1998 Annual Report

The Cantara Trustee Council is pleased to present its 1998 Annual Report. This document provides information about our programs as well as the current status of the upper Sacramento River. Significant progress has been made this year on projects in the upper Sacramento River watershed and neighboring drainages. During the 1998 grant cycle, the Council emphasized projects in two areas: restoration, and public information and education. As we enter the eighth year following the 1991 spill, our focus has shifted from research and recovery monitoring to restoration and long-term resource protection. The Council is taking a watershed approach to resource protection planning, and has drafted a Resource Protection Plan describing its conservation objectives within the upper Sacramento River basin. This plan will guide Council actions over the next three years. As always, the Council welcomes your comments on its program.

Recovery Status

Recovery monitoring surveys of rainbow trout and osprey were conducted on the upper Sacramento River during 1998.

Conducted since 1992, snorkeling surveys document changes in the trout population. Snorkeling data presented in our 1997 annual report was reevaluated, resulting in a more accurate estimate of the population trend. While the trout population appeared to stabilize between 1994 and 1996, reevaluation of the data suggests that the population actually continued an impressive growth trend through 1996. The January 1, 1997 flood caused a 50% decline in the trout population. Results from the 1998 snorkel surveys indicate an even further reduction in the trout population, most likely the result of persistent high flows associated with last winter's El Niño event. The number of trout greater than four inches in length decreased from 1359 per mile in 1997 to 1096 per mile in 1998.

Despite decreased numbers of upper Sacramento River trout due to the 1997 flood, anglers caught the highest number (63,935) in the four years of angler surveys. In 1997, angler use was similar (78,574 hours fished) to 1994 and 1995, but slightly lower than in 1996. Harvest of wild trout in the Dunsmuir area continued to be high (414/mile) for 1997.

While the snorkeling surveys showed an overall decline in the trout population in 1997, electrofishing surveys during the fall indicated a healthy size class distribution as observed in 1996.

Osprey reproductive surveys have been conducted on the river since the Cantara Spill. Results from the 1998 surveys showed a considerable decline in the number of osprey young produced when compared to previous years. We believe this is due to the decrease in the number of trout greater than four inches as indicated by the 1998 snorkeling surveys. One exciting bit of news—a bald eagle pair nested in a previously occupied osprey nest and produced one eaglet. This is the first time that a bald eagle has been known to nest on the upper Sacramento River.

1997 Grant Highlights

U.S. Forest Service - South Fork Fish Habitat Improvement

Flood events along the South Fork of the Sacramento River in 1974 and, more recently, in 1997 have damaged a great deal of important fish habitat. The natural stream recovery has made little progress during this time. The Fish Habitat Improvement Project, designed by the Shasta Trinity National Forest, is in the process of correcting that situation. A grant by the Council provided funding for the enhancement of pool habitat and cover for resident trout. Improvements were made by the placement of 30 boulder and log structures along a 1/4-mile stretch of river. Large logs and rootwads placed instream provide cover and improved shade for trout, and enhance the streambank stability. Over the last 20 year period, the natural stream recovery has made very little progress. Structures created during this project will greatly accelerate the recovery process, with no detrimental impacts to the river.

Prior to construction, the channel was mapped and permanent photo points were established.

These photo points document pre- and post-construction conditions of the river can be used to monitor the effectiveness of the structures. In addition to work funded by the Council, the Forest Service has plans to continue habitat improvement on the South Fork.

Plant Community Mapping

In 1996, the Council funded the Upper Sacramento River Gap Analysis. This project assembled natural resource information in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to support conservation planning within the watershed. During analysis, an important data gap was identified—the lack of a current vegetation map for the drainage.

A grant to the CSU, Chico Research Foundation and a private consulting firm, KEA Environmental, Inc. filled that need. New false color infrared aerial photographs were obtained as the base for the mapping effort. Electronically scanned and rectified, these photos provide coverage of the entire watershed—over 425 square miles. Air photo interpreters from the Foundation used these images to digitize vegetation types.

Teams of KEA botanists collected vegetation data from on-ground plots, confirming the aerial photo interpretation. Data on species composition, vegetation cover, and density were collected from 380 plots throughout the watershed. This information was then used to describe plant communities and classify vegetation into wildlife habitat types using the Department’s Wildlife Habitat Relationships (WHR) system.

The new vegetation maps are currently in use by Cantara staff to model habitat values for spill-affected wildlife. Using this application in a GIs framework will greatly assist the Council and other land managers to focus conservation efforts within the watershed. Important spin-offs from this effort include documentation of more than 30 special status plant populations, and a data set that can be used to assess the accuracy of larger scale, satellite mapping efforts.

Dunsmuir Schools Watershed Education Project

Dunsmuir Elementary School and Dunsmuir High School students made watershed education a large part of their curriculum during the 1997—1998 school year. A comprehensive program for students from kindergarten through the twelfth grade was developed with a second year of funding from the Cantara Trustee Council.

Elementary students created ponds to see how natural systems change over time. They’ve learned about the water cycle and how it works in the watershed, gathered and planted acorns for habitat enhancement on the school campus, and learned how trees benefit the watershed. Each student adopted a Cantara spill-impacted animal and created a story about how their animal was affected by the spill. Seventh graders learned to identify aquatic invertebrates and eighth graders have implemented a land-use planning project.

Dunsmuir High School added a River Class to enable interested students to have a focused river-related curriculum. The River Class conducted a field study to determine if the City of Dunsmuir is impacting the water quality of the upper Sacramento River and to determine if logging is impacting Soda Creek. Students participated in the Department of Fish and Game’s electrofishing surveys on the upper Sacramento River during 1997 and produced a video of the field studies.

Sulphur Creek Watershed Assessment and Action Plan

Analysis of the Sulphur Creek watershed in Redding was an important first step in making recommendations for watershed restoration projects. Fisheries habitat in Sulphur Creek, which is a tributary to the Sacramento River, has been severely degraded by past mining activities and recent upland development. Increased channel aggradation and accelerated streambank erosion has resulted in damage to the riparian zone. Restoring the watershed will improve habitat for rainbow trout, steelhead, chinook salmon and other wildlife species.

Analysis of the Sulphur Creek watershed took place during the fall and winter of 1997/1998. A “Sulphur Creek Watershed Assessment and Action Plan” (Plan) was prepared to address the condition of the watershed, including current values of fisheries habitat and riparian vegetation. It also defined watershed problems such as erosion and sediment input. The Plan recommended actions to restore the Sulphur Creek watershed, resulting in improved stream habitat for fish and a healthy riparian plant community. Over 4000 feet of streambank will be repaired during this process.

A coordinated resource management planning (CRMP) group was formed to facilitate the preservation of the Sulphur Creek Watershed by providing a forum for communication and cooperation among various interested individuals, groups, businesses and local and state agencies. The CRMP has encouraged communication and action on the protection and enhancement of natural and cultural resources of the watershed including riparian and upland communities, fish and wildlife habitat and water quality. The group has also promoted and encouraged educational and recreational opportunities within the urbanizing Redding region.

Scott River Riparian Restoration

The Scott River Project was established to restore and enhance 4.5 miles of riparian and fishery habitat along the upper portion of the river. Past land and river management practices severely affected habitat conditions. This comprehensive project implemented a variety of restoration actions including riparian revegetation (planting), streambank stabilization and in-stream structures (to improve deep pool habitat), screening diversions (to prevent aquatic species from entering irrigation systems), and livestock fencing to exclude cattle from the riparian zone. Originally committing to plant 64 acres of riparian vegetation, the project actually restored 71 acres.

Restoration efforts in the Scott River basin will greatly enhance the fish and wildlife resources of Siskiyou County. One of the best remaining spawning areas in the upper part of the Scott River is contained on this site. Enhancement of this area may provide substantial benefits to resident and anadromous fisheries. Additionally, downstream fisheries may benefit through improved water quality.

Overall benefits of this project include sediment reduction, decreased water temperature, and increased habitat for fish and wildlife in the area.

1998 Grant Program

Restoration, Rehabilitation, and Enhancement Projects

Four restoration projects totaling over $287,000 were funded this year in Shasta and Modoc counties. This represents approximately 65% of the Council’s 1998 grant program expenditure.

Ms. Maria J. Ellis —
Spring Creek Culvert and Crayfish Project, Shasta Co. — $130,000
This project will provide for the replacement of four culverts at the Spring Creek Road crossing in the Fall River valley, affecting approximately one mile of Spring Creek. The culvert replacement will protect the largest population of the federally and state-listed endangered Shasta crayfish. It also will eradicate the non-native signal crayfish. Signal crayfish out-compete the native Shasta crayfish, and contribute to their decline.

Goose Lake Resource Conservation District —
Lassen Creek Restoration Design Project, Modoc Co. — $116,570
This project will implement the restoration plan for Lassen Creek which was developed using funds from the Council in 1997. The project will relocate Lassen Creek into a stable channel which will connect with the floodplain, thereby restoring the water table to the pre-disturbance elevation. Seventeen miles of Lassen Creek and four miles of a tributary will be available as habitat to redband trout.

California Department of Parks and Recreation — Castle Crags State Park Invasive Plant Control, Shasta Co. —$33,000
This three-year project will remove Himalayan blackberry and scotch broom from five acres as a demonstration project for future rehabilitation efforts in montane riparian habitats.

Fall River Resource Conservation District —
Fall River Restoration, Shasta Co. — $7,500
This project will use GIs to develop maps on wetlands, existing and proposed fencing, soil erosion profiles, and streambank erosion conditions for a restoration project on Fall River and watercourses in the Bear Creek watershed.

Public Information and Education Projects

The Council funded three public information and education projects for a total of $157,000, representing approximately 35% of the 1998 grant program expenditures.

Dunsmuir Elementary School District —
Dunsmuir Schools Watershed Education Project, Siskiyou Co. —$55,932
This three-year project will provide students of Dunsmuir Elementary School and Dunsmuir High School with a comprehensive cross-curricular program designed to raise awareness and promote stewardship of the upper Sacramento River by educating students and their families about their watershed and the Cantara Spill.

California Department of Parks and Recreation — Castle Crags Interpreter, Shasta Co. — $27,595
A seasonal interpreter will be hired to work six months per year over a two-year period at Castle Crags State Park. The interpreter will expand public education and coordinate efforts of various groups to educate park visitors about the Cantara Spill.

Ms. Helen Chambers-Aria —
Resource Radio, Shasta Co. — $73,735
Twelve scripted, recorded radio public service announcements will be produced and distributed annually over three years. The project will reinforce Council messages to audiences in Shasta and Siskiyou counties and elsewhere.

Trustee Council Initiatives

Some Trustee Council goals may be accomplished more effectively through direct action than through the grant process. The following projects were funded this year through the initiative process.

Regional Water Quality Control Board —
Water Quality Monitoring and Enforcement (year 3 of 5) — $139,475
Extensive monitoring will receive funding through the year 2000.

California Department of Fish and Game —
Resource Protection (year 2 of 3) — $92,788
This special warden position is responsible for enforcement activities, educating the public on the river’s recovery status, and providing immediate response to incidents involving hazardous materials.

California Department of Fish and Game —
Resource Protection Planning — $30,426
Continued funding for GIs database development. This project will enhance watershed level resource restoration and protection efforts.

California Department of Fish and Game —
Cantara Staff Funding — $530,614
Maintains existing staff support for the Cantara Trustee Council during the 1999/2000 fiscal year.

California Department of Fish and Game —
Special Events Coordinator — $59,000
Provides funding for special events and educational opportunities in Siskiyou and Shasta counties. Kid’s Fishing Days and other public events are organized by the coordinator.

Upper Sacramento River Exchange —
Vision 2000 Project (year 1 of 4) — $177,904
Recipient of the 1998 Governor’s Award for Environmental and Economic Leadership, this program presents public education activities, works with local schools in Dunsmuir and Mt. Shasta, provides information and exhibits at the River Center, and facilitates public exchange meetings.

Mini-grant Program

Early on in the process of awarding grants, the Council became aware that many entities had a desire to assist in the recovery effort, but didn’t have the staffing or finances necessary to prepare grant applications.

The Council directed Cantara Program staff to develop a mechanism for funding these smaller worthwhile efforts, limiting the program to the two counties directly affected by the spill, Siskiyou and Shasta. Each county received a portion of the $25,000 allocated by the Council. Funds were split based upon the percentage of spill-affected river miles in each county. The Siskiyou County Administrator’s office oversees the $10,000 program in their county, with the task of selecting mini-grant recipients going to the Siskiyou County Fish and Game Commission. As no corresponding agency exists in Shasta County, the Cantara Program staff administers the $15,000 allotted to Shasta.

Beginning in 1997, mini-grants were awarded for restoration projects to improve fish passage on Little Castle Creek and construct a fish screen on Shovel Creek. Research grants were made to study rainbow trout growth rates, and food habits of spotted bass in the upper Sacramento River. Public grants were awarded to build an outdoor learning demonstration pond at Junction School, to train citizens in water quality and bioassessment techniques in the Dunsmuir area, and to provide part-time watershed education coordinators in the Clear Creek/French Gulch watersheds.

Most recently, mini-grants were awarded for instream fish habitat improvement structures in Sulphur Creek, spawning gravel placement in Middle Creek, equipment for bioassessment monitoring on the McCloud River, support for the adopt-a-stream program at Sequoia Middle School, erosion control on Ney Springs Creek, and improved river access in Dunsmuir City Park. Additional awards were given to three previous grantees.

Native plants of the Sacramento River watershed - photos taken at the Cantara spill site.

From top to bottom: Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea), Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), Leopard Lily (Lilium pardalinum ssp. pardalinum).

Credits - Photography

Rick Davis

KEA Environmental, Inc.

Dana Lis

Richard Lis

Craig Martz

Jim Nelson

Chip O'Brien

Steve Turek

Graphic Designer: Dana Lis

GIs Map: Clint Kellar

Financial Summary