Monitoring and Evaluation of United States Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Stream Restorations in Illinois (Progress Report for 7/1/2015 – 12/31/2015)

This report serves to document results from water quality, physical and biological characterizations (i.e., monitoring) of United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (Partners Program) stream restorations in Illinois. More broadly, it provides a method for evaluating ecological impacts of restorations, a tool for documenting progress toward USFWS goals and a vessel through which to convey outcomes of USFWS activities to the public. Measures and evaluations within provide numerical values that can be used quantify progress towards national and regional performance measures developed by the USFWS. Contained within these pages is a discussion of the need for monitoring (Section 1), the conceptual framework behind the monitoring design (Section 1) and evaluations of each restoration (Sections 2-7). A summary of ecological patterns observed across monitoring locations and the degree to which restorations support USFWS objectives are also discussed (Section 8).U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Award F15AP00785unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Status Revision and Update for Illinois' Fish Species in Greatest Need of Conservation: 2012 Annual Project Report

Work during this reporting period focused on gathering fisheries data relevant to distribution, abundance and ecological characteristicsof fish in Illinois and summarizing those data to reevaluate portions of the Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan and Strategy (IWAP). Fisheries databases and museum collections from seven sources along withsurveys of Illinois fisheries experts have been utilized to conduct a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative assessment of Illinois fish Species in Greatest Need of Conservation (SGNC)to assist with updating and revisingAppendix I and II of the IWAP.This annual progress report summarizes work conducted for the period1 January 2011 –31 December 2011.Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Wildlife Grant / Project Number (T-68-R-001)unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Monitoring and Evaluation of United States Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Stream Restorations in Illinois (Progress Report for 1/1/2016 – 12/31/2016)

This report summarizes monitoring activities completed in 2016 at Illinois Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program stream restorations. Chemical, physical and biological characteristics were evaluated at one restored and two reference stream segments associated with a streambank stabilization project in Clear Creek, Union County. Monitoring completed in 2016 is a continuation of activities conducted in 2015, and as such, monitoring objectives and methods are detailed in Metzke (2015).U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Award F15AP00785unpublishednot peer reviewe

Hierarchical Framework for Wadeable Stream Management and Conservation: Annual Report 2013

We have consolidated and mapped biological information associated with existing criteria for INAI listing of wadeable streams. Threatened and Endangered species locations, fish Index of Biotic Integrity and Mussel Community Index values, and Mussel Species Richness from recent statewide surveys that meet existing criteria for INAI listing have been consolidated and mapped. Additional efforts were made toward developing standard methods for classifying and rating INAI Category I and Category VI sites.Work on this project continued with one full time research scientist and one part-time research scientist during the reporting period. We hired and added a second full time staff member nearthe end of the reporting period to focus on completion of Jobs 2 and 3.Our part-time graduate student worker completed georeferencing and quality assurance of Illinois EPT collections data that is now available for our use.Efforts to define AES polygons uncovered two unexpected but related issues with our existing GIS database system. A large number of very small areas (often < 1 meter wide but sometimes miles long) within the state had not been incorporated into the system. Secondly, some watershed polygons were found to have been misattributed to adjacent watersheds. These areas were generally at the boundaries of the processing units that were used in the initial database development. Identifying, incorporating, and attributing these areas has taken considerable time and delayed work on defining AESs (Job 3)Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Wildlife Grant Program (Project Number T-75-R-001)unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Monitoring and Assessment of Aquatic Life in the Kaskaskia River for Evaluating IDNR Private Lands Programs: Annual Report 2016

Work during this period continued monitoring efforts to characterize fish assemblages, benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages, physical habitat and water quality in streams within the Kaskaskia basin. During summer of 2015, 48 locations were surveyed(a survey event includes physiochemical and biological evaluations), bringing the total locations over three survey seasons to 139 . Several of these locations have been surveyed in multiple years to evaluate interannual variation of stream characteristics or to compliment concurrent studies, and therefore the total number of monitoring events (i.e., efforts to characterize the physiochemical and biological attributes of a stream) is 179. Progress was made in assembling and evaluating relevant information from outside sources (e.g., Illinois Department of Natural Resources [IDNR], Illinois Environmental Protection Agency [IEPA]) during the reporting period.Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Resource Conservation RC13CREP01unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Establishing an Aquatic Monitoring Program to Assess the Goals of the Illinois Conservation Reserve Program in the Kaskaskia River Basin

The goal of this monitoring program is to provide a characterization of Kaskaskia River basin stream reaches at a time when CREP program enrollments are opening within the basin. This program will provide a baseline from which change can be measured as the CREP program matures and thereby provide a means for evaluating any potential for increase in fish and mussel stocks. Within this context, study objectives are: 6 1.Evaluate chemical, physical and biological status of streams. This portion of the program will be used to determine current status and assess trends over time in stream biodiversity throughout the Kaskaskia River Basin accounting for regional and system-wide variation.2.Evaluate status of streams with sensitive species.This portion of the program will assess temporal trends in the characteristics of sensitive populations in areas of conservation concern. 3.Assess locations with concurrent monitoring programs for long-term trend evaluation.Information from these fixed locations will track temporal changes in biological communities as private lands program initiatives mature.Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Resource Conservationunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Revision and Update of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan's Streams Campaign: Final Report

We used new and existing information to revise and update the Streams Campaign of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan (IWAP). The draft produced is organized around six focalthemes and contains newly articulated goals developed with the assistance of the Streams Campaign Steering Committee. The draft includes sections describing the current status of aquatic habitats, stressors and threats to wildlife and habitats, focal species (selected to act as ecological indicators for effectiveness monitoring), focal areas, and conservation actions. We have also conducted a broad scale priority watershed analysis that identifies areas for protection and enhancement based on their bio logical richness and relative anthropogenic disturbance. Finally, we have identified potential performance measures for each of the Streams Campaign Implementation Goals.IDNR State Wildlife Grant Program Project Number T-97-R-001unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Monitoring and Assessment of Aquatic Life in the Kaskaskia River for Evaluating IDNR Private Lands Programs: Phase II.

Sixty-five reaches were surveyed during summer 2017 (Table 3, Figure 2), bringing the total reaches over five survey seasons to 240 (Table 1). Several of these reaches have been surveyed in multiple years to allow for the evaluation of interannual variation or to compliment concurrent studies, and therefore the total number of monitoring events throughout the entire survey (i.e., efforts to characterize the physiochemical and biological attributes of a stream reach) is 1300. Water quality (temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, pH, total reactive phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and turbidity) was assessed at basin-wide assessment and paired reaches during the low flow index period. Water quality (temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, pH, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total nitrogen, phosphorus and total suspended solids) was assessed during three high flow events at a subset of paired reaches(between four and eight reaches assessed during each event). Forty continuous temperature recorders were deployed at basin-wide assessment and paired reaches in spring 2017 and will be retrieved in winter 2017-2018. Data from these recorders will be used to evaluate the thermal regime.Habitat evaluations were completed at each surveyed reach using the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI; OEPA 2006) and the Illinois Habitat Index (IHI; Sass, et al. 2010). The QHEI provides a qualitative index of habitat characteristics and can be viewed as a measure of biological potential. The IHI indexes landscape disturbance by qualifying relevant stream characteristics. Benthic macroinvertebrates were surveyed at basin-wide assessment reaches twenty times, paired reaches nine times and at student research reaches seventeen times using a standard rapid assessment method (IEPA 2011). Collected organisms were preserved in ethanol for processing at a later date. Benthic samples collected during the 2015 and 2016 surveys were sorted during calendar year 2017 and 300-count subsamples were shipped to EcoAnalysts, Inc. (Moscow, IA) for identification. Fish were surveyed using IDNR Basin Survey procedures (IDOC 1994) at all reaches. Length and weight of individuals from fish species identified as sensitive to sedimentation (Table 2) were measured at paired and sensitive species reaches. Mussels were surveyed at fourteen paired and two sensitive species reaches. Surveys employed tactile and visual techniques to locate mussels. Eight person-hours were expended at each reach, although 2 each hour was recorded separately to facilitate comparisons with previous IDNR and INHS surveys which use four person-hours.Progress towards a fish stock index occurred during the reporting period. IDNR electrofishing data (survey location, date, length and weight of individual fish) from non-wadeable streams of the Kaskaskia River basin were acquired, sorted and filtered in preparation for constructing this index.One full-time professional worked on objectives 1-3 , while one part-time professional provided assistance completing field work. Four student technicians aided field work. One full-time professional staff member provided GIS support to the IDNR CREP (objective 4).Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Resource Conservationunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Hierarchical Framework for Wadeable Stream Management and Conservation: Final Report

This project produced a series of attributed GIS feature classes that describe nested classification units consisting of Ecological Drainage Units and Aquatic Ecological Systems that can be used for conservation and management planning for stream systems at a variety of landscape scales. Valley Segment Types were also developed for the 1:100,000 scale GIS that was available when the project was started but have not yet been redeveloped for the finer scale system (1:24,000). We also examined existing Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) Natural Community Types (NCT), and Subtypes, associated with streams and identified areas that meet the physical descriptions of these NCTs based on stream size and gradient. We discuss the identification of natural features in terrestrial and stream systems within the initial development of the INAI and how this lead to differences in their evaluation and separation into different Categories (Category I: High Quality Natural Communities; Category VII: Outstanding Aquatic Features). An approach for defining and evaluating natural features for stream systems that is more similar to that used for terrestrial NCTs is presented. Information from recent and historical surveys of fish, mussels, and other invertebrate taxa was assembled for use in identifying potential Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) sites using existing criteria for streams. We identified stream reaches that contained current element of occurrence records for Illinois Endangered and Threatened fish and mussels including those that were not currently listed on the INAI that may qualify as Category II sites (Specific Suitable Habitat of Endangered and Threatened Species) and give recommendations for their further evaluation. These data were also used to identify stream reaches that may qualify for the INAI as Category VI (Unusual Concentration of Flora and Fauna). Additional guidance is provided for implementation of existing criteria that use mussel species richness, the mussel classification index, and the fish index of biotic integrity as criteria for qualifying as Category VI INAI sites.Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural HeritageIllinois Department of Natural Resources, State Wildlife Initiative Grants Program T-75-R-001unpublishednot peer reviewedOpe