Winter 1999 (Vol. 12, No. 1)

Putah Creek News is a periodic publication of the Putah Creek Council, a non-profit 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

Myriad creekside studies under way

From quails to cats, someone is watching

EDITOR'S NOTE: Let us know what's happening out at the creek. If you have a research project taking place in the Putah Creek area and would like to publicize your experiments, please let us know. You can send information to putah@dcn.davis.ca.us.

By Elisabeth Sherwin, PCC newsletter editor

You may not be aware of the many research projects taking place in and around Putah Creek. From Michael Marchetti's work identifying the types and locations of native and non-native fish to re-vegetation efforts by the Council and others, there's a lot of action in what might look to the uninitiated as a neglected creek.

Dale Lott, with the support of Peter Moyle, both professors in the UC Davis Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology department, initiated a project to begin restoring California quail populations along the creek.

Graduate student Michele Johnson was given the job of organizing undergraduate interns and helping them develop and implement the project at the UC Davis Experimental Ecosystem. The ecosystem is directly adjacent to Putah Creek at County Road 98 (Pedrick Road) west of the main UCD landfill.

" We're hoping that habitat improvements there will eventually augment quail populations all along the creek (as well as other wildlife)," said Johnson.

EXPERIMENTAL ECOSYSTEM

Several related projects are taking place in the Experimental Ecosystem, too, in particular avian point counts to monitor the response of other birds to habitat manipulations, and planting of willows and redbuds, among other native plants, to extend the Putah Creek riparian corridor habitat further into the ecosystem and provide an avenue for movement and dispersal.

According to Johnson, California quail (Callipepla californica) were once present throughout the Central Valley and other arid and semi-arid regions of California. However, since the turn of the century population numbers have declined primarily due to human activity. The goal of the proposed project is to use habitat restoration and modification to increase the resident California quail population along Putah Creek, in accord with the broader goals of the Putah Cache Bioregion Project.

"We will accomplish this through planting native vegetation, construction of brush piles, and clearing some areas at the Experimental Ecosystem," she said.

Because the ecosystem is directly adjacent to the Putah Creek riparian corridor modifications of vegetation composition and placement will provide an avenue of movement for quail from the ecosystem grounds to Putah Creek. In addition to bolstering quail populations along Putah Creek through dispersal of birds from the ecosystem, successful quail habitat restoration at the ecosystem will provide a region-specific model with which to promote healthy quail populations in other areas of Putah Creek.

Elliott Matchett is one of the undergraduates helping Johnson.

He says two important research components are being looked at: avian point counts and vegetation transect analysis. As brush piles are erected and willows, redbud and native grasses are planted, the two will provide useful information about the effects of such measures on the system. Matchett and Sarah Sheltren are conducting avian point counts; with the help of others, Matchett also will be using vegetation transect analysis to monitor composition and density of plant communities over time as habitat restoration efforts ensue.

AVIAN COUNTS

Avian point counts are important for two reasons. They serve to monitor bird diversity and abundance over time as habitat restoration efforts are made and they monitor species that are assumed good bio-indicators (species that are sensitive to possibly adverse changes in the system).

"Since the beginning of October, once a week at sunrise, Sarah and I have been doing avian point counts," Matchett said.

Another student, Judah Dinnel, is the president of The Wildlife Society at UC Davis, and he has organized several group activities at the Experimental Ecosystem to restore habitat in the area and extend the riparian corridor from Putah Creek to an artificial pond that was made in the ecosystem this past year.

The Wildlife Society has helped to remove an abandoned flight pen for quail (to clear a field for native grasses and shrubs) and construct brush piles to attract native California quail back to the area.

Dinnel also took part in the Rivers of Learning internship at UC Davis.

"For a group project, Jenny Macartney, Christina Thompson, Agnes Lupa, and I organized a field trip in December to the experimental ecosystem for the after-school science class at Valley Oak Elementary School in Davis," he said. "We led 30 fourth- through sixth-graders on a tour through the ecosystem and supervised them in an art project and a willow planting project at the new pond."

FERAL CATS

Asst. Professor Douglas A. Kelt of the department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology is studying feral cats along the lower Putah Creek corridor.

"In June and July 1997 my colleagues Dirk Van Vuren, Linnea Hall, Maral Kasparian and I fitted 13 cats along the lower Putah Creek riparian corridor with radio collars," he said.

Five cats (two adult males, two adult females, one juvenile female) provided sufficient data for spatial analysis, and scat were collected from their home ranges to provide initial insights into their diets. Home ranges varied from 5 to 33 acres and were larger for adult males (16.5 acres) than for adult females (11.2 acres). The single juvenile had a much larger home range (32.9 acres), suggesting that it may have been preparing to disperse. Although all of these cats were captured in the riparian corridor, their ranges extended away from the corridor and were largely comprised of agricultural habitats, suggesting that animals may be using different areas for resting and for foraging.

Diets were analyzed from 24 scat samples collected within the home ranges of the study animals. These were analyzed for frequency of occurrence by principal items. California voles (Microtus californicus) were the most common food item, occurring in two-thirds of scats analyzed. Pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae) were moderately abundant (one quarter of scats), followed by unidentified bird and insect remains, non-native rats (Rattus sp.) , small mice (Peromyscus sp., Mus musculus) , and California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi ).

Further study should be directed toward refining the level of spatial use of habitat ( e.g ., time spent in different habitats, differences across seasons and between sexes) and dietary analysis ( e.g., separating by season, sex, and age). The results, soon to be submitted for publication, provide a baseline for better understanding the role that feral cats may have in urban and semi-natural settings such as the Putah Creek corridor.

BIOMONITORING

Melanie Truan is involved with a terrestrial biomonitoring program of the UCD Putah Cache Bioregion.

"The project conducts seasonal surveys of the plant, amphibian, reptile, bird and mammal species (including bears) found along Putah Creek," she said. Trained university undergraduates perform the majority of these surveys. The project also is sponsoring a number of special research projects, including the use of the Putah Creek corridor by mule deer, microsite patterns of rodent-plant interactions, the importance of upland refugia during flooding events, impacts of non-native species on native species, source-sink dynamics of bird populations in fragmented riparian corridors, a literature review of the life history requisites of Putah Creek vertebrates, and a study of the habitat requirements and population dynamics of the belted kingfisher.

Next year, she hopes to expand the number of survey sites along Putah Creek and to add sites along Cache Creek as well.

VOLUNTEERS?

"We are always looking for individuals to serve as eyes and ears in the Putah Cache Bioregion," she says. "If you have observations that you'd like to add to our survey database, or if you'd like to serve as an official Putah Cache biomonitor for sites in your neck of the woods, please contact me."

Melanie Truan can be reached at the UCD department of Wildlife, Fish & Conservation Biology, 752-0367 or mltruan@ucdavis.edu.

Professor David Robertson of the English department and Putah Cache Bioregion Project provides another perspective on the creek through his writing and photography. He is completing a short book about the creek, "A Narrow Way to Nearby," based on the haibun form perfected by Basho. "I am doing some prose and a photo for each of 11 reaches of the creek," he said. The book will be published by Boise State University Press later this year.

Other activities are taking place off-campus to help neighboring bioregions in addition to Putah Creek.

BLUE RIDGE

According to Professor Rob Thayer, part of the Putah Cache Bioregion Project agenda for this year is to help fund and participate in the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area Conservation Partnership.

This public-private volunteer organization includes representatives from the private ranches, the Homestake Mining Co., the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the state Department of Fish and Game, the Napa County Land Trust, the American Land Conservancy, and the UCD McLaughlin Reserve. The main goal of the Blue Ridge partnership is to voluntarily and jointly share in the conservation and management of 300,000 acres of land extending from the UCD Cold Canyon Reserve south of Lake Berryessa to much of the mid- to upper-Cache basin and Putah basin, including Lake Berryessa, BLM's Cache Creek Management Area, Indian Valley Reservoir area and Bear Valley to the north. The Putah Cache Bioregion Project is helping to fund a Resource Assessment subcommittee for the Blue Ridge partnership that will assemble various land data layers and aid in developing a resource conservation and management strategy utilizing computerized geographic information systems at various scales.

The partnership includes a wide variety of lands and resources, from unique serpentine soils and their endemic species, to tule elk, rare and abundant wildflowers, bald eagles, famous whitewater recreation, two federally designated wilderness study areas (Cache Creek-Rocky Creek and Cedar Roughs), a highly complex and dominant geology, over 9,000 years worth of archaeological sites, and considerable solitude exemplified by a stretch of state highway with no gasoline for 60 miles.

Creek benefits from success of major Calfed grant

By Joe Krovoza
PCC Co-Chair  

The Calfed program of state and federal agencies has awarded the Solano County Department of Environmental Management (as lead) $100,500 to support consensus-based stewardship planning along the creek and to conduct some initial restoration work on the creek. This is marvelous news. The Sacramento-based consulting firm of Jones & Stokes Associates will do the stewardship planning. The Council was very active in determining the content of this grant.

This stewardship planning process will present a unique opportunity for the Council and all Putah Creek stakeholders to develop a framework for restoration on lower Putah Creek and its adjacent lands. The most beneficial strategies will be identified and projects will be defined and will be prioritized by habitat value. This process will identify the best restoration strategies and projects for further funding. Not since the 1993 "Reconnissance Planning Report: Fish and Wildlife Resource Management Options for Lower Putah Creek, California" of the federal F&WS has a broad study of Putah Creek restoration needs been conducted.

Importantly, the Calfed grant will take into account new information and set forth a detailed plan for restoration given current resources and stakeholder interests. The actual restoration work to be funded by this grant may include signs and barriers to prevent dumping at overcrossings and the removal of large debris at several particularly degraded sites along the creek.

The stewardship process is expected to begin in mid-April 1999.

More good news may be on the way! A similar grant is under consideration by the state's Proposition 204 program. As of mid-December 1998 this grant was receiving favorable consideration. If funded, the Proposition 204 grant will allow for more detailed stewardship planning and will provide more funds for restoration projects.

Special thanks, again, to Brian Parker and Catherine McCarty of Solano County and the staff of Jones & Stokes Associates for their excellent work on the proposals.

Legal Update

We have been active this fall providing comments to the Bureau of Reclamation and federal resource agencies concerning renewal of the Solano Project's water supply contract. On Sept. 15, 1998, the Council presented extensive comments concerning contract renewal at a public meeting in Vacaville. For a copy, write to putah@dcn.davis.ca.us. Special thanks to Council secretary Barbara Kendrick who attended all of the negotiating sessions between Reclamation and Solano in October, November and December.

Unfortunately, Reclamation is taking a narrow view of their environmental responsibilities in this process.

In January and February 1999, public comment will be sought on the draft contract and the associated environmental documentation. Write to our e-mail account if you would like to assist. Solano's current 40-year contract expires at the end of February 1999.

Once again, the Council must thank our pro bono legal counsel at Beveridge & Diamond in San Francisco for their exceptional assistance.

The Judgment

The 1996 judgment ordering 50 percent more water for Putah Creek remains ineffective due to the Solano County agencies' continuing and vigorous appeal. All briefs have been filed. Oral argument before the Third District Court of Appeal is expected in the late-spring or summer of 1999. A final decision could come in the fall of 1999, or in the new millennium.

Join us at 6th annual California Duck Days

The diversity and quality of the 1999 festival will please the whole family: More than 40 field trips to view and learn about wildlife in areas throughout the Central Valley, many on private land not normally available to the public; workshops on diverse topics such as decoy carving, duck calling, waterfowl identification, wetland protection, waterfowl hunting and farming for wildlife; children's activities including live baby ducklings and a special performance by Voice of the Wood; and an Exposition Hall full of hands-on activities, displays, and information about 35 different organizations concerned with wildlife and habitat protection.

A one-day registration is $15, and a weekend pass that includes all field trips and on-site events is $25. Children 16 and under are admitted free. Call (530)758-1286 for a registration form, or visit the Duck Days website at www.yolobasin.org/duckdays1.htm.

Duck Days is a project of the nonprofit Yolo Basin Foundation.

How creek became nationally important bird area

We won the bragging rights about our own Yellow-billed Magpies

In November of 1998 an electrifying event occurred when Putah Creek was declared to be a "Nationally Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy.

Local conservation groups have long known that Putah Creek was important and Audubon members have known it was especially important to birds, but it was gratifying to see that two national groups recognize it.

But there is an interesting twist to this recognition, because when Putah Creek was first nominated by the Yolo Audubon Society, it was because of its remarkable riparian vegetation and because of Lake Solano, both of which provide habitats for an unusual assemblage of species. But when the site was approved at the national level, it was not because of any of the species mentioned in the nomination, but because of Yellow-billed Magpie.

Most Yolo County folks tend not to have very high opinions of magpies, probably because they are so common and perhaps because they are noisy. But the Yellow-billed Magpie is actually a very special bird, because it is a California endemic, meaning that it occurs no place else. A similar magpie does occur in other parts of the world, the Black-billed Magpie. But that is a different species and nowhere do the ranges of the two come into contact.

Fortunately, the people at the national level of the Important Bird Area program had been watching the Yellow-billed Magpie because they have a special interest in endemic species. What they had done was analyze the data from the Christmas Bird Counts sponsored annually nationwide by the Audubon Society.

From their analysis, they knew that the Putah Creek CBC reported hundreds of magpies every year and when a nomination form for a place called Putah Creek showed up, they zeroed in on it.

But the original nomination of Putah Creek had included only the riparian strip, and Yellow-billed Magpies inhabit that strip on only an intermittent basis. The national IBA folks must have been aware of this situation, because when the nomination was approved it was described as "Putah Creek and environs." The world "environs" was just right, because it includes the habitat favored by the magpies, the fields and orchards adjacent to the creek.

But they also occur in fields and orchards all over the Central Valley. When the folks in Yolo Audubon first thought about IBAs, they pondered what to do about Yellow-billed Magpie, because they were well aware of its endemic status.

But it appeared that in order to nominate an "area" for that particular bird would require nominating the entire Central Valley and the IBA rules forbid nominating such an enormous area.

As matters worked out, the recognition of Putah Creek and its "environs" provided exactly the right solution for the Yellow-billed Magpie problem and also resulted in Putah Creek itself being recognized, which had been the original purpose.

Subsequently, Yolo Audubon revised the description of the area to incorporate the word "environs."

Simultaneously, the description was broadened to extend all the way from Monticello Dam to the Yolo Bypass, because magpies occur the whole distance. The Important Bird Area Program is an worldwide activity to identify areas that are important to birds. It began in Europe in the 1980s, under Birdlife International. Subsequently, a similar program was inaugurated in the United States. The goal of the program is to identify sites in each state that are essential for sustaining naturally occurring populations of bird species and to protect or manage those sites for the longterm conservation of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. An area may be listed as an IBA for one of the following reasons:

1. It provides habitat for endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species.

2. It provides habitat for endemic species, or species with a restricted range.

3. It provides habitat for an assemblage of species restricted to a unique or threatened natural community.

4. It is a site where birds concentrate in significant numbers when breeding, in winter or during migration.

So, the next time you are tempted to dismiss a magpie because it is so common or so noisy, perhaps you would do well to remember how special it is. Furthermore, there are some (like me) who think it is an unusually beautiful bird. For those who need to be convinced, take another look at that gorgeous black and white pattern, the impossibly long tail, and that vivid yellow bill. That's a terrific bird. We should be proud of it and brag about it to the rest of the world.

Volunteers turn out for new creekside planting effort

More than 70 people came to a new restoration site on the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve south of Interstate 80 on Saturday morning, Dec. 5, to plant a forest. The new 7-acre site is located on three terraces on the north bank of Putah Creek, midway between I-80 and Old Davis Road.

More than 1,200 Putah Creek natives including valley oaks, box elder, white alder, Fremont's cottonwood, coyote bush, and four varieties of willow, were planted between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. (A second day of planting also took place on Dec. 17.)

Worries about being rained out at the first planting disappeared as Ron Unger, Putah Creek Council restoration coordinator, led a circle of volunteers in envisioning a riparian forest 20, 200 and 500 years in the future.

"We are jump-starting a riparian forest," said Unger. Before the digging began, Maria Melendez led the group in a brief song. UCD Professor David Robertson was the official event photographer. Plants were donated by the state Department of Fish and Game and the Yolo Basin Foundation, groups that completed an ambitious tree-planting in the Yolo Basin Wildlife Area earlier this fall.

Much behind the scenes organization took place before dawn on Saturday morning. Plants were organized by geographic location ­ low level by the creek, mid level on a terrace and upper level on the upper terrace. Each species was assigned to a terrace based on water availability. Assisting Unger in the planning was UCD master's student Dan Leroy who is earning his master's in ecology and is studying community-based ecological restoration.

Also instrumental in putting together the restoration celebration were Dan Tolson and Chris Marczak, UCD Reserve steward and intern, who mowed and prepared the sites between rainstorms in the wee hours of the night and morning; Andrew Fulks and Melanie Truan who helped choose the site, plan the design, and direct the planting teams; and Jeanne Wirka, Jim Davis, Petra Unger, and Katherine Jahnes, who helped with the transport of plants, refreshments, and other preparations.

Professor Peter Moyle of UCD and his wife, Marilyn, among many others, also pitched in to help. Moyle said the Putah Creek channel volunteers were working on was created by Chinese laborers in the 1870s to keep the town of Davis and surrounding agricultural areas from flooding. More recently, an off-road vehicle group used the land but in 1984 UCD created the riparian reserve.

"Before the University of California protected this land, it was abused," said Joe Krovoza, PCC co-chair. "With the university now owning it as a preserve, it's a marvelous opportunity to bring it back and Putah Creek Council is delighted to assist with this restoration project's design and planting," he added.

Treats were provided by Konditorei bakery plus the Davis Food Co-op, Safeway, and Longs.

The Council is looking for organizers and community groups to adopt additional project areas along the creek. Interested individuals and organizations should contact Unger at (530) 756-8611 or Leroy (530) 297-5023.

Second annual Keeper Awards go to 8 who care

Those who made a difference in key fields are honored

This year, the Putah Creek Keeper Awards were presented to: former Rep. Vic Fazio, D-West Sacramento, Yolo County Supervisor Lois Wolk, Ginny and Tom Cahill, Stephanie and Tom Tombrello, Professor David Robertson, and Michael Marchetti. Congratulations to you all.

The award presentations were made at the Putah Creek Council annual meeting on Dec. 2, 1998, at UC Davis. More than 70 people came out to support the Council and several of those in attendance were the surprised recipients of the second annual Putah Creek Keeper Awards.

Two awards in each of three categories were made. Fazio and Wolk received awards in the community category.

The awards for land stewardship went to a very surprised Cahill and his wife, Ginny, and the Tombrellos.

In the science and letters category, awards went to Robertson and a surprised graduate student, Marchetti.

Wolk received a community award presented by Robin Kulakow, Council treasurer, for Wolk's staunch support of the creek while she served on the Davis City Council for the past eight years. Her commitment was cited as a crucial factor in sustaining the City of Davis presence in litigation before the Sacramento Superior Court and the Third District Court of Appeal over creek flows.

Wolk shared the award with Fazio, the congressman who has been an essential participant in the decade-old dialogue on appropriate protections for Putah Creek's natural resources. Bill Julian said Fazio represented all sides of the dispute in Congress and was responsible for the budget of the federal Bureau of Reclamation (owner of the Solano Project) as he worked tirelessly for an inclusive, constructive resolution to difficult conflicts between public trust resources and consumptive water use, downstream and off-stream water users, fish and wildlife needs, and development.

"Never shrinking from controversy," Julian said, "(Fazio) was available at every critical juncture with resources, advice, and a can-do spirit of promoting dialogue, cooperation and compromise."

Val Dolcini accepted the award on behalf of Fazio, who has retired from office. "Vic reminded me that this award bookends his career, for when he was a member of the Assembly he worked on the Suisun Marsh Preservation Act and 25 years later he was present at the dedication last fall of the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area."

The first recipients of the Putah Creek Keeper Award (1997) in the community division were the founding board of the Council (Susan Sanders, Robin Kulakow and Steve Chainey), and William Schnathorst of the Davis Flyfishers.

The Cahills and the Tombrellos were given an award in the land stewardship category. The two families jointly bought approximately 520 acres of land along Putah Creek between the Putah Diversion Dam and Monticello Dam in 1989. This property runs along the creek and then climbs up the ridge to about 1,100 feet in elevation.

Their ownership was been important, according to presenter David Robertson, because they have done nothing to it. They have discontinued grazing on the land, a policy they hope will restore native grasses and foster blue oak seedlings. In essence, they have let the property become a nature preserve.

"We have been given a slice of time to take care of the land," said Cahill as he accepted the award. "Thank you for teaching us about it."

Last year, the award in this category was made to Valerie Whitworth and the Dry Creek Citizens Group of Winters.

Robertson and Marchetti were winners in the science and letters category.

"Professor David Robertson has advanced the cause of Putah Creek in many powerful ways," said Rob Thayer as he gave the award. "As leader of the Putah-Cache Bioregion Group at UC Davis, his enthusiasm, social skill, and expertise have fostered over five years of productive work by the group, which is now recognized on and off campus as one of the most successful cross-disciplinary efforts ever mounted by UC Davis. This, in turn, has led to an enormous increase in awareness of the creek on the part of students, faculty, staff, the university community, Davis residents, and inhabitants of the entire region.

"Robertson's Artists and Writers in Bioregional Residence program is the first of its kind in the country, and has pleasantly and constructively dissolved false categorical boundaries of awareness about the creek, placing artists and photographers shoulder-to-shoulder with scientists, planners, and managers. Due to Robertson's leadership, many people now view the creek not just as a water rights problem, or an endangered habitat, but as a complete place meaningfully anchoring their lives.

"Additionally, Robertson's exceptionally creative photographs interpreting the cultural and natural dimensions of Putah Creek are now being shown in art galleries nationwide, and a book of his photography and writing about the creek will go to press soon," said Thayer. The first recipient of this award last year was UCD Professor Peter Moyle.

It was Moyle who presented Marchetti, who his completing his doctoral studies at UCD, with the award, saying: "I've gotten credit for all the work Michael's been doing."

Moyle added: "Michael has played a central and crucial role in developing the scientific basis for improved instream flows to protect Putah Creek fish.

"He was one of the principal developers of the Native Species Recovery Plan for Lower Putah Creek, California (1996).

This plan was the blueprint upon which the City of Davis, Putah Creek Council, and the University of California based their legal arguments at the Putah Creek water rights trial of 1996.

"Since the trial, he has continued to refine our knowledge of the needs of Putah Creek's native and non-native fish.

"His studies have looked closely at the role of water temperature, habitat types, pooling, and flow levels on different Putah Creek fish communities," concluded Moyle.

The surprised Marchetti was rendered nearly speechless as he accepted the award.

"Thank you," he said.

Bioragional Club teaches students to live in place

The Bioregional Club at UC Davis welcomes students to "live in place" by becoming aware of the unique natural and cultural qualities that define the region in which we live.

Students often feel transient or dispossessed while living and studying at Davis when far from the familiar surroundings of their home area.

The Bioregional Club was created as a medium to express the natural and cultural qualities and opportunities available within this area. The club was created last spring by a few students meeting at the Davis Farmers' Market who shared a bioregional writing class earlier that year. The club is now recognized by the university and includes students from a broad field of interests. From art majors to biochemists, first-year students to graduate students, the club's interests in the diversity of the local watersheds offer a common ground for the campus population.

The club has been meeting on the UC Davis campus at the Experimental College library (second floor of the South Silo) from 5 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.

The group also has met at the Davis Farmers' Market. It announces its presence by hanging a banner at the oak tree at the north end of the market. For information phone Aaron at 754-1425 or Nate at 754-1418. Students are encouraged to learn more about the Putah and Cache Creek watersheds, which give life to our region, by becoming aware of the native flora and fauna, fungi, land forms, climate, and the natural and cultural history of the area.

Club activities include discussions relating to bioregional theory and practice, weekly hikes in the bioregion, group projects, student outreach, and artistic exploration. The club also is actively pursuing restoration and preservation possibilities. Members are eager to learn and share their enthusiasm with other students and members of the community. The club welcomes inquiries about its activities.

Don't just live, re-inhabit!

putahcreek.cjb.net.

Visit our Web page at putahcreek.cjb.net. The site includes a virtual tour of the creek, back copies of the PCC newsletter, a calendar of events, and information on the Council. Thanks to Andrew Fulks for designing and maintaining the site and to Jones & Stokes Associates for donating server space. If you have any contributions or suggestions regarding the site's content, write Alice McKee at alicem@jsanet.com. If you have any technical questions or suggestions, contact Andrew Fulks at andrew@jsanet.com.

putah@dcn.davis.ca.us

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.

Checkdam removed to give fish access to creek

Already several pairs of spawning salmon have been spotted

The temporary boards of a checkdam on lower Putah Creek within the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area were removed in mid-November to aid the migration of fish into Putah Creek, including fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

A timely and educational article about the removal of the checkdam and a photograph of Dave Feliz, the new area manager for the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, appeared in the Nov. 20, 1998 edition of The Davis Enterprise. And already this season observers are seeing evidence of anadromous fish on Putah Creek. (Anadromous fish are those who run from salt water to fresh water or up rivers to spawn.)

On Nov. 8, 1998, Professor Peter Moyle of UC Davis and his brother-in-law viewed two salmon during a canoe trip between Stevenson Road and campus. Then on Dec. 5, 1998, another pair of salmon was seen approximately one mile upstream of Stevenson Road by Joe and Ann von Kugelgen. Ann and Marilyn Whitney returned to the site on Dec. 7 to further document salmon at this sight. They obtained video footage.

The anadromous fish not to be forgotten are the steelhead trout, says Joe Krovoza, co-chair of the Putah Creek Council.

Their presence during high flows (when the water is not clear ) makes them tough to document. But this year the Council is teaming up with the Davis Flyfishers to document these fish in Putah Creek. The historic evidence of steelhead in Putah Creek is strong. Anglers in Winters have reported catching steelhead for years. Last year one Winters resident reported a catch of five.

"This year we will follow set protocols to ensure that the evidence of steelhead cannot be denied," said Krovoza.

The fish that pass the removed checkdam will have traveled a clear path to Putah Creek. The salmon can travel through the Delta and into sloughs to the Yolo Bypass toe drain. Putah Creek connects with this toe drain on the east side of the Yolo Bypass via a channel across the bypass.

Alternatively, when the Yolo Bypass is flooded, ocean-run anadromous fish may travel from the Delta directly up the Yolo Bypass to Putah Creek. Pacific lamprey, steelhead trout and fall-run Chinook salmon are the main fish that use these hydrologic connections to reach Putah Creek.

The checkdam is used to assist with seasonal farming in and adjacent to the Yolo Bypass. It is also used to flood the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area's wetlands managed by the state Department of Fish & Game.

Every fall, once irrigation for farming is completed and the wetlands have been flooded, the checkdam can be removed. The Council and Yolo Basin Foundation have worked closely with farmers and with Fish & Game to ensure that the dam is removed early enough to provide clear passage for the salmon.

The evidence of anadromous fish in Putah Creek has convinced Putah Creek Council to work cooperatively with others to ensure that barriers to migratory fish passage in Putah Creek are removed during times when the fish may choose to run up the creek.

"We greatly appreciate DFG and the farmers understanding the needs of Putah Creek's anadromous fish and operating the Yolo Basin checkdam to meet the needs of the farms, wetland birds and fish," Krovoza said.

The boards of the checkdam will be replaced in the spring in a way that won't impede the out-migration of young fish.

Those who do see salmon or steelhead trout should contact Peter Moyle, professor of wildlife, fisheries and conservation biology at UC Davis, at (530) 752-6355 or by e-mail at pbmoyle@ucdavis.edu .

Recent evidence has mounted that the salmon and steelhead that were historically present in Putah Creek before construction of the Monticello Dam at Lake Berryessa have persisted or are now returning. During the Putah Creek water rights trial of 1996, evidence was presented by a number of individuals concerning steelhead trout in Putah Creek. On Nov. 30, 1998, UCD graduate student Michael Marchetti gave a talk at the university on "The Fishes of Putah Creek" that summarized his years of work in this area. He was honored for his work on the creek with a 1998 Putah Creek Keeper Award.

Bogey's Books is the scene of three eco-readings

They were: poet Norm Schaefer of Davis, UC Davis English Professor David Robertson and a recent UCD graduate, Amy Boyer.

Mark Nemmers, Bogey's Books owner, donated a portion of the proceeds from the evening's sales to Putah Creek Council.

He also agreed to sell PCC T-shirts out of his store, so be sure to stop in Bogey's if you need a T-shirt.

Nemmers said about 45 people attended the reading in December. He is already planning more eco-readings in the future. Thank you for everything, Mark!

Robertson, who was introduced as one of this year's Putah Creek Keeper Award winners, is currently writing a book on the creek called "A Narrow Way to Nearby," about a journey from the mouth of Putah Creek in Yolo Bypass to its headwaters on Cobb Mountain.

Along the way he divides the creek into 11 sections, such as "Campus Reach" and the "Glory Hole," and for each section there are two or so pages of prose and a photograph.

Schaefer, who was raised in the Pacfic Northwest, is a UCD graduate who works in Davis as a manual laborer. He is an avid hiker and mountain climber who has written two books of poems, "Ten Thousand Crows," and "Yoloy." These two chapbooks, on sale at Bogey's, were written after several years of walking the Lower Putah Creek watershed.

Boyer, who recently earned her master's degree in creative writing at UCD, is working on a novel set in the Putah-Cache watershed.

She was raised on Virginia's Eastern Shore, earned a bachelor's degree in math at Oberlin College, and taught English in Japan for two years. She now lives in the West Plainfield flood plain.

She read an essay about mushroom hunting on the shores of Lake Berryessa.

Thank you to these three excellent readers/writers for such an enjoyable evening.

Lots of animal stories are told at Council's annual meeting

Some tall tales and fish stories were told on Dec. 2, 1998, at the annual meeting of Putah Creek Council. For the past 10 years, the Council has supported efforts to clean up the creek, increase water flows, and educate people to the existence of this homegrown bioregion.

Efforts are paying off. More people are paying more attention to the creek, and as a result they are seeing more wild critters or what a few wildlife academics jokingly call "charismatic megafauna."

Tales about black bears, playful otters, howling coyotes, clever birds, spawning salmon and elusive mountain lions were told.

Graduate student Melanie Truan described the sighting of a 200-pound black bear by four colleagues who were canoeing down Putah Creek on May 20 of this year. The bear swam away, but Truan went out to the scene hoping to make a plaster cast of a bear track.

"To my great luck and delight I found tracks in the mud and made a cast," she said, passing the cast around the room in the Alumni and Visitors' Center on the UCD campus.

Marilyn Whitney described finding five salmon in the creek close to her home about a year ago. She made a video of the spawning female and reported that Professor Peter Moyle has already seen at least one salmon so far this year.

"Putah Creek is a highway," added Ron Cole, curator of the wildlife museum on the UCD campus, as he told his story. While salmon travel up the highway, other animals including mountain lions come down.

"Mountain lions probably use the Putah Creek highway more than we know," said Cole, "but I don't want to create the impression that they are dangerous. They are cautious, secretive, and extremely fearful of us. The opportunity to see a mountain lion is one of the greatest and rarest thrills a person could have," he added.

Cole thinks he saw a mountain lion once. That's one sighting in 40 years.

"But I know they're there. And they know we're here."

Other speakers talked about seeing otters in the creek, seeing a bear in Cold Canyon, hearing a band of coyotes howl in the middle of the night, and hearing mountain lions scream. One man reported seeing mountain lions in this area four times over the years. Manfred Kusch, creekside resident, spoke of his special interest in birds and passed around a tiny hummingbird nest made of spider webs and cottonwood and an ingenious oriole nest, affixed to the bottom of a palm frond and sewn in place, which he collected on his property.

"Last year for the first time a wild turkey showed up," said Kusch.

Calendar of Events

Tuesday, Jan. 12: "Flyway Nights" is the name of a speaker series taking place the second Tuesday of the month at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. On Jan. 12, wildlife photographer David Rosen will present a slide show of his work featuring the Wildlife Area and beyond. Come and learn a few tips for improving your own photographic skills. He will speak at 7 p.m., Wildlife Area headquarters, 45211 Chiles Road in Davis. For information phone (530) 758-1018.

Tuesday, Feb. 9: "Flyway Nights" continues tonight. The topic was not known at press time, but whatever the topic and whomever the speaker, it will be of interest! Come to the Wildlife Area headquarters, 45211 Chiles Road, Davis, at 7 p.m. For information phone (530) 758-1018.

Friday, Feb. 12: California Duck Days begin at the Veterans' Memorial Center, 203 E. 14th St. in Davis and run all weekend. One-day registration is $15 and a weekend pass good for all events is $25. Field trips, workshops, demonstrations and more will be offered. Phone (530) 758-1286 for a registration form or visit the website at www.yolobasin.org/duckdays1.htm . Stop by to see us at the Putah Creek Council booth in the Exhibit Hall.

Become a member of the Putah Creek Council today! Join the effort to protect and restore a unique local resource.

The Putah Creek Council Steering Committee (italics indicate board members): Robert Canning, Steve Chainey , Ann Dyer-Bennett, Andrew Fulks, Joyce Gutstein, Barbara Kendrick (Secretary), Joe Krovoza (Co-chair) , Robin Kulakow (Treasurer) , Manfred Kusch , Alice McKee (Co-chair, Education) , Tanya Meyer, Dennis Pendleton, David Robertson, Elisabeth Sherwin (Editor), Rob Thayer, Ron Unger (Restoration) .

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