A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 16, 2007
3. Watersheds
Affecting Lake Tahoe's clarity, ecology - Tahoe Daily Tribune
Lake Tahoe getting warmer, report says - Associated Press
UCD report: Tahoe air, water warming up; Climate change affecting the 11th-deepest lake on Earth, researchers say - Sacramento
Lake Tahoe warmer, dirtier - scientists worry - San Francisco Chronicle
SALMON POPULATIONS:
Salmon decision leaves protections - Eureka Times Standard
WETLANDS:
Dried-up wetland irking golf course residents - North County Times
WETLANDS RESTORATION:
Editorial: Joy and celebration at coastal wetlands -
Affecting
Tahoe Daily Tribune – 8/16/07
By Adam Jensen, staff writer
Troubling signs of global warming in the
"Overall, the most striking data in the inaugural report are those showing that the Tahoe climate is warming up," according to a joint statement released by UC Davis scientists. "This trend could have profound implications for the natural features that make Tahoe a popular international vacation destination: snowfall in winter and the beautiful cobalt-blue lake in summer."
A warming lake could limit the amount of winter mixing that brings deep, clear waters to the surface of
But other effects of a warming basin are better understood.
"The persistent increase in water temperature that we have observed since 1978 is beginning to have noticeable impacts on the entire
While the UC Davis annual report typically includes clarity information, this year's "Tahoe: State of the
Schladow hopes the additional indicators will give residents a better understanding of the complex factors influencing the lake's health.
"I think more people here at
The entire report is free and available online at http://terc.ucdavis.edu.
Warming trends in the
-- Nights are warmer: Night low temperatures have risen more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1911.
-- Cold days are fewer: The number of days with average air temperatures below freezing has dropped from 79 days to 52 days since 1911.
-- Less precipitation falls as snow: The percentage of snow in total precipitation has decreased from 52 percent to 34 percent since 1911.
--
source: UC
What is an average Secchi depth?
-- A Secchi disk is a 10-inch white disc attached to a length of cable that is submerged into bodies of water to determine clarity.
-- The disc is lowered until it is no longer visible, and the depth at which it disappears from sight is recorded.
-- Approximately 25 of these readings are taken every year at two fixed locations in
-- Lake Tahoe Secchi disk measurements have been gathered by UC Davis since 1968, when clarity was measured at 102.4 feet.
-- The Secchi disk got its name from Friar Pietro Angelo Secchi, an astrophysicist, who was directed to measure the clarity of the
Lake Tahoe's clarity decreased 4.6 feet in 2006, according to "Tahoe: State of the Lake 2007 Report," released on Wednesday by researchers at UC Davis'
The average Secchi depth, a measurement of lake clarity, was 67.7 feet in 2006, down from the 2005 average of 72.4 feet.
The clarity measurement is the lowest in six years, and the decrease is largely due to high precipitation in 2006 and the resulting urban runoff and stream flow, the report indicated.
"We expected a decrease because 2006 was an extraordinary year for runoff, Julie Regan, spokeswoman for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, said on Wednesday.
Years with high runoff wash larger amounts of material detrimental to lake clarity, predominantly nutrients and fine sediments, into
The precipitation total for the basin in 2006 was 48.4 inches, 84 percent higher than the annual average of 26.3 inches measured in 2001 through 2005, according to a UC Davis press statement.
Due to a 2007 snowpack that was 30 percent of normal, the TRPA is optimistic about the 2007 clarity measurement, but there are no guarantees, Regan admitted.
"We're hoping for an improvement in 2007, but the
How much the Angora fire will affect
"The loss of clarity is disappointing, 4.6 feet is not an insignificant number," Rochelle Nason, executive director of the League to Save Lake Tahoe, a group advocating the clarity of Lake Tahoe, said on Wednesday. "It's a matter of concern, but we know that this is a long-term issue and we should not overemphasize a single year's results." #
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20070816/NEWS/108160072
Lake Tahoe getting warmer, report says
Associated Press – 8/16/07
By Brendan Riley, staff writer
Lake Tahoe may seem chilly to many, but a new
According to the UC Davis report, the warming trend "could have profound implications" for features that make Tahoe so popular: snowfall in the winter and a cobalt-blue lake in the summer.
According to the report, the average July surface water temperature has increased almost five degrees, from 62.9 degrees to 67.8 degrees, since 1999. The lake's surface waters were the warmest on record on July 26, 2006, at 78 degrees.
The study does not include 2007 data, and John Reuter of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center said Wednesday that it is possible that the record could be surpassed as a result of this year's warm weather.
"Regardless of what happens this year, as you recognize in this report there were some fairly significant changes through the end of 2006," he said. "There's a lot to be thinking about with the 2006 information."
The report also shows that nights are warmer at Tahoe, with nighttime low temperatures rising more than 4 degrees since 1911; and the number of average air temperatures below freezing dropping from 79 days to 52 days in the same period.
Also, less precipitation falls as snow, according to the document. The percentage of snow in the total precipitation has dropped from 52 percent to 34 percent since 1911.
Geoff Schladow of the Environmental Research Center said types of algae in the lake are changing and are showing up earlier in the year as Tahoe becomes "more hospitable" to invasive plants and fish. He said warm-water species such as bass and carp increasingly are common.
The report also shows that in 2006 the lake's clarity declined.
Researchers measured the waters as clear to an average depth of 67.7 feet, which is 41/2 feet less than the 2005 measurement.
The all-time low was 64 feet in 1997. When measurements began in 1968, the lake was clear to an average depth of 102.4 feet.
Reuter noted that this year's spring runoff into the lake, which is a big factor in its clarity, was less because of a light winter, and that could improve the 2007 average clarity depth. The 2007 information will not be available until next year. #
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_6637730?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1
UCD report: Tahoe air, water warming up; Climate change affecting the 11th-deepest lake on Earth, researchers say
Sacramento
By Bill Lindelof, staff writer
Climate change is warming frigid Lake Tahoe, air temperatures are rising, and the alpine lake's famous clarity is being degraded, according to a new report by the
The report by the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center is designed to give the public easy-to-understand information about changing water quality and weather conditions at
For the most part, it is not good news.
"Nighttime minimum temperatures are rising, there is less snow and more rain, and there are fewer freezing days per year," said Geoff Schladow, an expert on lake health and director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
The report, "Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2007," summarizes UC Davis scientific observations of weather and water conditions compiled since the 1960s. Some weather information dates to 1911.
Researchers say the data strikingly show that the Tahoe climate is warming up -- which could have implications for those who like to vacation in the
Warming signs include nighttime low temperatures that have increased four degrees since 1911.
Cold days are fewer in the basin -- days with average air temperatures below freezing dropped from 79 to 52 days since 1911.
Along with rising air temperatures, lake waters are not as frigid. The average July surface water temperature has increased almost 5 degrees, from 62.9 degrees to 67.8 degrees Fahrenheit, since 1999.
Rising water temperature since 1978 is affecting
"There is a tremendous amount of research going on around the world on the impacts of climate change," he said. "What the Tahoe community needs to be aware of is that going forward they cannot ignore climate change."
In 2006, water transparency declined.
"During wet years of extraordinary runoff, we expect to see dips in clarity," said Julie Regan, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency communications and legislative affairs chief, in a press release. "The 2006 reading is what we would expect based on runoff conditions."
She said officials remain committed to improving clarity at
The report can be viewed online at terc.ucdavis.edu. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/328228.html
Lake Tahoe warmer, dirtier - scientists worry
San Francisco Chronicle – 8/16/07
By Peter Fimrite, staff writer
Their 45-page report, the most comprehensive ever done on the lake, outlines significant changes in weather patterns over the years, including less snowfall and more rain, deteriorating lake clarity and increasing water temperature in the Lake Tahoe Basin - all of which could increase invasions of exotic fish and plant species.
"Change is a difficult thing, and the lake is changing," said Geoff Schladow, director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center and co-editor of the report. "But I think it is too early to say that our efforts are in vain. We can't judge each year in isolation. It's not all doom and gloom."
But there is reason to be concerned about the second-deepest lake in the
The most significant finding, according to Schladow, is how much the Tahoe climate is warming. Low temperatures at night have risen 4 degrees on average, and the number of days with temperatures that averaged below freezing dropped from 79 days to 52 days since 1910.
The percentage of precipitation that falls as snow has also decreased, from 52 percent to 34 percent in the 96 years studied.
All of this is apparently having a major effect on the lake. The average temperature of the surface water in July has increased almost 5 degrees, from 62.9 degrees to 67.8 degrees since 1999, according to the report. The water temperature was 78 degrees on July 26, 2006, the warmest in
Clarity also has suffered. In 2006,
That's 4.6 feet less than 2005. When measurements began in 1968, the lake was clear to an average depth of 102.4 feet. That's how clear the country's deepest lake,
It is impossible to say what the Secchi disk measurement would have been when Mark Twain visited
"So singularly clear was the water, that where it was only twenty or thirty feet deep the bottom was so perfectly distinct that the boat seemed floating in the air!" Twain wrote in "Roughing It." He said even below 80 feet the water was as clear as glass.
"Every little pebble was distinct, every speckled trout, every hand's-breadth of sand," he wrote. "Down through the transparency of these great depths, the water was not merely transparent, but dazzlingly, brilliantly so."
UC Davis experts say the clarity has deteriorated because fine particles from erosion, urban runoff and pollution have entered the lake. The particles fuel the growth of algae, which absorb light and increase temperature.
Schladow said invasive species of fish have been in the lake for about 10 years, but they mostly hang around marinas. The concern is that warming water will create better habitat throughout the lake for these species.
"The persistent increase in water temperature that we have observed since 1978 is beginning to have noticeable impacts on the entire
Julie Regan, communications and legislative affairs chief for the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, said invasive species are a major worry. The agency, which is in charge of land use and environmental planning for the Tahoe basin, declared a state of emergency this year after a Quagga mussel was found by agricultural inspectors attached to a boat that was being transported to
The Quagga is similar to the Zebra mussel, an invasive species that has been wildly multiplying with devastating effects throughout the
"It's certainly a concern," Regan said. "How this relates to climate change is something we really need to discuss and pay attention to."
The regional planning agency has been working closely with UC Davis and other research institutions and agencies in an attempt to preserve the Tahoe ecosystem. They developed the Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program 10 years ago.
The organizations are developing plans to reduce commercial and household runoff into the lake and restore water quality with the help of state forestry officials in
"Our environmental goals are long range," Regan said. "We know that some of our goals - lake clarity for instance - may take many generations to achieve."
Schladow said such goals will be more difficult as new homes and businesses, parking lots and roadways continue to be built in the region. The Angora Fire, which burned 3,072 acres in
"The majority of the runoff comes from where we are, these urban areas," he said.
Schladow said the State of the
He does not believe it is too late to restore
"It's something the scientists and the stakeholders in the Tahoe basin will need to address," Schladow said. "It is going to take a lot of effort and a lot of money to do that. Society will have to decide whether it is worthwhile."
Online resources
To read the full text of "Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2007" and for more information on the UC
For more information on the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, go to:
With a maximum depth of 1,645 feet, Lake Tahoe is the second-deepest lake in the
-- Surface water temperatures in July have increased 5 degrees. in the past seven years, with the warmest average temperature in July 2006 of 67.8 degrees.
-- The number of days with average air temperatures below freezing at lake level has decreased by 27 days a year since 1910, while the percentage of snow in total precipitation has dropped from 52 percent to 34 percent since 1911.
-- The distance below the lake surface at which a 10-inch white disk cannot be seen has been decreasing. In 1968, the distance was about 100 feet; last year, it was 67.7 feet.
Source: UC Davis Tahoe Environmental
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/16/MN3CRJ7R3.DTL
SALMON POPULATIONS:
Salmon decision leaves protections
By John Driscoll, staff writer
A federal judge has ruled that hatchery salmon should be treated apart from wild salmon when regional populations are considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled Tuesday in favor of the National Marine Fisheries Service and fishing and environmental groups defending the government's listing of 16 West Coast salmon populations.
Farm and development interests had challenged the policy of distinguishing between naturally raised fish and hatchery reared salmon, claiming they are not separable. They also argued that different runs of salmon that do not interbreed with protected salmon should not be included for protection under the act.
”Plaintiffs' position that actual interbreeding is required would prohibit the agencies from listing the
The Pacific Legal Foundation won a more limited case in 2001, when Hogan ruled a population of wild
The National Marine Fisheries Service drafted a new policy on hatchery fish two years ago and went on to conduct a review of all 16 listed salmon populations, keeping all of those populations under protection.
Fisheries service spokesman Brian Gorman said Tuesday's decision will allow the agency to move forward on salmon restoration plans.
”Obviously we're very pleased,” Gorman said. “Certainly a cloud of uncertainty has been lifted from our recovery efforts.”
But Gorman said it's unlikely that the court would have the last word on the matter.
In fact, Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Sonya Jones said the organization would appeal Hogan's decision, which she claimed allows the agency to make an end run around Hogan's 2001 ruling.
”If you're going to count the salmon, you've got to count all the salmon,” Jones said.
Otherwise, she said, “the flood gates” for regulating private property will be thrown open.
Among the salmon populations that are listed are
”Coho are just the indicator species for a sick river and the cure is clearly the removal of the Klamath dams and changing the water balance in the river for fish to survive,”
Arguments about the inclusion of hatchery fish in assessments of salmon populations' health are still being heard by the courts.
Opening briefs to the
Northcoast Environmental Center Executive Director Greg King said there are important biological reasons not to include hatchery fish when considering protection of a species. The genetic diversity of wild fish is what allows them to ride out diseases and climatic conditions, while hatchery fish have provided an argument for not protecting habitat.
”It's important that habitat is protected and maintaining wild stocks will give us an idea of the health of the habitat,” King said. #
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6637944
WETLANDS:
Dried-up wetland irking golf course residents
By Marga Kellogg, staff writer
City officials and the manager of the golf course agree that the situation stinks, but say there's nothing they can do because the area is a wetland fed by a natural stream and, thus, is protected by federal law.
The pond -- normally a haven for birds and other forms of wildlife -- is filled during the rainy season by Pilgrim Creek, which runs off nearby
Now, the dried-up muck is shunned by ducks and other birds.
Residents say golf course management should replenish the pond with water.
"This is the lowest it's ever been," said Karen Stephens, who has lived on Point Degada, on the south side of the golf course near the pond since 1985. The golf course is in north
Paul Zaremba, superintendent for the 135-acre city-owned course, said the golf course does not fill the pond because it's part of a free-flowing seasonal creek.
"When the water dries up, it dries up," he said.
Zaremba said that when it rains, the wetland looks great and everybody's happy, but "as soon as we have a dry year, it dries up."
"I hate it because it looks terrible," he said.
Nathan Mertz, the city's parks development coordinator, said the city can't fill the pond because it's protected by various federal agencies.
"If we started pouring water into it, it's not allowed," he said. "It's not something we're going to do."
Mertz said the ebb and flow of the stream is based on climatic changes and that what's known as
"The only lake that's out there is our irrigation pond, which is filled with potable and reclaimed water," he said. "The creek is natural."
The golf course, which was built in 1975, is the subject of a master plan that was completed by the city several years ago, Mertz said.
In the plan, which is a long-range planning tool, the creek remains in a natural state, "as it is today," Mertz said. He noted that Hole No. 11 and the area between holes 15 and 16 on the course have been identified as having the potential for a lake or pond nearby.
As far as the birds, he said, they're used to the seasonal nature of the waterway.
Zaremba said most of the ducks and other water fowl are using the golf course irrigation lake. Others, he said, have made a summer home at a nearby bird sanctuary west of the golf course called
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/16/news/coastal/2_03_338_15_07.txt
WETLANDS RESTORATION:
Editorial: Joy and celebration at coastal wetlands
It could have been just another parking lot, one more marina, a continued dumping ground, another piece of the 90 percent of coastal wetlands that have vanished forever.
Now, it is the Tijuana Estuary, a reserve celebrating its 25th birthday with a party and public open house from 2 to 6 p.m. today. A new training center, built at a cost of $1.3 million, will be shown off as well.
A generation ago, some visionaries saw what was and what could be. Their names include Dr. Mike McCoy, Patricia McCoy, Paul Jorgensen and Dr. Joy Zedler.
Today it is a place of international renown and a name to match, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Tijuana Estuary is in a corner of
It is a place where 370 species of birds have been sighted, a refuge where visitors can stroll and learn about where river and ocean meet, and the creatures and plants that thrive in such a remarkable ecosystem.
When the artificiality of a crowded apartment complex and the blare of radios and televisions overwhelm, it is a soothing getaway. Come, see, enjoy and experience nature.
The Tijuana Estuary can be reached via the
If the Tijuana Estuary is a wetland at the edge of an ocean, the
The center, now in a year-long commemoration of its 20th anniversary, expects to greet its one millionth visitor, possibly today.
This is a site on Chula Vista's bayfront that has a history of humankind use and abuse – the manufacture of potash for gun powder, the processing of cottonseeds, a cataclysmic fire, truck farming, an unauthorized dump.
Greg Cox, then
The center is reached via the E Street exit in
This is a place to touch a bat ray, walk through an aviary, take a hike and enjoy coastal plants, see cargo ships and view the San Diego-Coronado Bridge.
Don't let the 1 million figure throw you. On any given day, you might share this peaceful spot with just 200 other visitors.
The importance of the 1 million, said Director Dan Beintema, is that “1 million people have had this message of environmental stewardship imparted to them.”
That is significant. These remnants of what once were so plentiful along the coast are getaways and sources of replenishment – for humans as well as seasonal winged visitors. They need to be protected; urban residents need to understand that what they do on nearby roads and properties has an effect downstream.
Twenty-five and 20 years ago, these preserves did not just happen. Now, they have some governmental sources for funds, but they can continue and expand because of donors giving money and time.
Congratulations to both the Tijuana Estuary and the
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070816/news_lz2ed16top.html
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