Pioneer Valley Creek, Little Sugar River Watershed (SP14)
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Pioneer Valley Creek, Little Sugar River Watershed (SP14)
Pioneer Valley Creek (883100)
4.16 Miles
0 - 4.16
Natural Community
Natural communities (stream and lake natural communities) represent model results that use predicted flow and temperature based on landscape features and related assumptions. Ranges of flow and temperature associated with specific aquatic life communities (fish, macroinvertebrates) help biologists identify appropriate resource management goals. Wisconsin Natural Communities.
Coldwater
Year Last Monitored
This is the most recent date of monitoring data stored in SWIMS. Additional surveys for fish and habitat may be available subsequent to this date.
2021
Good
 
Green
Trout Water 
Trout Waters are represented by Class I, Class II or Class III waters. These classes have specific ecological characteristics and management actions associated with them. For more information regarding Trout Classifications, see the Fisheries Trout Class Webpages.
No
Outstanding or Exceptional 
Wisconsin has designated many of the state's highest quality waters as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORWs) or Exceptional Resource Waters (ERWs). Waters designated as ORW or ERW are surface waters which provide outstanding recreational opportunities, support valuable fisheries and wildlife habitat, have good water quality, and are not significantly impacted by human activities. ORW and ERW status identifies waters that the State of Wisconsin has determined warrant additional protection from the effects of pollution. These designations are intended to meet federal Clean Water Act obligations requiring Wisconsin to adopt an 'antidegradation' policy that is designed to prevent any lowering of water quality - especially in those waters having significant ecological or cultural value.
No
Impaired Water 
A water is polluted or 'impaired' if it does not support full use by humans, wildlife, fish and other aquatic life and it is shown that one or more of the pollutant criteria are not met.
No

Fish and Aquatic Life

Current Use
The use the water currently supports. This is not a designation or classification; it is based on the current condition of the water. Information in this column is not designed for, and should not be used for, regulatory purposes.
Supported Aquatic Life
Waters that support fish and aquatic life communities (healthy biological communities).
Attainable Use
The use that the investigator believes the water could achieve through managing "controllable" sources. Beaver dams, hydroelectric dams, low gradient streams, and naturally occurring low flows are generally not considered controllable. The attainable use may be the same as the current use or it may be higher.
Cold
Streams capable of supporting a cold water sport fishery, or serving as a spawning area for salmonids and other cold water fish species. Representative aquatic life communities, associated with these waters, generally require cold temperatures and concentrations of dissolved oxygen that remain above 6 mg/L. Since these waters are capable of supporting natural reproduction, a minimum dissolved oxygen concentration of 7 mg/L is required during times of active spawning and support of early life stages of newly-hatched fish.
Designated Use
This is the water classification legally recognized by NR102 and NR104, Wis. Adm. Code. The classification determines water quality criteria and effluent limits. Waters obtain designated uses through classification procedures.
Default FAL
Fish and Aquatic Life - Default Waters do not have a specific use designation subcategory but are considered fishable, swimmable waters.

Overview

Pioneer Valley Creek
This five-mile stream runs through a highly pastured watershed, which results in a fairly poor quality stream with
scarce bank cover and heavy erosion. Only small numbers of forage species are present in the stream. It is on the
state's list of impaired (303d) waters due to sediment as the non-point source pollutant and degraded habitat as the
impairment. Currently, this is a limited forage fishery but is listed to potentially be a warm water forage fishery. There
are no HBI and IBI scores available, as this stream has not been monitored in recent years.

Date  2005

Author   Aquatic Biologist

Overview

This stream runs through a highly pastured watershed which results in a fairly poor quality stream with scarce bank cover and heavy erosion. Only small numbers of forage species are present in the stream. It is on the state’s list of impaired (303d) waters due to nonpoint source impacts. It has not been monitored in recent years.

Date  2002

Author   Aquatic Biologist

Historical Description

Flowing eastward through a narrow valley in the driftless area. this small stream is joined by Krieg Valley Creek prior to entering the Little Sugar River above New Glarus. Ninety percent of the watershed is pastured with only a small acreage of ridgetop and bottomland being cultivated. Small woodlots in the watershed are
also pastured. Throughout the stream. bank cover is scarce and erosion is heavy. A few short stretches are bordered by a narrow band of trees. many of which have fallen over.

The water is turbid and the bottom is primarily silt mixed with small amounts of sand. Macrophytic vegetation. aquatic invertebrates, and instream cover is scarce. Only small numbers of creek chubs and brook sticklebacks are known to inhabit the stream. although white suckers are probably present. Wildlife values consist of a few muskrats and one acre of unpastured sedge meadow may provide marginal cover for other wildlife. Access is available at two public road crossings.

Fish Species: Creek chub. brook stickleback. white sucker. Surface Acres = 1.9. Length = 3.1 Miles. Gradient = 47 ft./mi.. Base Discharge = 4.4 cu. ft./sec.

Bush, D.M., R. Cornelius, D. Engle, and C.L. Brynildson. 1980. Lake and Stream Classification Project. Surface Water Resources of Green County, 2nd Edition. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin.

Date  1980

Author   Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin

Management Goals

Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more]. Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable

Management goals can include creation or implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, a Nine Key Element Plan, or other restoration work, education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below online.

Monitoring

Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area. Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy was recenty updated.

Grants and Management Projects

Project Name (Click for Details)Year Started

Monitoring Projects

WBICOfficial Waterbody NameStation IDStation NameEarliest Fieldwork DateLatest Fieldwork DateView StationView Data
883100Pioneer Valley Creek10037209Pioneer Valley Creek at CTH O5/15/201210/4/2017MapData
883100Pioneer Valley Creek10029419Pioneer Valley Creek at Pioneer Valley Road10/20/20084/21/2021MapData
883100Pioneer Valley Creek10037459Pioneer Valley Creek at driveway at W6359 Klassy Road6/1/201210/4/2017MapData

Watershed Characteristics

Pioneer Valley Creek is located in the Little Sugar River watershed which is 133.02 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily agricultural (46.80%), grassland (32.10%) and a mix of forest (13.90%) and other uses (7.00%). This watershed has 351.74 stream miles, 50.40 lake acres and 3,252.10 wetland acres.

Nonpoint Source Characteristics

This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.This water is ranked High Stream for individual Rivers based on runoff problems and the likelihood of success from project implementation.

Natural Community

Pioneer Valley Creek is considered a Coldwater under the state's Natural Community Determinations.

Natural communities (stream and lake natural communities) represent model results and DNR staff valiation processes that confirm or update predicted conditions based on flow and temperature modeling from historic and current landscape features and related variables. Predicated flow and temperatures for waters are associated predicated fish assemblages (communities). Biologists evaluate the model results against current survey data to determine if the modeled results are corect and whether biological indicators show water quaity degradation. This analysis is a core component of the state's resource management framework. Wisconsin's Riverine Natural Communities.