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Blackwood Creek Restoration -- A Big Step Towards a Better Tahoe
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| LINK TO VIDEO FILE | http://imedia.unr.edu/Tahoe/40_BlackwoodCanyonRestoration.asx (01:43) |
| Title | Blackwood Creek Restoration -- A Big Step Towards a Better Tahoe |
| Author/Creator | Cobourn, John; Purdy, Shelly; Segale, Heather M. |
| Related item(s) | Press Release available at http://www.tahoe.unr.edu/resources/Segment040.pdf |
| Date Original | 2004-10-06 |
| Summary/Description | Lake Tahoe Report Segment # 40 - "Blackwood Creek Restoration Project" (Air Date: Nov. 4, 2003). The U.S Forest Service's plans to restore Blackwood Creek, which has become the Tahoe Basin's biggest polluting drainage source. |
| Subject | Stream conservation -- Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)
Water quality management -- Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)
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| Location | Lake Tahoe (Calif. and Nev.)
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)
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| Collection | The Lake Tahoe Report |
| Original Publisher | Lake Tahoe Environmental Education Coalition (http://www.lteec.org) |
| Electronic Publisher | University of Nevada, Reno - Department of Teaching and Learning Technologies |
| Ordering and Permissions Information | For more information, contact the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, http://www.lteec.org or 775-832-4138. |
| Format | video/wmv |
| Date Digital | 2004-12-06 |
| Relation | Requires Windows Media Player |
| Resource Type | Moving Image |
| Language | eng |
| Contributing Institution | University of Nevada, Reno |
| Transcription | Segment 40 "Blackwood Creek Restoration Project" Air Date: Nov. 4 Anchor Intro: For its size, Blackwood Creek on the west shore of Lake Tahoe is the biggest polluter out of any other drainage in the Tahoe Basin. In tonight's Lake Tahoe Report, Shelly Purdy explains what the U.S. Forest Service plans to do about the problem. ((Take Pkg)) ((Track 1)) Blackwood Canyon has a long and storied history that has led to its current status as a waterway with serious problems. 150 years ago sheep were grazed here. The sheep munched most of the native foliage. And that was the beginning of a vicious cycle of erosion. During the Comstock era, the area was clea- cut, and then logged again in the 1950s. Then in the 1960s a gravel mining operation was built right in the middle of Blackwood Creek. ((sot @ 10:45 Jeff Reiner, United States Forest Service)) "If you want to disturb a drainage you?d do exactly what they did to Blackwood Creek over the last 150 years." ((Track 2)) Adding to the problem - this low water crossing that was built in the 1960s. ((sot @ 11:40)) "The stream has to funnel through this 8 foot culvert and it acts like a fure hose. So, it flushed all the sediment downstream and causes a lot of bank erosion." ((Track 3)) In periods of high water, the culvert backs-up and floods the entire area. And, over the years, a new stream channel has formed next to the culvert. The ground in this area was once the same height as the roadway. But all that dirt has been washed downstream into Lake Tahoe. That's the bad news. The good news is, this water crossing is slated for removal and a bridge will be built in its place allowing the creek to flow naturally underneath. Restoration of Blackwood Canyon began five years ago, and when the forest service is finished, the creek will be restored, native trees and shrubs will be planted and erosion will be controlled. With the lake tahoe environmental education coalition, I'm shelly purdy nc8. Anchor Tag: To give you an idea of just how much sediment is getting to Lake Tahoe from Blackwood Creek, one cubic yard of dirt equals one ton of sediment. The Blackwood Creek drainage is eleven miles long. Over the past 150 years of sheep grazing, logging and gravel mining - thousands of tons of sediment have dumped into Lake Tahoe from Blackwood Creek. |
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