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Every Last Drop A Newsletter From the Keep Long Valley Green Coalition

Volume 3 - Issue 13 | October 2022

In this issue we discuss the so-called mitigation projects done by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in an article by Allison Weber, "The Mitigation Failure," and feature an article from Beth Deaton, "Evaluating Vegetation," detailing what these mitigation sites should look like. Deaton is a member of the Sierra Club Range of Light Group, a Keep Long Valley Green Coalition member organization. "Evaluating Vegetation" is the first installment of a larger article series on LADWP’s mitigation sites which will be published in the Range of Light Group’s newsletter.

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The Mitigation Failure

by Allison Weber

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Los Angeles Department of Water (LADWP) became a major landowner and stakeholder in Payahuunadü, the land of flowing water, when it built the Los Angeles Aqueduct to divert water from the Eastern Sierra to the growing southern California metropolis. This diversion had major effects on the land, economy, and culture at the top of the pipe--harming the health and livelihood of the people and the environment of the Eastern Sierra.

Since 1991 LADWP has had to participate in 64 court-ordered mitigation projects to “reduce the severity of” or otherwise make up for, the destructive results of its water extraction in the Owens Valley/Eastern Sierra. Some people have suggested to us here at Keep Long Valley Green (KLVG) that we should just let LADWP dewater Long Valley and then take them to court for the damage. The success of LADWP's so-called "mitigation" projects prove why we can't use this strategy.

Taking water from an area, as we have seen time and time again, affects the land and community in diverse ways; and so, LADWP mitigation sites occur up and down the valley in a variety of forms. Some projects manifest as city parks to mitigate the loss of green space. Some projects manifest as woodlots or fish hatcheries to bolster the local economy. These projects we do not take issue with.

Others, however, are the very reason we cannot allow Long Valley and Little Round Valley to be dewatered: the majority unsuccessful revegetation projects. These projects attempt to regrow native species in areas where habitat has been lost as a result of LADWP dewatering, whether it was physical diversion of water into the L.A. Aqueduct or the excessive groundwater pumping of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Five Bridges Impact Area, shown here and in the headline photo, is representative of the sorry state of LADWP revegetation. The 300-acre site was impacted by LADWP groundwater pumping from 1987-1989 and revegetation has been attempted since 1990. In the more than 30 years since, goals have still not been met and the area remains choked with pernicious non-native weeds.

Why do LADWP’s revegetation mitigation projects fail?

One major concern is the fact that for almost all of the mitigation projects, the water used to mitigate comes not from the amount taken to L.A., but from local groundwater. Using more pumped water to mitigate the impacts of past pumping is part of the continuing problem. Additionally, invasive species, not enough water applied, and changes to the soil as a result of previous dewatering are just a few of the glaring reasons.

Changes to the habitat allow invasives species to move in on land that is no longer suited for the native species that should live there. When these invasive species get a foothold in mitigation sites, it allows them to spread into nearby areas as well, destroying not just the habitat of the mitigation site, but the neighboring areas. While habitat health suffers, so does public health: The bare ground resulting from native vegetation death emits dust, increasing particulate matter in the air, like PM10, which causes respiratory health issues. The longer LADWP fails to complete its mitigation projects, the longer environmental and public health will suffer. We cannot allow Long Valley to become another failed mitigation project.

Evaluating Vegetation

by Beth Deaton

When you first visit an LADWP mitigation site, it can be hard to tell what to look for. Some problems are obvious: a field full of Russian thistle, for example. But what constitutes a healthy plant ecosystem here in Payahuunadü? The Long-Term Water Agreement (LTWA) divides local vegetation into five management types (designated as Type A, B, C, D, and E) based on vegetation water needs, and marks parcels according to their management type as defined in 1984-1987 plant surveys. This article is not a comprehensive listing of the full diversity of plant species possible in these vegetation communities, but provides enough representation to determine if the area is maintaining healthy cover.

Right: A stormy day tour of a handful of failed revegetation sites in the Owens Valley

(Note: For plant images and other details for each species, click on the scientific name)

Type A: Scrub communities with no groundwater needs

Plants are able to thrive based on annual rainfall and runoff alone. Expect to find this kind of ecosystem where groundwater levels are too low for plants to reach. Plant varieties will vary based on soil alkalinity but may include:

High-alkali vegetation: Burrobush (Ambrosia dumosa), Budsage (Artemisia spinescens), Shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia), Allscale (Atriplex polycarpa), Winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata), Cheesebush (Ambrosia salsola), Wire Lettuce (Stephanomeria pauciflora), Peach Thorn (Lycium cooperi), Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus fremontii). Low-alkali vegetation: Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), Green Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus), California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Ephedra (Ephedra nevadensis), Desert Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata)

It is important to note that there is no local vegetation type with lower water needs than Type A. If these management zones transition, it will be to bare ground, increasing particulate pollution in the air, or to fields of Russian Thistle.

Left An infamous Owen's Lake emissive dust storm. Photo by Brian Russell, Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

Type B: Scrub communities requiring groundwater

These plant communities require more water annually than can be provided by rainwater, but their long roots allow them to thrive where the water table is too low to support other vegetation types, from 3ft to 10ft below the surface. Primary plants in these management zones include:

Nevada Saltbush (Atriplex torreyi), Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus), Inkweed (Suaeda torreyana)

Type C: Grasslands

These alkali meadows once dominated the valley but acreage diminished considerably in the 20th century. Remaining areas of Type C vegetation are a priority for conservation. While there can be some overlap with Type B vegetation, Type C management areas should not be allowed to transition to majority scrub. They require a water table no more than 4ft below the surface for the majority of the year.

Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota), Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus), Alkali Mallow (Malvella leprosa), Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides), Owens Valley Checkerbloom (Sidalcea covillei)

Above: Owens Valley Checkerbloom, (Sidalcea covillei) photo © James Andre

Right: CDFW illustration of Owens Valley Checkerbloom by Mary Ann Showers

Owens Valley Checkerbloom is endemic to the valley and endangered by the loss of alkali meadows as our water table has fallen.

Type D: Marshlands and riparian foliage

Type D vegetation borders creeks and other waterways. The loss of springs has reduced the total Type D vegetation, but healthy examples are visible along the Owens River.

Cluster Goldenweed (Pyrrocoma racemosa), Willow (various) (Salix), Woods Rose (Rosa woodsii), Fremont’s Cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides), Beardless Wild Rye (Elymus triticoides), Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus), Clustered Field Sedge (Carex praegracilis)

Cottonwood forests were once much more common on the valley floor and trees continue to be lost each year without few new saplings growing to replace them. Historically, dead cottonwood trees were cut down on LADWP lands but many of their stumps remain. Looking out over what appears to have always been scrubland and seeing long-dead cottonwood stumps is a stark reminder of how water has changed vegetation in Payahuunadü.

Left: A cottonwood tree turns gold in the fall. Photo courtesy Inyo County Visitor

Type E: Areas that have historically received surface water irrigation

No set vegetation type characterizes these management areas and many areas support domestic crops and livestock. Management of these areas requires maintaining surface water application.

Invasives

There are a handful of plants that are bad news in any management type but that are unfortunately common.

Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus), Bassia (Bassia scoparia), Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium), Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), Salt Cedar (Tamarix spp)

Russian thistle (tumbleweed) and pepperweed are particularly adept at invading areas where native vegetation is stressed and pushing out those native plants that remain. Areas that appear healthy and green from a distance have often been all but entirely taken over by these two species, both of which are notoriously difficult to remove either manually or by use of pesticides. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that where sufficient water is available native species can reclaim territory previously occupied by these invasives.

The LTWA agreement specifies that vegetation be maintained at the 1984-1987 baseline. Parcels are not to be allowed to transition to a lower letter type. Type D, for example, should not be deprived of water to the point of transitioning to Type C, B, or A. There is no requirement that LADWP restore vegetation to a previous state. Since the vegetation baseline was established after more than a decade of heavy, unregulated groundwater pumping, its standards already reflect a severely compromised state.

The exceptions to this rule are the vegetation-oriented mitigation projects. Through a series of negotiations, these areas were designated for special projects designed to either restore particularly damaged areas, or to create new vegetation areas to replace the habitat lost elsewhere – a new riparian area near the site of a dry spring, for example. LADWP has aimed in many cases to satisfy the minimum requirements with a minimum application of water. For instance, in areas where groundwater levels are too low to support the required vegetation type, LADWP applies sporadic surface water. In too many cases, this experiment in low-water mitigation has failed. Ground cover is sparse, species diversity is low, and the mitigation site becomes a fertile ground for invasives. This article series will visit mitigation sites and explore LADWP’s non-compliance in detail.

While these articles will remain focused on mitigation sites, it is worth noting that recent Inyo County data shows significant vegetation loss in 32 out of 148 non-mitigation parcels, over 21%, a clear violation of the LTWA. Current groundwater extraction levels are too high to maintain legal commitments to our local ecosystem or to fully restore designated mitigation sites.

Read more at the Sierra Club Range of Light Group

References

November 19th: Join Us for Our First Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup!

Driving through Long Valley on the 395 you might have noticed our new Adopt-A-Highway sign courtesy of local business Sweet Water Hideaway. Now it is time for our first clean up! Join us at 9:00 AM on Saturday, November 19th. Coffee and donuts will be provided. RSVP below.

October Wrap-Up:

In celebration of Indigenous People's Day this October 10th we shared on Instagram and Facebook a Nüümü name for Long Valley, Pugwihuu, taught to us by Jolie Varela of Indigenous Women Hike. We also learned another name for the area, Tacabe Wat, from Sage Romero of AkaMya Culture Group. We honor all that the native people of the Eastern Sierra and Owens Valley have done to steward these lands and thank those who have taught us some of the history of these special places. Thank you and Keep Pugwihuu/Tacabe Wat Green!

We are pleased to announce that Without Water won 2 awards this month: Best Documentary Film at the Wild West Film Festival in Vacaville, California, on October 7th, and Best Environmental Short at the Topanga Film Festival on October 14th.

Up next: Without Water will be showing at the Red Nation International Film Festival November 1st, the Ojai Film Festival November 3rd, and the American Indian Film Festival November 4th.

Still haven't seen Without Water? Good news: This month Without Water will have completed its film festival circuit and will be available to stream November 14th online, on both our YouTube and our Vimeo channels. Stay tuned!

In the community: our friends at Sierra Classic Theatre are presenting their 23rd Annual Murder Mystery fundraiser and this year some of the themes might seem familiar! Local author Jamie Della is using art and satire to talk about certain environmental issues near and dear to our hearts in this year's production and you won't want to miss it. Dinner, dessert, and a show are included in the ticket prices which go to a good cause: bringing art to the Eastern Sierra through local theatre.

Get tickets:

Get Engaged!

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Credits:

Allison Weber photo credits unless otherwise stated