In the News

Blackwood Creek Restoration - A Big Step towards a Better Tahoe
date posted: November 4 2003

By Rex Norman, USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
John Cobourn, Water Resource Specialist;
Heather Segale, Environmental Education Coordinator;
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension;

Many residents of the Lake Tahoe Basin are likely unaware of a major water quality and Environmental Improvement Program (EIP) project that is underway. The Blackwood Creek Restoration Project being conducted by the Forest Service is one of the most important projects for the lake, and for the complex environment of Blackwood Canyon. Perhaps you have visited Blackwood, but you may not be aware of how important it is to the Lake Tahoe environment, and the significant amounts of eroded sediment it transports to the lake.

Blackwood Canyon, located north of Tahoe Pines on the west shore, is hidden away from most of our day-to-day routines. Yet, the creek flowing through it has a very significant impact on the clarity of Lake Tahoe. For around a century, Blackwood Canyon was logged, grazed, mined and quarried. In the words of Jeff Reiner, Forest Service Restoration Specialist: “In the past, everything that could possibly be done to corrupt a creek and watershed was done to Blackwood.” That past has been haunting Lake Tahoe ever since. As a result of all the disturbance, Blackwood Creek has for decades, been the single greatest pollutant source for its size, transporting silts and algae-feeding nutrients into the lake. After many years of planning and design, restoration of seven miles of the nine-mile long Blackwood Canyon watershed is underway. The major work will continue through 2005, with additional projects expected through 2007.

The project will restore the ability of the creek to create a natural path, and establish the channel form and vegetation that have been lost. One of the first steps is to remove concrete creek crossings and other water flow barriers constructed many years ago. These altered the natural flow of the creek, and with it, the canyon ecosystem. The obstructions have been a significant factor, causing erosion on the banks, and large stored up loads of silt from hillside run-off. Chaotic movements of water across the creek bed each spring have annually carried the stored silts and undesirable nutrients to the lake.

To get a sense of what past changes at Blackwood have caused, one only has to visit the concrete low water crossing, located around two miles up the road from the lakeshore Kaspian Picnic Area. In decades past, rather than installing a bridge, a flat concrete ramp or “low water crossing” was constructed across Blackwood Creek, and for decades, water has flowed through via a large culvert. This culvert has an effect on water flow which makes it act something like a fire hose, creating more erosive force just downstream. Other concrete obstructions were installed, including a diversion with a “fish ladder.” As time has progressed, the fish ladder has become more of a hindrance than a help to the fish. Work to remove these barriers has begun, and the fish ladder structure is already gone. Soon, the low water crossing will be replaced with a 150-foot span bridge. This new bridge will allow the creek to flow smoothly and normally beneath it. Over the next couple of decades, the naturally flowing creek could re-establish the meandering pattern it once had on its own; but the lake can’t wait that long. As soon as the obstructions are removed, restoration crews will use a variety of techniques and methods to re-introduce the vegetation patterns and soil conditions needed not only to restore the natural steam dynamics that have been lost, but also to restore the ability of the creek to resist damaging erosion and run off. The positive benefits will be seen in years, rather than decades.

The Blackwood Creek Project is far more than a creek restoration; it is a comprehensive ecosystem restoration. Not only will the creek system be restored, but habitat, forest health, fisheries health and soil quality will be restored as well. The Blackwood Project is a comprehensive watershed and ecosystem restoration that extends seven miles, and up both slopes on each side.

Projects such as this one at Blackwood highlight the interdependence between the lake, its watershed, and the ecosystem of the Tahoe Basin. For the environmental quality of the Lake Tahoe Basin, the lake and the land are linked more significantly than by shoreline alone. We improve the lake largely by restoring the land.

The actual work of the Blackwood Canyon Project will not be dramatic to watch, and will be done in stages over the next few years. For the most part, the phases of the project will be unnoticed by the vast majority of basin residents and canyon visitors. Like most restoration work, it will take time for the benefits to be seen. However, the advantages to the Tahoe environment and lake water quality will, in the long run be quite dramatic, and a big step towards a better Tahoe.

Watch for “The Lake Tahoe Report” on KOLO-TV News Channel 8 Tuesdays at 5 p.m. to learn more. Next week, learn about Tahoe Yellow Cress, an endangered plant species that grows only on the shores of Lake Tahoe. “The Lake Tahoe Report” is a collaborative effort of the Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, UC Davis and the USDA Forest Service. For more information, contact Heather Segale, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, (775) 832-4138, or logon to www.lteec.org or www.unce.unr.edu.