Fall 2024
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into the Sacramento River, into either of the existing canals, or into the Colusa Basin Drain. Water would be diverted (up to 2,100 cubic feet per second [cfs], depending on the availability of sufficient flows.
The operations for the Project incorporate three primary components:
1. Operating criteria for the diversion of excess water
(rate, duration, season, and water year type) from
the Sacramento River
2. Operating criteria for timing and rate of releases
from the Sites Reservoir to achieve the primary
objectives of the Project (and associated benefits)
in specific year types (such as drought or driest
periods) and other hydrologic conditions
3. Operations of the Project in cooperation with the
State Water Project (SWP) and CVP operations,
including Trinity Lake, Shasta Lake, Lake Oroville,
and Folsom Lake.
The Project would include the development of up to five recreational areas that could be used for boating, camping, picnicking, fishing, swimming, and/or hiking, although a maximum of three areas is anticipated. Facilities would include a boat ramp on the western side of the reservoir where the existing Sites Lodoga Road would be inundated; it is not specified in the documentation how many lanes/ details regarding this facility. At the Stone Corral Recreation
Area, 50 campsites (car and recreational vehicle), 10 picnic sites (with parking at each site), six-lane boat launch, hiking trails, electricity, potable water, and 10 vault toilets are proposed.
While the design, operation and plans are relatively complete – no reservoir management plan has been prepared. The reservoir management plan would describe the management of fishery resources within Sites Reservoir. This plan would include, but may not be limited to the following, target fisheries species composition and management activities, including stocking strategies (if any), habitat enhancement measures, and monitoring efforts.
According to their website, this would be prepared within a year of project completion. I have reached out to garner further information with no response.
I am aware of several habitat improvement projects, primarily located in Southern California, that have had great success. I would hope that the parties involved would look to those projects including those from Shasta Lake and others around California documenting the success of such projects on the benefits to bass fisheries.
Sites Reservoir is a blank slate with an amazing potential to be a phenomenal bass fishery, augmenting an already great slate of fisheries. It will be relatively low elevation allowing for warm productive growth, but with enough depth to not be a swamp. Given the amount of earth work required to construct
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