Billy received an MS in biology from Arkansas State University in 1989. He worked as an aquatic biologist with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality from 1989 to 1997, after which, he began working with USGS as an aquatic biologist for the National Water Quality Assessment Program. Much of Billy’s career has been spent collaborating on quantitative, interpretive, multidisciplinary studies that investigate interactions between aquatic biota and ecological conditions using a variety of statistical methods. Some of his most recent publications have identified chemical constituent concentrations as biological thresholds that can be used to identify appropriate water-quality criteria. He has extensive experience with electrofishing and fish taxonomy and has led fish sampling crews and served as field taxonomist in 18 states. He is an adjunct professor at Arkansas State University where he participates on various thesis committees and assists students and faculty in developing investigative studies.
Each year, the Buffalo National River (BUFF) attracts 1.6 million visitors, many of whom enjoy recreational water activities. Since 2013, a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) for swine has been operating on Big Creek, a BUFF tributary.
Short Title: Ozark Plateaus NAWQA
Project Chief: Billy Justus
Cooperator: U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program
Project Time Frame: 1991 - present
The Ozark Plateaus study unit is one of more than 50 study units that are part...
Short Title: Biological Characterization of Louisiana Streams
Project Chief: Billy Justus
Cooperator: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Project Time Frame: 2007 - 2009
Information is needed to support water-resources management...
Short Title: Mississippi River NRSA
Project Chief: Billy Justus
Cooperator: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Project Time Frame: 2008 - 2009
The USGS Arkansas and Missouri Water Science Centers (WSC) are conducting a study for the U.S. Environmental...
Short Title: Reference Lakes
Project Chief: Billy Justus
Cooperators: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and U. S. Environmental Protection Agency
Project Time Frame: 2007 - 2008
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has classified all lakes within Arkansas into five classifications...
This report describes a study to identify reference lakes in two lake classifications common to parts of two level III ecoregions in western Arkansas—the Arkansas Valley and Ouachita Mountains. Fifty-two lakes were considered. A screening process that relied on land-use data was followed by reconnaissance water-quality sampling, and two...
Justus, B.G.; Meredith, Bradley J.
The Illinois River Basin includes an area of diverse land use in northwestern Arkansas. Land-use data collected in 2006 indicate that most of the land in the basin is agricultural. The agricultural land is used primarily for production of poultry and cattle. Eighteen sites were selected from the list of candidate sites based on drainage area,...
Petersen, James C.; Justus, B.G.; Meredith, Bradley J. Biotic indices for algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish assemblages can be effective for monitoring stream enrichment, but little is known regarding the value of the three assemblages for detecting perturbance as a consequence of low-level nutrient enrichment. In the summer of 2006, we collected nutrient and biotic samples from 30 wadeable Ozark...
Justus, B.G.; Femmer, Suzanne R.; Davis, Jerri V.; Petersen, James C.; Wallace, J.E. Biotic indices for algae, macroinvertebrates, and fish assemblages can be effective for monitoring stream enrichment, but little is known regarding the value of the three assemblages for detecting perturbance as a consequence of low-level nutrient enrichment. In the summer of 2006, we collected nutrient and biotic samples from 30 wadeable Ozark...
Justus, B.G.; Petersen, J.C.; Femmer, S.R.; Davis, Jerri V.; Wallace, J.E. A three-phased study identified one least-impaired (reference) lake for each of four Arkansas lake classifications: three classifications in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) ecoregion and a fourth classification in the South Central Plains (SCP) ecoregion. Water quality at three of the least-impaired lakes generally was comparable and also was...
Justus, B.
Buffalo National River located in north-central Arkansas, and Ozark National Scenic Riverways, located in southeastern Missouri, are the two largest units of the National Park Service in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province. The purpose of this report is to provide a protocol that will be used by the National Park Service to sample fish...
Petersen, James C.; Justus, B.G.; Dodd, H.R.; Bowles, D.E.; Morrison, L.W.; Williams, M.H.; Rowell, G.A. During June through September 2001 and 2002, extensive fish community sampling was conducted at 29 sites within the boundaries of Buffalo National River. Samples were collected using backpack, tote barge, and boat electrofishing equipment. Kick seining also was used at all sites. To supplement these results, samples were collected in 2003 from...
Petersen, James C.; Justus, B.G. Fish were collected at six sites at George Washington Carver National Monument by seining and electrofishing during a base-flow period on July 17-18, 2003. Approximately 700 fish were collected and identified at the six sampling sites. Those individuals represented 17 species (and 1 hybrid) and 13 genera. The number of species collected at the...
Justus, B.G.; Petersen, James C. Fish communities were sampled from eight sites within Hot Springs National Park. Fish were collected by seining and electrofishing during base-flow periods in July and October 2003. All individuals were identified to species. More than 1,020 individuals were collected, representing 24 species. The number of species collected at the sites ranged...
Petersen, James C.; Justus, B.G. A fish inventory was conducted at Pea Ridge National Military Park, Arkansas, during base-flow conditions in September 2003. Six sites including four streams and two ponds were sampled using conventional electrofishing equipment (a seine also was used at one site). There were 653 individuals collected comprising 18 species (plus 1 hybrid) and 15...
Justus, B.G.; Petersen, James C. The Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center is a facility used to train as many as 50,000 Arkansas National Guardsmen each year. Due to the nature of ongoing training and also to a poor understanding of environmental procedures that were practiced in the World War II era, areas within Fort Chaffee have the potential to be sources of a large number...
Justus, B.G.; Stanton, Gregory P.