1. 1 Placer County Water Agency Middle Fork American River Project Terrestrial Working Group November 6, 2007 TERR 1: Vegetation Communities and Wildlife Habitats

2. 2 Study Objective and Study Area Document vegetation communities and wildlife habitats within ¼ mile of:  Existing Project facilities and features  Recreation facilities  Dispersed concentrated use areas  Potential Project betterments (new facilities, roads, and trails; staging and disposal sites; and new inundation areas)

3. 3 Study Methods Overview Developed preliminary map using existing CalVeg data Developed forest structure maps Completed pre-field verification Conducted ground-truth surveys Developed final vegetation community and forest structure maps Converted CalVeg communities to WHR habitats

4. 4 Study Methods Developed preliminary vegetation community maps using CalVeg data (USDA-FS 2000)

5. 5 Study Methods Developed forest structure maps

6. 6 Study Methods Completed pre-field verification of CalVeg data using recent aerial photography and Project video

7. 7 Study Methods Conducted ground-truth surveys on foot, by vehicle, and by helicopter

8. 8 Study Methods Ground-Truth Surveys, cont’d. Ground-truthed 20% of vegetation communities around:  Existing Project facilities and features  Recreation facilities  Dispersed concentrated use areas Ground-truthed 100% of potential Project betterments

9. 9 Results Overview CalVeg mapping is generally accurate Required global modifications to reflect  Barren versus developed areas  Areas affected by fire  Riparian vegetation Several modifications required at Middle Fork Interbay and Hell Hole areas

10. 10 Results Principal Vegetation Communities Lower Elevation Areas  Canyon Live Oak  Lower Montane Mixed Chaparral  Gray Pine  Pacific Douglas-fir and Douglas-fir–Pine Higher Elevation Areas  Upper Montane Mixed Chaparral  Mixed Conifer–Pine  Mixed Conifer–Fir  Black Oak

11. 11 Results Overview of Vegetation Communities within Study Area

12. 12 Ralston-Oxbow Area Lower montane mixed chaparral Canyon live oak Gray pine Pacific Douglas-fir

13. 13 Ralston-Oxbow Area North-facing slopesSouth-facing slopes Canyon live oak Gray pine Pacific Douglas-fir

14. 14 Middle Fork Interbay Area Canyon live oak Douglas-fir–pine Pacific Douglas-fir

15. 15 Middle Fork Interbay Area Douglas-fir ▬ pine underrepresented in several areas Misclassified Douglas-fir ▬ pine— reclassified as Pacific Douglas-fir

16. 16 Middle Fork Interbay Area Several acres misclassified as barren by CalVeg— reclassified as annual grassland

17. 17 Long Canyon Area Mixed conifer–pine

18. 18 Long Canyon Area Representative mixed conifer ▬ pine forests near North and South Fork Long Canyon diversions

19. 19 Duncan Creek Area Mixed conifer–pine

20. 20 Duncan Creek Area Mixed conifer ▬ pine forests affected by the Star Fire Small stands remain within ¼ mile of diversion

21. 21 French Meadows Area Mixed conifer–fir Mixed conifer–pine

22. 22 French Meadows Area South shore: Representative mixed conifer ▬ fir forest North shore: Mixed conifer ▬ fir and ▬ pine forests affected by the Star Fire

23. 23 Hell Hole Area Mixed conifer–fir Mixed conifer–pine Black oak Canyon live oak Upper montane mixed chaparral

24. 24 Hell Hole Area Black oak overrepresented by CalVeg Canyon live oak underrepresented by CalVeg

25. 25 Potential Project Betterments Ralston Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade French Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase

26. 26 Potential Project Betterments Ralston Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade Upgrades in existing powerhouse Construction and staging area on developed land

27. 27 Potential Project Betterments French Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade Located primarily adjacent to existing Project facilities (developed areas)

28. 28 Potential Project Betterments French Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade

29. 29 Potential Project Betterments French Meadows Powerhouse Capacity Upgrade Proposed work at:  Forest Road 14N09A and Construction and Staging Work Area  French Meadows-Hell Hole Tunnel Surge Shaft or Pipeline Road, Construction Staging Area, and Work Area Potential disturbance of:  Black oak  Mixed conifer-pine

30. 30 Potential Project Betterments Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase Located primarily adjacent to existing Project facilities (developed areas) Hell Hole Dam South Fork Long Canyon French Meadows Powerhouse

31. 31 Potential Project Betterments Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase Increased water surface elevation and reservoir inundation area

32. 32 Potential Project Betterments Hell Hole Seasonal Storage Increase Implementing further studies to accurately determine footprint of inundation area:  Completed aerial photogrammetry  Develop detailed topographic map  Determine vegetation communities present within inundation area

33. 33 Next Steps