MINUTES  

9:00 AM

Coordinator/Facilitator:  Jeannie Habben

1.       Introduction

2.         Mission Statement

   Read by Sharon W.            

3.         Review of Minutes/Agenda

Addition to the Agenda: Steve H requested that “Little Dry Creek Watershed Stewardship      Program” be added to the Project Update section.           

4.         Updates, Handouts & Extra Information for Committee

        Jeannie H shared with the group an article from the December 7, Fresno Bee titled “Experts: Thinner forests produce more runoff”  This is in regards to the University of California at Merced starting a study where they state they state that through there tests they could show the water supply in California could increase by nearly 10%if we just thin out overgrown forests in the 25 million acres of Sierra Nevada.

          Anne L reported that Fuel treatments in Sugar Pine started this summer; they are currently running out of funds to complete the project; they may need to close one of their sites. She shared the flyer on “Socks Needed” for the project.  All will get the word out and Jeannie H will send it out to all of the related list-serves.

        Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - Denise reported the historic belief has changed – it impacts where the money goes and how the applications are ranked because the funds are now in a cluster from Merced to Kern. NRCS is no longer considering local impact/input for EQIP.

5.         Water Quality/Illegal Pot Farms

   Andy Gordus, CA Department of Fish and Game

                        Andy G gave a very informative and detailed presentation of the water quality situation in  the foothills. His Water Quality topics were:

             Salts   - Sources

        Water Transfers

       Ground Water Pumping

         Irrigation

        Tile Drainage

        Waste Water Treatment Plants

          Confined Animal Facilities

          Heavy Metals  and Trace Elements

        Mercury

          Silver

          Copper

         Selenium

         Arsenic

         Uranium

         Boron  

          Nutrient Loading - Sources

          Waste Treatment Plants

          Septic Systems

        Rangeland

          Confined Animal Facilities

          Pesticides  - Primary Sources

          Urban –

          Households

         Agriculture

          Pot Farms

          New and Emerging Issues

          Temperatures

          Too warm for anadromous Fish

        Pyrethrins

        Drugs/Hormones Endocrine Disruptors

         Trace levels impacting aquatic life 

6.       Project Updates 

      CA Water Plan 2013 – Steve Haze

There has been a Ground Water Caucus Meeting held in Sacramento.  There are going to be San Joaquin Hydrologic forum meetings coming up:Please join us for discussions on water management issues in the San Joaquin River Hydrologic Region. The Department of Water Resources and local partners will sponsor two events on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 in support of local Integrated Water Management efforts.A Regional Forum will be held in the morning (from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) to gather and share information relating to the California Water Plan, the ACWA Groundwater Program, and the DWR Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) program. The agenda includes collecting feedback on local priorities that will help inform statewide investments.  The afternoon will feature a workshop (from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.) on planning for an uncertain future. This workshop will describe an analytical framework to evaluate the performance of regional resource management strategies under alternative future scenarios. Input will be sought on local priorities and policies that inform the modeling assumptions. Both the workshop and Forum will involve in-person meeting locations throughout the San Joaquin River Region including: Los Banos - San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Authority, 541 H Street; Merced (proposed - to be determined), Modesto - Stanislaus County Ag Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way; Oakhurst - Yosemite Gateway Association of Realtors Office, 40298 Junction Drive; Sacramento - Center for Collaborative Policy, 815 S Street, First Floor; and Stockton - San Joaquin County Ag Center, Mokelumne Room, 2101 Earhart Avenue. Webinar options are also available. The agendas, webinar links, and conference call numbers are listed online for both sessions at: www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/calendar/calendar.cfm.  

      Chowchilla/Fresno Rivers Watershed – Jeannie Habben

They are completing their Arundo Project funded by NRCS and will have all of the Arundo in the Madera County valley waterways mapped and recorded along with an Arundo Plan written. The RCD hired Brittany D as a part-time assistant Watershed Coordinator beginning on December 1, 2011.  

        Coarsegold Resource Conservation District – Tom Wheeler

Their main project they are moving into is the Willow Creek Meadows Restoration project with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.  It was reported that field reconnaissance was completed on the project. Board members met with the Forest Service about the project and a MOU is being developed. The next step is to hire a consultant to complete the CRCD responsibilities. 

       Little Dry Creek Watershed Stewardship Program – Steve Haze

They will be receiving funds through a private foundation to tack on additional work to the SRCD Ground Water Study. They will be establishing 5 water monitoring sites – headwaters to the confluence. They have adopted the Ball Ranch to work on. They will also be applying for Prop 84 funds (Storm Water Grant) to complete biological assessment of the LDC.      

     Madera Region Regional Water Management Group – Jeannie Habben

The RFP has gone out to receive proposals to write the Planning Grant to receive funds to update the IRWM Plan for the Madera Region.  Once a group is chosen for the grant writer the hope is that the same group will be qualified to update the plan and the contract would then be signed to complete the whole project. The next meeting is on Monday, December 12, 2011 at the Madera Irrigation District Office. 

        Madera County Water Advisory Commission – Jim Watkins

They did not meet in November or December will attempt to reconvene in January. 

       Sierra Resource Conservation District Community Groundwater Project – Steve Haze

Project is due to wrap up February 15, 2012. The Lyles College grad students made a presentation of their results of the Water Quality & Quality. 

       Southern Sierra Integrated Regional Water Management Plan –

This group has received their facilitator from CCP – Dorian – and has been able to utilize him earlier than planned from funds provided by SNC. They are currently working on their application for the next round of DWR IRWM Planning Grants. 

       Sustainable Forests and Communities Collaborative – Elissa Brown

The group met at the annual Strategic Planning Meeting on December 1. In this session, the group identified the key role the SFCC is playing in terms of communication and coordination between a wide variety of more specialized collaborative groups in the area, as well as the challenges we are facing as our members continue to have increased workloads and demands on their time. The bulk of the time was spent identifying gaps in our region that are not being fulfilled by other collaborative efforts, and if and how the SFCC can help meet those needs and maximize the effectiveness of everyone’s efforts without creating competition for time and resources in our area.  

        Upper Merced River Watershed – Connie Nielson

They had their water quality monitoring training in November by Dr. Adam Burns.  He gave his Seven Deadly Sins of Water Quality Monitoring presentation.

       Yosemite/Mariposa IRWM Regional Water Management Group – Elissa Brown

                        Elissa B is the grant writer for the Planning Grant. From their they are currently releasing  their RFP for the contractor/firm to write the actual plan. They are under the same deadline restraints as all of the IRWM groups.  

       Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation & Development – Steve Haze

They have completed the printing of the revised version of “Welcome to the Foothills” for all four counties. They printed 10,000 for each county. (Madera, Fresno, Mariposa, & Tulare) The C.A.R.E. video is finished. (California Amer-asian Recreation Education) It will be taped in Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Hmong with English subtitles.

The Ag Nature Tourism classes have been completed and were successful.  They received the next round of funding for the Chipper 2 project and the Tribal Liaison 3.  

7.      Pending Grants & Grant Proposals

      No comment 

8.      Legislative/Regulatory Updates

            No Comment

9.    Adjourn

          Next Meeting: January 25, 2012; 9:00 am to 12:00 noon

                           Sierra Ambulance Conference Room

40755 Winding Way
Oakhurst, CA 93644-9439