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FIBI057FIBI057

Musconetcong River - FIBI057

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FIBI Sampling LocationSmall Streams (1st and 2nd Order)Large Streams (3rd Order and Above)

SUMMARY OF RESULTS FIBI057 - Musconetcong River

1. Stream Name: Musconetcong River 2. Sampling Date: 08-21-2003 3. Sampling Location: Off River Rd - Above Lubbers Run 4. Municipality Byram Twp 5. County: Sussex 6. Watershed Management Area: 1 7. Contributing Drainage Area: 35.2 Square Miles 8. Electrofishing Gear: 2 Backpack 9. FIBI Score and Rating: 42 - Good

10. Habitat Score and Rating: 172 - Optimal 11. Fishable Species Present: Yes 12. Relevant AMNET1 Station Data:

Proximity of FIBI station to AMNET station: At AN0064 AMNET Rating: Round 1 – Non-impaired Round 2 – Non-impaired Round 3 – Non-impaired

13. Stream Chemistries: Dissolved Oxygen 8.36 mg/L Temperature. 23.8 0C pH 8.49 Conductivity 473 µmhos/cm

14. Number of Fish With Anomalies: 0 15. Length of Stream Segment Sampled 150 Meters 16. Water Clarity: Clear 17. Average Forest Open Canopy: 26% 18. Discharge: 59.8 ft.3/sec 19. Substrate: 15% Gravel and Sand, 70% Cobble, 15% Boulder 20. Habitat: 55% Riffle, 30% Run, 15% Pool 21. Snags Yes 22. Periphyton Slight 23. Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Yes 24. Other observations: 25. Number of Fish Species Identified: 15 26. Total Number of Fish Collected: 321

1 AMNET is the acronym for the DEP’s ambient benthic macroinvertebrate monitoring network – a series of 820 monitoring stations located throughout the state’s waterways that collects data on the health of bottom dwelling stream fauna which in turn is used to assess general water quality.

FIBI057MUSCONETCONG RIVEROFF RIVER ROAD - ABOVE LUBBERS RUNBYRAM TOWNSHIP, SUSSEX COUNTY

LEGENDSTART

FINISH

SEGMENT SAMPLED

DIRECTION OF FLOW

Waterloo Road

River R

oad

Lauren Court

FIBI057 - Musconetcong R. off River Rd Excellent Good Fair PoorDate Sampled - 8/21/2003

Score

# of Fish Species 5

# of Benthic Insectivorous Species (BI) 5

# of Trout and Centrarchid Species (trout, bass, sunfish, crappie) 5

# of Intolerant Species (IS) 3

Proportion of Individuals as White Suckers 5

Proportion of Individuals as Generalists (carp, creek chub, banded killifish, 5

goldfish, fathead minnow, green sunfish)

Proportion of Individuals as Insectivorous Cyprinids (I and BI) 3

Proportion of Individuals as Trout *whichever gives better score

OR

Proportion of Individuals as Piscivores (Excluding American Eel)* 1

Number of Individuals in Sample 5

Proportion of Individuals w/disease/anomalies (excluding blackspot) 5

Total 42

Stream Rating

45-50 Excellent

37-44 Good

29-36 Fair

10-28 Poor

HABITAT ASSESSMENT FOR HIGH GRADIENT STREAMS Musconetcong R. (FIBI057) – 8/21/03Condition Category

Optimal Suboptimal Marginal Poor

1. Epifaunal Substrate/Available Cover

Greater than 70% of substratefavorable for epifaunalcolonization and fish cover; mixof snags, submerged logs,undercut banks, cobble or otherstable habitat and at stage toallow full colonization potential(i.e., logs/snags that are not newfall and not transient).

40-70% mix of stable habitat;well-suited for full colonizationpotential; adequate habitat formaintenance of populations;presence of additional substrate inthe form of newfall, but not yetprepared for colonization (mayrate at high end of scale).

20-40% mix of stable habitat;habitat availability less thandesirable; substrate frequentlydisturbed or removed.

Less than 20% stable habitat; lackof habitat is obvious; substrateunstable or lacking.

SCORE 18 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

2. EmbeddednessGravel, cobble, and boulderparticles are 0-25% surroundedby fine sediment. Layering ofcobble provides diversity of nichespace

Gravel, cobble, and boulderparticles are 25-50% surroundedby fine sediment.

Gravel, cobble, and boulderparticles are 50-75% surroundedby fine sediment.

Gravel, cobble, and boulderparticles are more than 75%surrounded by fine sediment.

SCORE 18 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

3. Velocity/Depth RegimesAll 4 velocity/depth regimespresent (slow-deep, slow-shallow,fast-deep, fast-shallow).(slow is <0.3 m/s, deep is >0.5 m)

Only 3 of the 4 regimes present(if fast-shallow is missing, scorelower than if missing otherregimes).

Only 2 of the 4 habitat regimespresent (if fast-shallow or slow-shallow are missing, score low).

Dominated by 1 velocity / depthregime (usually slow-deep).

SCORE 17 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

4. Sediment DepositionLittle or no enlargement ofislands or point bars and less than5% (<20% for low-gradientstreams) of the bottom affectedby sediment deposition.

Some new increase in barformation, mostly from gravel,sand or fine sediment;5-30% (20-50% for low-gradient)of the bottom affected; slightdeposition in pools.

Moderate deposition of newgravel, sand or fine sediment onold and new bars; 30-50% (50-80% for low-gradient) of thebottom affected; sedimentdeposits at obstructions,constrictions, and bends;moderate deposition of poolsprevalent.

Heavy deposits of fine material,increased bar development; morethan 50% (80% for low-gradient)of the bottom changingfrequently; pools almost absentdue to substantial sedimentdeposition.

SCORE 16 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

5. Channel Flow StatusWater reaches base of both lowerbanks, and minimal amount ofchannel substrate is exposed.

Water fills >75% of the availablechannel; or <25% of channelsubstrate is exposed.

Water fills 25-75% of theavailable channel, and/or rifflesubstrates are mostly exposed.

Very little water in channel andmostly present as standing pools.

SCORE 19 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

6. Channel AlterationChannelization or dredgingabsent or minimal; stream withnormal pattern.

Some channelization present,usually in areas of bridgeabutments; evidence of pastchannelization, i.e., dredging,(greater than past 20 yr) may bepresent, but recent channelizationis not present.

Channelization may be extensive;embankments or shoringstructures present on both banks;and 40 to 80% of stream reachchannelized and disrupted.

Banks shored with gabion orcement; over 80% of the streamreach channelized and disrupted.In stream habitat greatly alteredor removed entirely.

SCORE 18 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

7. Frequency of Riffles (orbends)

Occurrence of riffles relativelyfrequent; ratio of distancebetween riffles divided by widthof the stream <7:1 (generally 5 to7); variety of habitat is key. Instreams where riffles arecontinuous, placement ofboulders or other large, naturalobstruction is important.

Occurrence of riffles infrequent;distance between riffles dividedby the width of the stream isbetween 7 to 15.

Occasional riffle or bend; bottomcontours provide some habitat;distance between riffles dividedby the width of the stream isbetween 15 to 25.

Generally all flat water or shallowriffles; poor habitat; distancebetween riffles divided by thewidth of the stream is a ratio of>25.

SCORE 18 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

8. Bank Stability (scoreeach bank)

Note: determine leftor right side by facingdownstream.

Banks stable; evidence of erosionor bank failure absent or minimal;little potential for futureproblems. <5% of bank affected.

Moderately stable; infrequent,small areas of erosion mostlyhealed over. 5-30% of bank inreach has areas of erosion.

Moderately unstable; 30-60% ofbank in reach has areas oferosion; high erosion potentialduring floods.

Unstable; many eroded areas;"raw" areas frequent alongstraight sections and bends;obvious bank sloughing; 60-100% of bank has erosional scars.

SCORE ___8___ (LB) Left 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0SCORE ___8___ (RB) Right 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

9. Bank VegetativeProtection (score eachbank)

More than 90% of the streambanksurfaces and immediate riparianzone covered by nativevegetation, including trees, understory shrubs, or nonwoodymacrophytes; vegetativedisruption through grazing ormowing minimal or not evident;almost all plants allowed to grownaturally.

70-90% of the streambanksurfaces covered by nativevegetation, but one class of plantsis not well-represented; disruptionevident but not affecting full plantgrowth potential to any greatextent; more than one-half of thepotential plant stubble heightremaining.

50-70% of the streambanksurfaces covered by vegetation;disruption obvious; patches ofbare soil or closely croppedvegetation common; less thanone-half of the potential plantstubble height remaining.

Less than 50% of the streambanksurfaces covered by vegetation;disruption of streambankvegetation is very high;vegetation has been removed to5 centimeters or less in averagestubble height.

SCORE ___10___ (LB) Left 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0SCORE ___6____ (RB) Right 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

10. Riparian VegetativeZone Width (scoreeach bank riparianzone)

Width of riparian zone >18meters; human activities (i.e.,parking lots, roadbeds, clear-cuts,lawns, or crops) have notimpacted zone.

Width of riparian zone 12-18meters; human activities haveimpacted zone only minimally.

Width of riparian zone 6-12meters; human activities haveimpacted zone a great deal.

Width of riparian zone <6 meters:little or no riparian vegetation dueto human activities.

SCORE ___10___ (LB) Left 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0SCORE ___6____ (RB) Right 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

HABITAT SCORES VALUEOPTIMAL 160 − 200

SUB-OPTIMAL 110 − 159

MARGINAL 60 − 109

POOR < 60

HABITAT SCORE

172

FIBI057 08-21-2003Musconetcong River

LISTED IN ORDER OF ABUNDANCE FOUND

COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME # FOUND SIZE RANGE(INCHES)

Tesselated darter Etheostoma olmstedi 113

Longnose dace Rhinichthys cataractae 54

Margined madtom Noturus insignis 47

Redbreast sunfish Lepomis auritus 41 2.2 - 5.5

Bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus 28 2.6

Blacknose dace Rhinichthys atratulus 11

Spottail shiner Notropis hudsonius 9

White sucker Catostomus commersoni 6

Rock bass Ambloplites rupestris 3 6.9

Black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus 2 1.8 - 2.6

Mudminnow Umbra pygmaea 2

Creek chub Semotilus atromaculatus 2

Pumpkinseed sunfish Lepomis gibbosus 1 2.4

Common shiner Luxilus cornutus 1

Redfin pickerel Esox americanus americanus 1 4.1

* Regulated as a fishable species under current New Jersey Fish and Wildlife codes

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Eastern Mudminnow

Tesselated Darter Rock Bass

Creek Chub

Species Identified at Musconetcong River (FIBI057)(Not to Scale)

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Black Crappie Pumpkinseed

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Spottail Shiner

(Not to Scale)Species Identified at Musconetcong River (FIBI057)

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Redfin Pickerel

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White Sucker

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Blacknose Dace

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Longnose Dace

John

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Common Shiner

Margined Madtom

John

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Bluegill

John

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Species Identified at Musconetcong River (FIBI057)(Not to Scale)

Redbreast Sunfish

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