The goals and objectives for the Niangua River Watershed Inventory and Assessment were developed to address the problems and opportunities for conserving the aquatic resources within the watershed. The Missouri Department of Conservation's strategic plan, the Fisheries Division Operational Plan, Stream Areas Program Plan, and the Stream Access Acquisition Plan and the West Central Regional Management Guidelines indicate areas of future expanded resource management, public awareness, and access needs and helped guide development of this document.

The following text describes the management objectives and strategies in five major areas: water quality and quantity; habitat; biotic community; public awareness and recreational use; and data inventory and maintenance. Completion of these objectives will depend upon their status in overall Department, Division and Regional priorities and the availability of personnel and funds. Many of the objectives rely on interagency coordination.

GOAL I: PROTECT AND IMPROVE WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY IN THE NIANGUA RIVER WATERSHED SO THAT ALL STREAMS ARE CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING NATIVE AQUATIC COMMUNITIES.

Status: Data were compiled for all known potential sources of water pollution in the watershed. Extensive water quality and biological monitoring were conducted for the UNAWP in the Upper Niangua Subwatershed. The beneficial uses and classifications of most third order and greater streams were evaluated, and numerous streams were recommended for upgraded classification in 1993 and 1996.

Pollution Sources

Objective I.1

Continue to identify potential pollution sources within the watershed and within the recharge areas of watershed springs; evaluate their potential impacts on water quality and aquatic communities, and implement management strategies to monitor the potential impacts and reduce these threats.

Pipelines

Problem/Opportunity: Pipelines in the vicinity of streams and other water bodies pose serious threats to water quality and aquatic life. Greater head pressure of pipelines increases the likelihood of ruptures at stream crossings. Exposure due to stream erosion, followed by corrosion or physical damage by flood debris, can increase this risk. Current policies are inadequate for protecting streams from pipeline accidents. Detailed maps are not readily available, buried pipelines are frequently not marked at stream crossings; pipeline companies are occasionally complacent about protecting and repairing pipelines; and 404 permits are frequently issued without identifying pipeline locations or with disregard for their presence.

Sewage Treatment Plants

Problem/Opportunity: Sewage treatment plants may impact receiving stream reaches by discharging poorly treated wastewater.

Sludge Application

Problem/Opportunity: Wastewater sludge stored in lagoons or applied to farmland can pose a threat to water quality. Application sites for municipal sludge seem to be adequately monitored by the MDNR and no problems have been reported in the Niangua Watershed. Private haulers have only recently been required to obtain licenses and file reports, so limited information is available. There are a large number of private treatment systems in the watershed, especially around LOZ, that depend on private haulers for sludge disposal. Locations of disposal sites within the watershed need to be determined.

Non-POTWs (Non-public owned treatment works)

Problem/Opportunity: There are large numbers of these systems in the LOZ area that handle considerable amounts of waste. They pose a significant threat to water quality if they are not monitored and properly maintained. The number of these systems is expected to increase with continuing development around the lake because many sites will not meet the requirements of the new regulations for conventional septic systems.

Animal Waste Point Source

Problem/Opportunity: Most of the permitted animal waste facilities in the watershed are relatively small dairies. However, there are at least one hog confinement facility and four fairly large poultry operations with a total human population equivalent of over 30,000. Facilities this large generate the waste equivalent to a small city, yet their waste handling and treatment systems are seldom comparable to the average municipal STP.

Landfills

Problem/Opportunity: The Lebanon Sanitary Landfill occasionally discharges leachate to Goodwin Hollow, a losing stream that is hydrologically connected to Bennett Spring and Sweet Blue Spring.

Quarries

Problem/Opportunity: Discharges of excessively turbid stormwater runoff from settling basins at a limestone quarry near Buffalo are probably degrading the Niangua River within Niangua darter critical habitat. The MDNR has investigated this problem and has advised the owner to remove accumulated sediment from the basins.

Septic Systems

Problem/Opportunity: Poorly designed and constructed septic systems and other individual treatment systems often contribute to elevated levels of nutrients in highly developed coves of LOZ.

Agricultural Runoff

Problem/Opportunity: Wastewater of greater than 300 animal units from dairies and poultry and hog confinement facilities are regulated by the MDNR as point sources. They must meet minimum standards, and operations within the watershed appear to be gradually coming into compliance. Livestock in pasture are non-point sources that are less tangible and may represent a considerable source of contaminants. The amount of stream contamination can be reduced by good pasture management, erosion control, and providing filter strips in riparian corridors.

Water Quality Monitoring

Objective I.2

Ensure that water quality and aquatic communities are monitored adequately to provide early detection of stream and lake degradation and to evaluate possible effects of watershed and stream improvement projects.

Problem/Opportunity: Water quality monitoring during the UNAWP indicated that high levels of nutrients and pathogens were occasionally present at most monitoring stations. It was estimated that construction of animal waste treatment facilities reduced nutrient input from these sources to the NR by 20% during the project. Even so, no significant improvements were detected in water quality, fish communities, or invertebrate communities during the first four years of the five year project (Smale et al., 1995). Efforts to secure funding for continued water quality monitoring have not been successful. Two sites within the project area (G006, G012) may be monitored occasionally by the NAWQA project (USGS).

Fish Kills

Problem/Opportunity: Several fish kills have been documented in the watershed. Most have been associated with municipal sewage discharges from the Marshfield sewage treatment plant.

Fish Contamination

Problem/Opportunity: Although no Niangua Arm (LOZ) samples have yielded action levels of contaminants, some Osage Arm (LOZ) paddlefish samples showed elevated chlordane levels.

Beneficial Use Attainment

Objective I.3

Evaluate all classified streams to assure that appropriate beneficial uses are being attained and recommend upgraded classifications as necessary.

Problem/Opportunity: Some third-order streams in the watershed remain unclassified andother streams may qualify as cool-water fisheries.

Problem/Opportunity: Efforts to protect Niangua darter habitat with a special classification have failed to win Clean Water Commission approval. Classification could be used to require stricter limitations in NPDES Permits that discharge to streams within critical habitat. "Outstanding State Resource" classification would also provide better protection for these streams.

Problem/Opportunity: Bennett Spring and Ha Ha Tonka Spring are among the largest springs in the state and both are featured resources at state parks. Recent MDNR dye tracings and geological investigations have established extensive recharge areas for these springs and this assessment has identified numerous water quality threats within them.

Objective I.4

Promote programs that enhance groundwater recharge in the watershed and spring recharge areas.

Springs

Problem/Opportunity: Springs are the main source of sustained flow in streams during periods of low precipitation. Since aquatic communities can experience great stress under these conditions (low dissolved oxygen and high temperatures), adequate flow and good water quality are essential. Springs in the watershed have not been monitored sufficiently to determine current conditions or detect change over time.

Watershed Projects

Problem/Opportunity: The amount of rainfall that percolates through the soil to recharge aquifers and maintain base flows is affected by land use and the amount of vegetation. Ungrazed, uneven-aged, woodland allows optimal percolation, and well managed pastures improve the quality of runoff events.

Water Quantity

Objective I.5

Support the enactment of a State Water Law and other legislation that will prevent negative downstream impacts from single or cumulative withdrawals.

Problem/Opportunity: Since there is no water law in Missouri, downstream users and government agencies have little recourse to regulate upstream water users and prevent them from withdrawing water that may impact aquatic organisms.

GOAL II: PROTECT AND IMPROVE AQUATIC HABITAT CONDITIONS OF THE NIANGUA RIVER WATERSHED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF NATIVE AQUATIC SPECIES WHILE ACCOMMODATING SOCIETY'S DEMANDS FOR WATER AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION.

Objective II.1

Insure that instream projects within the watershed do not interfere with natural stream processes.

Channel Alterations

Problem/Opportunity: Many landowners still believe that channelization is an appropriate solution to bank erosion and flooding problems. Although some short-term reduction in bank erosion may be achieved, the negative side effects can be severe, including loss of habitat diversity, accelerated upstream and downstream erosion, headcutting upstream, and channel destabilization.

404 Activities

Problem/Opportunity: A large number of Section 404 applications for instream construction and excavation are submitted for streams within the Niangua Watershed. Since a large portion of Niangua darter habitat occurs in the watershed, MDC reviews many of these.

Problem/Opportunity: The general permit for sand and gravel removal (GP-34) has greatly simplified the application and approval process for applicants, the COE, the MDNR, and MDC. Unfortunately, it has also reduced a very important component which has been beneficial in the past, direct contacts with landowners and permittees. These contacts provide opportunities to inform the interested parties about stream processes and the meaning and justification for the permit conditions; learn about their experiences, techniques, and concerns; and otherwise establish a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship. In addition, greater involvement provided opportunities to make site visits and document pre-permit conditions, monitor compliance, and observe possible impacts. Now, when a general permit is issued, the MDC is usually not consulted and frequently the COE makes no site inspection. Nationwide permits are usually issued with inadequate conditions to protect aquatic resources and without MDC input.

Objective II.2

Determine minimum flows necessary to sustain native communities of fish and other aquatic life, and to provide adequate spawning habitat for white bass, walleye, and other species.

Problem/Opportunity: Truman Dam prevents migration of LOZ white bass, walleye, paddlefish and other species to historic spawning sites upstream. White bass spawn in the Niangua River and Little Niangua River. While some walleye may spawn in both rivers, it is doubtful that they contribute to annual recruitment in LOZ. Neither river provides suitable spawning conditions for paddlefish.

Problem/Opportunity: MDC is required to monitor the new USGS gage at Tunnel Dam to insure that minimum flows required by the recent relicensing agreement are sustained. Recent data indicate that over a one-year period through December 4, 1996, minimum required flows were not sustained 31% of the time. During the spawning season (March 15 through June 15), mean daily flows were below the required minimum flow of 60 cfs 55% of the time.

Objective II.3

Implement habitat improvement projects on public and private land.

Habitat Improvement Projects on Private Land

Problem/Opportunity: Riparian corridors are in poor condition on many watershed streams and cattle frequently have access to corridors and streams. The vast majority of stream frontage in the watershed is in private ownership.

Problem/Opportunity: The three-year pilot stream incentive program in Dallas County, the recently initiated PFW project, and increased cooperation with NRCS to install alternative water systems, have stimulated interest in stream improvement in the watershed. Promotional and educational efforts are necessary to inform landowners about these programs and encourage participation.

Habitat Improvement Projects on Public Lands

Problem/Opportunity: Area Plans are prepared periodically for MDC conservation areas.

Problem/Opportunity: The newly acquired Barclay Springs CA is in the beginning stages of planning and development. This diverse area encompasses 389 acres with 1.7 miles of Niangua River frontage and a sizeable spring that provides an excellent opportunity for managing these aquatic resources.

Problem/Opportunity: Several habitat improvement projects have been completed at Bennett Spring State Park, Leadmine CA, and Mule Shoe CA. Since these serve as highly visible demonstration sites for effective stream improvement practices, they should be carefully monitored and properly maintained.

Unique Habitat

Objective II.4

Identify and protect unique habitat in the watershed

Problem/Opportunity: Very little high quality bottomland forest was identified in the Natural Features Inventory of the Niangua Watershed. This is the result of one or more of the following common practices: clearing of bottomlands up to the stream edge; allowing cattle to graze the intact forests; and repeated logging of forests. These forest are important and necessary components of the stream ecosystem. They provide essential habitat, help prevent streambank erosion, filter surface runoff and groundwater flow, reduce water temperatures by shadingstreams, and contribute woody debris and organic matter.

Problem/Opportunity: Very few high quality wetlands were identified in the Natural Features Inventory. Wetlands were probably always a scarce resource in the watershed historically and many have been developed for pasture or cropland.

Problem/Opportunity: Two of the eight extant Niangua darter populations occur in the watershed. Habitat degradation is apparently still negatively impacting the Niangua darter. Nutrification and sedimentation are believed to be the most serious threats to the darter, as well as the rest of the natural fauna.

Habitat Assessment

Objective II.5

Inventory aquatic habitat throughout the watershed to provide descriptions of habitat conditions in representative reaches and quantify various parameters for comparisons between subwatersheds and with other Missouri watersheds.

Problem/Opportunity: Insufficient numbers of SHADs were conducted to adequately characterize the entire watershed. Most of the SHADs were completed in 1991, so it would be desirable to repeat them if surveys are conducted at additional sites. The Habitat Assessment Committee investigated possible alternatives to the SHAD that would provide more useful quantitative data from a watershed wide perspective. Analyses of remote sensing data, including aerial photography, digital orthophotography, and satellite imagery, are promising alternatives, however, current data on a sufficiently large scale is not readily available. A method for evaluating riparian corridors has been developed by Tom Groshens (MDC), using aerial photographs. Photographs were on hand for only a small portion of the watershed, so this method was not pursued for this plan. Another emerging method is digital image analysis of high quality helicopter videos or low altitude digital photographs.

GOAL III. MAINTAIN THE DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF AQUATIC COMMUNITIES AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE SPORT FISHERY.

Objective III.1

Protect and improve the status of threatened and endangered species, and implement state or federal recovery plans.

Problem/Opportunity: Niangua darter populations appear to be fairly stable in the Little Niangua River but declining in the upper Niangua River. Sampling in both subwatersheds needs to be expanded and compared to Mattingly's (UMC) sampling on the Little Niangua River. Although limited targeted sampling was conducted, thorough community sampling of the Upper Niangua River by Smale during the UNAWP failed to yield Niangua darters. No thorough, comparable survey has been conducted throughout Niangua darter range since Pflieger's in the 1970s and recent sampling procedures have been inconsistent.

Problem/Opportunity: The bluestripe darter is only found in a few streams in the Missouri Ozarks and appears to be declining in the watershed. Its status in other watersheds is unknown.

Objective III.2

Maintain the diversity and abundance of fishes and invertebrates at or above current levels.

Problem/Opportunity: Thorough fish community samples have not been conducted in the Lower Niangua River Subwatershed or the Little Niangua River Subwatershed since Pflieger's surveys in the mid 1970s.

Problem/Opportunity: Comprehensive invertebrate sampling has not been conducted in the Lower Niangua Subwatershed or Little Niangua River Subwatershed since the mid 1970s. Thorough collections were completed during the UNAWP from 1991-1995 in the Upper Niangua Subwatershed.

Problem/Opportunity: A diverse mussel community historically occupied the watershed. In consideration of mussel decline throughout the Midwest and the lack of recent watershed sampling, a thorough mussel survey is warranted.

Problem/Opportunity: The Niangua and Little Niangua Rivers offer opportunities for producing high quality fisheries.

Problem/Opportunity: Management actions targeting one or more game species can have unexpected negative impacts on non-game fishes and invertebrates. Several listed rare, threatened, and endangered species are found in limited number in the watershed.

Problem/Opportunity: The Niangua and Little Niangua rivers are important components of the fisheries and aquatic ecosystems of LOZ.

GOAL IV. INCREASE ACCESS AND MDC OWNERSHIP WITHIN THE NIANGUA WATERSHED

Objective IV.1

Provide additional MDC owned access to the Niangua River between Bennett Spring and the Camden County line.

Problem/Opportunity: There is a demand for at least one stream access on the lower Niangua River to increase user convenience and encourage more uniform use throughout the watershed.

Objective IV.2

Enhance accessibility at all MDC access and frontage areas within the watershed.

Problem/Opportunity: Area Plans have been or are being developed for five stream areas. There are no disabled user facilities at MDC stream areas in the watershed.

Objective IV.3

Implement expansion plans as outlined in MDC area plans; focus on key expansions at Mule Shoe CA and Leadmine CA.

Problem/Opportunity: Area Plans have been or are being developed for several stream areas.

Objective IV.4

Work with other divisions and agencies to address problems associated with increased public use in the watershed.

Problem/Opportunity: There has been a significant increase in canoeing, rafting, tubing, and kayaking on the Niangua River in recent years. Litter, noise, and controlled substance violations have also increased. Owners of boat liveries and campgrounds have complained about these problems and may be cooperative allies for planning management actions.

GOAL V: ADDRESS INFORMATION AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE WATERSHED.

Objective V.1

Inform other agencies, local government officials, land developers, landowners, and the general public of water quality conditions and problems in the watershed.

Problem/Opportunity: Sound watershed management depends on our ability to increase public awareness and educate the general public, landowners, city and county officials, and industrial and residential developers on the importance of improving water quality, and generate an interest in water quality problems and solutions.

GOAL VI. MANAGE NIANGUA RIVER WATERSHED DATABASES TO PROVIDE ACCURATE AND UP-TO-DATE DATA, EASY ACCESSIBILITY, AND COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER DISTRICTS, DIVISIONS, AND AGENCIES.

Objective VI.1

Organize watershed databases to improve accessibility and compatibility.

Problem/Opportunity: Numerous databases were created and a large amount of data were compiled during the inventory for this plan. These databases must be readily accessible for general use and updating. They should also be compatible with those of other regions, divisions, and agencies to facilitate exchange of data.

Objective VI.2

Update watershed databases periodically to include the most current, accurate information.

Problem/Opportunity: Many of the watershed databases must be updated periodically to include the most recent data (e.g., 404 permits, fish collections). MoRAP is coordinating data preparation and maintenance of some databases throughout the state to increase compatibility and efficiency.