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Placer County Water Agency Middle Fork American River Project

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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Placer County Water Agency Middle Fork American River Project

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  1. Terrestrial Working GroupNovember 6, 2007 Placer County Water AgencyMiddle Fork American River Project TERR 1: Vegetation Communities and Wildlife Habitats

  2. 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)

  3. 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

  4. Study Methods Developed preliminary vegetation community maps using CalVeg data (USDA-FS 2000)

  5. Study Methods Developed forest structure maps

  6. Study Methods Completed pre-field verification of CalVeg data using recent aerial photography and Project video

  7. Study Methods Conducted ground-truth surveys on foot, by vehicle, and by helicopter

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. ResultsOverview of Vegetation Communities within Study Area

  12. Ralston-Oxbow Area • Lower montane mixed chaparral • Canyon live oak • Gray pine • Pacific Douglas-fir

  13. North-facing slopes Ralston-Oxbow Area Gray pine Pacific Douglas-fir Canyon live oak Canyon live oak South-facing slopes

  14. Middle Fork Interbay Area • Canyon live oak • Douglas-fir–pine • Pacific Douglas-fir

  15. Middle Fork Interbay Area Douglas-fir▬pine underrepresented in several areas Misclassified Douglas-fir▬pine— reclassified as Pacific Douglas-fir

  16. Middle Fork Interbay Area • Several acres misclassified as barren by CalVeg— reclassified as annual grassland

  17. Long Canyon Area • Mixed conifer–pine

  18. Representative mixed conifer▬pine forests near North and South Fork Long Canyon diversions Long Canyon Area

  19. Duncan Creek Area • Mixed conifer–pine

  20. Duncan Creek Area Mixed conifer▬pine forests affected by the Star Fire Small stands remain within ¼ mile of diversion

  21. French Meadows Area • Mixed conifer–fir • Mixed conifer–pine

  22. French Meadows Area North shore: Mixed conifer▬fir and ▬pine forests affected by the Star Fire South shore: Representative mixed conifer▬fir forest

  23. Hell Hole Area • Mixed conifer–fir • Mixed conifer–pine • Black oak • Canyon live oak • Upper montane mixed chaparral

  24. Hell Hole Area Canyon live oak underrepresented by CalVeg Blackoak overrepresented by CalVeg

  25. Potential Project Betterments • Ralston Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • French Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase

  26. Potential Project BettermentsRalston Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade • Upgrades in existing powerhouse • Construction and staging area on developed land

  27. Potential Project BettermentsFrench Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade Located primarily adjacent to existing Project facilities (developed areas)

  28. Potential Project BettermentsFrench Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade

  29. 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

  30. 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

  31. Increased water surface elevation and reservoir inundation area Potential Project BettermentsHell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase

  32. 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

  33. Next Steps

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