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| Winter/Spring 2000 | Summer 1999 | Fall 1998 | Spring 1998 | |
| Fall 1997 | Spring 1997 | Publications and Council Plans | ||
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Council Changes Its 1998 Grant Program Schedule
The Cantara Trustee Council has revised its 1998 Grant Program schedule to ensure funds are available, improve processing time, and better meet the needs of prospective grantees. Previously, grants were submitted to the Council in October with final selections being made in January. The new schedule will have a March submission date, and Council selections will occur in August. This change will ensure that funding for projects is actually in place before the grants are approved. Annual installments are paid by the parties responsible for the Cantara Spill to the federal court. The Council must then request the court to release funds for placement into the upper Sacramento River Account. This occurs annually in March or April. During the 1996 and 1997 grant cycles, the Council often experienced substantial delays in grant processing. The grant program is administrated by the Department of Fish and Game (Department). With the old schedule, grant agreements were written and submitted for processing during the spring when contract staff are busiest. By changing the schedule, grant agreements will be processed during the fall when staff workload is lowest. The new schedule should also be more convenient for persons or groups
receiving grants. More time will be available to acquire necessary environmental
documentation for restoration projects, to prepare and plan for the field
season, and to manage budgetary constraints. The revised 1998 Grant Program
Schedule will be as follows:
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Dunsmuir Elementary school children posing as trout. |
Grand
Opening of the Upper Sacramento River Exchange
“It is so wonderful that the Cantara Trustee Council has given us the opportunity to reach so many people with the message of stewardship for our beautiful river.” Those were the words of Diane Strachan, executive director of the Upper Sacramento River Exchange Center in Dunsmuir, as its doors were officially opened to the public on April 25, 1997. The grand opening coincided with the opening of fishing season and the first annual Dunsmuir River Festival, which took place April 25 through April 27, 1997. The weekend event was sponsored by the River Exchange and Dunsmuir schools. Grand opening festivities on Friday evening included a reception at the River Exchange and art shows at the Brown Trout and Stonewall galleries. Author Bill Sunderland was on hand to sign copies of his book “California Blue Ribbon Trout Streams.” Fly tying and equipment demonstrations were provided by long time resident Joe Kimsey. Dunsmuir Elementary’s fourth and fifth graders provided the highlight of the evening with a group story and student produced slide show depicting the salmon life cycle. Events on Friday concluded with a slide show by local guide and artist, Fred Gordon, illustrating the art of fishing the upper Sacramento River. Saturday morning activities began early with a pancake breakfast. Throughout the day, visitors were educated by local kids about the importance of the watershed. Students taught visitors how to identify native plants and aquatic invertebrates using scientific “keys.” Native plants and seeds were for sale along with student-made bird houses. Displays and exhibits represented student projects on stream channel construction, erosion control, electrofishing, and water quality monitoring. The Window Box Nursery offered an extremely successful native plant walk, with 52 people participating. Fly tying demonstrations were available throughout the day, and local guide Ron Rabun provided a slide show on “Fly Fishing the Upper Sac.” Saturday afternoon “The Watershed Show,” was presented by Dunsmuir Elementary students. Student poems and stories, a verse choir, and an original operetta were presented. This was a popular event, attracting a 200 member audience. Saturday evening closed with slide shows presented by two featured speakers. John McDermot provided “River Dancer’s Whitewater Rafting” covering rafting on the upper Sac. Paul McHugh, a San Francisco Chronicle writer, presented “Wild Places,” sharing his strong watershed ethic and outdoor adventures. The River Festival came to a close on Sunday, featuring two free fishing clinics demonstrating both fly fishing and general angling techniques. Both sessions were very successful, attracting many participants. “Our first Dunsmuir River Festival was a great success on many levels,”
said Diane Strachan. “We partnered with Dunsmuir schools and it created
lots of interest and fun for both locals and upper Sacramento River visitors
on opening day of fishing. We had an amazing 400 to 500 people walk through
the River Center doors in one day. Next year, we plan to extend the festival
to two full days with more natural history presentations, watershed appreciation
and special programs for kids.” |
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Cantara Staff Perspectives: On-Site or Off-Site? That
is the Question.
by Craig Martz, Cantara plant ecologist Probably the most frequent question since the Cantara Trustee Council released it’s 1996 Annual Report is: “Why is the Council spending settlement funds outside of the upper Sacramento River drainage?” This is a very reasonable question and I hope I can shed some light on the subject. To answer this question, I should first provide you with some background on the initial litigation, as well as the subsequent settlement of natural resource damage claims following the Cantara Spill. State and Federal Trustee Agencies filed suit against Southern Pacific and other responsible parties in 1992, in part under provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). This mouthful of a Federal law allows Trustee Agencies to recover monetary damages for natural resource injuries resulting from the release of hazardous materials. Damages obtained under the law can be used to restore and rehabilitate injured resources, or to replace resource values through the acquisition of equivalent resources at off-site locations. A settlement of State and Federal claims was reached in 1995. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) established the Cantara Trustee Council and governs its actions. The MOA gives the Trustee Council sole authority over the expenditure of $14 million in settlement proceeds, and defines how these funds are to be used. Under the terms of the MOA, expenditures can be for “... resource protection; restoration; rehabilitation; enhancement; acquisition; study and/or research; and program and administrative support for these activities.” In addition, the MOA establishes expenditure priorities for the Trustee Council in the following order: on-site/in-kind; off-site/in-kind; on-site/out-of-kind; off-site/out-of-kind; and study and research. “On-site” is defined as the watershed of the upper Sacramento River from the mouth of Campbell Creek upstream to Box Canyon Dam. “In-kind” is defined as montane riparian terrestrial habitats and cold-water lotic aquatic habitats. “Off-site” locations are prioritized geographically. First priority is given to Shasta and Siskiyou counties. After these areas, the following are considered: Lassen, Modoc, Tehama, Trinity, Del Norte, and Humboldt counties, and then the remainder of California. These priorities are built into the Council’s grant evaluation process. As you can see, the MOA does not limit the expenditure of settlement proceeds to the upper Sacramento River. Instead, it sets criteria which emphasize benefits to those resource types that were directly injured by the spill. This approach allows the Trustee Council to consider both on-site actions to restore injured resources and off-site actions to replace resource values that have been lost since the spill. Many of the resources injured by the Cantara Spill in 1991 made substantial progress toward recovery between the time of the spill and the 1995 settlement. Part of the trustee’s damage claims were for the loss of resource values during this period of time. Even after the upper Sacramento has completely recovered from the effects of the spill, a net loss in habitat values will have occurred. The Council believes that funding cost effective projects off-site is one way to replace some of those resource values. A good example can be seen in the upper Sacramento’s riparian vegetation. Even with on-site restoration efforts, it will take well over a decade for riparian habitat values on the upper Sacramento River to recover to pre-spill levels. This represents a significant loss in habitat for species that depend on riparian environments. One way to compensate for this loss is to restore or enhance similar habitat in adjacent areas. Later in this newsletter we describe the off-site Shasta River project funded in 1996 by the Council. This nearby system supports degraded montane riparian vegetation, but offers an opportunity to create replacement habitat in a cost-effective manner. I hope this helps explain the authority the Council has and why they
have approved off-site projects for funding. Put simply, the Council is
looking for the most cost-effective means to restore and replace resources
injured by the Cantara Spill. |
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Hedgecreek
Falls
Located at the north end of the town of Dunsmuir lies Hedgecreek Falls. A five minute walk down a beautiful trail leads you to the base of the waterfall. Here you can relax on a bench, play in the cool water, and enjoy the view. Don’t forget your camera. These unique falls are most spectacular during the winter, spring and early summer. At the top of the Hedgecreek Falls trail is a beautifully maintained picnic area and a water fountain where you can enjoy the “Best Water on Earth.” A great view of Mt. Shasta from the nearby gazebo provides wonderful photo opportunities. To access Hedgecreek Falls from either north or southbound I-5, take the Dunsmuir Avenue exit. If you’re traveling northbound, turn left at the stop sign and pass under the freeway. If you are traveling southbound, turn right at the stop sign. A parking area for the Hedgecreek Falls trail is on the west side of Dunsmuir Avenue, just north of the Castle Rock Spring Water Company. |
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This young angler's smile was
At times, it was difficult to tell
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Kids
Fishing Day Spawns Young Anglers With Big Smiles.
Kids Fishing Day, sponsored by the Cantara Trustee Council, was a joy for all participants. The June 7, 1997 event was held at the Mt. Shasta Hatchery. A large pond on the hatchery grounds provided the backdrop for over 100 young anglers between the ages of 2 and 15, who caught more than 300 rainbow and brook trout supplied by the Department of Fish and Game. To ensure that everybody would catch fish, the pond was stocked with over 1,600 hatchery trout averaging nearly two pounds each, and a number of five pound lunkers. These big guys really spiced up the fishing as some were as long as the youngest fishers were tall! Seventy-four parents assisted our happy junior anglers, in addition to 15 DFG volunteers and 5 DFG staff. It was difficult to tell who had more fun, the kids or adults! All participants were provided with a junior fishing license, bait and a packet of tackle. Several rods and reels were available on loan for those without fishing gear. The kids could catch and keep up to three trout and undoubtedly several local fish fries occurred that evening. In addition to the fishing, youngsters and their parents could tour the oldest operating hatchery in California. Provided with a guide, they learned how trout are raised and cared for at the hatchery. Many parents commented on what a great opportunity this was for their
children and inquired if there would be future Kids Fishing Days. The
next fishing day is already scheduled for September 27, 1997. Funding
for the coordination of these special events is provided as part of the
Council’s public outreach program to benefit the local communities most
affected by the 1991 Cantara Spill.
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The dramatic recovery made by vegetation(to the left
of fence line) resulting from the cattle exclusion |
Council
Grant Improves Habitat on Shasta River
In 1996 the Cantara Trustee Council funded 17 restoration, research, acquisition and public education projects. One of these was the Freeman Ranch Cattle Exclusion Fencing project. The Freeman Ranch lies along the Shasta River near the town of Grenada, in Siskiyou County. The Council awarded the Shasta River Coordinated Resources Management and Planning Committee, in partnership with Great Northern Corporation, a grant of $61,531. The grant provided cattle exclusion fencing to protect 32 acres of riparian habitat and about one mile of riverbank from erosion. A 400 foot by 3600 foot grazing exclusion zone, on both banks of the Shasta River, was completely fenced as of April 1997. Approximately 3000 native cottonwoods, willows, water birch, and alders were planted within this exclusion zone during the following two months. Fencing, donated by the California Department of Fish and Game, surrounds each plant to protect it from wildlife damage during the establishment phase. In the second and third years of the project replanting will be done as necessary to maintain the target level of woody cover. Initially, no grazing will be allowed within the fenced area, but a plan is being developed which will permit the landowner to use some late summer grazing to control herbaceous vegetation levels as a fire prevention measure. The Freeman Ranch is only one of several properties along the Shasta River that are currently under 10-year grazing exclusion agreements, covering close to 5 miles of riverfront. It is hoped the grazing plan developed from this project can be used by the other ranchers to continue protecting their riparian zones while receiving some benefits to their livestock. This project will also serve as a model to encourage other Shasta River landowners to participate in the program. When completed, the Freeman Ranch Project will protect riparian resources and improve habitat for trout and other fish. These resource benefits will help offset habitat values lost during the Cantara spill, and will lead to even further gains in the future from increased landowner participation in the Shasta River restoration effort. |
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