US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Reducing Sediment Delivery Through Forest Restoration
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Drainage Area = 88 mi 2 Mostly forested Close to Duluth Only naturalized wild steelhead population in MN Only MN trib to Great Lakes w/o fish migration barrier
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Background Federal Harbor Knife River is a significant source of sediment to the lake and harbor and has use impairments due to sediment. As such, a TMDL has been established.
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Source of Sediment Mass Wasting
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River The Problem The Knife River watershed was historically composed of old-growth red and white pines with some hardwoods. Modern logging activities have replaced those species with a mono-culture of aspen. Local scientists believe that this shift is species has altered the hydrologic response of the watershed resulting in increased flashiness and increased erosion. Local stakeholders are interested in initiating a forest restoration program but would like the following questions answered first: 1.How large of a reduction in sediment delivery is expected if the forest is restored to pre-European settlement species? 2.Are some sub-watersheds more sensitive to restoration than others? 3.What role does the beaver play in storing sediment and reducing flashiness?
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Summary Watershed response to forest restoration modeled with HSPF Impact of beaver dams on sediment supplies modeled with RAS Hydrologic sensitivity index developed Historic flows statistically analyzed
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District First Date with Knife River Temperature and Precipitation
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Clay-Rich TillAverage Slope = 0.8 % Knife River Soils and Topography
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Land Cover and Forest Canopy
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Watershed Model - HSPF Tree Age Effect Hydrologic response following clearing and subsequent planting of a pine forest at different recovery ages 0 years 2 years 5 years 10 years 20 years 50 years 100 years Forest Restoration Re-establishment of mature coniferous forest representative of pre-European settlement 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Watershed Model - HSPF Calibrated to Flow at d/s gage
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Watershed Model – Extent of Forest Restoration
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Watershed Model – Extent of Forest Restoration
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Watershed Model – Tree Age
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Watershed Model – Tree Age
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Beaver Influence on Sediment Castor canadensis is the largest rodent in North America, growing to 60 lbs over an average life span of 24 years. Beaver dams can significantly affect stream flashiness Beaver dams can store a large quantity of sediment A large pulse of sediment can be mobilized upon breaching
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Intern canadensis Castor canadensis Knife River Beaver Confusion
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Beaver Influence on Sediment
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Summary of flow at USGS Gage
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Flashiness Index No Trend
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Flashiness Index
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Flashiness Index
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Hydrologic Sensitivity Index Ranks hydrologic sensitivity of sub-basins based on slope, distance to outlet and percent disturbed land
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Knife River Conclusions Forest restoration to Pre-European species will have a minimal effect on altering stream flows except in a few sub-watersheds Beaver dams will store water and reduce the flashiness of the stream at low flows, but have no effect once the 2-yr flow is exceeded Beaver dams only temporarily impound sediment. Larger waves of sediment are likely released when a dam or multiple dams fail
Questions? Contact: Dr. Jim Selegean, P.E., P.H. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office 477 Michigan Ave Detroit, MI US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Figure 39: Impacts of different beaver dam densities with unsteady flow modeling. a) far downstream cross- section b) downstream cross-setion c) cross-section immedietly downstream of dams d) within beaver dam section e) upstream of beaver dams - The black dashed line indicates time of first dam breach
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District
US Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District