Long Overdue Management Plans for
Owens River Headwaters & Cottonwood Creek
Being Drafted With Public Input

The Owens River Headwaters draft plan:

• Must analyze current and projected groundwater extraction from the watersheds of Deadman, Glass and Dry Creeks. Mammoth Mountain Ski Area extracts water from Dry Creek for snowmaking, and a 1994 Environmental Assessment by the Inyo National Forest analyzed a proposal by the Mammoth Community Water District (MCWD) to drill four water supply wells in the Dry Creek watershed to annually extract up to 2,000 acre feet of groundwater. Other potential points of groundwater extraction include recreational housing tracts and campgrounds, as well as the state road maintenance yard at Crestview.
• Should also include the realistic impacts of climate change and chronic drought in identifying potential flow impacts on the WSR.
• Should provide more information on potential water pollution sources and propose actions to resolve the accompanying water quality problem. For example, it notes the presence of bacterial contamination in Glass Creek but does not present possible actions to identify the source of the bacteria pollution or mitigate or eliminate either. The Forest Service has a responsibility to proactively protect and enhance the water quality of the Owens River Headwaters Wild and Scenic River.
• Should expand the Outstanding Remarkable Values for scenery, botany, hydrology (such as including Big Springs) and ecology due to the Owens River Headwater’s highly variable and diverse river systems.
• Needs to be revised to incorporate recreational use data over multiple years. This will allow for collection of a complete picture of recreational capacity and help guide future management actions. 
• Should also include management actions that protect the river corridor from water contamination, activities that contribute to erosion, sedimentation, and riparian vegetation loss.
• Should incorporate an annual monitoring plan. Components of the monitoring plan include surveys for water quality, wildlife—including Yosemite Toad and spring snails—recreation use, and riparian health. 

The Cottonwood Creek draft plan:

• Should add recreation as an Outstanding Remarkable Value for fishing, hiking, camping, hunting, and other possibilities for recreation that Cottonwood Creek provides.
• Needs to add Geology as an Outstanding Remarkable Value due to the presence of many important and unique geological features. These include Lower Cambrian Trilobites, which are the subject of ongoing research at White Mountain Research Station.
• Should recognize the eligible tributaries of Cottonwood, as they contribute to its Outstanding Remarkable Values. These include 3.7 miles of South Fork Cottonwood Creek and 3.4 miles of Poison Creek.
• Should recommend the present options for permanently retiring the Cottonwood Creek grazing allotment to protect the Outstanding Remarkable Values of botany, fisheries, and wildlife.
• Should incorporate an annual monitoring plan. Components of the monitoring plan include annual surveys for recreational use, water quality and quantity, wildlife such as spring snails, and historic and prehistoric sites.
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Comments for both the
Owens River Headwaters and Cottonwood Creek
Wild and Scenic River CRMP's are due by
Friday, Aug. 6
(Extended Deadline).
Submit your comments today!

Directions: Review documents and maps here. Click on the “scoping” tab to read the draft plans. Click on the “comment/object on this project,” or go here to enter your comments or attach your comment letter. There is an "Español" link on the comments page that allows for comments to be submitted in Spanish as well. 

You can also mail hard copy comment letters to Adam Barnett, Inyo National Forest, 351 Pacu Ln., Suite 200, Bishop, CA, 93514. The office business hours for those submitting hand-delivered comments are: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Please state “Inyo National Forest CRMP” in the subject line when providing electronic comments, or on the envelope when replying by mail. Mr. Barnett is also available to answer questions and provide additional information as needed. Please contact him at adam.barnett@usda.gov or (760) 920-8104. 
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Thank you for providing feedback to the Inyo National Forest on their draft plans. Together we can make sure these plans protect these free-flowing Wild and Scenic Rivers for future generations of people and wildlife.