The Sac-Sierra Chapter sent 3 volunteers to assist the DFG Heritage and Wild Trout Program with their trout population survey on Hot Creek in the eastern sierra near Mammoth Lakes, Ca. From Tuesday through Thursday, the 34 volunteers assisted DFG personnel to carry loads of equipment down, then back up, the step canyon trails to/from the creek. The surveys were conducted on 3 separate 200' sections of Hot Creek. The crew would fence in the section, electroshock the trout, net them into holding barrels, weigh & measure them, check for injuries and release them back to the creek. The largest of the hundreds of fish caught was a 6# brown. The calculated number of trout per mile is, as yet, undetermined, but it equates in the thousands of trout/mile in Hot Creek. The lush vegetation in the stream provides unlimited cover for these big fish.
The region opened up Hot Creek (and a few other streams) for year round fishing last year. This survey was performed, in part, to determine if that year-round fishing on Hot Creek impacted these fish. As of this writing, this data, and additional data, is still being collated to determine the impact, if any, on the trout fisheries in Hot Creek.
The chapter has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US Forest Service to provide volunteer water quality monitors for fuels reduction projects. The MOU was signed in July 2009. Volunteer training and initial project scoping will begin in September 2009.
Restoration work in the Big Silver Creek and Bassi Fork Silver Creek areas near Union Valley Reservoir in partnership with the US Forest Service. The project will involve hand work and planting plants to restore an area being degraded by dispersed camping. The USFS is also doing some heavy equipment work on some of the roads to block off access and get stream channels back into their natural course. The project will be accomplished in September and October 2009.
In partnership with the Upper American River Foundation, Granite Bay Flycasters, the US Forest Service and North Area Sportsmen's Association, the chapter will develop and implement cleanup and sediment reduction projects in the North Fork American River drainage. Project planning will begin in July 2009.
Stimulated by the need to draw down Caples Lake for some dam (note the spelling) repairs, the El Dorado Irrigation District, the California Department of Fish and Game, and numerous other public agencies are working together to trap and transport as many fish as possible to Silver Lake just a few miles away.
Our Chapter and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) were asked to work together to encourage 100 volunteers to assist with the effort. I'm pleased to say that, as you are receiving this newsletter, 97 volunteers are performing a great variety of tasks to relocate as many fish as possible in a 72-hour period.** Due to the emergency nature of the dam repairs, much of the preparation for this was compressed into a very short time. From what I have witnessed as an "insider" on this project, I am extremely impressed with the effort that is being made to save the fish and support the volunteers. I'm sure we will have some interesting tales to tell in the next newsletter. We appreciate all who are helping with this effort, and know that more of you would have volunteered if you had had more than 4 days turnaround time to sign up (or had e-mail so you could have been notified of this opportunity).
** The above paragraph was written in advance of the project so it could be delivered to the printer and then snail-mailed to members for whom we do not have email addresses. The project was completed yesterday; Chris Shutes (CSPA) and I are looking forward to meeting with DFG this coming week for a "debriefing" on how well the processes worked and the results of the effort. I will submit a report in next month's newsletter.
(Source: El Dorado Irrigation District news releases)
The emergency repairs to the 85-year old slide gates of Caples Lake dam, which necessitated the fish rescue efforts in August & September have been completed, bringing four months of intensive effort to a successful conclusion. On-the-ground actions included drawing down the lake level to create a safe working environment for the repair crews and installation of temporary "bladder" dams upstream of the main dam to store as much water as possible. While the repairs were made, EID pumped water from behind the temporary dams to provide flows for fisheries downstream.
The on-site fish rescues conducted by the California Department of Fish and Game utilized more than 90 volunteers to help capture and relocate 27,000 fish and fingerlings; the fish were released into nearby Silver and Red Lakes. The District and DFG have established a fish restocking plan to begin next spring.
[We wish to extend our appreciation to both EID and DFG for their efforts in protecting and restoring the fisheries, and for requesting our Chapter's participation in this important effort.]