Northern Sierra | California Trout, Inc.

Truckee Snapshot Day Scheduled for May 11, Website Live Now

March 30, 2012 Leave a Comment

Snapshot Day is one of the brilliant little ideas; it puts volunteers on the water to take “snapshot” of the Truckee watershed — it’s health (or lack of it) at one moment in time.

Because you’re nothing if you’re not on the Internet, here’s the Snapshot Day website — which includes a place where you can sign up, assuming you’re not a commitmentphobe.

Snap Shot Day website (click image to visit)

From their shiny new website, an explanation:

the 12th Annual Snapshot Day is the one-day volunteer based annual event that takes a picture of 1 moment in time of our watershed: the greater Truckee River. Volunteer monitoring teams will go out to various monitoring sites to perform a stream walk (visual assessment), collect field data, grab samples and take photos. Streams will be field tested for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, and temperature. Water samples will be taken back to central meeting locations and measured for turbidity, nutrients and fecal coliform bacteria. All necessary equipment will be provided.

When and Where:
Reno/Lower Truckee River
Friday, May 11th , 9am – 12pm

South Lake Tahoe, North Lake Tahoe, Middle Truckee River
Saturday, May 12th, 9am – 12pm

See How We’re Helping Protect Lahontan Cutthroats in Independence Lake

November 4, 2011 Leave a Comment

It’s Friday, so take a minute to watch this great short film with our partners at the Nature Conservancy that highlights our work at Independence Lake.

Watch Explore Independence Lake on PBS. See more from Rob on the Road.

This pristine lake in the Northern Sierra is home to one of the only two remaining lacustrine wild populations of Lahontan cutthroat trout left in the world.

Filed Under: Imperiled Native Trout, Northern Sierra Tagged With: independence lake, lahontan cutthroat trout

Juvenile Quagga Mussels Found In Nevada Lakes

August 3, 2011 Leave a Comment

Juvenile Quagga Mussels have been detected in Nevada lakes located only an hour from Lake Tahoe, and while the immediate threat to other lakes isn’t entirely clear, the danger seems real (via the Reno Gazette):

Juvenile mussels are present in Lahontan Reservoir while Rye Patch Reservoir remains “suspect” for their presence, a new round of tests indicates.

There is no evidence adult mussels are thriving or reproducing in either water body but the danger of that possibility must be taken into account as boating activity is managed across the region, officials said.

The juvenile Quagga mussels in question are small enough to avoid detection by the naked eye, and in fact, a recently released Colorado State University report details the difficulty (click here to read the .pdf for yourself):

Unfortunately for boaters and boat inspectors, dreissenid mussels are microscopic during their larval, planktonic life stage. Dreissenid mussels at this stage of development are called veligers, and typically range in size from 50 to 400 μm (Ackerman et al. 1994). At this size, they are nearly invisible to the naked eye, and unlikely to be detected during a boat inspection. Very small spaces containing a small amount of water could also contain veligers and potentially facilitate colonization of new waters, if the veligers survive the pre-launch period.

Inspections might prove useful for some invasives, but for others, it’s clear that angler and boater education — and the development of clear-cut disinfection procedures — are needed to manage invasives across multiple bodies of water.

Filed Under: Invasive Species, Northern Sierra Tagged With: Lahontan Lake, quagga mussels

CalTrout Looking For Volunteers for Lake Tahoe Invasives Project

August 3, 2011 Leave a Comment

CalTrout is looking for volunteers to help with a warm water invasive fish control project in Lake Tahoe.

If you are interested in donating a day of your time to this project during the week of Aug 15-18 — or for more information — call our Northern Sierra office at 530-541-3495.

Filed Under: Northern Sierra Tagged With: invasive species

Attention Northern Sierra Streamkeepers

July 20, 2011 Leave a Comment

CalTrout is planning a citizen stream monitoring event for this Saturday, July 23rd from 9am-12pm.

It’s great fun for a good cause. Want to participate? Contact tcurrier@caltrout.org for a team/site assignment.

Filed Under: Northern Sierra

Summer Monitoring Programs in Tahoe

June 28, 2011 1 Comment

CalTrout’s Northern Sierra office is participating in a number of monitoring and improvement programs in the Lake Tahoe area, including:

Truckee River

CalTrout — in partnership with the US Forest Service — is performing a pre-restoration baseline fisheries assessment of the Upper Truckee River, the largest tributary to Lake Tahoe and home to Lahontan cutthroat trout.

We’re also leading a team with UN Reno, UC Davis, and Trout Unlimited to compliment our upper river assessment with a fine scale study of the lower river.

The predictive model we develop will hopefully guide reintroduction of Lahontan cutthroat trout into the lower watershed — as will the Meadow Restoration Fisheries Analysis Tool (MRFAT) we developed in conjunction with our partner groups. Our goal is to bring a greater focus on fish to the six restoration projects planned for the Truckee River (most of this work was made possible by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and the Resource Legacy Fund).

West Carson River

CalTrout is partnering with the Alpine Watershed Group, American Rivers, and the Department of Fish & Game to install gauge stations along the West Carson River. Eventually, we hope to improve the v-weir at the headwaters in Red Lake/Creek.

Lake Tahoe Invasives

Finally, our Northern Sierra team has partnered with UNReno, Tahoe RCD, and Department of Fish & Game to perform a two year warm water invasive fish control project along the nearshore of Lake Tahoe and stock replacement Lahontan cutthroat trout into Emerald Bay and the Tahoe Keys while examining their depletion rates and relationship to the existing food web.

If you would like to get involved in any of these monitoring and/or restoration projects, contact Jenny Hatch, Regional Manager, at 530-541-3495 or via email at jhatch@caltrout.org

Filed Under: Imperiled Native Trout, Northern Sierra Tagged With: lahontan cutthroat trout, upper truckee river, west carson river

CalTrout Teaches Boatload of Schoolkids About Invasive Species

May 16, 2011 Leave a Comment

CalTrout/Americorp Member Taylor Currier helped a boatload (literally) of Tahoe schoolkids understand the impacts of nonnative species on Tahoe’s native fish populations. From the Tahoe Daily Tribune:

“When they weren’t racing around the Dixie’s three decks or staring down into the blue through the glass bottom, the students shuffled through workshops on water conservation, wildlife and forest management taught by representatives from ten different agencies.
I think it’s great that they’re out on the lake or out in nature,” said Taylor Currier, a California Trout Americorp member, who was teaching the kids about aquatic invasive species. “I think these are the memories that stick with kids.”

Filed Under: Northern Sierra Tagged With: invasive species, lake tahoe, taylor currier

CalTrout Launches Fisheries Coalition For The Truckee Watershed

April 13, 2011 4 Comments

California Trout has helped launch the Fisheries Coalition for the Truckee River Watershed, bringing together a diverse set of stakeholders (federal, state and regional agencies, conservation organizations, community groups, restoration practitioners, researchers, and other experts) in order to provide much-needed holistic perspective on the Truckee’s fisheries management.

Twenty-two organizations attended the first meeting, and quarterly meetings are planned.

This coalition allows us to take a more strategic approach to partner projects and helps us coordinate restoration efforts — all of which should lead to increased conservation impact.

Want to learn more? Download the Tahoe-Truckee Fisheries Coalition flyer.

Filed Under: Imperiled Native Trout, Northern Sierra Tagged With: truckee fisheries coalition, truckee watershed

Lake Tahoe Native Fish Populations Down (Internet Radio Broadcast)

April 2, 2011 Leave a Comment

Lake Tahoe’s native fish populations are in decline, and this Capital Public Radio broadcoast talks to researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno about why it’s happening (excerpt):

In fifty-eight percent of sample locations, there were fewer native fish than in years past. Sudeep Chandra with the University of Nevada, Reno’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment, says even though lake clarity has stabilized in the deep water, reduced clarity may be having an effect on the fish closer to shore.

To hear the broadcast, click here.

(click the image to hear the radio broadcast online)

Filed Under: Imperiled Native Trout, News, Northern Sierra Tagged With: lake tahoe, lake tahoe native species, university of nevada reno