Recovery of a mining-damaged stream ecosystem

Abstract

This paper presents a 30+ year record of changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities and fish populations associated with improving water quality in mining-influenced streams. Panther Creek, a tributary to the Salmon River in central Idaho, USA suffered intensive damage from mining and milling operations at the Blackbird Mine that released copper (Cu), arsenic (As), and cobalt (Co) into tributaries. From the 1960s through the 1980s, no fish and few aquatic invertebrates could be found in 40 km of mine-affected reaches of Panther Creek downstream of the metals contaminated tributaries, Blackbird and Big Deer Creeks. Efforts to restore water quality began in 1995, and by 2002 Cu levels had been reduced by about 90%, with incremental declines since. Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) were early colonizers, quickly expanding their range as areas became habitable when Cu concentrations dropped below about 3X the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's biotic ligand model (BLM) based chronic aquatic life criterion. Anadromous Chinook Salmon ( O. tshawytscha ) and steelhead ( O. mykiss ) have also reoccupied Panther Creek. Full recovery of salmonid populations occurred within about 12-years after the onset of restoration efforts and about 4-years after the Cu chronic criteria had mostly been met, with recovery interpreted as similarity in densities, biomass, year class strength, and condition factors between reference sites and mining-influenced sites. Shorthead Sculpin ( Cottus confusus ) were slower than salmonids to disperse and colonize. While benthic macroinvertebrate biomass has increased, species richness has plateaued at about 70 to 90% of reference despite the Cu criterion having been met for several years. Different invertebrate taxa had distinctly different recovery trajectories. Among the slowest taxa to recover were Ephemerella , Cinygmula and Rhithrogena mayflies, Enchytraeidae oligochaetes , and Heterlimnius aquatic beetles. Potential reasons for the failure of some invertebrate taxa to recover include competition, and high sensitivity to Co and Cu.