To: Lake Davis Steering Committee

From: Julie Cunningham

Date: July 12, 2004

Re: Notes from the July 12, 2004 Lake Davis Steering Committee meeting held at Portola City Hall

Present: Fran Roudebush (Chair), Ivan Paulsen (California Department of Fish and Game), Mike Morrison (CDFG), Julie Cunningham (CDFG), Jerry Dollard, Doug Rischbieter (California Department of Water Resources) – by phone, James DiGiorgio (California Department of Boating and Waterways)

Fishing Report: Jerry reported that shore-fishing, trolling and fly-fishing at Lake Davis are all good, which is unusual for this time of year when water is warmer. Recent articles in the Fish Sniffer and Western Outdoor News have provided positive information on Lake Davis.

DFG Project Update: Ivan reported that as of July 9th the season’s pike catch is at 6,724 fish. The 5,500 pike caught in June were a record for that month. Most of the catch has been this year’s young, which are about 4" long. Mike reported that the young pike are most concentrated further south than they have been in previous seasons. The crews may start using gill nets next week to try and capture larger fish. Ivan said that there have been 41 reports of angler-caught pike so far this season (there were 27 total last year). There were 4 pike reported caught during the Rotary Club Lake Davis Fishing Derby.

Water Levels: James DiGiorgio looked up water levels on CDEC, reporting that yesterday the reservoir was at 5,764.81 feet, corresponding to 48,722. Lake Davis remains a bit less than two feet below its level this time last year.

Honker Cove Boat Ramp Extension: James DiGiorgio informed the group that the Department of Boating and Waterways (DBOW) has emergency funds available to extend boat ramps during low water levels. If DFG implements a pike-eradication project, it would make sense to coordinate with DBOW so that the Honker Cove Boat Ramp could be extended while the water was drawn down. Ivan estimated that if CEQA is officially begun in the next month or two, it is possible that a project could be implemented in the summer and fall of 2006. He would like to see the reservoir drawn down to a volume between 10,000 and 20,000 acre-feet. A boat launch extension project would probably take 4-6 weeks. James will let his supervisor know about the projected start date and volume so that a project can be coordinated. The group also asked Jim to consider looking at the sedimentation problem at Honker Cove as well as larger boat docks as part of a ramp extension project. Ivan thought that these issues could also be addressed in the CEQA document.

Announcements: Ivan reported that he had been working on estimates of how long it would take to draw down and refill Lake Davis in response to Colleen Marsh’s inquiry during the last meeting. Based upon the 37-year historical record, the average volume of Lake Davis on both Sept. 1 and January 1 is about 60,000 acre-feet. Assuming a January 1 start date, it would be possible to draw down the reservoir to 10,000 acre-feet by September 1 of the same year about half the time. In most instances it would be possible to refill to a useable level in 8 to 20 months. Overall, in most instances, it would take between 16 and 40 months (1-3 recreational seasons) to draw down to 10,000-20,000 acre-feet and refill Lake Davis to a useable level of 40,000-50,000 acre-feet.

Fran reported that she had talked to John Gullixson, a local attorney, regarding people’s concerns about a future treatment of Lake Davis. He will be speaking to California Department of Fish and Game Attorney Joe Milton.

Julie announced that several toxicologists have offered to work with CDFG and the Steering Committee in analyzing the public- and environmental-health effects of rotenone projects. They will be meeting next month. She also requested that the Steering Committee discuss the proposed economic study and how to address groundwater issues at the next meeting.

Doug announced that he and DWR archaeologist Janis Offermann would be coordinating with CDFG and the Forest Service on any archaeological surveys to be conducted if the reservoir is drawn down. He would like to discuss this at the next meeting.

The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 9th, 1-3 p.m., Portola City Hall.