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Millerton Lake Caves Alert!
The Caves Originally brought to the attention of speleologists in 1962, the system was thoroughly explored from 1983-1990 by members of the National Speleological Society (NSS) and surveyed to over 1.3 km. Articles in the California Caver and NSS News (April 1986, June 1997) have documented their efforts. Since then, the system has become a popular recreational destination, and many well-traveled cavers regard it as the finest of its kind in the world. People assumed the caves would be around forever... but in late March, Paul Martzen (regional coordinator in Fresno for American Whitewater) alerted WCC and members of the caving community to a feasibility study now being conducted for new reservoirs in the upper San Joaquin watershed. Several of the project alternatives would permanently flood the Millerton Lake Caves.
Water Wars The CalFed program aims to restore ecological health to the California Delta ecosystem while improving the quality and reliability of water deliveries to consumers. An important component is restoring continuous flows to the San Joaquin River, formerly the southernmost Chinook salmon run in North America. Since the 1940s when Friant Dam was built, more than ten miles of the San Joaquin (the second-longest river in California) is left dry most of the year, and lower stretches watered by agricultural runoff are badly polluted. While Millerton Lake water has been absolutely essential for irrigating nearly one million acres of farmland in the San Joaquin Valley and in supplying much of Fresno and other communities' drinking water, it has been at the expense of the river and Delta. The method agreed upon to return water to the lower San Joaquin was to increase surface storage in the region, either by enlarging Millerton Lake or an equivalent alternative. New water storage would increase flood season capacity and thus enable regular releases to the river year-round.
The Threat Flooding the Millerton Lake caves will be impossible to "mitigate." These unusual hard-rock caves are an important recreational resource that cannot be replaced or relocated. They are the most outstanding caves of their type known in California, and among the finest anywhere. Given their isolation, the caves may support an endemic fauna, but have never been adequately studied. Phase 1 of the feasibility study, completed at the end of 2003 (http://www.usbr.gov/mp/sccao/storage) selected seven storage projects for further investigation. Ten other projects were rejected on environmental or technical grounds. Those remaining on the drawing board are:
The project investigators are considering many factors. Potential for restoring river flows, improvement of water quality and water supply reliability, whitewater rafting runs, productive hydropower plants, pristine riparian habitat, archaeological and historical sites, technical and economic factors, existing water contracts: all these are being weighed in the balance... but not the caves, until now.
We Need Your Help We urge our members and everyone familiar with the Millerton Lake Caves to write the investigators to let them know how important the caves are. Until last March, the investigators were completely unaware of the existence of the caves, let alone their significance. Consequently, the caves are unlikely to have played a major role in their selection of final alternatives. Although we are late to the table, it's up to us, and to you, to assure that the Investigation Report and draft EIS/EIR will not neglect cave resources. Don't let the Millerton Lake Cave system go down without a fighting chance! We know writing letters is hard for many people, but a simple letter can make a big difference. Download a sample, but we suggest personalizing your letter using your own experiences and feelings, or even better, writing a letter from scratch. Mail a copy to each of these people:
Irina P. Torrey, AICP
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Many of our members are familiar with the Millerton Lake
Caves on the San Joaquin River. What they may not realize is
that new water projects threaten to permanently drown this
world-class granite cave system. Read on for more information
and a call to action.
Ironically, the threat springs from a bittersweet environmental
victory: the 2000 CalFed Record of Decision. The result of
six years of acrimonious negotiations between environmentalists,
urban and agricultural water districts and others affected
by Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley water use, the plan laid out by
CalFed was a compromise many had thought impossible to attain,
bringing to a close one of the fiercest battles in the "water
wars" of the twentieth century.
In June, the Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage Investigation
is scheduled to release its Alternatives Report, identifying the
final set of alternatives to be studied. The Phase 2 Investigation
Report, providing a preliminary analysis of costs, benefits and
environmental impacts of each of the final alternatives, will be
released in December 2004. The Draft EIS/EIR is scheduled for
completion in June 2005, but we certainly don't want to wait for
the public comment period to weigh in.
