Rocky Brushy Creek Watershed Mgmt. Plan (2007) -- Part 2

CHAPTER 8consist solely of mud into which animals burrow. The areal coverage of this habitat has remainedstable at about 0.7% of the watershed.Streams and waterways (510)While Rocky Creek - Brushy Creek is a majorlandscape feature and the only linearwaterway in the watershed, it is not identifiedin either the 1950 land use mapping due to itschannel and flow characteristics. The 2004mapping recognizes this community asoccupying 0.2% of the watershed. Thechannel of Brushy Creek is narrow along itsentire length, while that of Rocky Creek isnarrow in its upper reaches but widens as theCreek approaches the bay. A segment ofRocky Creek was channelized and adiversion canal, Channel A, was constructed off of Rocky Creek east of Sheldon Road. Channel Aempties into the bay west of the original channel of Rocky Creek. The increase in Streams andWaterways in the 2004 mapping to 0.2% reflects the construction of Channel A. The plantcommunity supported on the Creek banks in its upper reaches is included under the Stream andLake Swamp community description (FLUCFCS 615); in the lower reaches, the land cover typesinclude tidal flats/submerged shallow platform (FLUCFCS 651). Saltwater marshes (FLUCFCS642) occupy the channel banks in these areas. However, the Creek itself should be recognized forits habitat and habitat support functions. Although flow is not continuous along the entire Creekchannel all year, the Creek does support plant species valuable for water quality and wildlife foodand habitat purposes.Lakes (520)/Reservoirs (530)Lakes are defined by FLUCFCS as inland water bodies excluding reservoirs. In the Rocky Creek -Brushy Creek watershed, lakes are water bodies ranging in surface area from less than 12 acres to52 acres. The larger lakes in the watershed are: Fairy (52 ac), Hixon (21 ac), and Glass Lake (18ac). These water features are permanently inundated, although water elevations rise and fall as aresult of rainfall. Most lakes have undergone some degree of development on bordering lands;however, some cypress swamp and wetland coniferous forests remain on lake margins. The lakesalso support in-lake plant communities that are valuable in terms of fish production and waterquality functions. Plant communities include emergent aquatic species along the shallow lakemargins and rooted submerged aquatic species in the deeper zones of the lakes. The arealcoverage of lakes in the watershed has increased from 1.1% in 1960 to 4.4% in 2004.Reservoirs are artificial impoundments of water. Not recognized in the land use mapping of 1950,this community type occupies (2004) 4% of the watershed. These water features have beenconstructed in association with agricultural and residential development in the watershed;residential reservoirs are managed to provide aesthetic or stormwater management functions.8-13Rocky/Brushy Creek Watershed Management Plan