AMERICAN RIVER WATERSHED GROUP

September 16, 2004


The meeting of the American River Watershed Group (ARWG) meeting was called to Order by Rich Gresham, Placer County Resource Conservation District (RCD) at 10:07 a.m. at Auburn City Hall & Civic Center Rose Room located at 1225 Lincoln Way, Auburn.


Bill Templin reviewed “Check-In” steps, one of the four components of a successful meeting, stressed at the Collaborative Decision Making Seminar hosted by the Dry Creek Watershed Council.


Bill reviewed the “Check-In” procedure that covers telling meeting participants who are you and how you are, revealing if you have time constraints, the identification of desired stakeholders not present, emergent issues, and individual expectations.


Present: Bill Templin, American River Watershed Coordinator; Rich Gresham, Stewart Feldman, and Katie Maloney, RCD; Carol Kennedy and Matt Triggs, US Forest Service (USFS); Marilyn Jasper, Clover Valley Foundation and Sierra Club; John Holder, CalTrans; Doug Ferrier, Forest Slopes Management; John Kingsbury and Marie Davis, Placer County Water Agency (PCWA); Liz Mansfield, El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) Watershed Coordinator; John Lane, Teichert Aggregates; and Cliff Heitz, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).


Sub-Committee Reports:

Placer County Fire Safe Alliance:

Bill Templin reported the last meeting resulted in the agreement to hold a workshop in October, if fire activity allows, focuses on the development of a projects map reflecting fire risk reduction activities and projects to help identify opportunities to leverage efforts to best advantage and gain a better overall picture of fire reduction efforts.


Bill encouraged members to attend and solicited project information to contribute to the effort. The workshop is scheduled for October 26th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the American River Room.


Rich Gresham solicited an update regarding the $100K BLM funded I-80 Corridor Vegetation Management Project to be implemented by CalTrans.


John Holder reported CalTrans will be leading the way through the environmental process and is working through the process to do so as the project falls outside of normal project parameters.

Once the process has been worked through it could pave the way for I-80 vegetation management all the way to the state line.


Rich reported PG&E is interested in leveraging the project by extending vegetation management to PG&E lands adjacent to the I-80 corridor and increasing fire risk reduction benefits. With PG&E’s partnership there may also be an opportunity to ship the biomass resulting from the project to a Loyalton biomass facility.


Project Updates:

Sediment Dynamics Study (SDS):

Bill Templin reported state attorneys have suggested some changes to the draft DWR contract.


Bill noted he has been reviewing the historical data relating to the project.


A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting will be called as soon as the funding is in place.


John Lane noted his interest in water quality monitoring as discussed in prior meetings. He reported recently attending a workshop regarding the design and management of water quality monitoring programs and briefly reviewed his experience with monitoring projects.


Carol Kennedy noted the TAC will be taking up the issue once the SDS contract is in place as the study has a related monitoring component.


Liz Mansfield briefed the group on south fork water quality issues that may be related to old septic tanks leakage and noted her interest in developing a grant proposal that would explore the issue.


John Lane noted the first step in developing a monitoring program is to determine what questions need to be answered. The TAC will be addressing a monitoring effort in the near future.


Stewart Feldman noted the need to identify who has historical data, is currently collecting data, and for what purpose. Discussion revolved around who is known to conduct monitoring and the need to avoid duplication of effort.


Rich Gresham noted conversations are taking place about applying for Prop 50 funding to develop an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan (IRWMP).


Business:

Climate Change and the North Fork American River Watershed:

Otis Wollan reviewed the climate change modeling effort that grew from an earlier modeling effort, The Impaired Watershed Study, which compared similar watersheds that yielded significantly different amounts of water.


Otis noted the climate change study is utilizing an HSPF model in an effort to provide a sub-watershed appropriate modeling tool. He reviewed the models parameters that included elevation, aspect, flows, snow, temperature, and precipitation.


He reviewed the literature review highlighting the increase in green house gases and the rise in temperature. Models agree that California getting warmer and dryer with less precipitation and snow. Some studies indicate a reduction in snowpack Sierra-wide resulting in a decrease in summer run-off.


The climate change model was calibrated using area weather stations located in Blue Canyon, Lodgepole, and South Fork Stanislaus areas. Missing data gaps pertaining to elevation, aspect, and vegetation were filled in with information garnered over the last 13-15 years.


Otis reviewed how the model calculator works by selecting some sample parameters and running the group through a modeling simulation. He noted there is a 5-10% range of error from model results to actual. He noted soils were worked into the model by using vegetation as a surrogate because the calculator was limited as to how many variables it could handle and indicted the model is still being refined. He noted a CD will be available for distribution as well as a plan to conduct presentations to 22 different entities a bout the effort.


Group discussion revolved around peer review issues resulting from prior group efforts, a solicitation for feedback, and the acknowledgement of different approaches to climate change and the Sierra Nevada.


Inter-basin Transfers Update:

Otis Wollan reviewed the Yuba River Study that explores the transfer system like no other in the state of California with its dams, diversions, canal systems, and cross system water transfers that evolved from historical mining days.


He noted issues and concerns being discussed include possible anadromous fisheries impacts resulting from mixed waters resulting from flow inter-transfers, changes in habitat conditions from historical conditions, and mitigation and open space issues.


Paradigm shifts have encompassed a change in the use of the canal system from diverting flows for hydraulic mining to the support of agriculture, the building of dams, and growth.


Otis noted it is a complicated picture that no one has a handle on at this point.


Bill suggested the group can serve as a forum for information exchange and discussion.


Carol Kennedy noted numerous diversions and transfers and indicated the Yuba River is experiencing record low flows.

Discussion revolved around the need for a regional prospective, concern about free mercury, and the upcoming FERC relicensing process.


Rich Gresham again noted an on-going conversation taking place is revolving around an opportunity to partner in the development of an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan to address water quantity and quality issues using county boundaries as the regional boundary.


Another on-going conversation is revolving around determining natural resource boundaries and knitting together a partnership of interested entities within those boundaries.


A third conversation is revolving around the South Fork of the American River and temperature, flow, salmonid, conjunctive use, and ground and surface water issues.


Steven Fire Rehabilitation Plan:

Cliff Heitz reviewed the fire and the efforts being mounted to seed approximately 500 acres with winter barley to avoid sheet erosion. He noted it is a short term fix to help hold soil in place in the steep terrain impacted by the fire through the coming winter months. He noted the possibility of CDF and NRCS partnering in the re-seeding effort.

Open Discussion:




  1. Next Meeting and Adjournment:

The next meeting will take place on October 21st at the American River Room. The meeting was adjourned at 12:11 p.m.