Several watershed projects planned by the Feather River Coordinated Resource Management group, of the Plumas Corporation, are on hold for a final review by the executive committee  Wednesday, June 27, from 1 to 4 p.m.

The projects were put on hold in April, after a special meeting to review the structure and processes of the organization, which is comprised of several state and county agencies and organizations.

Executive committee members met in May and reviewed only two projects in three hours, due to considerable discussion about the short meeting notice.

The Yellow Creek Humbug Valley Restoration Project was approved with little discussion, yet the committee stalled on the Upper Dotta Canyon Restoration project.

Indian Valley ranchers concerned about impacts to their water rights were present at the meeting and via the telephone.

Committee members agreed to delay their decision for a month, when they expect an engineering review of the project to be completed by the Natural Resources and Conservation Service.

Eight other projects were deferred for the meeting this week, during which they will also announce their appointment of the member at large.

Several nominations were made in May, including Jeff Carmichael, Russell Reid, Ken Roby and Heather Kingdon.

The meeting will be in the Plumas County Planning Department Conference Room, which is handicapped-accessible and located at 555 W. Main St. in Quincy, on the corner of Highway 70 and West Main.

Those who wish to attend via a conference call may dial (800) 867-2581 at the time of the meeting. The access code is 0439272#.

For more information, call 283-3739.

Projects up for review

1. Yellow Creek – Humbug Valley Restoration Project

Restoration of 109 acres of channel and meadow floodplain using ponds and plugs on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. land to re-establish hydrologic function, eliminate gullied channel as a sediment source and enhance meadow habitat.

Primary sources of funding are $99,000 for development and analysis from PG&E, and $297,400 for implementation and monitoring from the Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District Wetland Conservation Fund (ACOE Wetland Fund).

2. Last Chance Creek Phase II Restoration Project

Restore the hydrologic function of 402 acres of Plumas National Forest meadow to re-establish floodplain, stabilize 7.8 miles of channel along Last Chance Creek to eliminate gullied channel as a sediment source and enhance meadow habitat.

A potential Plan B is to buy water from Antelope Lake to compensate for any flow impacts on Indian Creek.

Alternatives that might be considered before the final environmental document is complete include check dams, bank re-vegetation and a scaling back of the pond-and-plug treatment to 212 – 263 acres.

Primary sources of funding are $2,118,750 from Proposition 50 Integrated Regional Water Management via Plumas County and $749,000 from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, all for development, analysis and some implementation.

3. Rowland – Meadowview Restoration Project

Restore the hydrologic function of 256 acres of meadow along Rowland Creek and Last Chance Creek, which are private lands owned by the Matley and Peters families, and public lands managed by Plumas National Forest, to re-establish floodplain, eliminate gullied channel as a sediment source and enhance meadow habitat.

Streamflow out of Meadowview ceases in early June so it has not been systematically measured.

University researchers have studied the area, and Plumas National Forest installed a continuous recording device on Rowland Creek downstream of the project in 2011.

Monthly above- and below-project streamflow measurements during the irrigation season have been conducted pre-project on Rowland Creek since spring 2011. DWR has installed two telemetered weather stations in the vicinity of Doyle Crossing.

Primary sources of funding are $59,480 from Plumas RAC for development and analysis. No implementation funding has been secured.

4. Upper Dotta Canyon Restoration Project

Restoration of 206 acres of privately owned land and 47 acres of Plumas National Forest, including 2.9 miles of stream channel to re-establish hydrologic function, eliminate gullied channel as a sediment source and enhance meadow habitat, with the pond-and-plug method.

Concerns raised by downstream irrigators and an engineering review team resulted in changes, including closer monitoring, the formation of a five-year plan B and some design changes.

Primary sources of funding are expected to be $59,480 from the Plumas Resource Advisory Committee (RAC), $441,184 from the ACOE Wetland Fund and $120,000 from State Water Resources Control Board.

5. Spanish Creek in Meadow Valley Rehabilitation Project

Treatment of four locations on private lands owned by Soper-Wheeler Company and multiple creekside property owners within the Pineleaf subdivision for bank stabilization and removal of gravel bars to expand floodplain capacity, reduce bedload sediment and bank erosion, and rehabilitate aquatic and riparian habitats.

Primary sources of funding will be $44,300 from the Plumas County Watershed Forum, $22,000 for development and analysis from Plumas RAC, and $464,750 for implementation and monitoring from the ACOE Wetland Fund.

6. Integrated Greenhorn Creek Restoration Project

Treatment of six project reaches, including 22 acres of private lands along Greenhorn Creek in American Valley and 1 acre of land managed by Plumas National Forest, for stabilization of eroding stream banks and bed with boulder vanes, bank sloping and vegetation and the construction of two fish-passable riffle-pool structures to improve fish passage.

Landowner concerns at two public meetings were about how and when the banks would be stabilized.

Also, the county recently used some of the rock CC Myers donated for the project during the emergency at Dame Shirley Plaza.

Primary sources of funding are $19,550 from Plumas County Title III funds for development and $68,360 from Plumas RAC for analysis and implementation of the Reid/PNF Reach, which is already complete.

7. Red Clover Confluence Restoration Project

Restore the hydrologic function of approximately 1,800 acres of channel/floodplain system on private Red Clover Valley lands using pond-and-plug.

Primary sources of funding are $75,000 from the landowner for development and $53,300 from Plumas RAC for development and some analysis. No implementation funding has been secured.

Since planning funds were exhausted in early 2012, the focus has been on fishery and water rights concerns.

A fishery committee was formed, and has met several times.

The committed involvement of numerous partners has allowed the fishery-related work to move forward.

A Plan B that could address potential downstream flow impacts during construction is also being developed.

8. Spanish Creek in American Valley Rehabilitation Project

Treatment of three project reaches on private lands with multiple owners along Spanish Creek implementing gravel management through removal of gravel bars to expand floodplain capacity; stabilizing eroding stream banks with bank sloping, boulder vanes and vegetation; and rehabilitating aquatic and riparian habitats.

The primary source of funding is $38,000 from the Plumas County Watershed Forum for development. No analysis or implementation funding has been secured.

9. Fitch Canyon Restoration Project

Restore meadow on private land within Fitch Canyon on tributary to Cottonwood Creek upstream of Big Flat meadow to re-establish floodplain function and improve habitats for wildlife and aquatic species.

Primary funding is $2,000 from Ducks Unlimited Intermountain West Joint Venture for preliminary surveys.

10. Mountain Meadows Restoration Project

Three separate project reaches on private lands within the Mountain Meadows region on upper Goodrich Creek, Mountain Meadows Creek and an un-named tributary are proposed for meadow restoration to re-establish floodplain function, reduce fine sediment, improve forage production and enhance habitats for wildlife and aquatic species.

The Feather River CRM is a participant in the Mountain Meadows Watershed Group, a recently formed organization whose mission is to restore the health of the Mountain Meadows/Goodrich Creek watershed.

The group includes the Mountain Meadows Conservancy, PG&E, W.M. Beaty & Associates, Stroing family, USDA Forest Service Almanor Ranger District, California Department of Fish and Game, Honey Lake Resource Conservation District, Sierra Pacific Industries, local landowners and interested citizens.

The primary source of funding, so far, is $14,700 from Ducks Unlimited Intermountain West Joint Venture for preliminary project surveys.