Front cover photographs (clockwise from top-left) • Adult chinook salmon returning to the river to spawn • A dynamic gravel bar near Basso Bridge at river mile 49.2 • La Grange Dam at river mile 52.2 • Mature valley oak and Fremont cottonwood riparian forest AA SummarySummary ofof thethe HabitatHabitat RestorationRestoration PlanPlan forfor thethe LowerLower TuolumneTuolumne RiverRiver CorridorCorridor “The practice of conservation must spring from a conviction of what is ethically and aesthetically right, as well as what is economically expedient. A thing is right only when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the community, and the community includes the soil, waters, fauna, and flora, as well as the people.” AldoLeopold,1947 THIS DOCUMENT IS A SUMMARY OF THE Habitat Restoration Plan for the Lower Tuolumne River Corridor PREPARED FOR TheTuolumneRiverTechnicalAdvisoryCommittee WITH ASSISTANCE FROM USFishandWildlifeService AnadromousFishRestorationProgram PREPARED BY McBain&Trush P.O.Box663 Arcata,CA95518 (707)826-7794 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT PreparedPrepared for:for: TurlockIrrigationDistrict ModestoIrrigationDistrict 333EastCanalDrive OR 1231EleventhStreet TheThe TuolumneTuolumne RiverRiver TechnicalTechnical AdvisoryAdvisory CommitteeCommittee Turlock,CA95381 Modesto,CA95354 (209)883-8316 (209)526-7459 MarchMarch 19991999 Printedwithsoyinkonrecycledpaper PrintedonaHeidelbergDirectImage,Chemical-FreePress The Tuolumne River G rayson River Ranch: A perpetual conservation easement TheTuolumneRiverTechnicalAdvisoryCommittee(TRTAC) Anenormousbiologicalcommunityalsodependsonthe TheGraysonRiverRanchprojectisanexcellentexampleof haspreparedthe Habitat Restoration Plan for the Lower TuolumneRiver.VastFremontCottonwoodandValleyOak waysinwhichvoluntarypublicparticipationandleadership 1 Tuolumne River Corridor toassistinidentifyingandimple- riparianforestsonceinsulatedtheTuolumneRiverbanks, fromlocalagenciescanmakethevisionforaTuolumneRiver 14 mentinghabitatrestorationprojectstobenefittheriver’s extendingseveralmileswideinthelowerSanJoaquinValley, floodwaycometolife.Locatedbetweenrivermiles5and6 chinooksalmon.ThissummaryoftheRestorationPlan andmergingintoriparianforestsoftheneighboringMerced, fromthemouthoftheTuolumneRiver,the140acreGrayson providesbackgroundinformationabouttheTRTAC,the StanislausandSanJoaquinRivers.Theseforestsprovided RiverRanchparcelwashistoricallyariverfloodplainvegetat- challengesfacingtheTuolumneRivercorridor,someofthe foragingandbreedinghabitatforanabundanceofresident edwithriparianhardwoodspecies.Thepropertywascleared technicalinformationusedtocreatetherestorationplan,and andmigratorybirdandwildlifepopulations,andtremendous forcultivationasearlyas1937,andhasfloodedrepeatedly examplesofrestorationprojectsalreadyunderway.This populationsofmigratorywaterfowl. overtheyears. summarywaspreparedtoinformthepublicoftheRestora- tionPlangoalsandcurrentandfuturerestorationprojects. Followingthe1997flood ,thepropertyownerappliedforand “On April 1st [1844] we…were stopped again by a mayreceivea Perpetual Conservation Easement forpartsof river - the Tuolumne. …[I]ts beauty has been in- TheTuolumneRiverisoneofthe theGraysonRiverRanchparcel.TheUSDANaturalResources creased by the additional animation of animal life, mostimportantnaturalresourcesof ConservationServiceadministerseasementagreementsin and now it is crowded with bands of elk and wild California’sGreatCentralValley.The cooperationwiththeEastStanislausCountyResourceConser- horses; and along the rivers frequent fresh tracks largesttributaryoftheSanJoaquin vationDistrict,linkingwithvariouslocal,state,federal,and of grizzly bears, which are unusually numerous in River,theTuolumneRiverdrainsa non-profit(e.g.FOTT)partners.Theeasementwouldallowfor this country.” 1,900square-milewatershedthat seasonalfloodingandrestorationofriparianhabitats,while CaptainJohnC.Fremont includesthenorthernhalfofYosemite keepingthepropertyinthehandsofprivateowners.Ifthe NationalPark.AstheTuolumneRiver easementagreementisfinalized,theNRCSwilldevelopplans emergesfromtheSierraNevada InthelowerfoothillreachesoftheTuolumneRiverupstream forrestoringtheparceltomorenaturalconditions,which foothillsintotheCentralValley,it ofthecommunityofWaterford,annualmigrationsofspring- mayincluderevegetationwithnativeriparianhardwood carriespreciousagriculturaland andfall-runchinooksalmononcefilledtheriver.Fishcom- species,and/orcreatingoff-channelwetlands.Withrestora- municipalwatersuppliestoa monlyweighedinexcessof20poundsandoccassionally tion,thislandwillprovideincreasedfishery,wildlife,and highlydevelopedanddiversi- exceeded50pounds!Despiterecentdeclines,theTuolumne floodmanagementbenefits. fiedregionaleconomy. Riverstillsupportsthelargestnaturallyreproducingpopula- Agriculture,ranching, tionofchinooksalmonremainingintheSanJoaquinValley. mining,andtourism dominatetheregion anddependonthe riverfortheir sustained Creek livelihoods. Dry A few large stands of riparian vegetation persist along the Tuolumne. MODESTO Although it took only decades to clear much of the land, centuries old EMPIRE valley oaks are not as quickly replaced. This multi-story, diverse canopy Mitchell Rd architecture provides habitat for many species of birds and wildlife. San Hwy 99 Bridge Bridges Santa Fe Ave Geer Rd Shiloh CERES Bridge Bridge Bridge Joaquin HUGHSON Tuolumne Even with dikes, many parcels of land near the confluence with the San Joaquin River are frequently flooded (note traces of soil erosion from uolumne history 1997 floods). These former floodplains contain soils of marginal quality T for agricultural production, and generally support feed crops for live- 1848 1871-1893 1900s TO PRESENT 1923 stock. However, they are ideally suited to sustain native hardwood forests THE CALIFORNIA EARLY DIVERSION DAMS AGRICULTURAL/URBAN EARLY STORAGE DAMS as well as a lush understory of flood-dependent plant species. GOLD RUSH TheTuolumneWaterCompany EXPANSION TheoriginalDonPedroDam Noothereventtransformedthe constructedWheatonDamat Agriculturalandurbanexpan- wascompletedin1923andbe- characterofCaliforniaaspro- thefallsaboveLaGrangein sionhaveencroachedonthe camethehighestdamofits foundlyasthegoldrush.Gold 1871,initiatingstreamflow TuolumneRiver’sspace,and kind(284fthigh).The289,000 VALLEY OAK feverbroughtaroaringboom regulationanddiversiononthe haveeliminatedlargeareasof acre-feetofwaterstorageex- Themajesticvalleyoak,onceasymbol totheTuolumneRiverandthe TuolumneRiver.WheatonDam fishandwildliferiparianhabi- tendedtheirrigationseason ofthenativeCalifornialandscapeand entireCentralValleyalmost waslatersoldtoTurlockand tats.Entirefloodplainswere throughSeptemberinmost adominantfigureinriparianforests, overnight.Sluicing,hydraulic ModestoIrrigationDistricts, convertedforcultivation, years.Thecompletionof isnownearlygone.Confinedtoless mining,andlaterdredgingleft thenre-placedbyLaGrange bridgesandtownswerecon- O’Shaugh-nessyDamin1923 than2%ofitsoriginalhabitatstate-wide, Before the land along the Tuolumne had been converted to agriculture, behindaseverelydisfigured Dam.CompletedonDecember structed,andbermserectedto (HetchHetchy)initiatedwater thisflood-dependentnativeisendemic-itgrows nowhereelsebutinCalifornia.Landacquisitionsor old-growth oak forests extended across the floodplain to merge with the riverecosystem.Thelegacyof 13,1893atacostof$550,000, protectfarmlandsfromfloods. storageanddiversionfromthe forests along the Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin Rivers. In 1937, 1 dredgingremainstodayasriver the127 /2fthighLaGrange Economiesdevelopedduring TuolumneRivertosupply conservationeasementsmaybetheonlywaytopreserve clearing of the Grayson River Ranch parcel was well underway. 1 rockspiledonformerriver dam(laterraised2 /2ft)was the20 thcenturyarenowinex- drinkingwatertotheSanFran- therareremaininggrovesofvalleyoakandallownew floodplainsintheupperreaches thehighestoverflowdamin tricablylinkedtoTuolumne ciscoBayArea. treestopropagate. oftheTuolumneRiver. thecountry. Riverresources. S pecial Run Pools 9 and 10: A channel reconstruction project A candidate for restoration Anexcellentwaytounderstandthescopeofriverrestoration Today,however,theTuolumneRiverischanged.Morethana ontheTuolumneRiveristowitnessaprojectinprogress.The centuryofintensivelandandwaterresourcedevelopmenthas 13 opportunitywillsoonbeaffordedbythe Special Run Pool 9 transformedtheTuolumneRiver.NativeAmericansmanaged 2 (SRP 9) Restoration Project.SRP9islocatedimmediately thewatershedusingfireandselectivevegetationharvesting. downstreamofFoxGroveCountyParkandisvisiblelooking PlacerandhydraulicgoldminingbeganwiththeGoldRush, westfromtheGeerRoadBridge.TheTechnicalAdvisory anddredgeminingcontinuedintothe1950s.Miningsandand CommitteeselectedSRP9asoneoftheSettlementAgreement gravelforroadandconstructionmaterialbeganwithminers projects,andreceivedapproximately$2.5millioninfunding excavatingdirectlyfromtheriverchannelinthe1940s,and fromCALFEDandUSFWS/AFRP.Atpresent,environmental continuestodayinadjacentfloodplainsandterraces. permittingandcompliancedocumentsarenearingcomple- tion,engineersarepreparingfinaldesigndetails,andcon- structionisscheduledtobegininsummerof1999.The A RIVER IMPACTED BY DEVELOPMENT TurlockIrrigationDistrictisadministeringtheprojectforthe • Reduced floodway capacity TRTAC. • Reduced magnitude and frequency of high flows • Reduced variability of seasonal streamflows Gold dredgers exca- • Interrupted gravel supply vated gravel from • Fragmented and narrowed riparian corridor and deep under the river decreased plant species diversity and