ITINERARY: TRUCKEE RIVER TOUR DAY ONE (Thursday, April 30, 2015)
8:00 am / Meet in Siena Hotel eastlobby (by valet), 1 S. Lake St., to take attendance, handout packets, use restroom, get water or snacks* to go, etc.IF YOU ARE LATE, CALL 775-233-9799 (JANET’S CELL)
TO ARRANGE AN ALTERNATE PICKUP PLACE.
8:15 am
50 min drive / Depart for Pyramid Lake via Pyramid Highway. Discuss water supplies for North Valleys development, Vidler water importation project, and Nevada Wind’s power project in the Pah Rah mountains en route.
9:00 am
Stop #1
(40 min) / Visit Pyramid Tribe cutthroat trout spawning facility at Sutcliffe. Close-up view oftrout spawning channel and eggs being harvested. Guest speaker: Denise Shaw of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and staff. This is a trip highlight, so bring your camera!
9:45 am
30 min drive / Depart Sutcliffe and drive south along shore of Pyramid Lake, discussing historic and modern lake levels and Pyramid Lake history en route. If time permits, detour a little north of Marble Bluff for overview of original fish channel and Winnemucca Lake.
10:15 am
Stop #2
(45 min) / Arrive Marble Bluff Dam, built in 1975 to stop the river from head-cutting and to divert water into the fish passage. See operation of the fish “lock” to pass fish from lake level to higher river channel. Guest speakers: Tim Loux and Erik Horgen of U.S. FWS.
11:00
45 min drive / Depart Marble Bluff Dam & drive south along Truckee River. En route view lower River and Numana Dam from overlook;discuss efforts to keep a live stream during droughts. Drive by fallowed land in Fernley and discuss challenges of re-naturalizing formerly irrigated land when water rights are sold.
11:45
(60 min) / Box lunch provided at Fernley City Hall. Guest Speaker: Rusty Jardine, TCID general manager will discuss 2015 water supply for irrigators in Fernley and Fallon.
12:45 pm
15 min drive / Depart Fernley and start drive west along Truckee River.
1:00 pm
Stop #3
(45 min) / Arrive Derby Dam to discuss history ofdiversions of Truckee River water to Lahontan Reservoir (OCAP); also see fish channel and wetlands project. Guest speaker: Caryn Huntt DeCarlo ofU. S. Bureau of Reclamation.
1:45 pm
25 min drive / Depart Derby Dam and continue west along river. We will drive through Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, the world’s largest industrial development, and discuss water/sewer issues en route.
2:10 pm
Stop #4
(50 min) / Arrive at The Nature Conservancy’s McCarran Ranch for a walking tour and explanation of2006 channel restoration and riparian habitat. This was TNC’s first river restoration project of four total. Guest speaker: Chris Sega from TNC.
3:00 pm
15 min drive / Depart McCarran Ranch and drive by the TNC and BLM’s newest river restoration projects: Mustang Ranch (2009) and Lockwood Park (2008).
3:15 pm
Stop #5
(20min) / Arrive Larkin Circle, with an overview of Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility (TMWRF), Steamboat Creek confluence with Truckee River and Vista Narrows. Guest speaker: Michael Drinkwater of TMWRF on wastewater treatment and water quality.
3:40 pm
15 min drive / Depart Larkin Circle and drive to downtown Reno. History en route of accidental transformation of “Helms Pit” to Sparks Marina, in 1997.
4:00 pm / Arrive Arlington Bridge to learn about flood issues. Walk along river bank to Center and Lake bridges. Guest speaker: Jay Aldean of Truckee Meadows Flood Project.
4:30 pm / Return to Siena Hotel on foot. Estimated arrival—please allow +/- 15 min.
* We provide lunch both days, but not snacks or water on the bus. There is NOT a restroom on the bus, but is one at most stops.
ITINERARY: TRUCKEE RIVER TOUR--DAY TWO (Friday, May 1, 2015)
IF YOU ARE LATE, CALL 775-233-9799 (JANET’S CELL)
TO ARRANGE AN ALTERNATE PICKUP PLACE.
8:05 am
30 min drive / Depart for Lake Tahoe via Mt. Rose Hwy. Topics en route include: history of ditches & irrigation, including Galena-Washoe diversion, an early trans-basin diversion.
8:45 am
Stop #2 / Arrive Slide Mountainparking lot to view Washoe Valley. Topics include Marlette-Hobart water system, 1800’s dam proposal for Washoe Lake and 1980’s pumped-hydro proposal. As we go over Mt. Rose summit, we will talk about runoff forecasting with snow surveys.
9:20 am
30 min driveStop #3
(45 min) / Arrive at Tahoe Center for Environmental Studies (TCES) in Incline Village, multi-agency science center with extensive exhibits about the Tahoe environment. Topics include water quality protection efforts in the Tahoe Basin, invasive species, and water clarity trends. Guest speaker: Heather Segale, TCES.
10:30 am
30 min drive
Stop #4
(50 min) /
- ArriveLake Tahoe Dam. Walk lakeshoreto discuss Tahoe Dam history, water rights, hydrology, operating rules.
- Tour interior of dam with John Sutter of USBR.
- Walk to outlet downstream of dam and learn about efforts to remove aquatic weeds.Guest speaker: Nicole Cartwright of Tahoe Resource Conservation District (TRCD).
11:15 am
15 min drive
(20 min) / Depart Tahoe Dam, and drive north along Truckee River. Arrive atAlpine Meadows boat inspection station. Hear about (and maybe see) watercraft being inspected for invasive species, especially quagga mussels. Guest Speaker: Nicole Cartwright of TRCD.
12:10 pm
Stop #5
(45 min) / Arrive for picnic lunch atColdstream Canyon, site of streambank restoration by Truckee River Watershed Council. Guest speaker: Lisa Wallace, TRWC.
1:00 pm
Stop #6
(15 min) / Arrive east end of Donner Lake. Walk to Donner Lake dam to discuss role and constraints of Donner Lake in Reno’s drought water supply. Ownership, temporary drought leases and litigation history.
1:30 pm
30 min drive / Depart Truckee via I-80. Drive by Boca and discuss history of ice-making and dam,water quality and water right impact of old sawmills, role of Boca in water management,i.e. maintaining Floriston Rates. Continue drive to Stampede.
2:00 pm
Stop #7
(30 min) / Arrive Stampede Reservoir. Discuss flow capacity in the Little Truckee River en route. Stop at Stampede overlook to discuss history, water rights, role of Stampede in preserving fish in lower river, Negotiated Settlement and TROA, Endangered Species Act. Speaker: Janet Phillips.
2:30 pm
30 min drive / Depart Stampede for Verdi via I-80: view Gray Creek watershed and discuss its high erosion impacts on water quality; see transportation-related risk of toxic spills into river. Stop briefly on I-80 to walk to viewpoint of Fleish powerplant diversion dam and bridge.
3:30 pm
Stop #8
(30 min) / Arrive in Verdi to tour Truckee Meadows Water Authority’s hydroelectric plant. Topics include: plant history, water rights, modernization, diversion impacts on fish. Guest speaker: Pat Nielsen of TMWA.
4:10 pm
20 min drive / Depart Verdi to Reno.
4:30 pm / Return to Siena Hotel. Estimated arrival—please allow +/- 15 min.
Optional no-host bar after tour!