To celebrate Loch Lomond’s 50th anniversary, I have organized another free watershed walk with the reservoir’s estimable caretakers: Chris Berry, manager of Santa Cruz Water Resources, and Chief Ranger Scot Lang.
Because they hold a scavenging permit, the two will show us the skull of an invasive feral pig, or wild boar, that Berry found on the watershed property.
Recently a kayaker found the dead body of A.J. floating on the water.
“A.J. was a 50-year-old female western pond turtle that we were tracking,” Lang said. “She was still gravid, meaning she could still lay eggs. But that’s our problem: All our turtles are old,” Lang explained.
We will see AJ’s carapace during the walk.
Western pond turtles lay their eggs away from the water and “sometimes right in the middle of a road,” Berry said.
They have become victims of habitat degradation, and their days are numbered unless Loch Lomond receives a permit for one of its three habitat conservation plans.
“The rest of our conservation strategies are being written right now, and so hopefully I’ll have more details for our walk on July 9,” Berry said.
“We might be building some off-channel habitat for pond turtles’ rearing habitat — that’s one thing that is limiting the reproduction of our pond turtles.”
Lang will also present other scavenged animal skeletons and antlers to our group.
“I wish we had an environmental education center, a Friends of Loch Lomond, and my rangers are always bugging me to let them do interpretive walks,” Lang said.
The western pond turtle is part of the multi-species habitat conservation plans, which also includes the red-legged frog and others. The other two plans address the conservation of anadromous salmonids and the Mount Hermon June beetle.
“The city of Santa Cruz has 20 acres of sandhills habitat in Bonny Doon, and just last week, our entomologist found the protected Mount Hermon June beetles there,” Berry said. “Now we know that it’s a viable habitat for restoration, and we’re looking forward to that, as well.”
How will that impact the water?
“Not only is it not bad for the water, if anything, it would be good, because it would keep that property from development,” Berry said. “We’ll have a change in operations where we’ll try to minimize our impact.”
During the walk, Lang will discuss the role of the lake in the water supply. Our rainy spring has changed things at Loch Lomond.
“The lake represents about 25 percent of Santa Cruz’s water supply, and it’s a critical resource in the summer time. The lake is full, and just last week it stopped spilling over the dam. Usually, at this time of year, we’re down a foot from the spillway.”
Berry added, “The last time we’ve had it this high was 2006.”
State Fish and Game stopped stocking California lakes with trout three seasons ago, after the Center for Biodiversity lodged a lawsuit claiming that introduction of the non-native fish might imperil native salmonids.
“Visitation is down at Loch Lomond because of that, and there’s been an impact on revenues and Fish and Game licensing fees,” Lang said. “Who knows, in the next few years, they might start stocking sterile trout. Previously, Fish and Game had been stocking without an environmental impact report. They realized they had environmental issues all over the state.”
Without trout to eat, ospreys have disappeared, too.
“That is one of the unforeseen consequences of the lack of trout,” Berry said, “and the osprey is a special-status species at Loch Lomond.”
Called the “fish eagle” in other countries, the magnificent brown-and-white raptor used to hover over the lake, stoop down silently and, grasping a fish in its talons, surge back into the sky.
Berry and Lang will also explain the present situation for invasive aquatics, such as mussels, and the boat program during the walk. The San Lorenzo Valley Water District sponsors the watershed walks with an environmental education grant. If you would like to attend this dog-friendly event, please e-mail me at ca****@ca*********.com.
Carol Carson is an environmentalist and writes a nature column for the Press-Banner. She has a master’s degree in education and has been a docent for Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and taught courses on Big Basin Redwoods State Park for UCSC Extension.
