Little river at center of big debate

It's mostly hard to get to, and even where it isn't, you could miss it if you blink while driving along the roads in the Tahoe Basin. The Upper Truckee River, however is very special to some people. Relatively small groups of avid fishermen, hikers, horseback riders and even deer hunters know the Upper Truckee, and some of them want to keep it pretty much as it is.

Trout Unlimited and California Trout are the prime movers seeking to secure a "Wild and Scenic River" designation for a portion of the Upper Truckee. And toward that end, representatives from the two organizations appealed to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors Tuesday to back their effort.

Dave Lass, Northern California field director of Trout Unlimited and Jenny Hatch, Northern Sierra regional program manager of California Trout, described their project as a "sportsman-led campaign." Norma Santiago, supervisor for the Tahoe area called them and their supporters, "very grass roots people."

Santiago had initiated Tuesday's presentation and early on recommended that her colleagues adopt a resolution in support of the Wild and Scenic River classification. That recommendation later changed to a "wait and see," pending more information and another presentation in September.

The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act took effect in October of 1968 and has been amended nearly a dozen times since then, most recently in 1996, according to the Federal Wildlife Laws Handbook. In short, the act "establishes a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System for the protection of rivers with important scenic, recreational, fish and wildlife, and other values."

The law also prescribes the necessary attributes or conditions that must exist for a particular river and its environment to be considered eligible for the designation. A river or section of a river must be "free-flowing in natural conditions without impoundment, diversion... or other modification of the waterway." In addition, the "related adjacent land must possess scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values."

While "scenic" may be in the eyes of the beholder and cultural or historical significance can be debated, the Upper Truckee watershed is home to the native Lahontan cutthroat trout and is an important summer feeding ground for herds of California mule deer.

Lass and Hatch brought more enthusiasm than hard data, and the board was quick to question several aspects of the federal act, especially its impact on private property rights, agriculture and livestock production. And although they assured that the act, covering 32 miles of river and tributaries, would not hamper fire protection or property rights and would bring significant revenue to the region, Supervisors John Knight and Ray Nutting, in particular, fretted about potential U.S. involvement.

"I'm suspicious of the cancer-causing entity known as the federal government," Knight diagnosed, while Nutting knocked Washington for having eliminated "lots of interest groups that are no longer there." He was referring to mining, logging and other extractive activities as well as ranching and grazing.

County Farm Bureau Director Valerie Zentner and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laurel Brent-Bumb urged the board to beware of "unintended consequences" with respect to potential future restrictions on logging, grazing or other agricultural pursuits.

"Federal legislation scares me," Brent-Bumb said, adding "the devil is in the details."

Hatch emphasized that the real value of the designation would come from increased federal resources to protect and conserve the area.

"Data is showing us that use will only increase and more resources will help to manage the area, to enhance and protect what's there now," she noted.

Lass added that a management plan required by the act "will mitigate the effects of increased user population," and he suggested that the area would have greater appeal to fishermen, hunters and equestrians. Increased numbers of visitors would generate revenue for lodging, food and supplies and create jobs in the Tahoe Basin and on the Western Slope, Lass said.

Nutting, with  palpable irony challenged Lass. In effect, Nutting wondered how protecting and conserving a natural, pristine environment would be accomplished by a plan that would draw more users to it.

"You testify that it will bring in lots more people. You want to attract more people and their impact that could double or triple the population? How does that help the fish?" Nutting asked.

Later he cautioned Lass to "be careful what you wish for."

Congressman Tom McClintock sent his field representative, Ross Branch, who explained that McClintock is "staying neutral at this point," but "on a philosophical level, the congressman is very concerned about public access to public lands."

Lass and Hatch said they had contacted many residents who could conceivably be affected by the act and reported that for the most part people were supportive of the project. And although Lass noted that bull ozers would not be permitted in the designated region, there would be no restrictions on other use or other access.

Hatch said motor bikes, for instance would not be restricted, and camping would remain open and unrestricted.

Supervisor Jack Sweeney gave a historical verbal tour of the area, saying he had ridden horseback throughout the terrain and has known local ranchers who had grazed their cattle all over the region for years, long before the Forest Service took over much of the land. And he opined that cattle are good for the riparian and meadow environments because they eat the brush that would otherwise flourish and hinder access to the rivers and streams. He also stated that he was not familiar enough with the act to make a decision at this time and that he would like to see both the law and a preliminary plan.

Lass, however, explained that a management plan would follow the designation as an integral piece of the project rather than precede it.

Of ranching in general, Sweeney said, "the Forest Service has had a ferocious campaign to remove grazing cattle from the county." Sweeney also brought up the issue of developed cabins and homesites that front on the river's tributary system and asked how those property owners might be impacted by the act.

Lass answered that the law actually subdivides into three separate and distinct designations — Wild, Scenic and Recreation — and that many different values are thus addressed. The "Wild" element manages all the others and is the most comprehensive, he said. With respect to cabins or other habitations, he explained that the "Recreation" feature of the act addresses resident concerns, allowing traditional activities to occur without restriction.

The act would govern the land about a quarter-mile in each direction from the center point of the river, Hatch explained, but that it should not be seen as placing significant limits on property owners or their normal activities.

Suprvisor Ron Briggs lightened the mood briefly when he clarified that when discussing "Lahontan cutthroats, you're talking about fish and not the Lahontan Water Board."

Tahoe's Lahontan Reginal Water Quality Control Board has become the significant regulatory agency in the Tahoe Basin, taking on much of what formerly was under the purview of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. That board now sets various standards for and monitors water runoff from construction, road maintenance and other activities that potentially cause decreased water quality, particularly in Lake Tahoe.

Both Lass and Hatch stressed that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act would become a tool that the county could use to force the U.S. Forest Service to take on a much larger role in managing the lands within its jurisdiction. The resources they said would be attached to the designation would cover the lack of funding that historically has hampered the Forest Service.

Supervisors, however, were clearly skeptical.

Sweeney quipped that the county has tried for years to "make the Forest Service do what we want, but it hasn't worked yet."

Tom Celio, the owner of the Celio Ranch, which is located within the drainage basin of the Upper Truckee River, joined the meeting late. He told the board that he had not yet spoken to Lass or Hatch and was relatively unfamiliar with the proposal. While not opposing the project, he said he had concerns and questions about how the act would affect him and his property. Celio said he had spent summers growing up on the ranch, had ridden the land extensively and was intimately familiar with the whole area.

He expressed concern for any plan that would include eliminating brook trout in favor of increasing the Lahontan cutthroat population. As to fishing he said, "I practice catch-and-release sometimes, but I also catch, fry and eat trout. I'd like to see some regard for the stream conditions such as damage by beavers to trout spawning grounds."

Celio explained that his ranch includes about one-quarter mile of river frontage and that it is fenced close to the river. "It would be a big issue to move the fence," he said.

Lass noted after the meeting that the proposal would not reach as far down into the Basin as Celio's property or other residential areas such as Christmas Valley.

Although Tom Celio is deputy director for maintenance with the county's Department of Transportation, he addressed his bosses Tuesday as a private citizen and concerned property owner.

Santiago asked Lass and Hatch to prepare to address in detail a number of  issues when they return to the board on Sept. 13. She asked for "specifics of the law, what is and what is not allowed in a Wild and Scenic designation."

The future of logging and grazing, accessibility by the public, revenue to be gained, species restoration by eliminating other species and  an overlay of the quarter-mile extension under the law were to be included, she said. She also requested an "outline of a management plan."

Cheva Heck, public affairs officer with the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, a subdivision of the U.S. Forest Service answered questions about her unit's involvement in the issue via email Wednesday.

"We don't have any Wild and Scenic rivers on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit right now, but the Forest Service in our region (Region 5) has about 14, totaling 1,093 miles. The North Fork of the American River, on the Tahoe National Forest, is one example (26 miles, designated in 1978)," Heck wrote.

"We have an environmental assessment that shows the Upper Truckee River is eligible for Wild and Scenic River status. Congressional legislation is necessary to formally designate it as a Wild and Scenic River. Because the Upper Truckee River is eligible, we already are required to manage it in a way that doesn't degrade its eligibility. Therefore, designation would not likely change how we manage the river or what recreation activities could occur.

"If formal designation were to bring any resources, it would likely be to develop a formal management plan for the river, which is a requirement of designation. The designation could potentially have some value from a marketing standpoint for the Tahoe area as a recreation destination," she concluded.

In an update Thursday, Heck pointed out that the  Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit had actually recommended the Upper Truckee for Wild and Scenic River status back in 1999.

"So that's a little stronger than just saying it's eligible. But again, it takes legislation to actually designate it" she added.

 

Chris Daley

Chris has written a weekly column for the Democrat for more than 20 years and has Master’s Degrees in Russian History, Psychology and Career Counseling. He has been a staff writer for a number of years and enjoys it because he "learns so much about so many things."

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