Baseline Conditions Citizens Monitoring

1
Baseline Conditions Citizens Monitoring

• Monitoring Committee
• Truckee River Watershed Council
• November 8th, 2006

2
Why

• Desire to expand existing programs to more
  regular monitoring of selected tributaries

3
Process

• Staff leads structured discussions through 2006
• Final outline agreed upon by November 2006
• Plan taken to funding sources
• Implement 2007

4
Key Questions

• Rationale for monitoring
• Priority sub-basins
• Baseline Conditions to be monitored
• Parameters to monitor
• Secondary objectives
• Protocols
• Data storage and accessibility
• Equipment availability
• Volunteer recruitment and training
• Funding sources

5
Rationale

• Be able to identify changes in watershed
  condition
• Major types of change we expect to see
• Flows implementation of TROA
• Land Use
• Development, Restoration, Fuels treatment

6
High Priority Sub-basins

• Flows
• Little Truckee between Boca and Stampede
• Prosser Below Dam
• Donner Creek
• Independence Creek

7
High Priority Sub-basins

• Land Use Restoration
• Perazzo Meadows
• Lower Prosser
• Coldstream
• Trout Creek
• Martis Creek
• Squaw Creek

8
High Priority Sub-basins

• Land Use Development
• Trout creek
• Coldstream
• Donner Creek
• Martis Creek
• Land Use Fuels Treatments
• Sagehen
• ????

9
Baseline Conditions to Monitor

• Tie to Beneficial Uses
• Habitat change due to changes in flow regime
  (with TROA)
• Pre-land use change conditions
• Restoration
• Development
• Fuels

10
Parameters to monitor

• Requirements robust when done by trained
  volunteers
• Photo-monitoring best indicator for habitat
  changes related to flows

11
Other parameters?

• Specific to restoration work
• Habitat improvements photo
• Decreased erosion photo, instream measurements?
• Specific to changes due to development
• Nutrients? Increased erosion? (decreased?)
• Specific to assess fuels treatment
• Sedimentation measures?

12
Secondary Objectives

• Increase awareness among volunteers about
  fishery, water quality
• Increase awareness among community at large

13
Protocols

• SWAMP compatible (for funding reasons)
• DFG iMAPS for photo-monitoring?
• May receive guidance from Sierra Nevada Alliance

14
Data Storage and Availability

• Sagehen Creek Field Station?
• Green Media Toolshed for photos?
• Requirement easily accessible, stable
• May rule out SWAMP systems for now?

15
Available equipment

• Photo-monitoring requires digital camera, PDA
  also helpful for imaps protocol
• Other equipment at TRWC EC meters (most with
  temperature), TDS meters, pH strips, dissolved
  oxygen Chemet kit. Many bottles
• About 11 kits total.

16
Volunteer Recruitment

• E-mail blasts
• Talk to specific groups (fly fishers, Rotary,
  etc.)
• Newspaper articles/ advertisements
• Tabling Truckee River Day, other events?

17
Volunteer training

• Done by paid staff assistance from Sierra
  Nevada Alliance grant
• Most efficient if get commitments from volunteers
  SYRCL vs. TRAM
• Amend existing QAPP - Staff and volunteers
  familiar with protocols

18
Funding

• Budget needs to be developed
• Make sure enough for outreach
• Local foundations TTCF, Lahontan Community,
  Alpine, Nature Fund
• Some funding forthcoming from Sierra Nevada
  Alliance that may help