The Cosumnes River is a great place to start my watershed series because it highlights a major change to California’s Central Valley: our plumbing. No, I’m not talking about the pipes in our homes, I’m talking about the plumbing of our rivers, streams, and creeks.
The Undammed
In my last blog post I talked about the heart of California - the Delta. We learned that all Central Valley rivers and streams drain into the Delta. But that flow has changed over the years, causing a great shift in the Delta ecosystem. One of the biggest culprits has been the placement of large dams. Once we placed those dams - well damn, everything changed downstream.
However, one river has remained unchanged in that capacity: the Cosumnes. So let’s talk about what a local healthy watershed looks like. Let’s get to know this “girl next door” of rivers. It’s important to know what’s in our backyard. After all, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump from Sacramento. (Ok not really. It’s about 25 miles south of Sacramento.)
The Cosumnes River is unique in that it’s the last major undammed river in the California Central Valley. If the other rivers and streams are the big brothers and sisters that have grown up and gone off to the big DAM corporate world, then Cosumnes River is the baby sister that went against the grain (or flow) and followed a more natural path: UNDAMMED.
It’s a more natural river system — much like the other rivers once were before they were dammed. Latrobe Falls, a natural barrier, is the upper most extent where fish can migrate. In other words, fish cannot swim passed Latrobe Falls, unless you feed them steroids, turning them into Franken-Fish. (The way we are managing our environment, we are kinda headed into that direction of mutated fish, but that’s another story for another day.)
The Cosumnes watershed has north, middle, and south forks that begin in the Sierras and drain into the main channel of the valley floor. Cosumnes River’s final destination is the confluence with the Mokelumne River. Before emptying into the Mokelumne River, the main channel of Cosumnes connects to various floodplain habitats.
Salmon Daycare Center
An important feature of Cosumnes are the surrounding floodplains. Because of its ability to be a rebel without a cause and remain undammed – the river meanders, moves, and floods the way rivers once did before we diked, leveed, and armoured them with rock (like it’s the thing to do). The Consumnes does its thing naturally and guess what? Fish and wildlife love it!
Floodplains of the Cosumnes
Think of floodplains like the daycare center for baby salmon. Baby salmon can feed, grow, and hide from predators such as bass – those nasty non-native fish that love to prey on baby salmon. Bass are like the bullies of the playground. When baby salmon can safely grow in floodplain habitats, they are better at hiding from bass, and their survival rates increase because they can swim back to the main channel better equipped to fend off the bullies. Waterfowl and shorebirds (birds that like to hang out in aquatic areas) love this kind of habitat too because they can feed, nest, and generally just be their pretty little bird selves.
Catching a glimpse of a Great Egret!
Cosumnes River Preserve
Another unique aspect of the Cosumnes is the preserve. No, I’m not talking about jellies and jams here. I’m talking about the Cosumnes River Preserve. Home to several hundreds of mammals, fish, birds, and plants – it’s a bird lovers paradise and the sunsets are amazing. It’s a great place for hiking, nature watching, birding, paddling, fishing, and hunting. To learn more about the preserve, check out their website here, or better yet, go visit it in person!
Final thoughts on the UNDAMMED
We dam rivers for a bunch of different reasons – irrigation, human consumption, flood control, etc. But the end results of dams leads to some negative consequences downstream (the downside of dams). Fish, animals, plant life, and water quality become impacted. But, we’re lucky to have the Cosumnes River to remind us of a glimpse of the natural beauty of California’s historic water.
So remember: 1) The Cosumnes is undammed. There have been proposals to dam it, but damn it! She can’t be controlled. She’s a rebel without a cause, remember? 2) Go see the Cosumnes River Preserve. It’s big and beautiful and a great place for photography and bird watching and more! An absolute must-visit. 3) Floodplains. Cosumnes is surrounded by floodplain habitats – the most precious daycare centers for our precious baby salmon.
I hope all these fun facts about the Cosumnes River will increase your appreciation and awareness for it. In doing so, and by connecting to this watershed, you’ll come one step closer to being a better steward of our local natural resources.
