River Mapping for Endangered Species Habitat and Streambank Erosion Assessment: Case Studies at Fort Benning and Camp Atterbury Paul Ayers, Kelsey Hensley, Ken Swinson, Bryan McConkey, Brett Connell Biosystems Engineering, University of Tennessee Heidi Howard, ERDC - CERL Mike Peterkin, Natural Resources Coordinator Camp Atterbury JMTC Hugh Westbury, Watershed Program Manager, Fort Benning

Objectives Use canoe and kayak-mounted underwater videomapping system Develop aquatic habitat maps for the Driftwood River (20 miles) Develop optimum habitat maps for Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) mussel - PWTB Snorkel and sneak peek mapping Streambank mapping (erosion) - Legacy Ocean/coral reef aquatic habitat maps

VIDEO CAMERAS LASERS SONAR TRANSDUCER WATERPROOF CASE

Geo-referenced Image Recording Audio Encoder Audio output (GPS output) Audio Input (GPS input) GPS Video input Splash Cam DVD Recorder GPS NMEA Data (ASCII)

Canoeing with Drop-down Camera

Georeferenced Above Water Image

GIS Attributes Defined GPS Position Depth Width Substrate River Characteristic Embeddedness Streambank Erosion (bank height, bank angle, riparian diversity, river sinuosity)

Modified Wentworth Scale SubstrateDescription BedrockUnbroken Rock Surface Fines/Sand< 0.3 cm (0.1 inch) Small Gravel0.3—1.0 cm (0.1—0.4 inch) Large Gravel1.0—10 cm (0.4—4 inch) Cobble10—30 cm (4—12 inch) Small Boulder30—60 cm (12—24 inch) Large Boulder> 60 cm (24 inch)

Using underwater lasers to determine Substrate scale (dot spacing is 7.75 inches)

Substrate Classification

Sand Small Gravel Cobble Small BoulderLarge BoulderBedrock Some Substrate Types

River Surface Characteristics

Driftwood River River Characteristics 20 mile 38,503 Sample Points

Driftwood River Thalweg Depth 20 mile 38,053 Sample Points

Driftwood River Substrate 20 mile 38,053 Sample Points

Species at Risk Habitat Maps Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) mussel Develop Optimum Habitat Criteria

Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) Habitat Criteria primarily found in small, shallow rivers usually about 4 feet in depth or less in and near riffles/runs usually found deeply buried in sand and gravel substrates often in and around aquatic vegetation Search (Depth <= 4 feet) River Characteristic = riffle/run Substrate = sand or gravel

Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) 6.7% Optimum Habitat

Obed Wild and Scenic River

Virtual tour capabilities

Summary - River Habitat Videomapping for Aquatic Species at Risk (SAR) Habitat Cover large reaches (10 miles/day) - continuous Non-intrusive, no access required Determine above and below water features Develop total river habitat suitability index By mapping every foot of the river, the total amount and location of optimum habitat can be determined (development occupancy model) Provides permanent historical video database to evaluate changing habitat conditions

Legacy FY 2015 Proposal Species At-Risk, Species of Concern and Declining Species and Habitat (Natural) Pilot or demonstration efforts of new techniques, methodologies, and management practices, including the implementation of new or innovative monitoring and predictive modeling techniques. Ken Oristaglio – Fort Picket (Nottoway River) –Roanoke Logperch –Atlantic Pigtoe Others?

Snorkel mapping for Species counts Embedded video recorder and GPS on back strap

Georeferenced manual underwater recording video for observing under rocks

Legacy Project (Year 1) GIS-based streambank mapping to identify areas of erosion potential on rivers/streams within military installations (Camp Atterbury and Fort Benning) Mapping Site-specific Streambank Erosion

Streambank Erosion Videomapping Determine erodibility and erosivity Identify areas of restoration needs Cover large areas (10 miles/day) - continuous Non-intrusive, no access required Permanent video database and virtual tour capability Uses EPA Bank Assessment of Non-point source Consequences of Sediment (BANCS) for annual total streambank erosion prediction Used to determine sediment TMDL’s.

THE END -Questions? Paul Ayers, University of Tennessee -