FINDING A FIX FOR COLDSTREAM CANYON

By Greyson Howard, Sierra Sun
May 28, 2008

Surveying a fresh set of tire tracks cut deeply into the mud in Coldstream Canyon, Beth Christman and Cyndie Walck explain the challenges of working in one of Truckee’s most troubled watersheds.

“We’ve looked at the whole Cold Creek watershed and know there are tons of problems. It’s the problem child dumping tons of sediment into the Truckee river,” said Christman, program manager with the Truckee River Watershed Council.

The Truckee River is considered impaired by sediment, and the Donner Basin is considered a major contributor, but Christman said within the Donner Basin, Cold Creek is really the problem.

The issue stems from a combination of the natural topography of the canyon and human interference, said Walck, a fluvial geomorphologist with California Department of Parks and Recreation.

“Coldstream is one of the most hammered watersheds I’ve ever been in,” Walck said. “The railroad blew out a lot of the canyon, it’s been logged repeatedly and mined for gravel.”

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