Lake Forest Water Quality Improvement Project

Status Completed County Placer
Project Type Compensatory mitigation Location 39.18133° N, -120.11568° W Map
Project Area (Acres) 0.73 Last Updated 13 April 2022
Project Abstract Improve water quality runoff discharge to Lake Tahoe by providing erosion control and replacing roadside ditches with stream channels and wetlands.
Administrative Region Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board - Tiffany Steinert, Jan Zimmerman, Elizabeth van Diepen, LRWQCB

Project Identification

IDType
6A311308004 SWRCB - 401 Certification Letter (e.g., Site Number or WDID)

Habitat Plan

Site NamePhaseActivitySubActivitiesHabitatSubHabitatAcresActivity StatusWater Regime
Lake Forest WQI - Bristlecone and Aqua None Creation/Establishment Water Management Lacustrine Wetland Marsh 0.21 Construction completed Seasonal non-tidal
Lake Forest WQI - Skylandia Park None Creation/Establishment Water Management Riverine Wetland Shaded Riverine Aquatic 0.52 Construction completed Seasonal non-tidal

Related Habitat Impacts

Impact Project NameHabitatAcres LostType of Loss
No Data

Sites

NameStatusAcres
Lake Forest WQI - Bristlecone and Aqua Construction completed 0.21
Lake Forest WQI - Skylandia Park Construction completed 0.52

Events

DateTypeDescriptionSite Name
2019-12-15 Monitoring end Last monitoring report due
2015-10-01 Project end date
2015-05-01 Groundwork end Lake Forest WQI - Bristlecone and Aqua
2015-05-01 Groundwork end Lake Forest WQI - Skylandia Park
2013-08-27 Project start date Estimated date

People

TypeNameOrganizationDepartment
Contact Kansas McGahan Placer County Not applicable/Unknown

Funding

PhaseActivityFunderAmount
None Creation/Establishment USFS Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act $5,408,690
None Creation/Establishment California Tahoe Conservancy $5,260,537
None Creation/Establishment U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $2,075,000
None Creation/Establishment USBR U.S. Bureau of Reclamation $750,000
None Creation/Establishment Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board $750,000
None Creation/Establishment Placer County $60,894
None Creation/Establishment TRPA Stream Environment Zone Mitigation Funds $47,920
None Creation/Establishment TRPA Water Quality Mitigation Funds $26,879
None Creation/Establishment USDT Regional Surface Transportation Program Funds $26,879

Related CRAM Assessments

Visit DateVersionSite NameWetland TypeIndex Score
2018-07-12 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 1X riverine non-confined 78
2018-07-12 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 4X riverine non-confined 65
2017-07-20 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 1X riverine non-confined 65
2017-07-19 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 4X riverine non-confined 56
2016-06-08 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 4x riverine non-confined 56
2016-06-08 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 1x riverine non-confined 65
2014-05-07 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 1x riverine non-confined 59
2014-05-07 6.1 Lake Forest WQIP 4x riverine non-confined 43
Name File Type Submitted On Submitted By
County of Placer Project Page Other 2016-06-30 Tobi Tyler, LRWQCB
Lake Forest 90% Design Proposed Improvements Other 2016-06-30 Tobi Tyler, LRWQCB
Lake Forest Project Photo Locations Photo 2016-06-30 Tobi Tyler, LRWQCB

How to Use the Habitat Development Curve

Habitat Development Curves (HDCs) are used to determine the developmental status and trajectory of on-the-ground projects to create, restore, or enhance California wetland and stream habitats. Each HDC is based on assessments of habitat condition for different age areas of one habitat type that in aggregate represent the full spectrum of habitat development. The assessments of condition are provided by expert applications of the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM). Visit the CRAM website for more information about CRAM.

For each HDC, reference condition is represented by areas of a habitat that consistently get very high CRAM scores, have not been subject to disruptive management practices, and exist within landscapes that are protected and managed for their natural conditions. The horizontal lines intersecting the top of an HDC represent the mean CRAM score and standard deviation of scores for 25 qualifying reference areas.

The age of a project is estimated as the elapsed time in years between the groundwork end date for the project and the date of the CRAM assessment. To add or update a groundwork end date, use the Project Events form in Project Tracker (ptrack.ecoatlas.org). The minimum age in years of a non-project area, including any natural reference area, is estimated from all available local information, including historical maps and imagery, historical written accounts, and place-specific scientific studies of habitat development.

An HDC can be used to address the following questions:

  1. At what time in the future will the area of assessed habitat achieve the reference condition or other milestones in habitat development? The HDC can answer this question if the CRAM score for the assessed area is within the confidence interval of the HDC. The answer is the time in years along the HDC between the current age of the assessed area and the future date corresponding to the intersection of the HDC and the reference condition or other milestone.
  2. Is the area of assessed habitat likely to develop faster, slower, or at the same pace as most other areas of the same habitat type? The habitat area is likely to develop faster, slower, or at the same pace if the CRAM score for the area is above, below, or within the confidence interval of the HDC, respectively.
  3. What can be done to improve the condition of the habitat area or to increase its rate of development? HDCs by themselves cannot answer this question. Possible answers can be inferred by the following analysis that involves HDCs:
    1. Examine the HDC for each of the four CRAM Attributes;
    2. Identify the Attribute(s) scoring below the HDC;
    3. For any low-scoring Attribute, examine the component Metric Scores (note: the Metric Scores for any public CRAM assessment in the CRAM database can be obtained through EcoAtlas);
    4. Assume the low score of an Attribute is due to its low-scoring Metric(s);
    5. Consider modifying the design or management of the habitat area in ways that will sustainably increase its score(s) for the low-scoring Metric(s).

For more information about CRAM Attributes and Metrics, including their scientific rationale, see the CRAM Manual.

Display Habitat Development Curves For Wetland Type:

CRAM Site Scores