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Project Description: This proposal is
the result of a Forum-funded project development grant to complete
initial survey work. The project area consists of two treatment
reaches: North Creek and the East Creek. The entire project area
is located on an alluvial fan. The $115,000 will go specifically to
complete design work on the entire North and East Creek reaches and
complete approximately 20% of the highest priority riffle
augmentation construction.
The restoration concept for North Creek and East Creek is riffle
augmentation. Both channels have been highly manipulated because of
the fan location and intensive livestock and hay production. Rather
than a network of often changing, shallow channels across the
valley, flow has been restricted into these two main channels. A
combination of concentration of flow, highway culverts, loss of
sediment supply, and intensive agricultural use have contributed to
the development of the degradation of the channels to an existing
depth of three to nine feet. Irrigation diversion ditches and a
grade control dam have helped reduce the rate of down-cutting, but
the depth of the gully now captures enough flood flows to thwart
most in-gully attempts at control. Two diversion structures are no
longer operable, and most of the rest are at risk of failure.
Because the channel bottom has not yet reached a resistant layer,
without treatment, incision cycles are expected to continue moving
upstream, resulting in a deeper and wider gully, making irrigation
structure maintenance more difficult and expensive. Riffle
augmentation is proposed for 58 locations on North Creek, and 48
locations on East Creek, and would result in flows slightly over 200
cfs in each channel spilling onto the floodplain. The proposed
project also includes management changes, primarily through
fencing. |
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Project
Activities:
July 1, 2006 –
September 30, 2006:
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Completed amphibian survey and report w/
assistance from Dept. of Fish & Game;
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Collected pre-project water temperature data;
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Conduct pre-project fish electro-shocking
monitoring w/ assistance form DWR;
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Prepared draft CEQA document;
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Hired sub-contractors to conduct environmental
surveys for archeology, wildlife and botany; surveys completed
Expenditures to September 30, 2006: $1017.68
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