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 ConnellBiosystems Engineering, University of Tennessee

Heidi Howard, ERDC - CERL

Mike Peterkin, Natural Resources CoordinatorCamp Atterbury JMTC

Hugh Westbury, Watershed Program Manager, Fort Benning

ObjectivesUse canoe and kayak-mounted underwater videomapping systemDevelop aquatic habitat maps for the Driftwood River (20 miles)Develop optimum habitat maps for Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) mussel - PWTB 200-1-114 Snorkel and sneak peek mappingStreambank mapping (erosion) - LegacyOcean/coral reef aquatic habitat maps

VIDEO CAMERASLASERSSONAR TRANSDUCERWATERPROOF CASE

Geo-referenced Image Recording DVD RecorderGPS NMEA Data (ASCII)

Canoeing with Drop-down Camera

Georeferenced Above Water Image

GIS Attributes DefinedGPS PositionDepthWidthSubstrateRiver CharacteristicEmbeddednessStreambank Erosion (bank height, bank angle, riparian diversity, river sinuosity)

Modified Wentworth Scale

SubstrateDescriptionBedrockUnbroken Rock SurfaceFines/Sand< 0.3 cm (0.1 inch)Small Gravel0.31.0 cm (0.10.4 inch)Large Gravel1.010 cm (0.44 inch)Cobble1030 cm (412 inch)Small Boulder3060 cm (1224 inch)Large Boulder> 60 cm (24 inch)

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

Substrate Classification

SandSmall GravelCobbleSmall BoulderLarge BoulderBedrockSome Substrate Types

RiverSurfaceCharacteristics

Driftwood RiverRiver Characteristics20 mile38,503 Sample Points

Driftwood RiverThalweg Depth20 mile38,053 Sample Points

Driftwood RiverSubstrate20 mile38,053 Sample Points

Species at Risk Habitat MapsRayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) musselDevelop Optimum Habitat Criteria

Rayed Bean (Villosa fabalis) Habitat Criteria primarily found in small, shallow riversusually about 4 feet in depth or lessin and near riffles/runsusually found deeply buried in sand and gravel substrates often in and around aquatic vegetation

Search (Depth

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) HabitatCover large reaches (10 miles/day) - continuousNon-intrusive, no access requiredDetermine above and below water featuresDevelop total river habitat suitability indexBy 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 ProposalSpecies 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 LogperchAtlantic 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 VideomappingDetermine erodibility and erosivityIdentify areas of restoration needsCover large areas (10 miles/day) - continuousNon-intrusive, no access requiredPermanent video database and virtual tour capabilityUses EPA Bank Assessment of Non-point source Consequences of Sediment (BANCS) for annual total streambank erosion predictionUsed to determine sediment TMDLs.

THE END -Questions?Paul Ayers, University of Tennessee - ayers@utk.edu

***This give you an idea of what the video footage looks like from a fish eye perspective and what is above the water.*****