Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
Proposed Study Plan
BR-S1
STUDY DESCRIPTION BR-S1
VEGETATION COMMUNITY MAPPING
Revised May 2014
STUDY GOAL AND OBJECTIVE
The Bucks Creek Project (Project) Pre-Application Document (PAD) (November 2013)
reviewed the existing, relevant, and reasonably available information associated with botanical
resources and identified the following issues:

BR-1 Effects of the Project on vegetation communities

BR-2 Effects of the Project on the presence and spread of invasive weeds

BR-3 Effects of the Project on culturally significant plant species for
Native Americans
The goal of this study is to develop the essential additional information necessary to supplement
the existing information to address issue BR-1. The Licensees included information needed to
address BR-2 within the PAD (see Sections 5.5.3 and 6.1.5) and anticipate no additional
information will be necessary to assess the effects of the Project on the presence and spread of
invasive weeds. Information required to address issue BR-3 will be collected in Study RTE-S5,
Special-Status, Elderberry Shrub, and Culturally Significant Plants.
To address the effects of the Project on vegetation communities (BR-1), a field survey will be
undertaken to map and describe vegetation communities within the Project Area, including
upland and wetland habitats.
EXISTING INFORMATION
GANDA (2002, revised 2004) provides general descriptions of vegetation communities present
within the Project Area as well as more specific location information for riparian vegetation
communities, but no current Project-specific mapping or survey information is available to
locate, map, and describe vegetation communities throughout the entire Project Area. Additional
information may be needed to understand whether or not the Project is having an effect on such
habitat or any rare vegetation communities (for potential effects on wetland, riparian, and littoral
vegetation community types, see PAD Section 6.1.6).
NEXUS BETWEEN PROJECT AND RESOURCE TO BE STUDIED AND HOW THE
RESULTS WILL BE USED
Project construction, operation, and maintenance activities have resulted in the removal and
modification of vegetation communities in the Project Area. The study will inventory the
vegetation communities located within the Project Area and assess the extent of Project effects.
The information will also be used to support other relicensing studies.
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Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
©2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara
Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
Proposed Study Plan
BR-S1
STUDY AREA AND SITES
The Study Area (actual area to be classified and mapped) includes the area within 0.5 mi of the
Project Boundary. Specifically excluded from the Study Area are areas where access is unsafe
(very steep terrain or high water flows) or private property for which Licensee has not received
specific approval from the landowner to enter the property to perform the study. The Licensee
will make a good faith effort to obtain access to private property to conduct the study.
Lands where ground-truthing cannot be conducted because of safety concerns, or the lands are
privately owned, will be classified and mapped based on aerial photographs and best professional
judgment, and identified as such in the final map products.
METHODS
The study will consist of the following three tasks:
Task 1: Aerial Photography
High-resolution orthorectified aerial photography will be used to develop an accurate map at a
suitable scale to allow delineation of vegetation community types. A fixed-wing aircraft will fly
over the entire Study Area, including a 1-mi buffer from all Project features, using the following
criteria to document plant communities:

GPS/Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)-supported digital aerial photography to
capture both natural color and color-infrared (CIR) aerial imagery, at 1-ft pixel size

Ground base station support for airborne GPS flight mission

GPS/IMU-controlled aerial triangulation of photography, for exterior orientation

Ortho-rectification using USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM), with manual DEM
fixes as needed

Mosaic and tile orthophotos into workable file sizes

Base grid on Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 10, NAD 1983, meters

Provide data sets on DVD, in MrSID (multiresolution seamless image database)
format (preferred) or TIF/TFW format

Include a photograph index file on each DVD, based on USGS quad data
Task 2: Preliminary Vegetation Mapping
In late spring/early summer, the aerial photography will be reviewed and all general vegetation
plant communities will be mapped at a minimum mapping unit size of 1.0 acre. All plant
community designations will be based on the Manual of California Vegetation, Second Edition
(Sawyer et al. 2009). Where the classification scheme as defined in Sawyer et al. (2009) is not
suitable, there will be coordination with the agencies and the classification description will be
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Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
©2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara
Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
Proposed Study Plan
BR-S1
adjusted. Methods will used will be consistent with the California Native Plant Society/CDFW
standards and protocols for vegetation sampling and mapping (California Native Plant
Society/California Department of Fish and Game 2014). In addition, documented locations of
sensitive natural communities (GANDA 2002, CDFW 2013) will be overlaid to ensure accurate
mapping of these community types.
Task 3: Field Checking
Imagery will be field-verified to ensure correct interpretation of vegetation types. All riparian,
wetland, and littoral areas able to be safely reached via direct access or through use of visual aids
(e.g., binoculars and spotting scopes) from a distance will be ground-truthed. This is necessary
because riparian and wetland communities in the Study Area are expected to be characterized by
a small patch size and, in some localities, obscured by overstory vegetation or topographic
shading. The various upland community types will require less ground-truthing, with the
transitional zones between community types receiving the greatest scrutiny. The lesser degree of
ground-truthing associated with upland communities reflects the relative ease of differentiating
the boundary areas between upland plant communities when compared to riparian and shoreline
wetlands. Areas that may support rare plant communities with the potential to occur (e.g.,
Lithocarpus densiflorus Forest, Alnus incana Shrubland, Carex nudata Herbaceous, Salix
lemmonii Shrubland, Salix lucida Woodland, Populus tremuloides Forest, and Rhododendron
neoglandulosum Shrubland alliances) also will be surveyed during ground-truthing efforts to
ensure any rare communities are accurately documented. In addition, any area shown in the
aerial imagery that the Licensees deem to be ambiguous will be examined on the ground to
confirm the mapping type.
Incidental observations of other species will be documented on field data sheets or specific
incidental species observation forms, and compiled into a single database of incidental
observations that can be used as a reference for other analyses.
Task 4: Final Vegetation Mapping
Upon completion of field work ground-truthing, boundaries of polygons will be revised in GIS
and vegetation types will be revised as necessary.
ANALYSIS
Total acres will be determined for each vegetation type within the Study Area. To determine if
any special-status natural communities are present in the Study Area, mapped vegetation
alliances will be checked against the most recent California Department of Fish and Wildlife
(CDFW) List of Vegetation Alliances and Associations (CDFG 2010b or most updated). All
special-status natural communities will be mapped and an assessment will be conducted as to
whether Project recreation or operation and maintenance activities have affected or have the
potential to affect these communities.
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Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
©2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara
Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
Proposed Study Plan
BR-S1
STUDY-SPECIFIC CONSULTATION
Study-specific consultation for this study includes the following:

If it is determined that the vegetation classification scheme as defined in Sawyer et
al. (2009) is not suitable for any particular vegetation types mapped within the Study
Area, there will be coordination with the agencies and the classification description
will be adjusted accordingly.

Notification of dates for field sampling
 Review of Year 1 study results
CONSISTENCY WITH GENERALLY ACCEPTED SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE
The methods described here are consistent with generally accepted techniques for landscapelevel resource mapping and will yield georeferenced imagery to support the Project’s GIS
platform. This technique has been applied successfully on several recent hydro relicensing
projects in California, including the Rock Creek-Cresta Project (FERC Project No. 1962), the
Upper North Fork Feather River Project (FERC Project No. 2105), and the McCloud-Pit Project
(FERC Project No. 2106).
PRODUCTS
A summary of the information and findings will be included in the Application for New License,
Exhibit E and will include summaries and maps for rare, sensitive, and invasive plant locations
from recent surveys (i.e., results of Study RTE-S5, Special Status, Elderberry Shrub, and
Culturally Significant Plants and GANDA 2011). Data gathered as part of the study will be
included as an appendix to the License Application. Study products may include a presentation
to resource agency personnel and other relicensing participants.
Licensees will provide relevant data as appendices to technical reports. Inventory forms (e.g.,
CNDDB) will be provided to the appropriate resource agency. Standard GIS shapefiles will be
provided upon request; any custom formats or ancillary GIS data manipulation will be the
responsibility of the party receiving the data.
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER STUDIES
Aerial imagery of the Study Area is key to the planning and design of several other studies,
including the mapping of special-status plant species (Study RTE-S5, Special Status, Elderberry
Shrub, and Culturally Significant Plants), mapping and locating riparian habitat (Study RWL-S1
Riparian and Wetland Survey), and several studies for wildlife (i.e., selecting study sites for
Study RTE-1 Special-Status Amphibian and Aquatic Reptiles). Ground-truthing of vegetation
mapping data along tributaries to Bucks and Milk Ranch creeks, as well as the perimeters of
Bucks Lake, Lower Bucks Lake, Grizzly Forebay, and Three Lakes, will be conducted as part of
Study RWL-S1 using the same methods and protocols described in this study. When available,
this imagery will be incorporated into the Project GIS platform where it will serve as a
background layer to aid on-the-ground navigation by field crews.
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Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
©2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara
Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
Proposed Study Plan
BR-S1
SCHEDULE
The Licensees propose to perform the majority of this work in 2015. Aerial photos will be taken
in the July through September 2014 timeframe. Post-processing will require a minimum of 4 to 6
weeks, and could require as much as 12 weeks. Aerial photograph field-checking will take place
as soon as possible after imagery becomes available. Preliminary vegetation mapping is targeted
for winter 2014–2015 and spring 2015, with final vegetation mapping completed during summer
2015. Analysis and reporting will occur through December 2015.
LEVEL OF EFFORT AND COST
The preliminary estimated cost (2014 dollars) for the study subtotaled by major tasks is as
follows:
Office Work ......................................................$ 64,000
Field Work ........................................................$ 20,000
Analysis.............................................................$ 22,000
Products.............................................................$ 25,000
Total (2014 dollars) .........................................$ 131,000
REFERENCES
CDFG (California Department of Fish and Game). 2010. List of vegetation alliances and
associations. Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program, California
Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, California. September 2010.
CDFW (California Department of Fish and Wildlife). 2013. California Natural Diversity
Database. RareFind3. Electronic database. Natural Heritage Division, California
Department
of
Fish
and
Game,
Sacramento,
California.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/biogeodata/cnddb/rarefind.asp.
California Native Plant Society/Department of Fish and Game. 2014. Protocol for combined
vegetation rapid assessment and relevé sampling form. April 2014.
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=18599&inline=1 [Accessed
April 30, 2014].
GANDA (Garcia and Associates). 2002. Special Status Plant Surveys, Noxious Weed Surveys,
and Riparian Assessment for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company Bucks Creek
Hydroelectric Project in Plumas County, California. Prepared for Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, San Ramon, California. Prepared by GANDA, San Anselmo,
California. December.
GANDA (Garcia and Associates). 2004. Special Status Plant Surveys, Noxious Weed Surveys,
and Riparian Assessment for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company Bucks Creek
Hydroelectric Project in Plumas County, California, Revised January 2004 version.
Prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Ramon, California. Prepared by
GANDA, San Anselmo, California. January.
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Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
©2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara
BR-S1
Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
Proposed Study Plan
GANDA (Garcia and Associates). 2011. 2011 Comprehensive Weed Survey. Bucks Creek
Hydroelectric Project FERC No. 619. Prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, San Ramon, California. Prepared by GANDA, Auburn, California.
December.
Sawyer, J.O., T. Keeler-Wolf, and J.M. Evens. 2009. A manual of California vegetation. Second
edition. California Native Plant Society Press, Sacramento, California.
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Bucks Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC Project No. 619
©2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Santa Clara