Feather River Coordinated Resource Management

Pilot Watershed Monitoring Program

319(h) Clean Water Act Grant

Final Report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared by Plumas Corporation

Quincy, CA

March 9,2001

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

SECTION                                                                  PAGE

 

Summary                                                                         3

Background and Setting                                               4

Project Work Plan                                                          5

Sampling Design and Protocols                                  6

Data Management and Analysis                                12

Results and Discussion                                               14

Recommendations                                                      15    

References                                                                   16

 

FIGURES                                                                  PAGE

 

Fig. 1- Watershed Map                                            between pp. 3-4

Fig. 2- Reference Reach Locations                                          7-8

Fig. 3- Permanent Station Locations                                        9-10

Fig. 4a- Wolf Water Temperature Graph                              “ 13-14

Fig. 4b- Wolf Water Stage Graph                                          “ 13-14

 

TABLES                                                                    PAGE

 

Table 1- FRCRM Agencies                                          4

Table 2- Enumerated Reference Reaches                 7

Table 3- Permanent Station Measurements               9

Table 4- Permanent Station Equipment                    10

Table 5- Permanent Station Installation                     11

Table 6- Spanish Creek Rating Table                    between pp. 14-15

 

APPENDICES                                                         

 

Appendix  A-  Watershed Monitoring Pilot Plan

Appendix  B- Quality Assurance Protection Plan

Appendix  C- Stream Condition Inventory, Ver. 4, 1998

Appendix  D- Reference Reach Data Tables

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pilot Watershed Monitoring Program

319(h) Clean Water Act Grant

Final Report

March 9, 2001

 

 

 

 

Summary

 

In 1997, a Clean Water Act 319(h) granted was awarded to the Feather River Coordinated Resource Management (FRCRM) group to develop a Pilot Program for regional watershed monitoring in the upper Feather River basin.  The specific purpose was to develop, field test, and evaluate protocols of a watershed monitoring network to obtain baseline and/or continuing data from which could be measured trends-through-time of watershed health.  The general purpose was to begin a program of trend analysis with which to evaluate changes as they relate to land management and restoration efforts in the watershed.

 

The Pilot Program established twenty-one (21) permanent reference reaches (from which field data was collected on nine (9) physical, and two (2) biological parameters), two (2) sediment sampling sites, and eleven (11) continuous recording stations (which track stream-flow, water temperature and several water quality parameters).  These are located in the North Fork (1100 mi2), East Branch (1000 mi2), and Middle Fork (1200 mi2) watersheds as follows:

 

Watershed                  Reference Reaches                Continuous Recording                       Sediment

North Fork Feather                      5                                              0                                      0

East Branch Feather                  12                                             10                                       2

Middle Fork Feather                    4                                              1                                      0               

The field methods used in the reference reaches follow closely those described in the US Forest Service “Stream Condition Inventory Guidebook”, version 4, 1998.

 

The Pilot Program was planned and developed in 1997- 98.  The field data was collected from the reference reaches in 1999.  The installation of equipment at the continuous recording sites was  accomplished in 1999- 2000.  The selection of sediment sites was made in 1999, with data collection initiated in 2000- 01.

 

As a special contribution to this system, Ca. Department of Water Resources purchased and installed a satellite-accessible weather station at Doyle Crossing in the Last Chance Creek watershed (upper east Branch).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background and Setting

 

The Feather River Coordinated Resource Management (FRCRM) group, a proactive consortium of 21 public agencies, private sector groups, and local landowners (Table 1), was formed in 1985 in response to widespread erosion and channel degradation in the Feather River watershed.  The FRCRM has collectively completed over 50 watershed projects in the Feather River basin since 1985 including studies and assessments, resource management plans, stream restoration projects, community outreach and educational efforts. Over 15 miles of stream and 4,000 riparian acres have been treated at a cost of over five million dollars, which was contributed largely by FRCRM partners. The goal of the FRCRM program is to improve watershed condition over time, reduce erosion, restore meadow function, improve water quality and enhance habitat for fish and wildlife.

 

Table 1: Feather River Coordinated Resource Management Signatory Members

 

California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection                 Plumas County

California Dept. of Fish & Game                                                                      Feather River College

California Dept. of water Resources                                                               Pacific Gas & Electric

California Regional Water Quality Control Board                                      Plumas Corporation

USDA- Natural Resources Conservation Service                                        USDA- USFS, Plumas National Forest

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers                                                                         Plumas Unified School District

Feather River Resource Conservation District                                            USDA- Farm Services Agency

California Dept. of Transportation                                                  Salmonid Restoration Federation

California Dept. of Parks & Recreation                                                         U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Plumas County Community Development Commission                               Univ. of Calif. Cooperative Extension

North Cal-Neva Resource Conservation and Development Area

 

 

The Feather River watershed is located in California’s northern Sierra Nevada, where the North, South and Middle Forks drain 3,222 square miles of variable terrain from the Great Basin Escarpment westward through the Sierran crest into the Sacramento River (Figure 1).  The study area includes three (3) USGS Hydrologic Unit Code watersheds: HUC #18020121, North Fork Feather; HUC #18020122, East Branch, North Fork Feather; HUC #18020123, Middle Fork Feather.  Elevation ranges from 2,250 to over 10,000 feet, and annual precipitation varies broadly from more than 70 inches on the wet western slopes to less that 12 inches on the arid east side. Vegetation is diverse and ranges from productive mixed conifer and deciduous forests in the west to sparse sage/yellow pine plant communities in the east. The Plumas National Forest manages most of the forested uplands while the mid-elevation alluvial valleys are predominantly in private ownership. 

 

The Feather River watershed has long been recognized for its recreational and aesthetic value. An abundance of montane rivers, lakes and reservoirs grace the landscape, creating both summer and winter recreational opportunities. Water originating from this area represents a significant component of the State Water Project, which provides high quality water to meet downstream urban and agricultural demand. In addition, a series of hydroelectric dams, powerhouses and reservoirs produce over 4,000 MW of power, while the watershed produces significant forest and agricultural outputs.  Water is, therefore, a valuable commodity in this resource-dependent community, and maintaining stable watershed condition is a key element in promoting economic and environmental stability. 

 

The Feather River watershed has been impacted by 140 years of intense human use. Mining, over-grazing, timber harvesting, wildfire, railroad and road construction effects have all contributed to a watershed-wide stream channel entrenchment process.  This entrenchment resulted in accelerated erosion, degraded water quality, decreased vegetation and soil productivity, and degraded terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Functionally, the disconnection of stream channels from their floodplains and meadows has led to a dramatic change in hydrology, leading to reduced summer flow, higher summer water temperature, lower water tables, reduced meadow storage capacity, and a trend from perennial to intermittent flow. Many downcut streams no longer sustain late-season flow, causing adverse consequences to riparian and upland vegetation, aquatic communities, and downstream water users (Ponce and Lindquist 1990).

 

The FRCRM recognized that restoring watershed function was a major priority for reversing erosional trends. Stable, well-vegetated streams with functioning meadows, aquifers and uplands are critical in maintaining good watershed condition.  Achieving this stable state begins with reestablishing water and sediment retention and release functions in headwater meadows, which is the current focus of the FRCRM (Lindquist and Wilcox 2000).  Restoration activities play an important role in accelerating improvement in watershed function, the local economy and downstream uses. The results of this monitoring program will help the FRCRM assess the long-term trends in watershed condition in response to projects and may provide useful information in the future to help prioritize limited restoration funding to areas of greatest need.

 

Project Work Plan

 

The pilot monitoring program was developed in 1997-1998 under the guidance of FRCRM Monitoring Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).  The program was implemented over a two-year period, from 1998-2000.  The first year focused on developing a strategy and work plan (Appendix A) that was realistic, feasible and met project objectives. Data collection took place the second year of the project for both the reference reach and permanent station components which is described in more detail in the Sampling Design and Protocol section of this document.

 

The overall objectives of this program are to:

·         Develop, implement and evaluate a monitoring program which documents, at the watershed scale, long-term trends in watershed condition cumulatively resulting from restoration activities, land management changes and natural processes in the Feather River basin.

·         Develop a spatially referenced data management system to track, organize, and store monitoring data, facilitate analysis, provide a means for widespread distribution and education, and support production of reports needed to evaluate long-term trends.  The system used should be compatible with other data sets managed by Quincy Library Group (QLG), Department of Water Resources (DWR), USFS, and others.

·         When possible, use monitoring protocols currently used by resource management agencies to facilitate data sharing and to improve data analysis.

 

The monitoring approach consists of three basic components designed to address project objectives. They are:

¨       Biennial monitoring of physical and biological parameters at 21 designated permanent response reference reaches.

¨       Installation of 11 permanent recording stations where data loggers continuously record streamflow and temperature data, and where water chemistry samples are collected manually.

¨       Regional physical and climatic data are collected at a newly installed weather station at Doyle Crossing.  This weather station was purchased and installed by CDWR as a contribution to the project ($25,000). The Doyle Crossing weather station is satellite-accessed, with real-time data available through the Ca. Data Exchange Center (CDEC).

 

Major tasks carried out in this pilot program include:

§         the development of a monitoring work plan;

§         purchase and installation of monitoring equipment;

§         reference reach initial surveys;

§         direct measurements of stream flow for rating permanent stations;

§         collection of turbidity, flow and stream temperature data via data logger;

§         manual collection of water chemistry samples;

§         development of a GIS-based data management system and web interface;

§         installation of one meteorological station;

§         securing landowner agreements to access equipment and collect data on private land;

§         identify and secure funding for the monitoring program beyond the two year pilot phase.

 

1.  Sampling Design and Protocols

 

Reference Reach Monitoring
 
Objective: Monitor physical and biological parameters in selected reference reaches at 21 locations in the watershed on a biennial basis.  The data is expected to provide a baseline condition with which to discern changes in watershed condition resulting from land management, restoration and natural processes. 

 

Reference reaches were selected based on several criteria.  The major criteria include channel sensitivity to change, current and future management activity, accessibility for data collection, position in the watershed and reach length.  From a monitoring perspective, we are more interested in sensitive or response reaches since these sites react more quickly to changes in management and natural events, and therefore, will demonstrate change more readily in a long term monitoring program. The selected reaches should be representative of the system.   Sites selected for this program are characterized as low gradient, alluvial and have minimum on-site disturbance to avoid data “noise”.  The reaches are located at or near the base of each sub-watershed to provide a cumulative measure, and are at least 20 channel widths in length (which is the designated minimum length of each reference reach).

 

The fieldwork for reference reach data collection is conducted by a team of trained technicians that are supervised by an experienced crew leader with extensive field and data collection experience and a technical background in hydrology and biology. To the extent possible, the fieldwork will follow scientific procedures and protocols that are well established in the primary literature or common practices of federal or state resource agencies in the watershed.  Data quality control is discussed more fully in the FRCRM Quality Assurance Protection Plan (Appendix B) prepared as part of this CWA 319 grant.

 

 

 

Sampling Approach

 

The monitoring approach relies heavily on established procedures developed by resource management agencies and on collective expertise offered by FRCRM contributors. It was designed particularly in terms of assessing changes in channel structure, habitat and water quality factors. Field sampling procedures are based on protocols described in the "Stream Condition Inventory Guidebook" (SCI) version 4.0 (1998) (Appendix C).  These protocols were developed over a five-year period (1993-98) by fisheries biologists and hydrologists in the US Forest Service Region 5, with support for sampling design and statistical analysis from the USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station.  SCI methods were critiqued and in some cases modified by the FRCRM Monitoring Committee to meet project needs.  Parameters included in the sampling design and the location of reference reaches are listed on Table 2.

 

The intent was to provide protocols that can be consistently applied in assessing and monitoring stream conditions in the Pacific Southwest Region, which includes the Feather River basin. Attributes were tested that had been demonstrated through research to be indicative of stream condition, could be sampled by seasonal field crews, and yet had low enough measurement error to be useful in describing changes in stream habitat with a moderate to high level of confidence.  The intensity of data collection meets the objective of comparing data over time, or from other streams with a reasonable level of statistical confidence. 

 

Biennial reference reaches were established at the locations listed in Table 2 below.  Physical and biological data collected at each reach is listed.  Location of each site in the watershed is shown on Figure 2.

 

Table 2: Enumerated Reference Reaches

Reach #

Location

Reach #

Location

1.

NFFR above Lake Almanor

12. 

Indian Creek at Taylorsville

2.

Goodrich Creek above Mountain Meadows Reservoir

13. 

Indian Creek acw Spanish Creek

3.

NFFR below Lake Almanor

14. 

Spanish Creek acw Rock Creek

4. 

Butt Creek above Butt Valley Reservoir

15. 

Greenhorn Creek acw Spanish Creek

5. 

NFFR acw** EBNFFR

16. 

Spanish Creek acw Greenhorn Creek

6. 

EBNFFR acw NFFR

17. 

Spanish Creek acw Indian Creek

7. 

Wolf Creek above confluence with Indian Creek

18. 

Middle Fork Feather River (MFFR) at Beckwourth

8. 

Lights Creek acw Indian Creek

19. 

Sulphur Creek acw MFFR

9. 

Last Chance Creek acw Red Clover Creek

20. 

Jamison Creek acw MFFR

10.

Red Clover Creek acw Last Chance Creek

21. 

MFFR acw Nelson Creek

11. 

Indian Creek acw Red Clover Creek

 

 

**acw = above confluence with

 

 


Reference Reach Data Collection

 

Monitoring is conducted on a biennial basis.  Physical and biological parameters are listed below:

 

·         Channel morphology, including channel cross sections, channel slope, channel substrate sampling, and pool tail fines.  Transect data includes bank stability, shade, width/depth ratio, stream shore water depth, and bank angle.  Bankfull discharge will be estimated based on these measurements.

·         Water chemistry, including water and air temperature.

·         Habitat, including spatial distribution of fast and slow water via longitudinal gradient (i.e. pool and riffle orientation), pools (size, depth and number), pool tail substrate, shading, and stream bank stability (i.e. vegetation cover).

·         Macro-invertebrates, including analysis of population numbers and species diversity in comparison to Sierra Nevada reference sites.  Not originally part of SCI protocol, but has been added on with the availability of reference site data.

·         Aquatic fauna, including fish surveys to identify species present and herpeto-fauna.

·         Aerial and ground photographs, to provide visual documentation of instream and upland changes in vegetation and channel structure, and to support other monitoring results.

 

Results of long-term data analysis will be integrated with other Feather River watershed monitoring activities underway or contemplated by the USDA Forest Service, DWR, UCCE, QLG and others.  A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) composed of FRCRM Monitoring Committee members, agency specialists, and academic reviewers provided technical guidance and oversight on the implementation of the project. The TAC members were identified in spring 1999. 

 

2. Permanent Station Monitoring

 

Objective: The primary objective of the permanent monitoring stations is to record stream stage over a broad range of flow conditions in order to provide a comparative measure of the changes at each station over time and to possibly detect changes in hydrographic conditions related to stream restoration efforts.  Secondary objectives to provide comparative measures of expected changes at each station over time include monitoring stream temperature, and air temperature at each location.  The water temperature provides supplemental information regarding the condition of the channel upstream of the monitoring site as well as some indication of the source water's characteristics.  Air temperature can be used to explain behavior of water temperature as well as some hydrographic events. Water quality samples are collected manually to allow for further analysis of the origin, age and movement of in-stream flow. 

 

Sampling Approach

 

Eleven sites were identified as appropriate permanent sampling stations.  The name and respective data collection for each station are listed in Table 2.   Criteria used to select a site include the existence of a bridge that equipment could be bolted to (one exception), a relatively stable location to install sensors, good access and a lower position in the respective drainage. 

 

For Permanent Station monitoring, most data is being collected electronically and downloaded by field personnel on 60-day intervals.  The equipment installed, discussed below, is state-of-the-art and is maintained and downloaded by experts familiar with the geographic area and the equipment. Technicians working with the FRCRM have extensive experience on with this equipment and bring that expertise to the FRCRM program.

 

Samples collected at permanent stations are listed in Table 3 below. Location of each site in the watershed is shown on Figure 3.

 

TABLE 3:  Measurements taken at permanent stations

Station #

Location

Stream Flow & Temp.

Staff Gage

Weather Station*

Sediment & Turbidity

Water Quality

1.

Last Chance Creek at Doyle Crossing

X

X

X

 

X

2.

Red Clover Creek at Notson Bridge

X

X

 

 

X

3.

Indian Creek at Taylorsville

X

X

X

X

X

4.

Indian Creek at Flournoy Bridge

X

X

 

 

X

5.

Middle Fork Feather River at Sloat

 

X

 

 

 

6.

Indian Creek above confluence with Red Clover

X

X

 

 

X

7.

Spanish Creek at Keddie

(existing USGS)

X

X

 

 

 

8.

Spanish Creek at Gansner Bridge

X

X

 

 

X

9.

Wolf Creek at Greenville Main Street Bridge

X

X

 

X

X

10.

Lights Creek at Deadfall Bridge

X

X

 

 

X

11.

Indian Creek at Crescent Mills