SantaRosaCreek WatershedManagementPlan SummaryofWatershedConditionsand VoluntaryRecommendations

PublicMeeting#1
ProjectTeam Greenspace theCambriaLandtrust (RickHawley)GrantRecipient CaliforniaDepartmentofFishandGame(MargaretPaul)Funder CentralCoastSalmonEnhancement(Stephnie Wald)SubcontractFacilitator StillwaterSciences(Zooey Diggory)SubcontractScientistsandPlanWriter Stakeholderslandownersandresidentsworkingandlivinginthewatershed TechnicalAdvisoryCommitteeagencyrepresentativesandprofessionalshaving knowledgeofthewatershed

PublicMeeting#1
Objectives

FINDOUTWHATSOUTTHERE(Compileexistinginformationonwaterquality,
hydrology,geomorphology,vegetation,wildlife,landusetocharacterizecurrentand historicalconditionsofthewatershedtoprovidebaseline,context,andguidancefor decisionmaking)

FINDOUTWHATYOUTHINK(Solicitcommunityinput) FINDOUTWHATSLIMITINGSTEELHEADTROUTPOPULATION(Evaluateand
prioritizetheprimaryfactorslimitingthesuccessofthesteelheadpopulation)

RECOMMENDPROJECTSTOIMPROVESRCWATERSHEDFORSTEELHEADTROUT
(Recommendandprioritizeprojectstoaddresslimitingfactorstoimproveoverall ecologicalhealthandecosystemservicesofthecreek)

PublicMeeting#1
WhatDoYouWanttheCreektoBeLikeandDoQuestionnaire ForResultsPleaseSeeHandoutProvided

PublicMeeting#2
SummaryofWatershedConditionsandVoluntaryRecommendations

StatusofTimeline
JulydraftplantoTAC Latesummerdraftplantostakeholders Latesummerpublicmeeting#2 September1stTACcommentdeadline September15thSteeringCommitteedeadline EarlyNovemberdistributedrafttointerestedpublic EarlyDecemberpubliccommentperiodcloses;publicmeeting#3

SectionsofPlan
Introduction SynthesisofWatershedConditions SteelheadLimitingFactorsAnalysis Recommendations

Overview
Subwatershed Santa Rosa Creek Curti Creek Lehman Creek East Fork Santa Rosa Creek North Fork Santa Rosa Creek Mora Creek Fiscalini Creek Green Valley Creek Total Santa Rosa Creek Watershed AreaA km2 63.6 3.8 5.5 6.5 4.9 5.6 6.8 59.3 6.7 31.5 123 mi2 24.6 2.4 2.1 2.5 1.9 2.2 2.6 22.9 2.6 12.2 47.5 Stream lengthB km mi 25.4 15.8 3.8 2.4 3.5 2.2 4.1 2.6 4.7 2.9 4.2 2.6 4.8 3.0 15.6 9.7 2.3 1.4 12.8 7.9 25.4 15.8

HistoricalWatershedConditionsandWatershedImpacts
Pre-European Colonization European Arrival: Ranching, Logging, and Mining Resource Rapid Quiescent Period 1760 Development1860 Growth1880 Urbanization
Pop. Slow Down

1950
12 5

Population Growth
52 0

1995

2010
21 8

Groundwater Extraction
Santa Rosa Basin (acre-feet)
?? 1810: 1779: Mission San Rancho Santa Miguel est., Rosa est.; logging and cattle ranching ranching begins 1863-1864: Drought kills off beef cattle; shift to dairy cattle 1889: Fire destroys Cambria (lumber demand increase) 1876: Coast Road re-routed away from lower Perry Creek 1916: WWI 1916: Logging production declines following removal of old growth timber 1939: Hwy 1 and Santa Rosa Creek Road improved

1967: CCSD formed

1979: San Simeon Well Field est.

WATERSHED IMPACTS CHRONOLOGY

Ranching / Logging Road Building

1960s: Unauthorized logging in upper watershed

1960s: 1971: Shift from Last sawmill dairy cattle closes in area back to beef cattle 1974: Highway 46 constructed through Green Valley 2003: San Simeon M6.5 quake damages roads

1859: Late 1700s: 1850: early coast trail Coast wagon Santa Rosa Creek trail est. along lower road built est. Perry Creek

1868: Cienaga Trail est. along Green Valley

1964: Highway 1 bypass constructed around downtown Cambria

Mining
Channel Modification & Damaging Floods

1862: 1874: Mercury Oceanic Mine discovered begins production in region Filling of gullies in Cambria Walker Ditch (Lower Perry Creek) built to drain Estrada Laguna

1914: Flood

1956: Flood

1969: Flood (95 m3 s-1 at Mammoth Rock) 3,061

1995: Flood (337 m3 s-1 in Cambria) 5,382 6,232 6,624

Population (Cambria) Steelhead Population

(Santa Rosa Creek)

1840: 1859: 1769: Rancho American ~300 Santa settlement Native Rosa Americans

1866: 1875: 1880 Cambria 300 (mining est. areas ~2,000)

1890: 1900 700 (San Simeon Township: 1,036)

1950: 788

1960: 1965: 1,260 2,010

1980
1972: 63,370 ?? ?? 1978: ~9,000

1990
1993: 12,595 ?? ??

2000
2001: 65,400

2009

??

Precipitation (in.)

Groundwater extraction, Population, Steelhead population * Ranching ** Logging ** Event occurrence Mining ** ?? nd Unknown value No data for rainfall records

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950

nd

Dry Years Wet Years

1960

nd nd

1970

1980

nd

1990

2000

* Reported values ** un-quantified values; represents reported occurrence and relative proportions Santa See textRiver Parkway Floodplain Restoration Clara for information sources

Water Year
(SLO Cal Poly Rain Gauge) Feasibility Study Geomorphic Processes

HistoricalWatershedConditionsandWatershedImpacts

IllustrationofRanchoSantaRosa byDonJulien Estradaaspartofhis 1841landgrantapplication. Source:Coffman1995.

coordinatedeffortsbylandownerstoclear valleybottomforestsalongmajorriversand episodicstormevents (1)greatervolumesofhillslope runoff generatedperunitrainfall,withfargreater volumesoffinesedimentproductionthroughout thewatershedandincreasedgullying and shallowlandslidepotentialonthesteeper hillslopes;and(2)incisionofthemainstem streamchannelsduetodecreasedstreambank stabilityandincreasedstreampowerallowing highflowstoentrenchthechannel. Priortoincision,theSantaRosa,Perry,and GreenValleycreekchannelswouldhave supportedhighergroundwaterelevationsand morefrequentinundationunderlowerflows, whichsupportedthevalleyforests.

GeologyandTectonics

Climate

LandUses

LandUses
CompleteddevelopmentprojectsintheAdelaidaandRuralNorthCoastPlanningAreas ofSanLuisObispoCountybetween2003and2008
Adelaida Planning Areaa Type of Development 2003 Winery facility Misc. commercial 1 0 2004 10 2 2005 2 0 2006 4 0 2007 9 1 2008 10 2 Total 36 5 2003 0 0 2004 0 0 2005 0 0 2006 0 1 2007 0 0 2008 0 0 Total 0 1 Rural Planning Areaa

Commercial/ industrial addition/alteration

19

Farm support quarters New single family dwelling Guesthouse Secondary dwelling Mobile home

3 1 0 2

19 2 0 6

12 3 1 9

12 1 1 8

24 4 0 1

15 2 1 11

85 13 3 37

0 0 0 1

3 0 0 0

5 0 0 0

4 2 0 1

1 0 0 1

3 0 0 1

16 2 0 4

Swimming pool/spa; resident. & comm.

35

Radio/cell tower Wind/solar system

0 0

0 5

2 4

1 14

2 11

1 18

6 52

0 0

1 1

1 1

0 0

0 1

0 3

2 6

WaterresourcesintheSantaRosaCreekwatershed.Perennialandintermittent streams,groundwaterbasin,andstreamgaugelocationsareshown.

5,000
USGS 11142200 data

4,500
from correlation with USGS 11147070 data

4,000 Instanteous peak discharge (cfs) 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994

WaterResources
SLO STN 16 data

Water Year

18,000 16,000
from correlation with USGS 11147070 data

14,000 Instanteous peak discharge (cfs) 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994

Annualmaximumdischargefor SantaRosaCreekatCambriabased onUSGSgauge11142200(top)and SLOCountyStation16atHighway1

Water Year

40

35

Monthly mean discharge (cfs)

30

25

20

15

10

0 April October January February November December August May July September March June

MonthlymeandischargeforSanta RosaCreekatCambria,basedonUSGS gauge11142200(fromcorrelation withUSGSgauge11147070toextend periodbeyondWY1972through 1994)(top)andSLOCountyStation16 (bottom)

Months (WY 1957-1994)

90 80

Monthly mean discharge (cfs)

WaterResources

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

ay

Fe br ua ry

Ap ril

ry

ly

ob er

be r

be r

ar ch

ne

st

Ju

Au gu

nu a

em

em

Ju

N ov

D ec

Ja

Months (WY 1976-1992)

Se pt

em

ct

be r

WaterResources
600

500 Groundwater Extraction (acre-feet) 1967 - CCSD formed 400 1979 - San Simeon Well Field established 300

200

100

0 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008

Year

GroundwaterextractionamountsformunicipalusesinCambria.Data from19561988providedbyYatesandVanKonyenburg (1998)and datafrom1989presentprovidedbyCCSD(2009).

WaterQuality
BeneficialusesofSantaRosaCreekwatershedsurfacewaters
Beneficial Use Municipal and Domestic Supply (MUN) Agricultural Supply (AGR) Industrial Service Supply (IND) Ground Water Recharge (GWR) Freshwater Replenishment (FRSH) Water Contact Recreation (REC-1) Non-Contact Water Recreation (REC-2) Commercial and Sport Fishing (COMM) Warm Fresh Water Habitat (WARM) Cold Fresh Water Habitat (COLD) Estuarine Habitat (EST) Wildlife Habitat (WILD) Preservation of Biological Habitats of Special Significance (BIOL) Rare, Threatened, or Endangered Species (RARE) Migration of Aquatic Organisms (MIGR) Spawning, Reproduction, and/or Early Development (SPWN) Shellfish Harvesting (SHELL) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Estuary Creek X X X X X X X X X X

WaterQuality
Temperature
SantaRosaCreekisbeingconsideredforplacementontheClean WaterAct303dlistof impairedwaterbodiesfortemperature. (RWQCB2010 ). Reference=DraftCalifornia2010IntegratedReport (303(d)List/305(b)Report),CentralCoastRWQCBonlinereport http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/tmdl/2010state_ir_reports/0095 9.shtml#11376 SteelheadOptimalWaterTemperatures
Life Stage Adult migration Spawning Incubation and emergence Fry and juvenile rearing Smoltification 46-52 39-52 48-52 45-60 Less than 57 Temperature (degrees F)

Nelson (2009) and Alley (2008) describe exceedance of optimal water temperatures.

WaterQuality
DissolvedOxygen
D.W.Alley&Associates(2008)recordedDOlevelsinthelagoonfrom1992to 2005 DOlevelsrarelymetthe5mg/lcriterionorthe2mg/llethallimit forsteelhead Concludedthatareductionintidaloverwash couldhelptoreducethelowDO salinelayeratthebottomofthelagoonandanincreaseinlagoondepthfrom increasedstreaminflowandincreasedshadingcouldhelptopreventfilamentous algaegrowth WhileDOlevelsfrequentlyfailedtomeetguidelinesandlikelyrestrictedthe activityofsteelheadinthelagoon,theywerelikelylesslimitingthan temperaturetosteelheadsurvivalinthelagoonsincesteelheadcouldavoidthe lowDOzonesinthesalinelayeratthebottomofthelagoon

WaterQuality

WaterQuality
SedimentmercurylevelsinSantaRosaCreekwatershed
Location RB-SR-D1a RB-SR-C1a RB-SR-A1a RB-SR-A2a RB-FD-16a RB-SR-Ba RB-SR-C2a RB-SR-C3a RB-SR-D2a RB-SR-D3a HSC-1b HSC-2b HSC-3b HSC-4b SWAMP-1c
a b

Date 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 5/19/1986 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 2/12/1992 7/15/2009 7/15/2009 10/12/2009 10/12/2009 3/1/1998

Sediment THg (mg/kg) 0.192 0.511 0.601 1.095/1.75 d 3e 6.79 5.01 1.104 1.194/8.48 d 0.161

Santa Rosa Creek upstream of Curti Creek Curti Ceek above Oceanic Mine tributary Tributary north of Oceanic Mine Tributary at Oceanic Mine Tributary in vicinity of Oceanic Mine Tributary south of Oceanic Mine Tributary at Oceanic Mine just above Curti Creek Curti Ceek just below Oceanic Mine tributary Lower Curti Creek Santa Rosa Creek downstream of Curti Creek Santa Rosa Creek 20 ft upstream of Main Street Bridge Santa Rosa Creek at Creekside Reserve at Center Street Santa Rosa Ck Lagoon, 350 feet upstream of bench at Shammel Park Santa Rosa Ck Lagoon, at Shamel Park bench Mouth of Santa Rosa Ck

0.08mg/kg=estimatedpre miningmercurylevelsinCalifornia streamsediments 0.1mg/kg=reservoirsedimentsin ahighlymercuryminingimpacted sectionofGuadalupeRiver 0.12mg/kg=thresholdeffects level 0.69mg/kg=Probableeffects level 20mg/kg=hazardouswastelimit

0.12 0.16 0.18 0.54 0.38

Source:Schwartzbart 1993 Source:L.HarkinsandSierraClub,unpublisheddata,2009 c Source:SWAMP1998 dTwomeasurementsweretakenatthissamplepoint e Anotherlabmeasured41mg/kgatthispoint

WaterQuality
BenthicMacroinvertebrates (BMI)

WaterQuality
Benthic Macroinvertebrates (BMI)

WaterQuality
Benthic Macroinvertebrates (BMI)

SedimentsourceandtransferareasintheSantaRosaCreek Watershed
SeePages97100inGeomorphologyTechReportfordetail

Location Sediment Sources Landslides Gullies and rills High yielding Geomorphic Landscape Units Creek incision Bank erosion of high bluffs following incision Road-related erosion Sediment Storage Lower Perry Creek in the vicinity of the former Estrada lagoon Water storage ponds Channel bed in upper reaches Channel bed in lower reaches Transfer Dynamics a Upper reaches Middle reaches Lower reaches

PotentialfishpassagebarriersintheSantaRosaCreekwatershed

PAD ID No. Barrier Location 707020 700068 712027 712044 712043 705335 712045 711897 731782 731365 736678 No ID 736483 736475 736538 736487 736431 736457 736621 716213 736625 736583 Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Green Valley Creek Unnamed trib. to Green Valley Creek Green Valley Creek Santa Rosa Creek Santa Rosa Creek Unnamed tributary to Santa Rosa Creek Curti Creek Unnamed tributary to Santa Rosa Creek Santa Rosa Creek North Fork Santa Rosa Creek East Fork Santa Rosa Creek Unnamed tributary Fiscalini Creek

Barrier Description bridge apron and fish passage channel

Barrier Status REMOVED

Barrier Priority High (Greenspace) Very high (Greenspace) / Gray (CDFG) Low (Greenspace) / Gray (CDFG) Low (Greenspace) / Red (CDFG) Low (Greenspace) / Red (CDFG)

Information Sources CDFG, Greenspace CCC, CDFG, Greenspace, LCSLOC CCC, Greenspace CCC, Greenspace CCC, Greenspace CDFG

Culverts and Denil fish ladder at crossing REMOVED Culvert at crossing Culvert at crossing Culvert at crossing Cascade falls Culvert at crossing Steep channel gradient Culvert at Highway 1 crossing Culvert at road crossing Highway 46 bridge with potential passage constraints Culvert at road crossing Highway 46 bridge with potential passage constraints Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Unspecified Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Culvert at Highway 46 crossing Partial Total Total Unknown Total Total / Natural Limit to Anadromy Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown

Low (Greenspace) / Gray (CDFG) n/a Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) High (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) Unspecified Medium (for assessment) (Caltrans) High (for assessment) (Caltrans)

CCC, Greenspace CDFG Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans CDWR Caltrans Caltrans

Gray: Conditions may not be adequate for all salmonid species or life stages presumed present. Red: Conditions do not meet passage criteria at all flows for strongest swimming species presumed present. "No passage" assumed.

Vegetation/landcovertypeswithintheSantaRosaCreekwatershed

AreaofvegetationtypesintheSantaRosaCreekwatershed.a
Area (sq meters) Landcover/Vegetation Type 2,584,020 443,850 395,190 264,780 55,980 16,740 450 263,520 48,840 21,120 4,530 570 63.4% 10.6% 9.5% 6.4% 1.3% 0.4% 0.01% 6.4% 1.2% 0.5% 0.1% 0.01% % of watershed area b

Grassland/Herbaceous Scrub/Shrub Mixed Open Space Low Intensity Developed Medium Intensity High Intensity

Cultivated Crops Woody Wetlands Pasture/Hay Emergent Herbaceous Wetland

A B

Source:NationalLandcover Dataset(2001) ProportionoflandcovercategorywithinthetotalwatershedareadeterminedinGIS.

Non-native invasive plant species

arundo/giantreed(Arundo donax) pampasgrass(Cortaderia selloana and/orC.jubata) jimsonweed(Datura stramonium) capeivy(Delairea odorata) eucalyptus(Eucalyptus sp.) Frenchbroom(Genista monspessulana) Englishivy(Hedera helix) walnut(Juglans sp.) castorbean(Ricinus communis) redwood(Sequoiasempervirens) nasturtium(Tropaeolum sp.) periwinkle(Vinca major) palm(various) Thegreatestdiversityofnonnativeinvasiveplantsintheripariancorridorwasfoundto occurinthelowersixmilesoftheriver,andatrivermiletwo specifically(Nelsonetal. 2009).

Wildlife
Summaries
TheLandConservancySRCWatershedConservationPlan CambriaForestManagementPlan, FiscaliniRanchPreservefinalMasterEIR

SpecialstatusWildlifeSpecies
ThreatenedorendangeredundereitherthefederalorstateEndangeredSpeciesActs,or asaspeciesofspecialconcern(SC)byCDFGwiththepotentialtooccurinthe watershed

Observedinthewatershed(Rathbun etal.1991,Nelsonetal.2009;D.W.Alley &Associates2008;MorroGroup2009):

southernPacificpondturtle(Actinemys marmorata pallida;SC) monarchbutterfly(Danaus plexippus;SC) tidewatergoby(Eucyclogobius newberryi;federallyendangeredandSC) Montereyduskyfooted(SantaLucia)woodrat (Neotoma macrotis luciana;SC) steelhead south/centralCaliforniacoastDPS(Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus;federally threatenedandSC) Californiaredleggedfrog(Rana auroradraytonii;federallythreatenedandSC) Americanbadger(Taxidea taxus;SC) twostripedgartersnake (Thamnophis hammondii;SC)

CriticalIssues
WaterResources WaterQuality FineSediment InchannelInfrastructure NonnativeInvasiveSpecies

SynopsisofRecommendations
Voluntaryactionsthatcouldbedonebyavarietyofentities;notprescriptionsasmuchastheyareagroupofideasthat COULDbeundertakenvoluntarilybylandownersandothers

RemoveBarrierstoFishPassage
modifyFerrasci Roadcrossing removeorupgradeundersizedculvertsattributaries IncreaseflowsthroughthemiddlereachesofSantaRosaCreek assessthestatusofpotentialfishpassagebarriersinthePerry/Green ValleyCreeksub watershed

IncreaseSummerandFallInstream Flows
developanupdatedwaterbudget implementwaterconservationstrategies constructoffstreamwaterstorage identifycriticalsteelheadinstream flowrequirements

RestoretheRiparianCorridor
Managecattleusingarangeofmethodsincludinggrazingmanagementintheripariancorridor

Plantnativeriparianspecies Minimizetheneedforbankprotection Usealternativestoriprapwherebankprotectionisnecessary Controlnonnativeinvasivespecies

SynopsisofRecommendations
RemediateSourcesofFineSediment
reduceand/orretainfinesedimentdeliveryfromthePerry/GreenValley Creeksub watershed treathillslope finesedimentsources

EnhanceLargeWoodyDebris
inventoryLWD outreachtolandowners implementLWDenhancementprojects

IncreaseUnderstandingofSteelheadPopulationDynamics
samplesteelheadinspringandfall monitorescapement assesssteelheadsmolt growthinandoutsidethelagoon

ReduceMercurySupply
erosioncontrolandbioremediationattheOceanicMinesite assessmercuryuptakeintheaquaticfoodchain

IncreaseCommunityCapacityforWatershedManagement
continuetoSupportWatershedGroups

PublicInputonRecommendations
WhatICanLiveWith WhatICanNOTLiveWith

WhatsMissing?

Thankyouforattending!!
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