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Project Title: Repair Deadman Creek Canal (FFS #R8GN)
State: California
Project Description: The Deadman Creek canal on Merced National Wildlife Refuge is a vital asset for wildlife management activities. The canal is the principal water delivery conveyance for the Refuge’s wetland and farming activities. Without the proper functioning and conveyance of water from this canal, the Refuge’s ability to meet its wildlife management goals would be severely affected.
This project called for the purchase and delivery of angular dispersion rock (rip-rap) to line approximately 800 linear feet of the Deadman Creek canal that has been experiencing a high degree of erosion.
This project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Scope: The project involved supplying the Refuge with 300 tons of angular dispersion rock ranging from 6 inches to 18 inches in diameter and transporting it to multiple drop sites along the two-mile-long Deadman Creek canal on the Merced NWR. The work site was located approximately ½-mile from the Refuge’s entrance.
The project involved hiring an excavator and operator to place/line a canal with rip-rap and make improvements, as follows:
- Remove sediment and vegetation from a 200-foot stretch of the canal bottom.
- Place/line 800 linear feet of canal bank with 300 tons of angular dispersion rip-rap, ranging from 6 inches to 18 inches in diameter;
- Rip-rap placement will occur at multiple locations along the two miles of canal.
Project Status: FS Rod, Inc. of Los Banos, California, was awarded the rip-rap installation contract on September 1, 2009, in the amount of $10,089.00. The project was completed on December 14, 2009.
Machado Backhoe, Inc. of Stevinson, California, was awarded the earthmoving contract on September 1, 2009, in the amount of $10,600.00. The project was completed on December 21, 2009.
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
The Merced National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 10,262 acres of wetlands, native grasslands, vernal pools, and riparian areas. It was established in 1951 under the Lea Act to attract wintering waterfowl from adjacent farmland where their foraging was causing crop damage. In the last few decades, changes in agricultural practices and Refuge management have reduced these wildlife/crop issues.
The Refuge plays host to the largest wintering populations of lesser Sandhill cranes and Ross’ geese within the Pacific Flyway. Each autumn, over 20,000 cranes and 60,000 arctic nesting geese terminate their annual migrations from Alaska and Canada to make the Refuge home for six months. Here they mingle with thousands of other visiting waterfowl, waterbirds, and shorebirds making the Refuge a true winter phenomenon.
The Refuge also provides important breeding habitat for Swainson’s hawks, tri-colored blackbirds, marsh wrens, mallards, gadwall, cinnamon teal, and burrowing owls. Tri-colored blackbirds, a colonial-nesting songbird, breed in colonies of over 25,000 pairs. Coyotes, ground squirrels, desert cottontail rabbits, beaver, and long-tailed weasels can also be seen year-round.
Vernal pools are another type of wetland found on the Merced NWR. These special pools form when natural shallow depressions underlaid with clay soils fill with winter rainwater. The pools come to life as they fill with water: fairy and tadpole shrimp emerge from cysts embedded in the soils the previous year. The endangered tiger salamander, along with other amphibians, lay eggs and rear tadpoles. The vast number of aquatic invertebrates found in these pools provides a food source for wintering and migrating birds as they prepare for the long flight north to their breeding grounds.
As spring arrives and the water in the vernal pools evaporates, wildflowers – such as goldfields, purple owl’s clover, and butter-and-egg – germinate in colorful patterns of thick rings or halos around the pool basins. Once the vernal pools have dried out, Downingia and Colusa grass, a rare California species, appear in the parched basins. This annual coloring led John Muir to describe the valley floor as the “floweriest part of the world” he had seen.
In addition to managing natural habitats, the Merced NWR contains approximately 300 acres of cultivated corn and winter wheat crops and over 500 acres of irrigated pasture for wildlife. Not only do these managed agricultural areas provide important sources of nutrition (carbohydrates) to the tens of thousands of arctic-nesting geese and Sandhill cranes that make Merced County their winter home, they also help ensure that the birds will have adequate nutrient stores to make the long migration to their northern breeding grounds. Local farmers, under agreements with the Refuge, oversee the ground preparation, seeding, and irrigation of these croplands. The Refuge incorporates a livestock grazing program that works in partnership with local ranchers and farmers. Grazing cattle and sheep is a management tool used by the Refuge to help control invasive weeds, provide and maintain short stature grasslands for goose grazing, and encourage native grasslands to thrive.
The Refuge is part of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex
The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex – composed of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge, and the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area – consists of nearly 45,000 acres of wetlands, grasslands, and riparian habitats, as well as over 90,000 acres of conservation easements on private lands for the protection and benefit of wildlife. The refuge units are located in the northern San Joaquin Valley of California in Merced and Stanislaus Counties.
The Complex is located within the Pacific Flyway, a major route for migrating birds, including waterfowl. The extensive wetlands of the Complex and surrounding lands provide habitat for up to a million waterfowl that arrive here each winter. Of the 30 species of waterfowl using the Complex, the most common include Ross’ geese, Aleutian cackling geese, snow geese, green-winged teal, mallard, northern pintail, gadwall, American wigeon, northern shoveler, and white-fronted geese.
The Complex is an integral part of a mosaic of federal, state, and private lands in Merced County that together constitute the largest contiguous freshwater wetlands remaining in California. This area has been recognized as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, an Audubon Important Bird Area, and as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site.
Photos:
 Deadman Creek before repair. |
 Deadman Creek during repair. |
 Deadman Creek after repair. |
Photos by Richard Albers, Refuge Manager, Merced NWR.
For more information, visit the Merced National Wildlife Refuge website, or contact:
Richard Albers
Refuge Manager
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
7430 West Sandy Mush Road
Merced, CA 95341-8772
Phone: (209) 826-3508
Fax: (209) 826-1445
Rich_Albers@fws.gov
Mary Crist
Administrative Officer
San Luis NWR Complex
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
P.O. Box 2176
947 West Pacheco Blvd., Suite C
Los Banos, CA 93635
Phone: (209) 826-3508, Ext. 12
Fax: (209) 826-1445
Mary_Crist@fws.gov
Kim Forrest
Refuge Manager
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex
P.O. Box 2176
Los Banos, California 93635
Phone: (209) 826-3508
Fax: (209) 826-1445
Kim_Forrest@fws.gov
Robert Parris
Deputy Refuge Manager
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex
P.O. Box 2176
Los Banos, California 93635
Phone: (209) 826-3508
Fax: (209) 826-1445
Bob_Parris@fws.gov
Dan Machado
Machado Backhoe, Inc.
22332 3rd Ave
Stevinson, CA, 95374-9745
Phone: (209) 632-0508
Steve Rodriquez
FS Rod, Inc.
P.O. Box 2191
19701 Canyon Road
Los Banos, Ca 93635-9611
Phone: (209) 826-2541
Originally posted 05/06/2010
Page Completed 05/16/2011
