources forthepurposes of this document. The importance ofwater resources at OZAR includes: The Ozark National Scenic Riverways is situated in a geologically andhydrologically complex area along the Current and Jacks Forkrivers. The combination ofthe geology ofthe two rivers' watersheds with an average annual precipitation ofover40 inches has created a karst landscape. The foundation ofthe Current and Jacks Fork watersheds and theirdependent ecosystems is this karst landscape. Karst topography and structural features greatly affect waterquantity and quality. In karst areas, water commonly drains rapidly into the subsurface atzones ofrecharge and then through anetworkoffractures, partings, andcaves, emerges at the surface in zones ofdischarge at springs, seeps and wells. The ecosystems ofthese watersheds have developed in response to the karst and it is important that the quantity and qualityofwatermoving through the karst systembe maintained. The Ozarks region isperhaps the oldest continuously exposed landmass in North America. Because ofthe Ozarks central continental location, they have on multiple occasions served as refugia fororganisms exposed to climatic extremes associated with glacial andgeologic events. This influx ofbiota from different regions andhigh levels ofhabitat diversity have combined with the antiquity ofthe landscape to sustain relictpopulations and also allow forevolution ofnew species, making the Ozarks an important centerofendemism in North America. The Current and Buffalo rivers ofthe OzarkPlateau between them contain the world's bestknow populations of34 aquatic species ofglobal conservation significance. TheJacks Fork and Current rivers are ideal forrecreational usebecause the main channel gradients are steeperthan gradients inotherstate rivers, thereby creating swiftercurrents. Additionally, the large amount ofspring inflow (60percent ofthe combined rivers' flow is from springs) produces large and stable flows, and tends to decrease watertemperature, thus keeping the watercool through even the hottest months. Flow stability is at least partially attributable to the storage and transport capacity ofthe karst topography within the watersheds. Wetland types within OZAR include marshes, sinkholeponds (doline lakes), bottomland forests, riparian areas, and ground water seeps. Groundwaterseeps are relatively numerous and are most commonly found along the bases ofhillsides in theOzarks. In the Ozarks alkaline groundwaters produce seeps known as fens. Because oftheircool and wet microclimate, fens often contain plants more typical ofmore northern states. Many ofthese plants are rareorendangered in Missouri. A total of43 species and subspecies ofmussels are known from the Current River watershed, and 19 mussel species from the Jacks Forkwatershed. Ofthese, two areboth federally and state listed as endangered and three are former federal category-2 candidates. An additional eight species are listed as species ofconservation concern. Fourteen species ofcrayfish are known from the Current Riverwatershed and five species of crayfish occurin theJacks Fork watershed, including the Salem cave crayfish (Cambarus hubrichti), a species ofconservation concern. Crayfish are an aquatic invertebrate thatplay a majorrole in energy flow within the park ecosystem, acting as a keystone species that influences several trophic levels. Because crayfish play a majorrole as both consumers and prey, they are an important link in managing sportfish in thepark as well as overall biodiversity. The Black River drainage, which includes theJacks Fork and Current Rivers, was listed as one ofthe top viii