Winter 1998 (Vol. 11, No. 1)

PCC annual meeting focuses on the history of Berryessa Valley, the lost town of Monticello...

More than 125 people came to the annual general meeting of Putah Creek Council in October where the first of what will be annual Putah Creek Keeper recognition awards were made (see related story, this page).

Additionally, those who attended the meeting at the Alumni and Visitors' Center on the UC Davis campus saw a short video made by the Vacaville Museum on "Berryessa Valley: The Last Year."

The video featured area residents who once lived in the valley. Copies of a book by the same name containing historic photographs by Pirkle Jones also were for sale.

Presentations were made by Steve Chainey, Putah Creek Council co- founder, and Arnold Roessler, lead park ranger, Lake Berryessa office, Bureau of Reclamation.

Chainey's talk, illustrated with slides of Putah Creek and augmented by historic photos, described what fish habitat and vegetation might have looked like on a Putah Creek unimpeded by dams.

"Historic information is sketchy," he said. "Mostly what we have to work with are analogies to current land. If you want to know what Putah Creek looked like, go to Capay Valley and look at Cache Creek."

Putah Creek begins on Cobb Mountain in the Vaca Hills. It has eroded through weak spots in steep-sided bedrock where little grows on its way east. Gravel bars built up through the years. The creek snaked through ridges to Monticello Valley and Devil's Gate and down toward the Sacramento Valley.

Chainey said the creek spread out over grasslands during winter and spring floods. That grassland now has been converted to farm use or, in the case of Monticello Valley, has been flooded following construction of the Monticello Dam, completed in 1957.

Gravel mines on Putah Creek were used to build Highway 505, he said. With the construction of the dam, however, the gravel deposits and most mining came to an end.

The Solano Diversion Dam was constructed just downstream of the Monticello Dam to divert water from Putah Creek for use in Solano County.

"They basically removed everything: trees, brush, telephone poles and homes. The Hub (a bar) was the last thing they took down," Roessler said. Large family homes, a ranch house for farm workers, the cemetery, the school house _ all were taken down, burned or moved before the waters came.

And now, a stone arch bridge, the largest west of the Rockies, is preserved in the deep waters of Lake Berryessa.

...and the first Putah Creek Keeper Award winners

The first of what will be annual Putah Creek Keeper recognition awards were made at this fall's Putah Creek Council annual meeting. Awards were made in three categories: community, land steward, and science and letters.

"Putah Creek Council will soon celebrate 10 years protecting Putah Creek and we have never recognized those responsible," said Joe Krovoza, co-chair (with Alice McKee) of the Council.

"We rely on our volunteers early, often and always," he added.

Two Community Awards were made: the first to the founding board of Putah Creek Council (Susan Sanders, Steve Chainey and Robin Kulakow) and the second to Dr. William C. Schnathorst of the Fly Fishers of Davis.

In the Land Steward Award category the award was given to Valerie Whitworth and the Dry Creek Citizens Group, represented by Verbena McGhae.

In the Science and Letters Award category the award was given to Professor Peter Moyle of UC Davis.

Community Awards

Sanders and Chainey were co-founders of the Putah Creek Council in 1988.

They guided the development of one of the state's most successful all-volunteer local environmental organizations by fostering the Council's education and restoration programs, building the Council's early alliances with Davis and UC Davis officials, and playing crucial roles in guiding the Council's successful litigation strategy that culminated in a judge's ruling in the spring of 1996 that granted Putah Creek 50 percent more water. Sanders represented the Council in many negotiations with Solano officials. Chainey also was recognized for the scientific testimony he prepared and presented at the trial before Superior Court Judge Richard Park.

Schnathorst received the Community Award from Krovoza at a special gathering of the Fly Fishers. For the past 20 years he has been instrumental in maintaining Putah Creek as a viable fishery. He has worked to keep its banks relatively free of debris left by visitors, picnickers, and fishermen. He worked closely with Yolo and Solano County park management staff, with the Putah Creek fisheries management program of the Department of Fish and Game, and the security officer living at Putah Creek.

He has been active as the conservation chairman of the Fly Fishers of Davis and has held monthly meetings regarding Putah Creek. He organized the annual Putah Creek Clean-Up Committee, scheduling help from the local Boy Scout Troops, the Yolo County Youth Authority, and the Audubon Society. The clean-up at Putah Creek takes place annually in December. On the average, more than three tons of debris are collected.

Land Steward Award

The Land Steward Award was given to Valerie Whitworth and the Dry Creek Citizens Group of Winters.

This is a group of nearly 100 landowners along several miles of Dry Creek, the major tributary of Putah Creek below the dam. The group formed in 1989 for the purpose of ecological restoration of Dry Creek's vegetation, banks, and hydrology. Since the construction of the dam, water from Putah Creek no longer backs up into Dry Creek, hence the gradient of water flow down Dry Creek has steepened. Consequences have included a deepening of the creek bed and creek bank erosion to the point where many structures are threatened.

Whitworth, a teacher, led the committee and the city of Winters in a partnership that successfully received about $70,000 in awards. Activities included the preparation of an informational booklet about creek erosion and restoration (intended for landowners) and the innovative engineering of 400 yards of creek bank as a demonstration project. That stretch of creek bank had been especially subject to erosion, having lost one foot a year for the past 25 years. The innovative work received volunteer advice from half a dozen professional hydrologists and engineers, a paid civil/environmental engineer as director, participation by the city of Winters' staff and labor for planting native trees, shrubs, and grasses by a youth conservation program. Volunteer professional biologists surveyed the entire 12-mile extent of Dry Creek.

Science and Letters Award

The Science and Letters Award was presented to Professor Moyle, a fisheries biologist, for the work he and his students have done studying the fauna of Putah Creek for half a dozen years. His research was seminal in the court decision that resulted in an order to increase flows of water down Putah Creek from the dam. He is nationally known for his research and teaching, and has devoted extraordinary amounts of time to making that knowledge accessible to the general public.

A short history of the Putah Creek waterway

Before permanent European settlement, the Central Valley of California supported large expanses of riparian vegetation along most of its watercourses. Riparian forests developed along streams such as Putah Creek where natural levees were formed by the gradual deposit of alluvial sediments. During pre-development conditions, lower Putah Creek was flanked by a continuous broad corridor of riparian forest from the Coast Range to the Yolo Basin where the creek emptied into an extensive marsh dominated by tules.

The riparian forests were diverse in terms of flora and structure. They normally consisted of several layers of dense undergrowth topped by a varied canopy. Typical understory species included box elder, Oregon ash, white alder, Goodding and red willow, button willow, mulefat, California nettle, wild grape and California blackberry.

Typical canopy species included Fremont cottonwood, valley oak, and California sycamore. Uplands, irregularly flooded, supported valley oak savannahs. It is believed that early Native Americans probably ate native fish like thicktail chub and Sacramento perch, harvested from pools in the lower creek.

It is known that the Central Valley was home to one of the largest concentrations of non-agricultural Native American societies and large numbers of these people inhabited areas in the vicinity of Putah Creek.

Putah Creek is probably named for the Pooewin village, Puta-to, located in what is now downtown Davis.

19th Century

Beginning in the middle part of the 19th century, the first Spanish land grants were awarded in the region. Mass settlement of the region began in 1867 when Jerome Davis sold a portion of his land to the California Pacific Railroad. By 1868 a railroad was in place and the town of Davisville was founded. The railroad, in combination with the Gold Rush, brought many permanent settlers to the area.and finally was completed in the 1940s. The south fork branches from the old creek about 4,000 feet upstream of the Interstate 80 bridge and follows a relatively straight course to the Yolo Bypass.

Many other creek alterations followed and much of the riparian vegetation was removed to accommodate agriculture. Additionally, intensified agriculture placed great demands on the creek and groundwater aquifers, thereby lowering creek flows.

In 1938, the Yolo County Public Works Administration constructed a small dam near Winters to increase groundwater recharge by percolation. During World War II, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the Putah Creek Project that contributed further to the permanent alteration of the creek. The Corps constructed a dam that sealed off the entrance of the north fork and placed another dam at its eastern terminus. Thus, the north fork became the landlocked body of water it is today on the UC Davis campus. The south fork was permanently established as the only functioning channel.

The Corps also altered the creek to contain a 100-year flood event by bulldozing vegetation on the banks and constructing levees downstream on both sides of the bank from the junction of the north and south forks to the Yolo Bypass. The earth used for the levee construction came from the creekbed.

Construction of the levees, excavation of the south fork and downcutting have prevented the creek from meandering naturally and rejuvenating riparian vegetation.

Gravel mining also took place at several locations on lower Putah Creek and this activity, which in at least one case lasted until the late 1970s, also devastated the immediate riparian vegetation.

During the 1940s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began planning for the Solano Project, which consisted of three main facilities: the Monticello Dam and Lake Berryessa, the Solano Diversion Dam and the Putah South Canal, which originates at the diversion dam and coveys water south to Solano County. These projects were finished in 1957.

The creation of the Monticello Dam (1953-57) meant the loss of the town of Monticello and the flooding of the Berryessa Valley, once a rich agricultural region supported by an upper stretch of Putah Creek.Lake Berryessa gradually filled over the years and reached full storage capacity in 1963.

Today, as a result of regulated flows from the Solano Project, Putah Creek is dramatically different from the dynamic stream that, in the days of pre-agricultural development, flowed out of the Vaca Hills, experienced torrential winter and spring streamflows, and commonly overtopped its banks.

PCC is founded

The founding meeting of Putah Creek Council took place on Feb. 3, 1988, with the idea of bringing together people who would protect the creek's remaining riparian habitat and the water level in Putah Creek.

During the summers of 1989 and 1990 the lower creek _ a roughly 23-mile stretch from the Solano Diversion Dam to the Putah Creek Sinks in the bypass _ experienced lengthy periods of drying that resulted in substantial fish deaths and a general depression of the overall fish population and consternation on the part of creekside landowners, conservationists, birders, nature lovers and environmentalists.

Putah Creek Council was forced to sue Solano water interests to keep downstream fisheries in good condition, but the lawsuit bogged down for six years in the complexities of water law adjudication. Increased flows were negotiated on an emergency basis and the City of Davis and UC Davis joined the legal efforts.

In the spring of 1996 Judge Richard Park ruled that lower Putah Creek should have 50 percent more water. However, the Solano parties appealed and the Council filed a cross-appeal. And while the legal process grinds on, mediation sessions are under way and ongoing. Over the past 10 years, Putah Creek has gone from being virtually ignored to being widely acknowledged as a significant natural resource by the people and communities of Yolo and Solano counties. In April of 1997, Putah Creek Council received the City of Davis 1997 Environmental Recognition Award for its Putah Creek stewardship.

Legal update: State of 1996 judgment

By Joe Krovoza

Judge Richard Park's legal judgment ordering 50 percent more water for Putah Creek (issued in the spring of 1996) remains without effect pending resolution of the Solano agencies' appeal. Legal briefs were to have been filed this fall. Due to delays in compiling the trial court record from the five-week trial, the court has now granted the Solano agencies until Jan. 26, 1998, to file their opening appellate briefs.

At this rate, an actual decision on the appellate issues could be delayed until early 1999. The Council's attorneys have formally opposed any further delay. Meanwhile, Putah Creek Council continues to participate in a mediation process sponsored by the Bureau of Reclamation to resolve the appeal.

Fall nature hike focuses on birds, plants near creek

By Elisabeth Sherwin

In early October, 11 people joined a Putah Creek Council-hosted nature walk held along the banks of Putah Creek. Participants met at the fire ring at the UC Davis Putah Creek Reserve on a beautiful Saturday morning and spent the next two hours sharing and exchanging information about the riparian world.

Mary Schiedt of theYolo Audubon Society and botanists Ron and Petra Unger led the walk, each sharing their area of expertise with students and visitors from the community.

The group looked at button willows, eucalyptus and red willows growing along the slow-moving creek while a ruby-crowned kinglet looked for insects at the base of oak leaves in a nearby tree.

Wild grape vines provided the curious with a tart breakfast as the group moved along the creekside trail. Mary told the group that birds called phainopeplas love trees with clumps of sticky white mistletoe berries, but none of these birds revealed themselves.

"We'll see them during Duck Days," promised Mary.

A variety of galls were present on the back of oak leaves and on the ground, formed when insects such as wasps lay eggs in the tissue of trees. A protective gall forms around the wasp eggs and later the new insect escapes.

There are literally hundreds of different gall species.

The group saw several examples of plants, large and small, competing for habitat. On the bank, a weedy black walnut struggled for survival in competition with tiny new valley oak seedlings, while a tiny plant called frog fruit or garden lippia covered a level area near the path like grass. In fact, frog fruit was planted for lawns before World War II because it required little water.

Today it's considered a great bank stabilizer and is frequently planted along irrigation canals but if it escapes into vernal pool areas it becomes a serious problem because it competes with rare vernal pool plants.

Beyond this also were wisps of the invasive and non-native Bermuda grass. Ron pointed out examples of native grasses including creeping wild rye, a great plant for restoration sites. The grasses and plants found along the creek offer a complex layering system excellent for birds and wildlife, he said.

Ron and Petra brought their son, Mark, 18 months, the youngest member of the nature walk. Ron, Putah Creek Council's restoration and clean-up coordinator, also led the Putah Creek cleanup in late September.

The group paused to listen to a woodpecker cry in the background and heard a hummingbird near a eucalyptus tree.

Learn the ballad of Putah Creek, Monticello town

S ing to the tune of " Sweet Betsy from Pike," which is a tune recycled from older ones.  

By Jean Jackman

Vi-o-lent changes made this land we know

Earthquakes, upheavals, ice ages so slow

Glaciers came three times, the oceans did drop

A land bridge opened up over the top

Then long ago Asians did cross to these lands

Across California they lived in small bands

With dif-fe-rent languages, dialects too

Abundance of land meant the conflicts were few

Chorus:  

Oh Pu-tah Cre-ek we want you to flow

Water for critters is needed below

There was a free creek we call Putah today

A good place for the natives in every way

Cobb Mountain, Lake County is where it begins

In Western Delta, Sacramento it ends

Putah Creek flowing shaped the land we know

Floods left rich dirt in the valley below

Natives lived on it for thousands of years

Along with the sturgeon, elk and grizzly bears

White man came in around 1808

They brought the natives a terrible fate.

They died from diseases the white man brought in

Were enslaved by missions and taught about sin

Berryessa brothers were granted much land

Upon which the town Monticello would stand

But they soon lost it to the government

When land was desired, tax collectors were sent

Fifty farmers at auction then bought that land

Across the valley they all did fan

Twas rich land for growing, the weather was fair

Grain lands and orchards did duly prosper

Then Ezra A. Peacock put a house on the creek

He started a town which soon others would seek

It was the beginning of Monticello

And before long came the 200th fellow

Soon people coveted Putah Creek water

To harness for irrigation and for power

Solano County feared dried up wells

So they needed water from up in the hills

The legislators then decided to build

A dam that would take 15 seasons to fill

Folk in Monticello would all have to leave

The town people then all began to grieve

The dam's height was two hundred seventy feet

And some people thought it was really so neat

President Ike got to choose the dam's name

The Berryessa brothers now had their fame

One hundred eighty miles of shore

But downstream the habitat became quite poor

Soon the old creek had begun to hurt

So little water, a creek of just dirt

The price for the project was habitat lost

But no salmon or trout was too great a cost

Solano sent no more water downstream

And concerned people soon started to scream

Putah Creek Council, plus UCD

and City of Davis, united the three

They took it to court and the judge had a say

Solano must release more water that way

Well flow is improved, downstream of the creek

Still are problems and solutions we seek

The lake has poisons, don' eat too much fish

Cause mercury surely will season your dish

Mining in hills left metals in the lake

Too late to sue for common good's sake

If a big earthquake hits it's a worry too

Winters will be under waters so blue

The old timers tell of a creek that was pure

Swimming and fishing provided a lure

Let's make Putah Creek better than recent past

Caretake for generations so it will last

There is a moral, to this long song

Natural creeks may be smart in the long

There is a moral to this lengthy tune

Protect creeks even in a building boon.

Jean Jackman is a writer and storyteller in residence at the UC Davis Bioregion Project. If you have comments or corrections, contact Jean at jljackma@dcn.davis.ca.us

Winters workday ushers in second restoration year

By Jeanne Wirka

Thanks to a miraculous break in the dismal fall weather, a Nov. 23 workday organized by the Winters Putah Creek Committee (WPPC) was an unqualified success. About 30 people turned out toting shovels, loppers, and chainsaws for a grueling morning picking up trash, bashing Arundo donax, slaying tree of heaven, and whacking a variety of other weeds.

Restoration of Putah Creek in Winters began in earnest last fall after the city received a $100,000 grant from the state Parks and Recreation Department to develop a Putah Creek Interpretive Nature Park.

To date, the effort has focused on removal of exotic weeds and planting native species. When completed, the Nature Park will include passive trails with interpretive signs to educate visitors about the local vegetation and local wildlife.

A year after the first work day, the project, and the native plants, are going strong. Last February, volunteers planted 11,000 individual native grass plants on the portion of the creek behind the Winters Community Center. The grasses (which include purple needle grass, blue wild rye, California onion grass, and Carex barbarae) are now well-established and many have already produced seed.

This fall's workday kicked off an ambitious second year agenda that will vastly expand the restoration area and the array of species planted.

In early November, the WPPC organized a controlled burn along the northside of the creek that extends downstream from last year's planting to the water treatment facility as well as on the half-acre of newly acquired city property west of the bridge.After a requisite dosing with herbicide, these new areas were seeded with native grass seed and the tops of the slopes will be seeded with lupine, poppy and clover.

The seed phase will be followed up by a second workday in late January or early February to plant as many as 30,000 more grass plugs and a variety of native shrubs and trees (including red bud, toyon, coyote bush, clematis, and California fuchsia). The WPPC also hopes to identify a school classroom that is interested in installing a "butterfly garden" west of the bridge as a class project. Along with the wildflowers, the butterfly garden will add to the aesthetic beauty of the site as well as help increase public awareness of the restoration project as a whole.

Anyone interested in participating in Winters' "winter" workday should contact Jeanne Wirka, WPPC coordinator at 795-5466.

putah@dcn.davis.ca.us

Putah Creek Council has an e-mail account to communicate news about the creek to its members and other friends. We use the account to announce Council activities such as cleanups, restoration projects and creek-related talks. We may also use the account to disseminate updates on the state of the creek and to recommend actions Putah Creek supporters can take. To receive Putah Creek Council news via e-mail, send a short note to putah@dcn.davis.ca.us and we will add you to the list.

Putah Creek News Volume 11, No. 1 Winter 1998

Putah Creek News is a periodic publication of the Putah Creek Council, a nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Putah Creek through advocacy, education and activism.

Editor: Elisabeth Sherwin (530) 758-7559

Printing: The Printer (530) 753-2519

Putah Creek Council , P.O. Box 743, Davis, CA 95617

With special thanks to John Kemper for most of the drawings in this issue.