DOCSLIB.ORG

Impacts of Early Land-Use on Streams of the Santa Cruz Mountains: Implications for Coho Salmon Recovery

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Impacts of Early Land-Use on Streams of the Santa Cruz Mountains: Implications for Coho Salmon Recovery Impacts of early land-use on streams of the Santa Cruz Mountains: implications for coho salmon recovery San Lorenzo Valley Museum collection Talk Outline • Role of San Lorenzo River in coho salmon recovery • History of 19th century land-use practices • How these disturbances impacted (and still impact) ecosystem function and salmon habitat Central California Coast ESU Lost Coast – Navarro Pt. Coho salmon Diversity Strata Navarro Pt. – Gualala Pt. Coastal San Francisco Bay Santa Cruz Mountains Watersheds with historical records of Coho Salmon Dependent populations Tunitas Independent populations San Gregorio Pescadero Gazos Waddell Scott San Vicente Laguna Soquel San Lorenzo Aptos Land-use activities: 1800-1905 Logging: the early years • Pit and whipsaw era (pre-1842) – spatially limited, low demand – impacts relatively minor • Water-powered mills (1842-1875) – Demand fueled by Gold Rush – Mills cut ~5,000 board ft per day = 10 whip sawyers – Annual cut 1860 = ~10 million board ft • Steam-powered mills (1876-1905) – Circular saws doubled rate to ~10,000 board ft/day x 3-10 saws – Year-round operation (not dependent on water) – Annual cut 1884 = ~34 million board ft – Exhausted timber supply Oxen team skidding log on corduroy road (Mendocino Co. ca 1851) Krisweb.com Oxen team hauling lumber at Oil Creek Mill San Lorenzo Valley Museum collection oldoregonphotos.com San Vicente Lumber Company (ca 1908): steam donkey & rail line Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History Loma Prieta Mill, Mill Pond, and Rail Line (ca 1888) Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History The Saw-Dust Nuisance “We have always maintained that lumberman dumping their refuse timber and saw-dust into the San Lorenzo River and its tributaries were committing a nuisance. They are destroying the fish and poisoning the water for human use. A dumb brute has too much sense to drink from the water fresh and inky black from a saw-dust pile…. Poisoned water is slow poison to the drinker thereof….” Santa Cruz Sentinel - 3 November 1877 Known sawmill & shingle mill sites in Santa Cruz Mountains: 1840-1905 San Gregorio Pescadero Gazos Waddell Scott Soquel San Lorenzo Aptos Corralitos Based on Rood (1975) Other Early Human Disturbances California Powder Works CPW Dam CPW Flume CPW Tunnel California Powder Works Dam http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/513/ San Lorenzo Paper Mill http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/545/ Tanneries Lime Kilns Influence of large wood on channel form Low-gradient riffle Ephemeral secondary channel High-flow bank Lateral scour pool Plunge pool Flow High-gradient riffle Backwater pools Dam pool 6 ft Influence of large wood on channel form Low-gradient riffle Ephemeral secondary channel High-flow bank Lateral scour pool Plunge pool Flow High-gradient riffle Backwater pools Dam pool Influence of large wood on channel form Low-gradient riffle Ephemeral secondary channel High-flow bank Lateral scour pool Plunge pool Flow High-gradient riffle Backwater pools Dam pool Loss of structure/function Low-gradient riffle Disconnected secondary channel High-flow bank Flow High-gradient riffle Backwater pool Lingering impacts • Loss of in-channel LWD • Loss of wood recruitment through time • Loss of wood retention capacity • Loss of sediment/water retention capacity • Disconnection of streams from floodplains Conclusions • LARGE woody material is critical to stream function • Restoring these functions is complicated in urban/semi-urban settings • Can’t go back, but can be strategic about moving forward • Road to recovery will be long and slow Habitat Complexity + Abundant Populations Life History Diversity Resistance + Resilience Prairie Creek: relationship between juvenile population size and habitat use Bjorkstedt, Duffy, Szerlong, unpub. data Pools Runs Riffles Prairie Creek coho juveniles 110 Age-2 migrants 105 100 Age-1 migrants 95 90 85 80 Age-1 migrants 75 Fork length (mm) length Fork 70 65 Age-1 non-migrants 60 55 Jan 1999 Jan Oct 1999 Oct Nov 1998 Nov 1999 Nov Mar 1999 Mar 2000 Mar May 1999 May 2000 May Date From Bell (2001) 1840s – 1875 Era of water-powered sawmills – fueled by increasing demand from gold rush – Dramatically accelerated pace – Fallers built beds of small trees to “break” the fall and avoid splintering – Drag crews would often burn brush and slash around the site, then build a skid road – Oxen used to drag logs downslope t skid rows at bottom of gullies. – Logs brought to mills using oxen on “corduroy” skid trails, often in stream bed – Logs transferred to mill ponds; water powered “muley” saws – Transportation limits meant logging generally took place within a couple miles of the mills. Mills then moved to new locations. – Lumber transported to markets by horse or mule – Era dominated by water-powered mills; seasonal operation – Sawdust and refuse disposed of in streams 1876-1905: the peak years Era of steam-powered sawmills, railroad expansion, transition to steam donkeys – Steam-powered mills w/circular saws replacing water-powered mills (operate year-round) – Steam donkeys, oxen as primary means of getting logs to mill sites beginning latter 1880s – Broadcast burning to remove debris and facilitate removal of logs down skid trails – Consolidation of mills into larger lumber companies – Extensive railroad development – 1884 – 34 million board feet cut by 28 sawmills in SC Mountains. – By 1905, nearly all SC Mtn redwood forest had been cut • Tanneries (http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/269/) • Bausch beer gardens lost business on the days a nearby winery dumped pungent tailings in the creek. And the river ran red when Kron's tannery emptied a tanbark vat. Situk River Duck Creek Cook Inlet Sashin Creek Kake Bake Creek Porcupine Creek Locations of coho nomads Carnation Creek rearing in stream-estuary ecotones or estuaries Lint Slough Modified from Koski (2009) South Slough Freshwater Creek Scott Creek? From Ebersole et al. 1997. Envir. Mgt. 21:1-14. From Ebersole et al. 1997. Envir. Mgt. 21:1-14. CA Forest Practices Act 1974 P P P Habitat potential capacity of P P P the landscape Soquel flood, LWD removal 1982 Late 1800s Present Time Hatchery P P P Habitat potential capacity of P P P the landscape 1970s Present Time .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mapping Ghost Towns in the Santa Cruz Mountains
    Humboldt State University Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University GSP Projects Student and Alumni Works Fall 12-2020 Mapping Ghost Towns in the Santa Cruz Mountains Sarah Christine Brewer Humboldt State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/gspproject Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Geographic Information Sciences Commons, and the History Commons Recommended Citation Brewer, Sarah Christine, "Mapping Ghost Towns in the Santa Cruz Mountains" (2020). GSP Projects. 1. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/gspproject/1 This Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Student and Alumni Works at Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in GSP Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Humboldt State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mapping Ghost Towns in the Santa Cruz Mountains GSP 510 Final Project BY: SARAH BREWER DECEMBER 2020 Abstract This project identifies areas of archaeological sensitivity for historic resources related to the segment of the South Pacific Coast Railroad that spanned from Los Gatos to Glenwood in the steep terrain of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Central California. The rail line was only in use for 60 years (1880-1940) until the completion of a major highway drew travelers to greater automobile use. During the construction and operation of the rail line, small towns sprouted at the railroad stops, most of which were abandoned along with the rail line in 1940. Some of these towns are now inundated by reservoirs. This project maps the abandoned rail line and “ghost towns” by using ArcGIS Pro (version 2.5.1) to digitize the railway, wagon roads, and structures shown on a georeferenced topographic quadrangle created in 1919 (Marshall et al., 1919).
    [Show full text]
  • Conifer Communities of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Interpretive
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ CALIFORNIA CONIFERS: CONIFER COMMUNITIES OF THE SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS AND INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE FOR THE UCSC ARBORETUM AND BOTANIC GARDEN A senior internship project in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS in ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES by Erika Lougee December 2019 ADVISOR(S): Karen Holl, Environmental Studies; Brett Hall, UCSC Arboretum ABSTRACT: There are 52 species of conifers native to the state of California, 14 of which are endemic to the state, far more than any other state or region of its size. There are eight species of coniferous trees native to the Santa Cruz Mountains, but most people can only name a few. For my senior internship I made a set of ten interpretive signs to be installed in front of California native conifers at the UCSC Arboretum and wrote an associated paper describing the coniferous forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Signs were made using the Arboretum’s laser engraver and contain identification and collection information, habitat, associated species, where to see local stands, and a fun fact or two. While the physical signs remain a more accessible, kid-friendly format, the paper, which will be available on the Arboretum website, will be more scientific with more detailed information. The paper will summarize information on each of the eight conifers native to the Santa Cruz Mountains including localized range, ecology, associated species, and topics pertaining to the species in current literature. KEYWORDS: Santa Cruz, California native plants, plant communities, vegetation types, conifers, gymnosperms, environmental interpretation, UCSC Arboretum and Botanic Garden I claim the copyright to this document but give permission for the Environmental Studies department at UCSC to share it with the UCSC community.
    [Show full text]
  • Preliminary Isoseismal Map for the Santa Cruz (Loma Prieta), California, Earthquake of October 18,1989 UTC
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Preliminary isoseismal map for the Santa Cruz (Loma Prieta), California, earthquake of October 18,1989 UTC Open-File Report 90-18 by Carl W. Stover, B. Glen Reagor, Francis W. Baldwin, and Lindie R. Brewer National Earthquake Information Center U.S. Geological Survey Denver, Colorado This report has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial stan­ dards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Introduction The Santa Cruz (Loma Prieta) earthquake, occurred on October 18, 1989 UTC (October 17, 1989 PST). This major earthquake was felt over a contiguous land area of approximately 170,000 km2; this includes most of central California and a portion of western Nevada (fig. 1). The hypocen- ter parameters computed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are: Origin time: 00 04 15.2 UTC Location: 37.036°N., 121.883°W. Depth: 19km Magnitude: 6.6mb,7.1Ms. The University of California, Berkeley assigned the earthquake a local magnitude of 7.0ML. The earthquake caused at least 62 deaths, 3,757 injuries, and over $6 billion in property damage (Plafker and Galloway, 1989). The earthquake was the most damaging in the San Francisco Bay area since April 18,1906. A major arterial traffic link, the double-decked San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, was closed because a single fifty foot span of the upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck. In addition, the approaches to the bridge were damaged in Oakland and in San Francisco. Other se­ vere earthquake damage was mapped at San Francisco, Oakland, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, Hollister, Watsonville, Moss Landing, and in the smaller communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
    [Show full text]
  • Santa Cruz County San Mateo County
    Santa Cruz County San Mateo County COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN Prepared by: CALFIRE, San Mateo — Santa Cruz Unit The Resource Conservation District for San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County Funding provided by a National Fire Plan grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the California Fire Safe Council. M A Y - 2 0 1 0 Table of Contents Executive Summary.............................................................................................................1 Purpose.................................................................................................................................2 Background & Collaboration...............................................................................................3 The Landscape .....................................................................................................................6 The Wildfire Problem ..........................................................................................................8 Fire History Map................................................................................................................10 Prioritizing Projects Across the Landscape .......................................................................11 Reducing Structural Ignitability.........................................................................................12 x Construction Methods............................................................................................13 x Education ...............................................................................................................15
    [Show full text]
  • Community Wildfire Protection Plan Prepared By
    Santa Cruz County San Mateo County COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN Prepared by: CALFIRE, San Mateo — Santa Cruz Unit The Resource Conservation District for San Mateo County and Santa Cruz County Funding provided by a National Fire Plan grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the California Fire Safe Council. APRIL - 2 0 1 8 Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 1 Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 3 Background & Collaboration ............................................................................................... 4 The Landscape .................................................................................................................... 7 The Wildfire Problem ........................................................................................................10 Fire History Map ............................................................................................................... 13 Prioritizing Projects Across the Landscape .......................................................................14 Reducing Structural Ignitability .........................................................................................16 • Construction Methods ........................................................................................... 17 • Education .............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Dos Niñas Vineyard Berkeley
    Growing Partner - Dos Niñas Vineyard Berkeley Tracy Varietal - Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, San Francisco Malbec, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah Livermore Managed by owner and grower Simon C. Lemus. Simon noticed "A market shift in demand for Merlot San Mateo Martin Ranch Winery began, and in 2006 Dan Martin and I got together 6675 Redwood Retreat Rd, and decided it would be an opportune time to graft 92 Gilroy, CA 95020 www.martinranchwinery.com part of the mature and established Merlot vineyard over to Malbec. With relentless research and input Santa Cruz Mountains San Jose from the University of California at Davis, the best Appellation Malbec grafting clone was selected." 1 Los Gatos 101 Since then, Dan Martin has continued to make Morgan Hill award-winning Merlot under the J.D. Hurley label from Simon's fruit, and now, the grafted Dos Niñas Gilroy 1 152 Malbec is an award-winning part of the Thérèse Santa Cruz Watsonville Vineyards brand as well. Dos Niñas Vineyard Hollister San Juan Bautista About the Region 1225 Day Rd, Gilroy, CA 95020 Simon Limas (Grower) The Santa Clara Valley, better known to the world as "Silicon Valley", has one of the richest histories in 101 California viticulture. The area served an important Monterey role in the early history of California wine and was 1 home to the pioneer winemakers Paul Masson and Carmel Valley Village Charles Lefranc. Greenfield The valley is largely protected from the inuence of the Pacic Ocean by the Santa Cruz Mountains, although coastal breezes that enter a small opening at Hecker Pass in the west and the wider Pajaro Pass to the south help to moderate the climate.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit Strategic Fire Plan San Mateo
    Unit Strategic Fire Plan San Mateo - Santa Cruz Cloverdale VMP - 2010 6/15/2011 Table of Contents SIGNATURE PAGE ................................................................................................................................ 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 3 SECTION I: UNIT OVERVIEW UNIT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 4 UNIT PREPAREDNESS AND FIREFIGHTING CAPABILITIES................................................. 8 SECTION II: COLLABORATION DEVELOPMENT TEAM ........................................................................................................... 12 SECTION III: VALUES AT RISK IDENTIFICATION OF ASSETS AT RISK ................................................................................ 15 COMMUNITIES AT RISK ........................................................................................................ 17 SECTION IV: PRE FIRE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FIRE PREVENTION ................................................................................................................. 18 ENGINEERING & STRUCTURE IGNITABILITY ............................................................... 19 INFORMATION AND EDUCATION .................................................................................. 22 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Fire History in Coast Redwood Stands in San Mateo County Parks and Jasper Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains1
    Fire History in Coast Redwood Stands in San Mateo County Parks and Jasper Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains1 Scott L. Stephens2 and Danny L. Fry3 Abstract Fire regimes in coast redwood forests in the northeastern Santa Cruz Mountains were determined by ring counts from 46 coast redwood stumps and live trees. The earliest recorded fire from two live samples was in 1615 and the last fire recorded was in 1884, although samples were not crossdated. For all sites combined, the mean fire return interval (FRI) was 12.0 years; the median FRI was 10 years. There was a significant difference in mean FRI between the four sampled sites. Past fire scars occurred most frequently in the latewood portion of the annual ring or during the dormant period. It is probable that the number of fires recorded in coast redwood trees is a subset of those fires that burned in adjacent grasslands and oak savannahs. The Ohlone and early immigrants were probably the primary source of ignitions in this region. Key words: fire return interval, seasonality Introduction Evidence of past fires is common in California’s coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl.) forests. Redwood trees and stumps commonly exhibit fire scars in their annual growth rings, charred bark, and burned-out basal cavities. Recent research has documented the ecological role of fire in coast redwood forests (Brown and Baxter 2003; Brown and others 1999; Brown and Swetnam 1994; Finney and Martin 1989, 1992; Jacobs and others 1985; Stuart 1987). The objective of this study is to determine the fire history of four coast redwood stands in the northeastern Santa Cruz Mountains of California.
    [Show full text]
  • Quality of Life (PDF)
    Quality of Life Gilroy -- is the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, California, and in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 52,027 at the 2010 census. Gilroy is well-known for its garlic crop and for the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. Gilroy also produces mushrooms in considerable quantity. Gilroy's nickname is "Garlic Capital of the World, as local industry processes more garlic than any other city in the world; most pickled, minced, and powdered garlic come from Gilroy. Gilroy also is home to the Gilroy Premium Outlets, a large shopping center consisting entirely of factory outlet stores. Long-time local landmarks include Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park, along California State Route 152, just west of town, and Mount Madonna County Park, at Hecker Pass, about twelve miles west of town, off Highway 152 Demographics As of the United States 2000 Census, there were 41,464 people, 11,869 households, and 9,590 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,615.2/mi² (1,010.1/km²). There were 12,152 housing units at an average density of 296.0/km² (766.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.91% White, 1.80% African American, 1.59% Native American, 4.37% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 27.73% from other races, and 5.35% from two or more races. 53.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 11,869 households out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.8% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non- Quality of Life families.
    [Show full text]
  • Field Trip to the Skyline Ridge Region in the Santa Cruz Mountains
    Field Trip to the Skyline Ridge Region in the Santa Cruz Mountains Trip highlights: fault scarps, sag ponds, vegetation and bedrock contrasts, regional vistas, Quaternary gravels, Tertiary marine rocks, ancient submarine landslide deposits, volcanic rocks (Mindego Basalt), Indian mortar holes in sandstone This field trip guide includes a collection of stops that may be selected to plan a geology field trip. The field trip stops are along Highway 9 (Saratoga Road) and Highway 35 (Skyline Boulevard) between Castle Rock State Park and La Honda on Highway 84. Most stops are on lands maintained by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Outcrop and natural areas along the ridgeline crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains west of the San Andreas Fault are featured. Stops also include excursions to the fault itself in the Los Trancos and Monte Bello Open Space preserves, and at the Savannah- Chanelle Vineyards (built directly on the fault). The inclusion of all stops listed below might be possible only with an early start and plans for a long day in the field. Stop descriptions below include information about interesting geologic features in the vicinity, but they may require additional hiking to visit. Note that rattlesnakes can be encountered anywhere. Poison oak is prevalent, and ticks can be encountered any time of year, but mostly in the spring. The area is also mountain lion habitat. It is advisable to contact the Midpeninsula Open Space District before planning group visits to the preserves; their website is: http://www.openspace.org. Figure 7-1. Map of the Skyline Ridge region of the north-central Santa Cruz Mountains along Highway 35 (Skyline Boulevard).
    [Show full text]
  • *Guadalupe V5
    GuadalupeGuadalupe RiverRiver ParkPark San José, California Master Plan 2002 City of San José San Jose Redevelopment Agency Santa Clara Valley Water District United States Army Corps of Engineers INTRODUCTION 1 VISION 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 Urban Setting, Natural Environment 6 Monitoring the Water’s Flow 6 People Flow 6 Park Open Spaces 7 The Way Forward 7 “All great cities have at least one great park. PROJECT SETTING 9 The Region 9 The Guadalupe will be that great park” Project Site 9 River Environment 9 MASTER PLAN 13 Frank Fiscalini Master Plan Philosophy 13 Former Vice Mayor & Council Member Flood-Control Measures 14 Chair of the Guadalupe River Park Task Force The Urban Framework 15 Gems in the Necklace 19 Maintaining the Vision 31 APPENDIX A 33 PROJECT HISTORY 34 200 Years of Flooding 34 Flood Control or Park? 35 Creative Responses to a Unique Idea 36 A History of Collaboration 38 Community Involvement 38 GLOSSARY OF TERMS 39 CREDITS 40 This is a story about the renaissance of a river. Not a river in the region through a network of trails. The Guadalupe River Park wild, but a river that meanders through the heart of a very large city. hosts myriad activities and open spaces, from the Children’s TA river that attracted Native American and European settlers to its Discovery Museum to Sister City Gardens to the River Walk. Fish edge because it teemed with fish and other food sources, but drove have returned, breeding, migrating and spawning in the channel. them back with the force of its floods.
    [Show full text]
  • The Loma Prieta (Santa Cruz Mountains), California, Earthquake of 17 October 1989
    SPECIAL PUBLICATION 104 PHYSICAL SCIENCES | LIBRARY UC DA I CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION D Division of Mines and Geology ( THE RESOURCES AGENCY STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION GORDON K. VAN VLECK GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN RANDALL M.WARD SECRETARY FOR RESOURCES GOVERNOR DIRECTOR DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY JAMES F. DAVIS STATE GEOLOGIST Cover Photo: View to the south of Hazel Dell Road, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains about 8.5 kilometers north of Watsonville. The large fissures in the road were caused by lateral spreading due to lique- faction of saturated sediments in Simas Lake and intense shaking associated with the fVL 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake (note leaning telephone pole). Simas Lake, located just west of Hazel Dell Road, is a closed depression formed by recurring surface fault rupture along the San Andreas fault. Photo by W. A. Bryant, 10/18/89. irf . y//V THE LOMA PRIETA (SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS), CALIFORNIA, EARTHQUAKE OF 17 OCTOBER 1989 Edited by Stephen R. McNutt and Robert H. Sydnor Special Publication 104 1990 Department of Conservation Division of Mines and Geology 1416 Ninth Street, Room 1341 Sacramento, CA 95814 3 .- v«^ 1 '" ''* * * .' C3Mte* it Si J r- f %lti' i--' /J '-%J. #• 1 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION v Stephen R. McNult and Robert H. Sydnor SECTION I. The Earthquake \ Geologic and Tectonic Setting of the Epicentral Area of the Loma Prieta Earthquake, Santa Cruz Mountains, Central California 1 David L. Wagner Seismological Aspects of the 17 October 1989 Earthquake 1 Stephen R. McNutt and Tousson R. Toppozada SECTION II. Earthquake Effects Strong Ground Shaking from the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 17 October 1989 and Its Relation to Near Surface Geology in the Oakland Area 29 Anthony F.
    [Show full text]