Carson River Watershed Adaptive Stewardship Plan, Part 1
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CARSON RIVER WATERSHED “Our Lifeline in the Desert” Adaptive Stewardship Plan Prepared by: CarsonCarson WaterWater SSubconservancyubconservancy DDistrictistrict Alpine County, California Carson City, Nevada Churchill County, Nevada Douglas County, Nevada Lyon County, Nevada CarsonCarson RiverRiver CoalitionCoalition CarsonCarson ValleyValley ConservationConservation DistrictDistrict DaytonDayton ValleyValley ConservationConservation DistrictDistrict WesternWestern NevadaNevada ResourceResource ConservationConservation andand DevelopmentDevelopment NaturalNatural ResourcesResources ConservationConservation ServiceService LyonLyon CountyCounty GISGIS DepartmentDepartment C.G.C.G. CelioCelio andand SonsSons Co.Co. Prepared for: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Nevada Division of Environmental Protection - Water Quality Planning June 2006 DRAFT CARSON RIVER WATERSHED “Our Lifeline in the Desert” Adaptive Stewardship Plan Prepared by: Carson Water Subconservancy District Alpine County, California Carson City, Nevada Churchill County, Nevada Douglas County, Nevada Lyon County, Nevada Lyon County GIS Department Carson Valley Conservation District Dayton Valley Conservation District Western Nevada Resource Conservation and Development Natural Resource Conservation Service C.G. Celio and Sons Co. In Cooperation with: Carson River Coalition Prepared for: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Nevada Division of Environmental Protection - Water Quality Planning May 2007 Carson River Watershed Stewardship Plan ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following were instrumental in the development of this plan: Genie Azad Carson Water Subconservancy District Jeanmarie Stone Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Linda Wimberly Lyon County GIS Department Stephanie Wilson U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Paul Kolp Dayton Valley Conservation District Paul Pugsley Carson Valley Conservation District Dan Kaffer Western Nevada RC&D/Natural Resources Conservation Service Jennifer & Clint Celio C.G. Celio and Sons Co. Edwin James Carson Water Subconservancy District Kathy Sertic Nevada Division of Environmental Protection CWSD Board of Directors Review and comments have been provided by the following: Marie Barry Washoe Tribe Environmental Protection Department Diana Furness CWSD, Chapters 1 - 3 Dan Greytak Washoe Tribe Environmental Protection Department Ed James CWSD, Water Quantity Section Ed Skudlarek Nevada Natural Heritage Program Nevan Kane NDEP, Groundwater Resources Section Toni Leffler, CWSD CWSD, Editorial Review Denice Morphew Washoe Tribe Environmental Protection Department Randy Pahl Nevada Division of Environmental Protection Duane Petit The Nature Conservancy Dr. Michael Rosen U.S. Geological Survey Judith Unsicker LRWQCB, Water Quality Standards for California Stephanie Wilson U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Special thanks to the following organizations for providing information: Alpine County GIS Department Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board Alpine County Planning Department Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance Alpine County Weed Management Group Lyon County GIS Department Alpine Watershed Group Lyon County Planning Department Carson City GIS Department Nevada Division of Environment Protection Carson City Parks and Recreation Department Paiute-Shoshone Tribe Carson City Planning Department River Wranglers Carson City Weed Management Group The Nature Conservancy Carson Valley Conservation District Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California Carson Water Subconservancy District Western NV Resource Conservation & Development Clear Creek Watershed Council University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Churchill County GIS Department U.S. Bureau of Land Management Churchill County Mosquito and Weed Abatement U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Churchill County Planning Department U.S. Forest Service Dayton Valley Conservation District U.S. Geological Survey Douglas County GIS Department Douglas County Planning Department HDR Consulting Lahontan Conservation District For questions or comments regarding this plan contact Genie Azad, Carson Water Subconservancy District, at 775-887-9005 or [email protected]. Funding for plan development provided by the Carson Water Subconservancy District and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Water Quality Planning CWA 319 program. Carson River Watershed Stewardship Plan Carson River Watershed Adaptive Stewardship Plan Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................................................................I ES.1 PROJECT CATEGORIES ......................................................................................................... III ES.2 PROJECT TRACKING AND MEASURABLE MILESTONES........................................................IV ES.3 MANAGEMENT MEASURES AND ESTIMATED COSTS ...........................................................IV ES.4 IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING TIMELINE.......................................................................... V ES.5 CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................... V 1.0: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 319 ELEMENTS OF A WATERSHED-BASED PLAN................................................................... 2 1.2 ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... 3 2.0 INTEGRATED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT............................................................... 5 2.1 COORDINATED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT............................................................................ 5 2.1.1 Local Stakeholder Groups ............................................................................................ 6 2.2 WESTERN NEVADA RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT.................................. 6 2.3 CARSON WATER SUBCONSERVANCY DISTRICT .................................................................... 7 2.4 CARSON RIVER COALITION ................................................................................................... 8 2.5 VISION STATEMENT ............................................................................................................... 8 2.6 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................. 9 2.7 COOPERATING ENTITIES ...................................................................................................... 10 3.0 OVERVIEW OF THE CARSON RIVER WATERSHED ................................................ 11 3.1 CARSON RIVER SYSTEM ...................................................................................................... 13 3.1.1 Reservoirs and Lakes .................................................................................................. 14 3.2 GEOLOGY............................................................................................................................. 16 3.3 CLIMATE .............................................................................................................................. 19 3.4 SOILS.................................................................................................................................... 19 3.5.1 Wetlands...................................................................................................................... 22 3.6 FISH AND WILDLIFE............................................................................................................. 23 3.6.1 Special Status Wildlife Species ................................................................................... 24 3.6.2 Beaver: Native or Introduced? .................................................................................. 24 3.6.4 Fish Populations ......................................................................................................... 25 3.7 CULTURAL ........................................................................................................................... 29 3.8 TRIBAL OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................. 30 3.8.1 Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California .................................................................... 30 3.8.2 Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe..................................................................................... 32 3.9 LAND OWNERSHIP .............................................................................................................. 33 3.10 LAND USE ............................................................................................................................ 33 3.10.1 Pastures, Rangelands and Farms .............................................................................. 34 4.0 HISTORY OF THE CARSON RIVER WATERSHED..................................................... 36 4.1 MINES AND MILLS ............................................................................................................... 37 4.1.1 Colorado Hill Historic Mining District ...................................................................... 37 4.1.2 Leviathan Mine ........................................................................................................... 38 May 2007 i Carson River Watershed Stewardship Plan 4.1.3 Comstock Mining Era ................................................................................................