Feather River Coordinated Resource Management
Monitoring Overview
Plumas-Lassen Administrative Study Research Seminar
April 2, 2010
Leslie Mink and Kara Rockett
“an assessment of watershed monitoring data on
lands treated pursuant to this section. Such
assessment shall address the following issues on a
priority basis: timing of water releases; water
quality changes; and water yield changes over the
short- and long-term in the pilot project area”
(§ 401 (k)(2)(B))
Feather River CRM Signatory Agencies
24 Federal, state and local, public and private agencies and groups
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Plumas National Forest
Natural Resource Conservation
Service
North Cal-Neva Conservation
and Development Area
US Army Corps of Engineers
USDA Farm Services Agency
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Feather River RCD
Feather River College
PG&E
Salmonid Restoration
Federation
Trout Unlimited

Plumas Corporation

Department of Conservation
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Calif. Dept. Fish & Game

Calif. Dept. Forestry & Fire
Protection

State Parks and Recreation

Calif. Dept. of Transportation

Calif. Dept. Water Resources

Regional Water Quality Control
Board

UC Cooperative Extension

Sierra Valley RCD

Plumas County

Plumas County Community
Development Commission

Plumas County Unified School
District
Feather River CRM Focus
Mission Statement:
“To protect, maintain and enhance ecosystems and
community stability in the Feather River Watershed through
collaborative landowner participation.”
3,222 sq mi
Meadow Restoration Ecosystem Services



Water• Flood Attenuation
• Baseflow Augmentation
• Improved Water Quality Decreased Water Temperature
 Restored Nutrient Cycling
 Decreased Sediment
Biology• Aquatic Organisms
• Terrestrial Wildlife
• Vegetation Communities
Carbon• Biomass
•
Soil
User Allocations
of Feather River
Water
The Feather is the largest
river in the Sierra Nevada,
Annually producing:
1,400 MW of electricity
2.5 MM acre-ft of water for 23
million residents & other
users.
Impacts That Have Diminished
Watershed Function
Railroad Grades (logging)
Road Building
Over-grazing by Livestock
Logging
Mining
Channel/Drainage Manipulation
Red Clover Creek – 6/2005
Red Clover Creek w/banks & headcuts
FR-CRM Restoration
• 1985 – present
– 66 projects completed
– 44 miles of channel
– 3900 acres of meadow
• Project distribution
– One or more meadow projects have been implemented in 11
of the 15 groundwater basins in the Upper Feather River
(DWR)
Deep gully
Fast channel flow
Pre-restoration
More subsurface
water storage
Slow channel flow
Post-restoration
Monitoring & Modeling
• Watershed Level
• Streamflow (continuous since 1999)
• Temperature
• Turbidity
• Stream Condition Inventory
• Project Level
• Groundwater
• Temperature
• Stream Condition Inventory
• Soil Moisture
• Stream Flow
• Turbidity
• Frogs, Fish, Birds, Carbon
• Vegetation
Continuous Recording Station
on Spanish Creek at Dyrr Bank
FRCRM Monitoring Sites
Last Chance Creek Watershed
 10
miles /1,462 acres FR-CRM watershed
restoration (1995) 2002-2007
 2,708 acres QLG forest projects 19992003
Last Chance Creek, Alkali Flat, 2005
Outline,
old Gully
Red Clover Creek Watershed
 (3.3)
4.1 miles / 378 acres FR-CRM
watershed restoration (1985) 2006
 2,708 acres QLG forest projects 19992003
Red Clover Creek @ X-s #19, 6/2006
Red Clover Creek @ X-s #19, 6/2008
Red Clover Creek project inflow, 5/5/2009;
Turbidity - 35 NTU
Red Clover Creek project outflow, 5/5/2009;
Turbidity - 3 NTU
Big Flat (Cottonwood Creek)
 0.78
miles /47 acres FR-CRM watershed
restoration 1995
 15 years of data
 255 acres QLG forest projects 2002
Cottonwood Creek, Big Flat, 1993
Cottonwood Creek, Big Flat, 2006
Bankfull discharge
Clarks Creek
 0.81
miles /56 acres FR-CRM watershed
restoration 2001
 11 years of data
 39 acres QLG forest projects 2004
Clarks Creek, 2005
Clarks Creek - July, 2001
Clarks Creek - July, 2006
(% is percent
of annualnormal
average precipitation)
precip.)
(% is percent
of annual
- Meadow elevation -
Clarks Creek Restoration Project
Maximum Weekly Average Water Temperature
2008
90.0
Above Project
80.0
Below Project
66 F
Inflow Stops 6/27/08
Temperature (F)
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
Date
Outflow Stops 7/26/08
Conclusions
 Improve
collaborative monitoring to better
determine the current effects, and future,
of watershed management in the Feather
River watershed.
 Long term watershed monitoring is a
valuable tool in determining the effects of
QLG activities in uplands as well as
watershed restoration in valley bottoms.
Conclusions
 Partnership
monitoring in the Feather
River watershed is showing improvements
in the timing of flows and water quality, as
required by the HFQLG Act
Cottonwood Creek, Big Flat
Sample
Date
Name/Length of Stream
Sampled
Species
Total
Catch
Population
Estimate/mile
Biomass/mile
5/23/2000
Big Flat-100 feet
Rainbow Trout
60
1,126
45,700 m/L
5/24/2000
Clarks Creek-100 feet
Rainbow Trout
14
352
9,700 m/L
Red Clover- McReynolds Creek Project
Avifauna Monitoring (2004- 2008)
Bird Species Diversity64 species in 2004/122 species in 2008
Species richnessIncreased from 26.7 species to 30.3 species
Wetland/Riparian obligates30 species only occurring post-project
Special status species12 species only occurring post-project
Neotropical migrant songbirds34% of total avifauna species
Wilson’s phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)
Waterfowl Population Results
9 waterfowl species observed using the study area preproject.
 Of these nine only three were observed breeding:
• Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), green-winged teal (Anas crecca), and
common merganser (Mergus merganser)
18 waterfowl species observed post-project
 Of these, eight were observed breeding:
• Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), gadwall (Anas strepera), greenwinged teal (Anas crecca), blue-winged teal (Anas discors), mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos), Canada goose (Branta canadensis), common
merganser (Mergus merganser), pied-billed grebe (Podilymbus
podiceps