Strategy 3.1.1, Work Unit A--Survey of Public Expectations
Task 3.1.1, Work Unit B--Technical Assistance for Pool-scale Management Plans
Strategy 3.1.2, Work Unit A--Evaluate the Effects of Locks and Dams on Fish Passage
Strategy 3.1.2, Work Unit C--Sediment Data Processing and Analysis for the Illinois River Basin (Technical Assistance for Pool-scale Management Plans)
Strategy 3.1.4--Identify Alternative Management Objectives
Strategy 3.2.1, Work Unit B--Integration of Wildlife Component with Spatial Databases for the Management Strategy for Birds
Strategy 3.3.1, Work Unit A--Water Regulation Alternatives: Pool 25
Strategy 3.3.1, Work Unit B--Water Regulation Alternatives: Technical Assistance for Strategy Development
Strategy 3.3.3, Work Unit A--Effects of Islands on Selected Environmental Conditions in the Upper Mississippi River System
Strategy 3.3.3, Work Unit B--Hydraulic Modification of Backwater Lakes to Improve Habitat
Strategy 3.1.1,
Work Unit A--Survey of Public Expectations
FY 1996 Accomplishments: The survey design and Scope of Work were completed. An external review of the Scope of Work was completed. Funding Allocation: $17.3K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: The phone survey was initiated in FY 1996 and will be completed in early FY 1997. The results will be compiled and reported by the St. Paul District COE. The final report will be completed in FY 1997. Results of the survey may be included in the EMP Report to Congress. (POC: D. Wilcox) Funding Allocation: $16.2K
Task
3.1.1, Work Unit B--Technical Assistance for Pool-scale Management Plans
FY 1996 Accomplishments: EMTC staff participated in several meetings related to ecosystem management. These included meetings of the Pool 25 Natural Resources Management Team and the Open River Ecosystem Management Team. An EMTC staff member served as liaison between the Post-Summit Steering Committee and the Future Conditions Work Team. The Team met twice in FY 1996, developing a list of ongoing predictive activities about the river system and its management, and a list of needed actions required to compare predicted and desirable future conditions. Funding Allocation: $33.0K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: EMTC staff will continue to advise local ecosystem management teams regarding the setting of ecological objectives for selected pools and river reaches. Recommendations of the Big Rivers Partnership Future Conditions Team will be presented at the 1997 River Summit in St. Louis. Data, text, and figures will be supplied for a UMRCC report on integrated natural resources management. (POC: K. Lubinski) Funding Allocation: $4.9K
Strategy
3.1.2, Work Unit A--Evaluate the Effects of Locks and Dams on Fish Passage
FY 1996 Accomplishments: Final fish passage dataset, draft of the final report, project status report, and presentations to the MRRC and UMRCC Fish Technical Section were completed. Recommendation to help ameliorate fish passage problem at locks and dams. Work unit completed except for final report and a published paper. Funding Allocation: $44.2K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: Final report and a published paper will be completed. (POC: D. Wilcox) Funding Allocation: $21.6K
Strategy
3.1.2, Work Unit C--Sediment Data Processing and Analysis for the Illinois
River Basin (Technical Assistance for Pool-scale Management Plans)
FY 1996 Accomplishments: Over the years, the Illinois State Water Survey has conducted numerous studies related to erosion and sedimentation problems in Illinois. Most of the studies were targeted to specific problems in a lake or watershed, while others, like the Benchmark Sediment Network for Illinois, were designed to monitor long-term trends in soil erosion and sediment transport throughout the State. As a result of these data collection and research efforts (more than 60 years of lake sedimentation surveys and more than 10 years of suspended stream sediment monitoring), the Illinois State Water Survey maintains the best available sediment data for evaluating trends in erosion and sedimentation in Illinois.
Recent research projects funded by the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources to investigate erosion and sedimentation in the Illinois River Basin and the State as a whole, including the changes in land-use practices within the different watersheds that might have contributed to increased soil erosion and sedimentation, have generated a significant amount of data that could be applicable to other areas in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
Although this Work Unit was funded in FY 1995, the funds were not received by the Illinois State Water Survey until late September 1995 because of the prolonged process the Illinois Department of Conservation underwent in administering the Cooperative Agreement. Work on the effort was not possible, therefore, until early FY 1996. To date, all available State and Federal sediment-related data in the Illinois River Basin have been compiled, verified, and assembled into a database. In addition, all sediment-related data for the Illinois portion of the Mississippi River were also completed, verified, and assembled. The Illinois State Water Survey estimates that the final report, along with the data in electronic form, will be provided to the Environmental Management Technical Center no later than March 1997.
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: No additional cost will be incurred this fiscal year to complete the data analysis. In addition, the Illinois State Water Survey has agreed, at no additional cost, to update historical land-use changes to present time, on a county-by-county basis, to compare with changes in sediment transport records. They will also update water discharge data over the period of record (60 years) to compare with the sediment data. The final report and data in an electronic format is expected about March 1997. (POC: R. Delaney)
Strategy
3.1.4--Identify Alternative Management Objectives
FY 1996 Accomplishments: Alternative ecological management objectives were discussed at several meetings in FY 1996, including ecosystem management meetings, the Post-Summit Future Conditions Team, and meetings related to the development of the Adaptive Environmental Assessment Workshops. Reports of each of these activities (Strategy 3.3.1, Work Unit B; Task 1.3.2.1, Work Unit A) describe the ecological factors under consideration for establishing management objectives.
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: The Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission has agreed to assist the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee in developing an integrated natural resources management strategy for the UMRS. Their report is expected to include an initial set of systemic, ecologically based natural resource objectives for the UMRS. We will supply data and analyses as necessary in support of this report. (POC: K. Lubinski)
Strategy
3.2.1, Work Unit B--Integration of Wildlife Component with Spatial Databases
for the Management Strategy for Birds
FY 1996 Accomplishments: (1) Spatial data for Pools 9, 10, 12, 14-16, and 20 from 1989 were automated (completed under Task 2.2.4.4, Work Unit B); and (2) a PC-based ArcView application on a CD-ROM allowing access to spatial habitat databases for river managers was created. Funding Allocation: $17.4K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: (1) Present ArcView application at the UMRCC Wildlife Technical Section's fall meeting, (2) assist in "Gap Style Analysis" for Upper Mississippi and Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuges, and (3) continue to provide data and technical support for the Management Information System as a product of the Waterfowl Management Strategy for the UMR. Products (2) and (3) are dependent on funding provided by Migratory Bird Project. (POC: C. Lowenberg, C. Korschgen, and T. Owens) Funding Allocation: $12.3K
Strategy
3.3.1, Work Unit A--Water Regulation Alternatives: Pool 25
FY 1996 Accomplishments: (1) Final reports published--Wlosinski, J. H., and J. Rogala. 1996. Pool 25: Water level management alternatives and their effects on habitat. National Biological Service, Environmental Management Technical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, 1996. LTRMP 96-T004. 85 pp. and Wlosinski, J. H. 1996. Pool 25: Analysis of water levels and discharge. National Biological Service, Environmental Management Technical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, March 1996. LTRMP 96-T001. 88 pp. (2) Final papers published--Wlosinski, J. H., and J. T. Rogala. 1996. Integrating hydraulic, statistical, and spatial models for predicting the effects of water level management alternatives. Pages 235-237 in Volume 1. Proceedings Rivertech96, 1st International Conference on New/Emerging Concepts for Rivers, Chicago, Illinois, September 22-26, 1996, and Wlosinski, J. H., and J. Rogala. 1995. Pool 25: Effects of water level management alternatives on present habitats. In: Proceedings of the fifty-first annual meeting of the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois. 181 pp. (3) Report in press--Wlosinski, J. H., and J. Rogala. Pool 25: Land ownership requirements in moving the control point to the dam. U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Management Technical Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin. LTRMP 97-T002. (In press) Funding Allocation: $44.4K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: Final report on ownership requirements will be completed. A report on vegetation changes caused by water level manipulation will be prepared. Aerial photographs for 1997 vegetation will be obtained. (POC: J. Wlosinski) Funding Allocation: $27.9K
Strategy
3.3.1, Work Unit B--Water Regulation Alternatives: Technical Assistance
for Strategy Development
FY 1996 Accomplishments: Completed two analyses and letter reports for the small-scale drawdown project. Numerous small-scale preproject databases (partial funding from EPA) were developed. Off-the-shelf GIS macro language program was used by the Water Level Management Task Force for predicting effects of water level management alternatives. Completed a project status report. Funding Allocation: $34.9K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: Small-scale project data will be completed, data analyzed, and draft report completed. Draft report of winter water level changes will be prepared. (POC: J. Wlosinski) Funding Allocation: $54.5K
Strategy
3.3.3, Work Unit A--Effects of Islands on Selected Environmental Conditions
in the Upper Mississippi River System
FY 1996 Accomplishments: (1) Synthesized field data, (2) neared completion of a draft report, and (3) gave technical presentations at meetings (regional and national) and briefings. Funding Allocation: $44.8K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: A final, peer-reviewed analysis publication will be completed and distributed. (POC: R. Gaugush) Funding Allocation: $12.8K
Strategy
3.3.3, Work Unit B--Hydraulic Modification of Backwater Lakes to Improve
Habitat
FY 1996 Accomplishments: Contributions from the coauthors of the final report were assembled and limited synthesis and editing was completed. Work on this Task was largely supplanted by Goal 2 water quality monitoring activities and the scheduled report was not brought to the final draft stage. Funding Allocation: $30.9K
Scheduled FY 1997 Activities and Products: FY 1997 effort will be limited to final assembling and editing of report. J. Sauer will continue as liaison between EMTC and other cooperators on the Finger Lakes project. (POC: D. Soballe) Funding Allocation: $16.9K