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Terrestrial Working Group November 6, 2007. Placer County Water Agency Middle Fork American River Project. TERR 1: Vegetation Communities and Wildlife Habitats. Study Objective and Study Area. Document vegetation communities and wildlife habitats within ¼ mile of:
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Terrestrial Working GroupNovember 6, 2007 Placer County Water AgencyMiddle Fork American River Project TERR 1: Vegetation Communities and Wildlife Habitats
Study Objective and Study Area • Document vegetation communities and wildlife habitats within ¼ mile of: • Existing Project facilities and features • Recreation facilities • Dispersed concentrated use areas • Potential Project betterments (new facilities, roads, and trails; staging and disposal sites; and new inundation areas)
Study MethodsOverview • Developed preliminary map using existing CalVeg data • Developed forest structure maps • Completed pre-field verification • Conducted ground-truth surveys • Developed final vegetation community and forest structure maps • Converted CalVeg communities to WHR habitats
Study Methods Developed preliminary vegetation community maps using CalVeg data (USDA-FS 2000)
Study Methods Developed forest structure maps
Study Methods Completed pre-field verification of CalVeg data using recent aerial photography and Project video
Study Methods Conducted ground-truth surveys on foot, by vehicle, and by helicopter
Study MethodsGround-Truth Surveys, cont’d. • Ground-truthed 20% of vegetation communities around: • Existing Project facilities and features • Recreation facilities • Dispersed concentrated use areas • Ground-truthed 100% of potential Project betterments
Results Overview • CalVeg mapping is generally accurate • Required global modifications to reflect • Barren versus developed areas • Areas affected by fire • Riparian vegetation • Several modifications required at Middle Fork Interbay and Hell Hole areas
ResultsPrincipal Vegetation Communities • Lower Elevation Areas • Canyon Live Oak • Lower Montane Mixed Chaparral • Gray Pine • Pacific Douglas-fir and Douglas-fir–Pine • Higher Elevation Areas • Upper Montane Mixed Chaparral • Mixed Conifer–Pine • Mixed Conifer–Fir • Black Oak
Ralston-Oxbow Area • Lower montane mixed chaparral • Canyon live oak • Gray pine • Pacific Douglas-fir
North-facing slopes Ralston-Oxbow Area Gray pine Pacific Douglas-fir Canyon live oak Canyon live oak South-facing slopes
Middle Fork Interbay Area • Canyon live oak • Douglas-fir–pine • Pacific Douglas-fir
Middle Fork Interbay Area Douglas-fir▬pine underrepresented in several areas Misclassified Douglas-fir▬pine— reclassified as Pacific Douglas-fir
Middle Fork Interbay Area • Several acres misclassified as barren by CalVeg— reclassified as annual grassland
Long Canyon Area • Mixed conifer–pine
Representative mixed conifer▬pine forests near North and South Fork Long Canyon diversions Long Canyon Area
Duncan Creek Area • Mixed conifer–pine
Duncan Creek Area Mixed conifer▬pine forests affected by the Star Fire Small stands remain within ¼ mile of diversion
French Meadows Area • Mixed conifer–fir • Mixed conifer–pine
French Meadows Area North shore: Mixed conifer▬fir and ▬pine forests affected by the Star Fire South shore: Representative mixed conifer▬fir forest
Hell Hole Area • Mixed conifer–fir • Mixed conifer–pine • Black oak • Canyon live oak • Upper montane mixed chaparral
Hell Hole Area Canyon live oak underrepresented by CalVeg Blackoak overrepresented by CalVeg
Potential Project Betterments • Ralston Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • French Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase
Potential Project BettermentsRalston Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • Upgrades in existing powerhouse • Construction and staging area on developed land
Potential Project BettermentsFrench Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade Located primarily adjacent to existing Project facilities (developed areas)
Potential Project BettermentsFrench Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade
Potential Project BettermentsFrench Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • Proposed work at: • Forest Road 14N09A and Construction and Staging Work Area • French Meadows-Hell Hole Tunnel Surge Shaft or Pipeline Road, Construction Staging Area, and Work Area • Potential disturbance of: • Black oak • Mixed conifer-pine
Potential Project BettermentsHell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase South Fork Long Canyon Hell Hole Dam Located primarily adjacent to existing Project facilities (developed areas) French Meadows Powerhouse
Increased water surface elevation and reservoir inundation area Potential Project BettermentsHell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase
Potential Project BettermentsHell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase • Implementing further studies to accurately determine footprint of inundation area: • Completed aerial photogrammetry • Develop detailed topographic map • Determine vegetation communities present within inundation area