Paynes and Antelope Creek

AFRP Area of Coverage

Paynes and Antelope Creek

Antelope Creek:

•123 square miles

•Fall-run Chinook, spring-run Chinook,steelhead.

•32 miles of anadromous habitat (historicaland present)

Paynes Creek:

•93 square miles (59,540 acres)

•Fall-run Chinook salmon.

•Unknown miles of anadromous habitat

Issues affecting SalmonidProduction in Antelope and PaynesCreeks

•Data gaps regarding fish distribution, andpassage, flow, and entrainment limitingfactors caused by agricultural diversions

•Limiting factors involving habitatconditions (spawning gravel, channelstructure) have not been addressed to alarge extent

•Fish population information is limited andsporadic

Watershed Accomplishments

•Tehama East WatershedAssessment, WatershedManagement Plan

•Antelope Creek--Edwards Dam FishLadder (AFRP)

•Tehama Wildlife AreaCrossing (in progress)

•Upper watershed fuelsand erosion control

Upcoming and Current Projects

•Antelope Creek Fish Bypass,Edwards and Los MolinosMutual IC Diversions

•Lower Antelope CreekGeomorphological Study (inprogress)

•Antelope Creek CrossingRepair in the TehamaWildlife Area (ongoing)

Mill Creek

•134 square miles

•Spring-run Chinook, Fall-run Chinook,late fall-run, and steelhead

•44 miles of anadromous fish habitat(historical and present)

Issues affecting SalmonidProduction

•Lower watershed instream habitat conditions

•Noxious weed control / riparian habitat qualityand quantity

•Potential for catastrophic fire impacts

•Development

•Maintaining conditions for fish passage

Watershed Accomplishments

•Twelve AFRP-fundedprojects

•AFRP staff well integratedwith local watershed effortsand the Mill CreekConservancy

•CALFED grants completedan upper watershedassessment (ForestService), road erosioninventory and roadimprovements, andrestoration projects.

•Bureau of Reclamationgrant to identify irrigationefficiency projects,minimum flows required forfish passage, and passageissues/project

•Long term water exchangeand/or rights acquisitionunderway

Upcoming and Current Projects

•Water right acquisition / easements

•Riparian assessment (just initiated)

•Assessment of fish passage atdiversions and siphons (just initiated)

Deer Creek

•208 Square Miles

•Fall-run, late fall-run and spring-runChinook salmon, and steelhead

•40 miles of anadromous fish habitat(historical and present)

Issues affecting SalmonidProduction

•Maintaining fish passage over dams

•Instream habitat quality

•Obtaining adequate flow conditions during passage

•Flood management

•Development

•Noxious weeds / Riparian habitat quality and quantity

Watershed Accomplishments

•Seven AFRP-funded projectscompleted

•AFRP staff well integrated withlocal watershed efforts and theDeer Creek WatershedConservancy

•CALFED grants completed anupper watershed assessment(Forest Service), road erosioninventory and road improvements,restoration projects, watershedcoordinator, floodplain feasibilitystudy in the lower watershed (still indevelopment), ranch managementplanning, meadow restoration,conservation easements, updatingthe watershed strategy, noxiousweed removal (Arrundo donax),water quality monitoring, water useefficiency projects, andenvironmental education.

•(DCID project): Four Pumpsfunding has been used to developwater exchanges via groundwateruse

Upcoming and Current Projects

◦ Floodplain feasibility study

implementation (Phase II)

◦ Negotiation on water exchange

program, DCID, DWR, DFG

◦ Fish Passage at Lower Deer Creek Falls

(AFRP or NFPP)

Cottonwood Creek

•934 square miles

•Spring-run, Fall-run, late fall-run, andsteelhead.

•83 miles of anadromous fish habitat(historical and present)

Issues affecting SalmonidProduction

•Data gaps on straying/stranding, water quality, erosion, andhabitat conditions caused by land management practices (e.g.gravel mining, agriculture, development).

•Population and Life History Information—Cottonwood Creekfish population information is limited and sporadic does nothave consistent survey effort other than Beegum Creek spring-run Chinook inventories

•Limiting factors involving habitat conditions (spawning gravel,channel structure) have not been addressed to a large extent.

•Geomorphological stability

•Severe bank erosion and riparian habitat loss

•Land development

•Non-native plant invasion

•Instream gravel mining impacts

•Future impacts of the slide in Slides Glade, South ForkCottonwood Creek

•Trespass, dumping and damaging recreational practices

Watershed Accomplishments

•AFRP staff well integrated with localwatershed efforts and are technicaladvisors to the Cottonwood CreekWatershed Group.

•CALFED funding for watershedassessment, watershedmanagement strategy, a watershedmanagement plan, ageomorphological analysis ofportions of the lower watershed,and an environmental educationgrant.

•Grant funding for fireprevention/fuelbreaks, riparianinventory / noxious weed

•mapping (NRCS grant), aerialphotography, riparian

•restoration (USFWS Partners

•for Fish and Wildlife).

•ACID Siphon (AFRP-funded)

•Programmatic Safe HarborAgreement, CA Red-legged Frog

Upcoming/Ongoing Projects

•Phase II,GeomorphologicalAnalysis, CottonwoodCreek (AFRP, ongoing)

•Fall Run Chinooksalmon escapementevaluation using VideoWeir technology (AFRPinitiated)

•NIS Removal, SFCottonwood Creek(ongoing, AFRP)

•Fish Passage, SFCottonwood, HammerDiversion

•Mid watershed fuelsmanagement

Cow Creek

•429 square miles

•Fall-run Chinook, late fall-run Chinook,steelhead, steelhead Critical Habitat,spring Chinook CH.

•Miles of anadromous habitat (historicaland present) not yet quantified howeverthought to be below 1000 foot in elevation

•164.4 river miles in five major tributariesand mainstem

Factors Affecting SalmonidProduction

•Data gaps on straying/stranding, water quality, erosion, andhabitat conditions caused by land management practices (e.g.gravel mining, agriculture, development).

•

•Population and Life History Information—Cow Creek fishpopulation information is limited and sporadic does not haveconsistent survey effort

•Limiting factors involving habitat conditions (spawning gravel,channel structure) have not been addressed to a large extent.

•Fish passage over diversion dams

•Land development

•Non-native plant invasion

Watershed Accomplishments

•AFRP staff well integrated withlocal watershed efforts and aretechnical advisors to the CowCreek Watershed ManagementGroup.

•Watershed Assessment

•Management Plan (AFRP)

•Water Quality Studies (AFRP &RWQCB)

•Two fish screens (only 2 insystem, CDFG & RWQCB)

•Various restoration projectswith EQIP and CDFG funding

•Tailwater pond pilot project

•Fall-run Chinook salmonescapement evaluation usingVideo Weir technology (AFRP)

Upcoming and Ongoing Projects

•Clover Creek-Millville diversiondam and siphon restorationproject (environmentalcompliance – AFRP)

•Fall-Chinook escapementevaluation using video weirtechnology (AFRP-initiated)

•Ditch piping pilot study

•Riparian Habitat Assessment(AFRP)

•Cook and Butcher Diversion DamRestoration Project (AFRP orNFPP—funding pending)

•Fish barrier Assessment (AFRP)

Cow Creek Watershed Anadromous FishPassage Assessment and Prioritization forRemediation Project

•Final restoration Plan, AFRP: Fouractions were identified for therestoration of anadromous fish in CowCreek. Two of these actions includescreen all diversions to protect all lifehistory stages of anadromous fish, andimprove passage at agriculturaldiversion dams.

•The need for a barrier inventory is alsoidentified within the Cow CreekWatershed Management Plan (2005)

•Project goal: To identify, classify, andmap anadromous fish passage barrierswithin the Cow Creek Watershed. Inaddition, this project is to prioritizeanthropogenic barriers for remediationand identify diversion screening needs.

Methods

•Techniques used in:

1) the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

(WDFW). 2009. Fish passage and surface water diversion

screening assessment and prioritization manual. Olympia

(WA): Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife;

2) Third Edition, Volume II, Part IX of the California

Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual (Manual)

for road crossing barrier analyses.

•Three anadromous salmonid species use Cow Creek, fall run

Chinook salmon, late-fall run Chinook salmon, and steelhead.

Barriers are to be classified by species, age class, and flow.

Potential barrier types that may be encountered could include

diversion dams, natural falls, subterranean flow, chutes, cascades, and road crossings. Anydiversions or pumps are to be assessed in regards to meeting screening criteria asdeveloped by CDFG and NMFS as described in Appendix S, December 2002 and May 2010editions of the Manual.

•A total barrier is a feature that no species or age class can pass at any flow. Partial barriersare to be classified as to what species and lifestage, and at what flow(s).

•Analyzing the natural barriers currently identified early in the process will assist indetermining the range of anadromy and thus assist in determining the extent of surveys.