Reach Comments
Stream NameReachComments
Sagehen Creek
1Vegetation: At the beginning of the reach, near the confluence with Stampede Reservoir, there was little to no vegetation along the
stream corridor. A few annual grasses were present. Upstream, the amount of annual grasses and wildflowers increased to the point
where 100% of the stream banks were vegetated. In the upper half of the reach an overstory of lodgepole pine and an understory of
willows were present; the majority of the woody vegetation was found on the left bank. In upper half of the reach, the stream banks
were also 100% vegetated with annual grasses and wildflowers. As riparian vegetation increased up the reach channel stability and fish
habitat improved. There was also some vegetation in the stream in the form of emerging grasses or submerged aquatic vegetation
including a Ranuculus species.
Aspen Groves: There were no aspen groves present in this reach.
Wildlife: There were signs of historic beaver activity in this area including copious amounts of dead and down wood. There were several
avian sightings in this reach including a bald eagle flying upstream from Stampede, about ten Canada geese in the stream, swallows,
killdeer, and two sandhill cranes in the meadow alongside the main channel. There were many Tahoe suckers sighted in the upper half of
the reach, the suckers appeared to be spawning.
Amphibian Habitat: There was potential amphibian habitat in the meadow seeps entering the main channel, especially in the long meadow
seep entering NSO 4.
There was also potential habitat in the side channels near the top of the reach.
Landuse: There was historic logging upstream of the channel and historic grazing in the meadows along the stream channel.
Railroad Grades: There was a historic railroad grade crossing the channel in NSO 23. This appeared to be having little effect on the
channel.
Other: The area outside the immediate stream banks, in flood-prone and beyond flood-prone, included many wet meadow areas
2Vegetation: The riparian vegetation in this reach was dominated by lodgepole pine in the overstory and willow in the understory. There
were copious amounts of willow along the stream and into the meadow areas alongside the stream. The streambanks were well vegetated
with a mixture of grasses and herbaceous wildflowers.
Aspen: There were aspens (Populus tremuloides) present alongside the stream corridor throughout the whole reach.
Wildlife: An Osprey was sighted several times in flight. Trout of many sizes were seen throughout the reach.
Amphibian: There were many possible areas for amphibian habitat in this reach. A landslide above NSOs 124 through 148 had caused a
channel shift leaving a very wet meadow area on the left bank. Here, a small, identified frog was seen. There was also potential
amphibian habitat in the many side channels and meadow seeps present throughout the reach.
Landuse: There was historic logging upstream of the channel and historic grazing within the channel.
Dry Side Channels: A network of dry side channels was present throughout the reach. They appear to have had flow only during major
flood events (i.e. the 1997 flood). Most of these channels showed signs of instability and downcutting.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present within the reach.
Other Noteworthy: There were side channels throughout the reach including some side channels that created side channel complexes.
The side channels are probably a result of the historic beaver activity within the channel. There does not appear to be any current
beaver activity in this area.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003Page 1 of 8
Stream NameReachComments
3Vegetation: The riparian vegetation in this reach included an overstory dominated by lodgepole pine and the understory is dominated by
willow. The streambanks are completely vegetated by a diversity of annual and perennial grasses and wildflowers
(lupine, Penstemon, elephant’s head, sedges, buttercup, paintbrush, etc.). A few hundred feet from the reach start, a very wet meadow
exists on the right stream bank that contains known occurrences of rare plants and mosses.
Aspens: There were aspens present along the stream corridor from NSO 438 to the end of the reach.
Wildlife: There were signs of deer, scat and prints, throughout the reach. A variety of songbirds were also sighted: sparrows, American
dippers, robins, etc. Woodpeckers were also heard along the stream corridor. Many rainbow, brown, and Brook trout were seen in a
variety of sizes throughout the reach.
Amphibian Habitat: There was potential amphibian habitat present in the side channels that were once the main channel as well as in the
many meadow seeps entering the reach.
Landuse: There was historic grazing within the main channel and historic logging upland of the main channel.
Dry Side Channels: There were some dry side channels in this reach though fewer than were present in the previous reach. Some of the
dry side channels were part of the old main channel.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present.
Other Noteworthy: There were a number of meadow seeps and short tributaries, which created wet, meadow areas along the stream
corridor. At the beginning of the reach the stream banks were stable but the banks became less stable further up the stream.
4Vegetation: The riparian vegetation had an overstory that was dominated by lodgepole pine and the understory was dominated by willow.
The streambanks were completely vegetated with a mixture of annual and perennial grasses and wildflowers.
Aspen: There were aspen present along the whole reach within the stream corridor and, in some places, reaching into the uplands.
Wildlife: There were a signs of songbirds, woodpeckers and deer. Brook, brown and rainbow trout in copious amounts were spotted in the
stream.
Amphibian Habitat: Potential amphibian habitat existed in several areas: a backwater adjacent to the main channel (NSO 603), meadow
seeps, and side channels.
Landuse: The land in this reach has been designated as a research area and is home to a UC Berkley research station. There are
several buildings on the site that house students during the summer as well as classroom space. There has been logging upland of the
stream and probably grazing within the meadows.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present.
Other Noteworthy: At the UC Berkley facility, a weir has been built across the main channel (NSO 553); this diverts the water down a
side channel and past a fish viewing structure. The weir has a jumping height of less than three feet but may be preventing fish passage
at lower flows because the water going over the concrete weir, which is 22’ long, is .2’ deep. However, there are large populations of
trout above and below this weir. There is another small weir (NSO 533) that is part of the USGS gauging station. This weir has a 2.2’
jumping height and does not appear to be preventing fish passage.
A long pile of rocks (NSO 620), that appear to have been placed by human hands, exists along the right stream bank. This may have
been part of a dam used in a logging operation. On the upland side of the rock pile, many rusted cans and shards of ceramic plates were
found.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003Page 2 of 8
Stream NameReachComments
5Vegetation: The riparian vegetation of this reach was dominated by lodgepole pine in the overstory and willow in the understory. The
streambanks were well vegetated, almost 100%, by a mixture of grasses and herbaceous wildflowers.
Aspens: There were no aspens in this reach.
Wildlife: Signs of deer and songbirds were seen again in this reach (see Reach 4 comments). Many trout, in a variety of sizes, were also
seen.
Amphibian Habitat: Several areas of potential amphibian habitat existed in this reach. These areas included side channels with pooled
water (NSO 746), backwater areas (NSO 740 and 755), meadow seeps creating wet meadow areas along the streambank (NSO 72 and
704).
Landuse: There has been logging upland of this reach. Now this area serves as a research area for the UC Berkley station downstream.
There is also a Forest Service campground along the left stream bank upstream from the research area. There is some trampling along
the stream adjacent to the campground as well as in-stream, human constructed, rock hydrologic controls creating pools for fishing
purposes.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades.
Other Noteworthy: A spongy, wet meadow (NSO 683 – right bank) has been created by a spring flowing down a steep hill and fingering
out across an open area. The meadow contains a variety of annual grasses and tens of thousands of the carnivorous sundew (Drosera
rotundifolia). This is a known occurrence of the rare plant. The meadow area is about 200’x 125’.
6Vegetation: In this reach the riparian vegetation was dominated by lodgepole, with white fir as a sub-dominant, in the overstory and
willow as the dominant in the understory. The streambanks were well vegetated with grasses and wildflowers.
Aspens: Aspens were present from NSO 795 to the end of the reach.
Wildlife: Bear scat was found in several places along the streambanks in this reach. Many trout were spotted from size 0 to size 2; they
were probably brook or brown trout.
Amphibian Habitat: A marsh area in NSO 823 as well as many side channels and meadow seeps, these all provide potential amphibian
habitat.
Landuse: In the past, there has been logging in the area upland of the main channel. There is also an area in NSO 820 that used to serve
as a road/bridge crossing. The crossing no longer exists within the stream but the stream spreads out greatly in this area. There are
timbers downstream from this crossing that probably came from the bridge.
Railroad Grades: There are no railroad grades in this reach.
7Vegetation: The riparian vegetation was dominated by red and white fir in the overstory and alder in the understory. The streambanks
were 75% covered by grasses and wildflowers.
Aspens: There were aspens present along the stream corridor for the whole reach.
Wildlife: There were signs of historic beaver activity along the channel in the form of chewed down trees. Deer scat was found along the
stream and some smaller trout were sighted in the stream.
Amphibian Habitat: There was potential amphibian habitat in the side channels because of areas of slower and pooled water. Potential
habitat was also found in the meadow seeps.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present.
Landuse: There has been logging upland of the channel and probably grazing along the channel.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003Page 3 of 8
Stream NameReachComments
8Vegetation: The riparian vegetation in this reach was dominated by red fir in the overstory and dense alder in the understory. The
streambanks were 75% vegetated by thick alder branches and roots as well as grasses and wildflowers.
Aspen: There were no aspen in this reach.
Wildlife: Bear and deer scat were found upland of the stream. There were no fish sightings in this reach.
Amphibian Habitat: There was less amphibian habitat available in this reach due to the steepness of the channel. There was some
potential habitat in the side channels and meadow seeps along the channel.
Landuse: Logging has occurred upland of the stream corridor. There appears to have been a large clearcut, in the past fifty years,
upland of the stream corridor in the lower half of the reach.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades in this reach.
9Vegetation: At the beginning of this reach the overstory was dominated by sparse red fir and the overstory was dominated by dense
alder. Upstream, the overstory became dominated by lodgepole and the alder ended, at its elevetational extent of 7700’, giving way to
herbaceous perennials and grasses in the understory. The streambanks were well vegetated throughout the reach, by alder in the
beginning and by grasses and wildflowers in the rest of the reach.
Aspens: There were no aspens in this reach.
Wildlife: Adult tree frogs were spotted in the meadow seeps flowing into NSO 1061. A few fish were sighted in NSO 1060, the first fish
sighted since the gradient increased and the alder encroached. There were also signs of deer and bear along the streambanks.
Amphibian Habitat: Potential habitat was available in the many meadow seeps flowing into this reach. This was where two adult tree frogs
were found.
Landuse: There has been logging in the areas upland of the stream. The area is being used for hunting and recreation.
Dry Side Channels: There was a dry side channel in NSO 1086 that had multiple meadow seeps flowing into it.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present in this reach.
Other Noteworthy: There were several NSOs that had downcutting or headcutting occurring (NSO 1072, 1074, 1081). The cause appears
to be natural and several check dams have been installed to help correct these problems (NSO 1063 and 1106). Both were well
constructed and didn’t appear to be preventing fish passage or causing hydrologic irregularities.
10Vegetation: The riparian vegetation was dominated by red fir and lodgepole in the overstory and small red fir and grasses in the
understory. The streambanks were 80% vegetated by grasses and bushy wildflowers.
Aspens: There were no aspens in this reach.
Wildlife: Thousands of tadpoles, some identified tree frogs, were found in the large pond at the top of the stream. There were signs of
deer and bear in this reach as well.
Amphibian Habitat: Habitat was found in several parts of this reach: the meadow seeps along the channel (NSO 1110 and 1122), the
large, marshy area (NSO1124) and in the pond at the end of the channel (NSO 1125).
Landuse: There has been logging in the areas above and below the riparian corridor.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present in this reach.
Other Noteworthy: At the end of the stream, a perennial pond (NSO 1126) formed by snow melt is present. The channel appears to begin
here but the flow is intermittent between the pond and the marshy area below (NSO 1124). There were two drainages going into the dry
channel that appeared to be avalanche chutes, all of the flow appeared to be constricted into the marshy area by the topography. A
large pile of rocks was found below the marshy area indicating that there had been a dam across the bottom of this area to hold the
spring runoff, probably for logging/milling purposes.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003Page 4 of 8
Stream NameReachComments
Sagehen Creek, Trib 10
1Vegetation: The riparian vegetation was dominated by small-tree size lodgepole pine in the overstory and by sapling lodgepole and
grasses in the understory. The streambanks were well vegetated by grasses and wildflowers. A wet meadow area was found along the
right bank of NSO 10; in this meadow there were many sundew present along the streamside of the wet meadow.
Aspens: There were no aspens present.
Wildlife: There were no fish present in this stream. There were signs of bear and deer activity.
Amphibian Habitat: There was potential habitat in the multiple meadow seeps entering the stream on both banks as well as in the spring
that feeds the headwater of the stream.
Landuse: There has been logging in this area, the area is currently in use as a research area for the UC Berkley Station.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present.
Sagehen Creek, Trib 11
1Vegetation: The riparian vegetation in the overstory was dominated by lodgepole pine; the understory was dominated by annual and
perennial grasses in the beginning of the reach. The streambanks were completely vegetated by grasses and other sub-shrub plants.
Aspens: There were no aspens present.
Wildlife: Several fish were seen in the lower half of the stream (NSO 9, 10 and 14).
Amphibian Habitat: There was a possible frog sighting in the grass along NSO 9. There was potential habitat in the meadow seeps along
the stream as well as the ponded water in the intermittent channel above the surveyed channel.
Landuse: There has been logging in the area around the stream as well, that area is now being used by the local UC Berkley Station for
research purposes.
Railroad Grades: There were no railroad grades present.
Sagehen Creek, Trib 12
1Vegetation: The riparian overstory was dominated by lodgepole pine; willow dominated the understory at the beginning of the stream,