PROGRAMS
- Conserve the Tuolumne Corridor
Big Bend Project
Project Overview
The Big Bend project is a riparian habitat restoration project along
the Tuolumne River west of the City of Modesto. Restoration activities
will include earthwork and planting to encourage natural floodplain
function and improve habitat and on approximately 254 acres of river
bottom.
Partnership
The project is undertaken as a partnership between the Tuolumne River
Trust, the California Department of Water Resources – Flood Protection
Corridor Program (DWR), the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS), the East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District (ESRCD),
Salida Elementary School, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA).
Project Goals and Objectives of Habitat Restoration
The goals of the restoration project are to improve the functionality
of the Tuolumne River floodplain to support riparian plant species,
juvenile chinook salmon and steelhead by restoring approximately 254
acres of floodplain. The objectives for the restoration project are:
• Improve channel-floodplain connectivity, improve natural regeneration
of native riparian plant species, and improve rearing habitat for juvenile
chinook and steelhead. Spawning, rearing, and migrating habitat of other
native fishes will also be improved.
• Preserve existing riparian vegetation and plant native riparian
species on floodway surfaces appropriate for each species' life history.
• Remove invasive exotic vegetation.
• Provide for public education and involvement in the restoration
activities on the northern property (owned by the ESRCD).
Site Description
The project site includes the following ownership: the northern property
on the project site is owned by the East Stanislaus Resource Conservation
District and is encumbered by permanent conservation easement held by
the NRCS. The southern property is privately owned and is also encumbered
by a permanent conservation easement held by the NRCS. The NRCS conservation
easement permanently prohibits, among other activities, planting or
harvesting any crop and building or placing buildings or structures
on the project site.
The project site includes approximately 63 acres of
floodplain on the north side of the Tuolumne River and 186 acres of
floodplain on the south side of the Tuolumne River. The site is a mix
of cultivated farmland and riparian woodlands. A portion of the property
on the north side has historically been farmed in field crops, and while
a portion on the south side has been planted in various orchards, row
crops, or field crops. Both sides of the river contain significant amounts
of riparian wetlands due to its topographically low elevation.
The project site is geomorphologically a part of the
Tuolumne River floodplain and is subject to periodic damaging floods.
The topography of the site varies from low floodplain terraces to high
floodplain terraces. Underground irrigation pipelines have been installed
on both properties. The southern property also has an drainage canal
that drains to a riparian area, and from thence to the Tuolumne River.
Surrounding land uses and setting
The project is located adjacent to and within the historical Tuolumne
River floodway and is located in an area characterized by the presence
of the Tuolumne River and riverside areas and agriculture (almond and
apple orchards, corn and other grain crops, and dairies). Surrounding
land is entirely private. There are two other existing NRCS conservation
easements along the Tuolumne River in the immediate project area. One
is a 140-acre easement on a portion of the ranch to the west of the
southern property; the other is a 58-acre easement on a portion of the
ranch to the west of the northern property.
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