The Wild Side of the Santa Ana River OCWD Department of Natural Resources
Outline • Introduction: OCWD Natural Resources Department • The Connection Between Water Management and the Environment • Santa Ana Watershed • Prado Basin and Wetlands – Wildlife Management – Habitat Restoration • Anaheim Recharge Facilities – Lower Santa Ana River – Burris Seabird Island • Bird Nesting Box Program • Additional Wildlife and other Activities
Why OCWD has a Natural Resources Department Wildlife Management Habitat Restoration Regulatory Permits All NR Staff Activities Are Driven by Regulatory Permits for Water Projects and Operations We deal with environmental permits, permit compliance, wildlife management, habitat restoration, and reporting
Prado Basin and Orange County Recharge Facilities Prado Wetlands Recharge Facilities Most Natural Resources work is in the Prado Basin and Recharge facilities but we have Partnerships and some involvement throughout the watershed
Santa Ana River Watershed • 2,650 mi2 / 6,900 km2 • Originates in San Bernardino Mountains • Principal Source of Water for OCWD • Effluent-based stream • Urbanized watershed Largest coastal river system in southern California
The Connection Between Water Management & the Environment Prado Drone Video
Prado Basin & Wetlands Largest riparian forest left in southern California
Prado Basin • Dam is 30.5 miles from ocean • Largest Native Woodland Stand • OCWD Property: 2,150 acres • Monitor and Manage Endangered Species Throughout the Basin • Restore 2 ac Annually • Monitor Maintenance Activities • Monitor Habitat Response to Inundation Aerial photograph of the 12,000 acres in the Prado Basin and adjacent lands
Wildlife Management ENDANGERED LEAST BELL’S VIREO • State and Federal endangered species • Migratory bird, tied to riparian habitat • Reasons they are endangered: habitat loss and brood parasitism • OCWD Monitoring Program for species recovery Photo of 4 Least Bell’s Vireo nestlings about 10 -11 days old
Brown-headed Cowbird Trapping Restoring riparian habitat in Prado Basin is part of OCWD’s successful Endangered Nesting Bird Management Program; stopping nest parasitism is also critical.
Least Bell’s Vireo Status in Prado Basin From 18 territories in 1986 to 665 in 2018 due to OCWD’s successful Wildlife Management Program
Including SAWA territory numbers, we have nearly 2,000 territories, which is the largest number of territories in the Santa Ana Watershed since listed as endangered
Least Bell’s Vireo Nest Monitoring Vireo Nest Video
Habitat Restoration • Removal of Non-Natives • Natural Recruitment • Planting Natives We restore habitat by first removing non-native plant species and allowing either natural recruitment to take place or actively planting native riparian species
Removal of Non-natives The focus for removal is Arundo because of the many problems it causes but there are many other problematic invasive plants, Tamarisk, Palms, and Castor Bean, e.g.
Native Plants Planted by: • Natural Succession • Volunteers • Contractors • Staff Our Natural Resources Program is responsible for planting 2 acres of native habitat in Prado Basin And 2 acres in OC facilities per year
OC Recharge Facilities: Lower Santa Ana River Recharge facilities, river & off-river channel = 1,000 wetted acres OCWD biologists work closely with the Operations Department to protect wildlife
Burris Island Burris Drone Video
Burris Basin & Island • Burris Basin ~ 120 acre • Water storage and percolation basin • Downstream and adjacent to Santa Ana River • City of Anaheim near Anaheim Stadium • 14 miles from ocean • In 2008, OCWD confirmed nesting of CA Least Terns, a federally and state listed endangered species Aerial photograph of Burris and surrounding recharge basins near the Santa Ana River
Burris Wildlife Burris Wildlife Video
Bird Nesting Box Program Accommodating wildlife, strong environmental stewardship helps in the regulatory arena; without nest cavities, many of these charismatic and useful species would be rare.
Wood Duck Including our most colorful species of waterfowl
Western Screech Owl Wood Duck nest boxes also accommodate a few WESO, our smallest owl in the basin
Barn Owl Extra Barn Owls in the Prado Basin keep mouse populations lower with fewer rodent issues on vireo nest productivity
Tree Swallow • Boxes in Anaheim and Prado facilities • Alternative use of pesticides for insect control • Consume ~300,000 insects per box Biologists monitor over 500 boxes weekly along the Santa Ana River, surrounding recharge basins and in the Prado Basin
Tree Swallow Video Tree Swallow Video
Other T & E Species CA Gnatcatcher CA Least Tern OCWD and partners monitor many sensitive nesting species
Other Bird Species Herons Egrets Cormorants Mallards Red-winged Blackbirds Killdeer Over 250 bird species are found in the Prado Basin
Rookeries in Anaheim Facilities Drone Video of Egret Rookery
Reptiles of Prado Basin Coachwhip California Common Kingsnake Gopher Snake Red-sided Garter Snake A variety of reptile species are found in the Prado Basin, including the Red-sided Garter Snake, a species intimately tied to wetland habitats
Native Aquatic Species Santa Ana Sucker Arroyo Chub • Surveying • Habitat Enhancement • Non-native aquatic removal http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/?uid=5&ds=241 OCWD, SAWA biologists, and partners monitor native fish in Sunnyslope Creek, a Santa Ana River tributary.
Biological Monitoring and other NR Activities • Wetland Operations and Maintenance Monitoring • Mitigation Implementation and Monitoring • Arundo and Invasive Control • Endangered Bird Monitoring • Cowbird Control • Bird/Sensitive Species Surveys • Reptile and Amphibian Monitoring • Bird Nesting Boxes and Bat Boxes • Native Fish Restoration • NEPA/CEQA/Permits • Public Tours/Education
Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA) Melody Aimar Biological Monitoring Programs Manager
Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA) ➢ 501c3 non-profit organization established to eradicate arundo and manage sensitive wildlife throughout the SAR watershed ➢ For 23 years, the Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA) and its partners (OCWD and RCD’s) have been promoting a healthy Santa Ana River watershed ➢ Our Goal: restore the natural functions of the watershed through the enhancement and restoration of the native riparian community ➢ Our first step: invasive plant species removal for riparian forest recovery – manage sensitive species
Arundo donax Introduced to the Santa Ana River for erosion control and expanded to cover over 10,000 acres
Arundo donax Threats ➢ Outcompetes native vegetation ➢ Grows over 2 feet/week ➢ Consumes 2-3 times more water than natives ➢ Highly flammable/carries firestorm ➢ First to sprout after ground disturbance (fire, flood, etc.) ➢ Has little value to wildlife ➢ Impedes wildlife movement ➢ Ideal structure for homeless camps ➢ Clogs waterways
River Road Bridge
San Timoteo Reach 3B • Funded by USACE (SAWA Trust- $1.62m - 20 years) • 1997 – arundo infested • 1998 – arundo removed • 2002 – natural riparian vegetation recovery
Before …
After…
SAWA/OCWD Joint Projects ➢ Invasive Species Control ➢ Sunnyslope - Santa Ana Sucker ➢ Fish surveys, habitat restoration ➢ Least Tern Colony Monitoring ➢ Huntington Beach ➢ California Gnatcatcher Surveys ➢ Prado ➢ Hwy 71 – inventory ➢ Dam – sedimentation pre-project ➢ Shot Hole Borer Trapping ➢ Collaboration with CDFW/UCR ➢ Bat/swallow Diet Study ➢ Anaheim – near recharge basins
SAWA Biological Monitoring ➢ Endangered/Threatened Species Monitoring ➢ Least Bell’s Vireo ➢ Southwestern Willow Flycatcher ➢ California Gnatcatcher ➢ California Least Tern ➢ Santa Ana Sucker ➢ Brown-headed Cowbird management ➢ Breeding Bird Surveys ➢ Habitat Assessments ➢ Nesting Bird Avoidance ➢ Bat Surveys ➢ Herpetofauna surveys ➢ Camera Trap Surveys ➢ Small Mammal Trapping ➢ Fish Surveys
Least Bell’s Vireo Territories in the Santa Ana Watershed
Biological Monitors (2000-2020) Loren Hays Melody Aimar Nicole Housel Maricela Archer Sue Hoffman Giovanni Arechavaleta Robb Hamilton Talula Barbee Bonnie Johnson Allyson Beckman Therese Kastner Jessica Burton Linette Lina Jenna Carpenter Anthony Locatelli Florence Chan Cameron Macbeth Cynthia Chavez David McMichael Jill Coumoutso Jim Pike Samantha Dempster Michael Rahe Patience Falatek Terry Reeser Collin Farmer Richard Zembal Aaron Gallager
Funding Partners • Orange County Water District • US Fish and Wildlife Service • US Army Corps of Engineers • California Department of Fish and Wildlife • Inland Empire Resource Conservation District • Rivers and Lands Conservancy • Temecula-Elsinore Anza-Murrieta RCD • Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
Thank you! www.ocwd.com www.sawatershed.org
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