Summer Environmental Exchange Projects - 2001

Tahoe Projects

• Stream Ecology and Aquatic Insects Assessments at McKinney, Angora and Snow Creeks (California Tahoe Conservancy and UC Davis Tahoe Research Group)

  There are approximately 63 streams entering Lake Tahoe. Almost all of the streams have been impacted by land use activities. Accelerated bank erosion has adversely affected water quality and has led to a continuous pattern of sediment delivery to Lake Tahoe itself, contributing to the influx of nutrients that promote algal growth and reduce water clarity. The California Tahoe Conservancy (CTC) has carried out restoration work on many stream environment zones (SEZs) to counteract the effects of degradation. One of the long-term goals is to assess the effects of the CTC's restoration work. For this summer project, TBI participants evaluated the status of creeks in the Tahoe basin, using aquatic insects as bio-indicators of stream health. Hydrobiological measurements, such as insect-species populations, are highly sensitive to changes in water quality and are a good addition to geographical, chemical, and physical measurements in determining stream health. Participants compared the insect-species contents of a relatively un-impacted creek (McKinney Creek) with two creeks that were impacted and restored (Angora Creek and Snow Creek). The results are part of a long-term project being conducted by Dorothea Panayotou of UC Davis.

• Predictions on the Reintroduction of the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout into Fallen Leaf Lake (UC Davis Tahoe Research Group)

  The Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT), an abundant game fish in the Lake Tahoe Basin prior to the 1930's, has been extirpated from Lake Tahoe due to both spawning habitat destruction and introduction of non-native species for gaming purposes. As a preliminary study to the possible reintroduction of the LCT back into the waters of Lake Tahoe, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service wants to reintroduce LCT into Fallen Leaf Lake (a small lake located about a mile south-west of Lake Tahoe) and the upper waters of the Glen Alpine subwatershed. The success or failure of this reintroduction into Fallen Leaf Lake will be used as a model for the possible reintroduction into Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas (Bistate Fish meeting, 2001). TBI participants mapped the food web of Fallen Leaf Lake using stable isotope analysis demonstrating that a successful reintroduction of the LCT into Fallen Leaf Lake is highly unlikely due to a similar trophic position and carbon energy utilization currently held by the dominant competitor, the lake trout (Mackinaw). Interspecific competition between the lake trout and the LCT, as well as predation of LCT juveniles by lake trout, would most likely hinder a sustainable LCT population. Additionally, introduction of Mysis shrimp in the early 1960's contributed to the decline of one of LCT's main food sources, Daphnia. Reintroduction may be difficult due to a lack of adequate food sources for the LCT. The TBI participants recommend further studying this system prior to introduction to estimate the food source available to LCT as well as the potential of predation on the Lake Trout.

• Botany/Outreach: Endangered Plant Monitoring and Public Outreach (California Tahoe Conservancy)

  The endangered Tahoe yellow cress (Rorippa subumbellata) is endemic to the shores of Lake Tahoe. Tahoe yellow cress (TYC) is a low-growing plant with small yellow flowers that grows only in sandy shorezone areas, mostly on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. It was first identified in 1941 as a plant of the mustard family that tends to live along rivers and in areas receiving significant amounts of sediment. Because the habitat of the Tahoe Yellow Cress is only on these beach areas, it is extremely susceptible to human disturbance caused by sunbathers, boaters, and other recreational pursuits. To examine the extent of human disturbance on the TYC population, TYC populations were monitored during a period of heavy recreational use both before and after the Independence Day holiday. The techniques included plant counts, plant presence/absence surveys, transects, and photographic documentation to determine whether the plant populations were especially disturbed by beach activity and, if so, where and how the plants were impacted. The TBI participants also examined the effects that fenced enclosures had on the TYC populations. The study before and after Independence Day indicated that there was some human impact on TYC. TBI determined that the use of enclosures is an effective short-term method of protecting TYC. Enclosures should be considered a temporary method because they would likely prevent TYC populations from expanding outside an enclosure. For the outreach component of the project, they prepared a presentation for the public and presented it at the US Forest Service Visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe. Using PowerPoint, the TBI group discussed basic background information on TYC so non-experts could identify the plant and made suggestions for the casual beach visitor and local landowner to help TYC sustain itself. TBI's long-term suggestions for protecting TYC include creating an outreach strategy to inform landowners in the Tahoe area as well as tourists about TYC and continuing to monitor TYC yearly during Independence Day holiday.

• Identification of Nonconforming Industrial Uses (City of South Lake Tahoe)

  This project inventoried incompatible industrial uses/structures in the City of South Lake Tahoe. Incompatible industrial buildings comprise either one of the following: 1) they disrupt the scenic quality of the city, or 2) they are built on Stream Environment Zones (SEZs), areas which are particularly sensitive to environmental destruction. Through the Industrial Tract Community Plan, the city offers incentives for owners to voluntarily relocate their industrial uses to the Industrial Tract. The Industrial area is located about one-mile southwest of the South Tahoe "Y," east of Lake Tahoe Boulevard. A key element of this plan is that industrial uses are consistent with existing developments in, and appropriate for, this area. The community planning process will provide incentives, such as free commercial floor area and increased percentages of land coverage, for industrial uses to locate in the area. In result, the city is hoping to relocate many of the incompatible industrial buildings in the city. The list made by the TBI group shows detailed information about the incompatible buildings, thereby helping the city planners to identify those industrial buildings most critical to their incentive program. The research revealed that there are more cases of nonconformity than there are vacant lots in the industrial tract. In result, the proposed course of action includes finding other ways that industrial sites might reduce their impact on the surrounding environment and/or make themselves more visually appealing to passing drivers, bikers, or pedestrians.

• Grazing assessment: a comparison of wild horse and cattle grazing in Nevada (Earth Island Institute)

  The project involved field observations of wild horses both on public and private ranges as well as in captivity. In addition, public grazing allotments for livestock were surveyed. Water samples from these locations as well as a control site were tested for contaminants and other water quality standards. The TBI project team met with water quality, grazing, and policy experts, visited Carson Museum, and read literature on wild horse and grazing issues.

Baikal Projects

• Dendrochronological (Forest Health) Studies in Baikalsk Nature Preserve (Baikal State Biospheric Nature Preserve; Geography Institute of Irkutsk)

  The Baikal State Biospheric Nature Preserve (BNP) was established in 1969 with the purpose of protecting relic dark coniferous forests from anthropogenic impacts. The BNP has three zones: a zone of cooperation (villages, farms, and towns), a buffer zone, and the preserve. The main part of the preserve lies in the central Khamar-Daban mountain range, stretching along the southern shore of Lake Baikal. The purpose of this project was to examine the health of the forest ecosystems of the BNP and identify the best methods of protecting endemic and relic species of the BNP. For this purpose, the participants completed ten complex descriptions of forest ecosystems, which will establish a baseline for future monitoring of these sites. They also obtained and analyzed soil samples from five different sites, the results of which will be incorporated into a soil map of the BNP. The participants found an increase in withering and reddening of fir needles over studies done in 2000 from 50% of examined trees to 70%. They also found an increase in rates of cancer and genetic mutations in trees. This suggests a weakening of the forest ecosystem, possibly caused by an increase in emissions from industries in the Irkutsk-Cheremkhovsk plain as well as from the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill. Further research will be necessary to determine the causes.

• Reintroduction of Cormorants into Lake Baikal Region (Buryatia State University (BSU), Department of Zoology; Buryatia Museum of Nature; Zabaikalsky National Park)

  In 1958, the population of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) that inhabited the Baikal Region went extinct due to human activity. In an attempt to return the cormorants to Baikal, scientists from the Buryat Region in collaboration with TBI participants attempted to reintroduce a test group of cormorants in August 2001. The purpose of the project was to increase the biodiversity of the Baikal region by creating a stable Cormorant population. The project was also designed to test the hypothesis that colonial birds will return to nest at the location in which they took their first flight, as well as testing if colonial birds can be acclimatized. Participants constructed a 25sq meter cage on a lake in the Zabaikalskiy National Park at Chivyrkui Bay for 10 immature Cormorants brought from 1500km southeast of Lake Baikal. The birds were fed 200g of cleaned fish every two hours during daylight. Growth rates of the birds were measured and recorded twice during the two-week project, which indicated that they were developing normally. At the end of August the birds took their first flight and obtained food on their own. As a result of this project, there are now ten representatives of the historically present species of the Great Cormorant on the shore of Lake Baikal. If the reintroduction of this group of birds is successful and they return in the following year to nest at this location, then the scientists will reintroduce a larger group of cormorants in order to create a stable population size in the Baikal region.

• Preparation for a Landscape Park on Olkhon Island and Environmental Education Promotion (Andrei Lyapin, Landscape Architect; Baikal Environmental Wave)

  The project was divided into two main parts. The first week of the project was spent in the town of Khuzir developing a landscape park around Shamanka rock and assisting the environmental NGO Baikal Environmental Wave distribute bags and flyers for collecting trash to be recycled. At the landscape park participants concentrated their efforts on erosion control. Due to heavy grazing and auto travel on the territory of the park, deep gullies had formed. To reduce erosion, TBI participants built erosion control fences at 1-1.5 meter intervals in the gullies which were woven from twigs and branches, then placed on the ground to slow the flow of water and to catch enough of the topsoil as to form layers of fertile soil within the gully where vegetation could take root and could eventually close the gullies.

  The second part of the project took part in the ecological children's camp Sarma. The activities at the camp included an eco-poster contest among the children and cleaning a two-kilometer stretch of the Baikal shoreline.