{"id":64,"date":"2014-01-02T23:27:38","date_gmt":"2014-01-02T23:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/?page_id=64"},"modified":"2015-12-20T22:52:01","modified_gmt":"2015-12-20T22:52:01","slug":"preserve-van-norden-lake-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/preserve-van-norden-lake-wetlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Save the Lake and Wetlands"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/summitvalleybanner.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/summitvalleybanner.jpg\" alt=\"summitvalleybanner\" width=\"800\" height=\"283\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As many of the visitors of my website <a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\">OnTheSummit<\/a> are aware we have been advocating the preservation of Van Norden Lake and its surrounding wetlands in the Donner Summit Valley. Here I would like to lay out the issues surrounding the Van Norden dam that are currently threatening the lake and wetlands. For more information please view these online visual presentations.<\/p>\n<p>Online Summit Valley Presentations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/84932876\" target=\"_blank\">History and current options for Van Norden lake and dam<\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Van-Norden-Lake-spillway-PGE-pic-1903.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" \" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Van-Norden-Lake-spillway-PGE-pic-1903.jpg\" alt=\"Van Norden Lake spillway - PG&amp;E pic 1903\" width=\"250\" height=\"165\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>Van Norden dam circa 1900<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The disposition of Van Norden Lake and its surrounding wetlands is going to be decided in the next year by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tdlandtrust.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Truckee-Donner Land Trust<\/a>\u00a0(TDLT). The venerable Van Norden Dam is currently under the jurisdiction of the California\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.water.ca.gov\/damsafety\/\" target=\"_blank\">Division of Safety of Dams<\/a>\u00a0(DSOD) and they have declared it to be out of compliance and is requiring that it be brought into compliance. TDLT originally proposed a plan to breach the dam by 2.2 ft to leave a 49 acre-ft dam that would bring it into compliance with the requirements of the DSOD and remove it from their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, at the beginning of 2014 TDLT changed this plan to breaching the dam by 5 ft to drain the lake and wetlands, effectively removing the lake and wetland habitats. This move was in response to the directive from the US Forest Service that they would not buy the land for $2 million dollars if the lake remained. In 2014 a group of us tried to purchase the land containing the lake and wetlands from TDLT with the intent to permanently preserve this area as a wildlife reserve. TDLT refused to sell it to us but did agree to retain ownership of the land containing the dam and apply for water rights for a 49 acre-ft lake. Unfortunately, the Forest Service, as future owners of the remaining meadow are would not meet or negotiate with us and we had to suspend the deal because we could not proceed without a commitment from them to support the 49 acre-ft lake.<\/p>\n<p>The history of the dam in Summit Valley\u00a0stretches back over more than 100 years (<a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/images\/VNDtimeline.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">see timeline<\/a>).\u00a0Through a chain of serendipitous events the\u00a0valley currently consists of a blend of five ecological\u00a0habitats including a 70 acre open water\u00a0seasonal lake and its adjoining wetlands as\u00a0well as another 200+ acres of wet\/dry meadow and\u00a0riparian habitats. Any solution for fixing the\u00a0dam will have serious consequences to the\u00a0habitats in the valley.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/summit-valley-habitats.jpg\" alt=\"summit valley habitats\" width=\"800\" height=\"539\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>Donner Summit Valley habitats<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/White-Pelicans-on-rock-in-Van-Norden-Lake-28-5-18-12.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/White-Pelicans-on-rock-in-Van-Norden-Lake-28-5-18-12.jpg\" alt=\"White Pelicans on rock in Van Norden Lake-28 5-18-12\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>White Pelicans come to spend the summer<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a name=\"tls\"><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>The Smaller Lake\u00a0Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Realistically, the only financially feasible solution\u00a0for fixing the dam is to reconfigure it so\u00a0that it is no longer under the jurisdiction of\u00a0the State. This means that the dam must either\u00a0be reduced in height to below 6 ft or the\u00a0volume of the lake must be lowered to below\u00a050 acre-feet. A\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/Docs\/BalanceHydrologicbathymetricanalysisofVanNordenLake2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">bathymetric analysis<\/a> by Balance Hydrologics showed that the current spillway would need to be lowered 2.2 ft to reduce the lake to less than 50 acre-ft. Either of these alternatives by\u00a0themselves will lower the lake significantly\u00a0and will completely remove the large back bay\u00a0area of the lake and its adjoining wetlands.<\/p>\n<p>The solution presented here is a compromise that would retain approximately 40% of the open lake and wetland habitats in the valley.\u00a0\u00a0The existing dam can be\u00a0notched down to 2.2 feet which will make it less than 50 acre-ft and remove it\u00a0from the jurisdiction of the state.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_738\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-738\" class=\"wp-image-738 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/01\/Summit-Valley-dam-notching-solution-50-acre-ft.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Valley dam notching solution-50 acre-ft\" width=\"800\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/01\/Summit-Valley-dam-notching-solution-50-acre-ft.jpg 800w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/01\/Summit-Valley-dam-notching-solution-50-acre-ft-300x110.jpg 300w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/01\/Summit-Valley-dam-notching-solution-50-acre-ft-768x281.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-738\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Simulation of a 49 acre-ft lake in the Summit Valley<\/p><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-374\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working3.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Valley - Habitat changes6-6-14-working3\" width=\"1200\" height=\"786\" srcset=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working3.jpg 1200w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working3-300x196.jpg 300w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/06\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working3-1024x670.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Compare this to the drastic destruction of the lake and wetland habitats that would result from the TDLT plan to drain the lake. We can see exactly what the results would be because TDLT was forced to drain the lake in October 2015 because of their inaction on procuring water rights to impound water behind the dam. The results were dramatic and showed clearly that the existing lake and wetland habitats would be decimated.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-650\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/Summit-Valley-from-Beacon-Hill-03-5-13-13.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Valley from Beacon Hill-03 5-13-13\" width=\"1000\" height=\"937\" srcset=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/Summit-Valley-from-Beacon-Hill-03-5-13-13.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/10\/Summit-Valley-from-Beacon-Hill-03-5-13-13-300x281.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-449\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/07\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working1.jpg\" alt=\"Summit Valley - Habitat changes6-6-14-working1\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1121\" srcset=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/07\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working1.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/07\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working1-267x300.jpg 267w, http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2014\/07\/Summit-Valley-Habitat-changes6-6-14-working1-913x1024.jpg 913w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, TDLT has chosen to hide the destruction of the lake and wetlands under the mantle of &#8220;meadow restoration&#8221;. Their strategy has been to speak only about their plan as meadow restoration and ignore the fact that they are destroying valuable habitat. They have tried to make the argument meadow vs lake when if fact the two have existed synergistically in the Summit Valley for over a century. We believe that the presence of the lake and wetlands serves only to enrich the biodiversity of the Summit Valley and that there is no ecological reason to destroy the existing habitat.<br \/>\n<a name=\"natural\"><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>But is it &#8220;natural&#8221;?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is true that Van Norden lake is the result of the man-made Van Norden dam. However, nature is the ultimate opportunist and for the last 37 years it has established the current ecosystem in the valley that includes the open lake and wetland habitats that support a rich bio-diversity resource. Man made lakes and wetlands are a common tool used throughout the world to foster wildlife and preserve habitat and millions of dollars are spent to create and support these projects. The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fws.gov\/sacramentovalleyrefuges\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sacramento NWR<\/a>\u00a0is perfect example just a short distance from the Summit Valley. Each year large areas of wetland are created through irrigation in the central valley to provide a winter home for millions (yes millions) of migratory ducks, geese and cranes. If you have never visited one of the reserves to see the Snow Geese fly then you are really missing a special natural experience.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Snow Geese fly up at SacramentoNWR 12-11\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/85205667?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Another example of the creation and maintenance of open water and wetlands is the world famous reserve of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fws.gov\/southwest\/refuges\/newmex\/bosque\/\" target=\"_blank\">Bosque del Apache<\/a>\u00a0in San Antonio, New Mexico. If you want to see the ultimate example of human powered creation and preservation of this valuable habitat, watch the video below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QBVVllM2ofA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>When you consider the millions of acres of natural habitat that have been lost in the development of this country, there is something inherently satisfying when with just a little effort we can preserve\u00a0some of that habitat. Maintaining the open lake and wetland habitat that support a rich diversity of aquatic fauna and flora in the Donner Summit Valley can be nothing but an ecological win for everyone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What you can do<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Merganser-mother-and-ducklings-in-Van-Norden-lake-95-7-20-12_0021.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Merganser-mother-and-ducklings-in-Van-Norden-lake-95-7-20-12_0021.jpg\" alt=\"Merganser mother and ducklings in Van Norden lake-95 7-20-12_0021\" width=\"250\" height=\"164\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>Common Mergansers come to breed on the lake.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The disposition of Van Norden Lake and wetlands\u00a0is currently in the hands of the Truckee-Donner\u00a0Land Trust and also indirectly the US Forest Service which is slated to purchase the property in the next two years.\u00a0If TDLT proceeds with there plan it will mean the destruction of over 100 acres of lake and wetland habitat.<\/p>\n<p>The Truckee-Donner Land Trust has made a\u00a0commitment to resolve this situation to optimize\u00a0the resources in the Summit Valley. Part of\u00a0that optimization includes the enjoyment of the\u00a0valley by the people that visit it, including you. If\u00a0you agree with the idea that the valley should continue to include valuable and bio-diverse lake and wetland\u00a0habitats, then make your feelings known to the\u00a0land trust and the Forest Service. You can do this by contacting TDLT directly\u00a0at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tdlandtrust.org\/contact-us\" target=\"_blank\">their website<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"mailto:jroubique@fs.fed.us\">contact Joanne Roubique<\/a>, the Tahoe Forest District Ranger for the US Forest Service.\u00a0You can also contact the government officials that have jurisdiction over the lake and wetlands. View our <a title=\"What you can do\" href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/what-you-can-do\/\"><strong>What you can do<\/strong><\/a> page for more information.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">So let&#8217;s<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Keep-it-wet-and-wild-logo-blue-small.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/Keep-it-wet-and-wild-logo-blue-small.png\" alt=\"Keep it wet and wild logo-blue-small\" width=\"300\" height=\"302\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As many of the visitors of my website OnTheSummit are aware we have been advocating the preservation of Van Norden Lake and its surrounding wetlands in the Donner Summit Valley. Here I would like to lay out the issues surrounding &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/preserve-van-norden-lake-wetlands\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-64","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":740,"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions\/740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/onthesummit.net\/wordpress\/savevannorden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}