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ROOT _ScienceBase Catalog __Economic Impacts of Ecosystem Restoration ___Lone Mountain NRDAR Settlement in the Powell River Watershed Filters
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Background information.—Historically, the Powell River supported abundant and diverse populations of freshwater mussels. In recent decades, mussel density and species richness have declined and many freshwater mussel species are listed as either State or Federally threatened or endangered species. Environmental degradation from coal mining has been identified as one of the drivers of this decline. An example is the 1996 Lone Mountain slurry spill that directly affected mussel populations, as well as their host fish species. Freshwater mussels feed by filtering small particles from water, thereby improving water quality and providing an essential ecosystem service in rivers and streams. Mussels also serve as a food...
Categories: Project;
Types: Map Service,
OGC WFS Layer,
OGC WMS Layer,
OGC WMS Service;
Tags: Aquatic,
Aquatic species propagation,
Bank stabilization/erosion control,
Broadleaf,
Conservation easement,
Background information.— The Powell and Clinch Rivers provide vital habitat for many forms of wildlife and are inhabited by one of the world’s richest and most diverse assemblages of freshwater mussels (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2003). The rivers are also multiple-use recreation areas and a valuable water source that supplies water for the residents of Lee County, Virginia. The Lone Mountain coal slurry spill released sediment and hazardous substances affecting water quality and impacting 12 Federally listed mussels and critical habitat for 2 Federally listed fish. Fish and mussel habitat depends on the riparian habitats surrounding the river. In order to recover lost fish and mussel habitat, the Lone Mountain...
Background information.—To restore fish and mussel habitat lost in the Lone Mountain coal slurry spill, the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) plan calls for riparian habitat restoration to improve existing stream conditions, particularly by stabilizing streambanks in problem areas and planting appropriate riparian buffers throughout the watershed. The Powell River runs through Leeman Field Park in Pennington Gap, Virginia, the largest population center near the Lone Mountain spill site. Through this reach, the river experienced streambank erosion and loss of instream habitat because of channel instability, changes in stormwater runoff, and loss of riparian vegetation along the streambank....
Background information.— The Lone Mountain slurry spill injured two endangered fish species in the Powell River—the yellowfin madtom ( Noturus flavipinnis) and the slender chub ( Erimystax cahni). The yellowfin madtom was historically widespread throughout the Upper Tennessee River drainage but was presumed extinct at the time of its formal scientific description. The discovery of three surviving but geographically isolated populations in the late 1970s and early 1980s resulted in its listing as a threatened species. The slender chub was also once relatively common in the Powell River but is now listed as one of the most narrowly distributed minnows in North America. Both the yellowfin madtom and the slender chub...
Background information.—The Powell River watershed has a long history of coal mining. Prior to August 3, 1977, Virginia laws and regulations required the reclamation of areas affected by coal surface mining, but there were no regulations addressing reclamation of underground mines. Flows or seeps from these abandoned mines have long degraded the waters of the Powell River watershed (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2008). Water that is discharged from these sites can be highly acidic and it commonly contains high concentrations of dissolved iron and aluminum sulfates. This acid mine drainage degrades the water quality of streams and water supplies and is a major contributor to aquatic habitat degradation. Led by...
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