[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 12/14/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

December 14, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

YOLO BYPASS:

Water district buys Yolo tract; The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat - Sacramento Bee

 

Bay Area water district buys 3,450 acres of Yolo wetlands - Woodland Daily Democrat

 

Splendid sanctuary; Yolo refuge serves multitudes - Sacramento Bee

 

AMERICAN RIVER SALMON:

Local salmon struggle to survive; Folsom and Nimbus dams wiped out sensitive habitat and Nimbus Hatchery tries to compensate - Sacramento News and Review

 

WETLAND PROJECT REPORT:

Wetland replacement report a mixed bag; Biological health of new acreage seldom optimal, study finds - Monterey Herald

 

 

YOLO BYPASS:

Water district buys Yolo tract; The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat

Sacramento Bee – 12/14/07

By Matt Weiser, staff writer

 

One of California's most powerful water agencies has purchased a huge tract of land in the Yolo Bypass, saying it hopes to create a nursery for imperiled fish and ease pressure on the state's water system.

 

Westlands Water District irrigates more than 600,000 acres of farms in the San Joaquin Valley and is almost entirely dependent on water pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It is the world's largest irrigation district, known for power politics as much as a billion-dollar annual yield of grapes, nuts and cotton.

 

But its fortunes are threatened by Delta pumping restrictions that were driven by a rapid decline in several sensitive fish species, particularly the Delta smelt, a native fingerling protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.

 

On Wednesday, Westlands closed escrow on a 3,450-acre tract of farmland on the southern edge of Yolo County alongside the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel. The acreage lies in the Yolo Bypass, a swath of land designed to flood in major storms.

 

Research shows that fish colonize the bypass to feed on insects and plants that bloom during floods. By causing more frequent flooding and creating refuge areas within the bypass for fish to feed and rest, biologists believe the bypass could boost the population of many native species.

 

Government agencies have tried and failed to pull that off, so Westlands decided to step in.

 

"The district purchased this property because it thinks that if we're going to improve our water supply, it's necessary to recover the species, and restoring the habitat is one of the things necessary to accomplish that," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager. "We are not dependent on federal or state appropriations. So there will be a steady stream of revenue for the restoration program."

 

Westlands bought the land for $12 million from longtime Yolo Bypass farmer Duncan McCormack. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

 

Delta advocates greeted the deal with skepticism and hope.

 

The skeptics point to Westlands' track record. In 2006, it outbid a host of other parties to buy a fishing resort on the McCloud River and 3,000 acres of surrounding land considered sacred to the Winnemem Wintu tribe.

 

Birmingham stated plainly that Westlands bought the land to ensure it doesn't become an obstacle to raising Shasta Dam.

 

Bill Jennings, director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said of the latest Westlands news: "If, in fact, they are doing this altruistically, it's appreciated. But in the face of this catastrophic collapse of native species, it may be too little, too late."

 

Numerous fish species continue to decline in the Delta. The state's annual fall trawling surveys for Delta fish, still under way, show falling numbers for a variety of species, including striped bass, threadfin shad, longfin smelt and Delta smelt.

 

The fall chinook salmon run on the Sacramento River has been poor this year, despite conditions that should have been favorable.

 

Thousands of Delta fish die each year when they are sucked into state and federal water export pumps near Tracy.

 

The pumps deliver water to more than 23 million Californians and 2 million acres of farmland. Westlands is the second-largest consumer.

 

A federal judge ruled in August that the pumps don't do enough to protect Delta smelt, particularly young fish that are too small to be screened out at the pumps. A final ruling, expected early next week, may slash Delta water exports by 30 percent.

 

Competition from invasive species and water contamination are other culprits in the fish decline. Another is a shortage of food and habitat, which is where Westlands hopes to help.

 

The district plans to work with state and federal wildlife agencies to restore its new property. This might involve removing some levees on the land to open up more area to flooding and tides. Birmingham could not say when the work would begin, but consultants will be hired soon to develop a plan.

 

Some of the parcel will still be farmed, and the land includes water rights. But Birmingham said he didn't know much about that.

 

"Our interest in acquiring this property was the potential for creating or restoring Delta smelt habitat," he said. "We have not done a detailed analysis of water rights on the property."

 

The Yolo Bypass and nearby Cache Slough have been eyed for years as a restoration site.

 

In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a North Delta National Wildlife Refuge that would have encompassed much of the area, but Congress refused to authorize it amid opposition from some landowners.

 

Officials are again looking at major habitat projects in the area to address ecological problems. Birmingham said Westlands hopes to jump-start this effort.

 

"Of course we need to be skeptical, but if Westlands is telling the truth that they bought it to do restoration and they want to help, I applaud them," said John Cain, director of restoration programs at the Natural Heritages Institute, which has designed habitat projects in the area. "It's fantastic that Westlands is stepping forward to try and solve the problem that they helped create." #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/567260.html

 

 

Bay Area water district buys 3,450 acres of Yolo wetlands

Woodland Daily Democrat – 12/14/07

By Mike Taugher, Contra Costa Times staff writer

 

The nation's largest irrigation district, a consistent foe of environmentalists, has taken the unusual step of buying a $12 million ranch in southern Yolo County to restore wetlands and other habitat.

 

The 3,450-acre Yolo Ranch is at the southern tip of Yolo County ad is in the Yolo Bypass, an environmentally sensitive region that is flooded occasionally by managers during high water on the Sacramento River. The area has been identified as a prime area to restore wetlands and provide spawning and rearing habitat for Delta smelt, Sacramento splittail and other fish.

 

The voluntary move by the Westlands Water District could be followed by similar investments by the state's biggest water agencies to address the crumbling Delta ecosystem, a top district official said.

 

The rationale is simple: water deliveries to Westlands and other water districts are increasingly threatened by the decline of the region's fish, especially Delta smelt, which are protected under state and federal endangered species laws. Restoring habitat for smelt to spawn and rear could increase the number of fish in the Delta and decrease the pressure on Delta water users.

 

"There is a crisis in the Delta and the crisis is affecting a number of interests," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands' general manager.

 

"Our intent in acquiring the property was to benefit Delta smelt . . . so the constraints on the Central Valley Project, which is our primary source of water, can be relaxed," Birmingham said.

 

The announcement on Thursday surprised environmentalists who blame Westlands for much of the Delta's decline. They contend that because the irrigation district was formed late in the state water game, it has greatly increased the strain on the Delta's water supplies. The needs of the Delta ecosystem and water users up and down the state appear to have taken the Delta to a breaking point in recent years.

 

One environmentalist, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance executive director Bill Jennings, suggested, implausibly, that Westlands should move its farms north to reduce the pumping of water out of the Delta.

 

"The best thing Westlands could do to protect (fish) in the Delta is move wholesale up to the Sacramento Valley and fallow an equivalent amount of acreage that should never have experienced the plow," Jennings said.

 

"Westlands has always been perceived as an agency that has been interested in obtaining water without regard for the environment," Birmingham said. "We hope this changes that."

 

The purchase comes as Westlands and other water agencies are negotiating a Bay-Delta Conservation Plan which, if completed, could prevent further water supply cutbacks. In August, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that Delta smelt were not being protected and that the Endangered Species Act required him to impose new restrictions on water pumping. #

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_7716550

 

 

Splendid sanctuary; Yolo refuge serves multitudes

Sacramento Bee – 12/14/07

By Ngoc Nguyen, staff writer

 

Farming and wildlife don't always go hand in hand, but at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, waterfowl rest and feed among tules and rice paddies.

 

Stretching 10 miles south of Interstate 80 and covering 25 square miles, the wildlife refuge is home to 200 species of birds. The fertile and abundant lands also support rice and tomato crops and cattle grazing.

 

When President Clinton dedicated the wildlife area, he hailed it as an innovative land use project. Today, the bypass area serves a mix of functions and brings together diverse partners, including government officials, farmers, hunters and the public.

 

Today, state fish and game officials and wildlife advocates will commemorate its 10th anniversary during an invitation-only event. Members of the public can tour the wildlife area by car – the best way to view birds, officials say – when a new auto tour road opens on Saturday.

 

When the bypass was created in the early part of the 20th century, flood control was the main goal.

 

"Its purpose is to get the water from the Feather and Sacramento Rivers to the Delta without flooding the city (Sacramento)," said Dave Feliz, who manages the wildlife area for the California Department of Fish and Game.

 

When the Sacramento River reaches about 37 feet, water spills over the Fremont Weir into the bypass, flowing into the north Delta through Cache Slough. Without the bypass, the city "would have been destroyed by now," Feliz said.

 

The state purchased some land to create the bypass, but it also paid landowners for the rights to flood their property.

Two-thirds of the wetlands are privately held by farmers, ranchers and duck hunters, and a third are public lands.

"We're neighbors and have to work together pretty closely," Feliz said.

 

The state Reclamation Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintain the levees and supervise the flood control mission of the bypass. The state Department of Fish and Game oversees the wildlife refuge.

 

Farmers and duck hunters play their part, too, by creating and maintaining levees and irrigation systems, Feliz said

 

Robin Kulakow of the Yolo Basin Foundation said the public-private partnership has worked. Founded in 1989, the foundation has raised funds to buy land and helped build the political will to create a wildlife habitat.

 

"When it opened, we said to ourselves, 'To see thousands of pintails and ducks, that would be our dream, and it was fulfilled. … It's exceeded our wildest dreams," Kulakow said.

 

At any one time, there are 100,000 birds in the refuge, she said. Binocular-toting visitors might see pintails or snow geese take flight or spot yellow-headed blackbirds and red-tailed hawks perched on bush branches or signposts.

 

During the winter, the area is visited by birds traveling the Pacific Flyway, leaving Canada and Alaska for the warmer weather of California's Central Valley or Mexico. The birds fly back to their breeding grounds to lay their eggs in the spring.

 

Safe places to rest along the way are becoming scarce.

 

California has lost a startling 95 percent of its wetlands – most drained and used for farming, Feliz said. State wildlife officials are working to restore wetlands that were at one time native to the bypass area, he added.

 

The bypass illustrates that farmers' goals and wetland restoration do not have to be at odds.

 

"It's multi-use because it's compatible," Feliz said.

 

The Department of Fish and Game leases its lands to farmers and ranchers for crops and cattle grazing. Feliz said it collected $300,000 this year for additional restoration work.

 

During summer, 1,500 acres of tall green rice stalks sway in the sweltering heat. After rice is harvested in the fall, brown stubble decays in the flooded fields.

 

More important than its revenue, rice farming provides food and an ideal habitat for birds.

 

The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area is being held up as a land-use and conservation model and has garnered regional, national and even international attention.

 

Among the visitors to the area, Feliz said, have been members of Congress and environmental ministers from Siberia, China, Korea, Japan, Mexico, and Australia.

 

About 4,000 students from 15 school districts visit the wildlife refuge each year to take part in educational activities, said Kulakow of the Yolo Basin Foundation, which raises funds to cover the transportation costs.

 

Barbie Saba's third-grade class from Woodland Prairie this week visited the wildlife area. After a lesson on how to use binoculars, students got a glimpse of birds in their natural habitat.

 

Explaining that the wetlands are where birds rest, Saba went on: "It's full of bugs and fish for them to eat. There are other animals living here. It's a place where special animals live." #

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/567263.html

 

 

AMERICAN RIVER SALMON:

Local salmon struggle to survive; Folsom and Nimbus dams wiped out sensitive habitat and Nimbus Hatchery tries to compensate

Sacramento News and Review – 12/13/07

By Jennifer Davidson, staff writer

 

Eight miles of the American River stretching between Ancil Hoffman Park in Carmichael and the Nimbus Dam in Rancho Cordova are all that remain of a once robust 125 miles of Chinook salmon spawning habitat in the Central Valley.

 

Although California’s salmon populations have declined since early settlers colonized the region 150 years ago, nothing has had a greater impact on the species than the construction of the Folsom and Nimbus dams.

 

In the 1940s, Congress identified the untamed spirit of the Sacramento River as a flood hazard to the region and ordered the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to dam the river and regulate its flow. The dams were designed to complement a growing population’s infrastructure with flood control, energy generation, drinking water for nearly 1 million people and a culture of aquatic recreation that is a signature of our region, said Jeff McCracken of the Bureau of Reclamation. However, the salmon would lose more than 100 miles of precious habitat in the deal.

 

To compensate for the habitat loss and the direct impact on the species, the Bureau of Reclamation provided funds to build and operate the Nimbus Hatchery, built in 1955 at the time of Folsom Dam’s completion, to artificially spawn and raise Chinook salmon to propagate declining wild species, McCracken explained. As part of its mitigation, the Bureau of Reclamation is required to meet minimum flow levels in the American River, as well as water quality criteria and regulation of temperature for salmon populations. The bureau works with the California Department of Fish and Game to implement these requirements.

 

“The dam allows us to keep the American River flow up by releasing excess water into the river when it gets extremely low during the dry season,” McCracken said. Minimum flow levels stimulate salmon to migrate and help maintain clean spawning grounds and overall water quality by washing away pollutants and sediment.

 

For cold-water species such as salmon, temperature is imperative to its reproductive cycle. Five years ago, the Bureau of Reclamation installed a device to allow cold water to be withdrawn from the bottom of the reservoir and released into the river to meet temperature requirements for salmon migration, McCracken explained. Though this year, salmon ready to spawn returned to Nimbus Hatchery later than usual due to warmer river temperatures.

 

In November, the river temperature reached the required 61 degrees Fahrenheit for spawning and the first fascinating, but brutal, egg-take and fertilization of the season finally took place at the hatchery. In a little less than one year, these newly fertilized pea-sized, bright orange eggs will be among 32 million, 6-inch salmon smolt raised at the hatchery and ready for release.

 

As part of the management strategy, some of the smolt are released into the American River at the hatchery, while the majority of the 32 million are trucked and released at key locations in the Delta and Bay Area, close to the Pacific Ocean, explained Harry Morse, Public Information Officer for the California Department of Fish and Game.

 

“This reduces the in-river mortality rate of the smolt and ensures that most of the fish will make it to the ocean,” he said. A smolt’s journey downstream is the most perilous leg of a salmon’s life. The staggeringly low rate of salmon that return to the hatchery to spawn makes this management strategy imperative to propagate the species as efficiently as possible.

 

“We see less than 1 percent and sometimes less than one-half of 1 percent return rate,” Morse said. On the low end, that’s fewer than 160,000 fish out of 32 million that are genetically pre-determined to return to Nimbus Hatchery.

 

Solving the mystery of salmon’s declining numbers challenges even the best Ph.D.s in the field, according to Morse.

 

Loss of habitat due to dam construction poses the greatest threat, though biologists target sedimentation, altered stream flow, loss of streamside vegetation, rise in water temperature and pollution—all the result of human activity—as the categorical biggies that account for dozens of complex threats to the species.

 

The Department of Fish and Game will soon undertake a major project to tag a quarter of the salmon raised and released at the hatchery to track where they go and how many survive to help biologists understand what is happening to the hatchery stock, Morse explained.

 

While the conundrum has captured the attention of the scientific community, there is still plenty the average citizen can do. One of the easiest methods to protect the health of salmon and waterways is to prevent pollution through storm drains, which empty directly into rivers without receiving treatment. Animal and green waste, trash, motor oil, detergent from washing cars and residual pesticides from lawns are typical storm drain pollutants.

 

“A pollutant itself may not directly kill a salmon,” Morse said, “but it can destroy or affect small invertebrates and plant life,” which in turn impacts the food supply and alters the landscape of sensitive salmon habitat.

 

Most importantly, Morse pointed out that to save the salmon, we must generate a collective voice that understands the needs of the species and recognizes its value as a natural resource with historical and cultural importance, and a species that deserves its place on the planet.

 

Salmon are arriving at the hatchery daily, completing their journey from the Pacific Ocean and ready to spawn. Come face to face with these magnificent creatures and watch them make their way up the ladder into the hatchery. The Nimbus Hatchery is located near Hazel Avenue and Highway 50, off Gold Country Boulevard and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Call (916) 358-2820 for more information.  #

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=606240

 

 

WETLAND PROJECT REPORT:

Wetland replacement report a mixed bag; Biological health of new acreage seldom optimal, study finds

Monterey Herald – 12/14/07

By Larry Parsons, staff writer

 

A new state report on wetland replacement projects required of California developers shows the program has produced mixed results.

 

Developers, for the most part, comply with requirements to replace lost wetlands with other acreage, but the biological health of replacement wetlands is seldom optimal, said the study released Thursday by the state Water Resources Control Board.

 

The 382-page study looked at 143 randomly selected projects throughout the state that needed so-called 401 permits between 1991 and 2002 because of their impacts on federally protected wetlands.

 

Two of the projects examined in the study are in Monterey County — the Rancho San Carlos subdivision above Carmel Valley and a Gonzales-area housing project that required 120 cubic yards of fill material being put into the Gonzales Slough.

 

The study shows the state's "'no-net loss' policy for significant wetlands is being met by acreage of replacement wetlands," said Liz Kanter, spokeswoman for the state water board, "but is not being met, if the biological health of the replacement wetlands are considered."

 

"While we are not thrilled with the results, it will help us move forward and improve the program," she said.

 

The wetland permits, required under the federal Clean Water Act, are issued by regional water boards and can be required for a wide variety of rural and urban projects that affect wetlands, rivers, streams or other waters. Affected projects can run the gamut from bridges or dams to single-family homes.

 

About 1,110 of the permits, which typically require wetland replacement at ratios greater than 1-to-1, are issued each year in California. About 100 are approved annually by the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, which has jurisdiction over Monterey County and other counties in the region.

 

Representatives of several state and local environmental groups said they hadn't seen the report and couldn't comment.

 

Alana Knaster, assistant director of the county resources agency, said obtaining the wetland permits can be time-consuming for some developers. On some projects, the county monitors compliance of the wetland-mitigation rules, she said.

 

Informed the study showed generally satisfactory compliance with permit requirements, Knaster said, "That's good to hear."

 

Kanter said the study, which was done by scientists at the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of San Francisco, was designed as an internal review of the 401 program. The state water board called it "one of the most extensive studies of wetland mitigation ever conducted."

 

California has lost more than 90 percent of its original wetlands, making protection of remaining areas vital. Wetlands can be critical for flood protection, groundwater replenishment, wildlife habitat and water quality.

 

"It's a very important issue," said Chris Fitz, executive director of LandWatch Monterey County.

 

The study showed there was no net loss of wetland area with about 70 percent of the permits reviewed. With the other 30 percent, the developments affected more wetland area than they produced.

 

Only one-fifth of the mitigation projects produced wetlands in "optimal condition," the study said. About one-fourth of the replacement wetlands were in "marginal to poor condition."

 

The study found nine acres of wetlands and "other waters" were created at Rancho San Carlos to compensate for the loss of 2.8 acres used in building a road crossing and golf course. The mitigation wetlands generally scored high, though they rated low for native plant species, the study said.

 

The Gonzales mitigation work most likely was big enough — only 0.003 of an acre was required for the tiny project — but scored poorly for landscaping, non-native plants and the presence of trash, the study said.  #

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_7719738?nclick_check=1

####