Live Data from Kuhlanapo Preserve!

March 2026

Shoreline of Kuhlanapo Wetland Preserve

We are excited to share our new project website for the Kuhlanapo Wetland Restoration! This project website was co-created with our engineering consulting partner, FlowWest and Kim Schmitt, of KJ’s Lakeside Graphics. The Lake County Land Trust secured a $1.18 million grant from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to create plans and designs for Manning Creek Delta Restoration on LCLT’s Kuhlanapo Wetland Preserve. The new project website provides all the interesting and current information, plans, historical documents, and you can even access live stream and groundwater data being collected right now from a suite of monitoring devices installed on the Preserve. A perfect example of science in action!

Before a big project like this can be designed, on the ground data needs to be collected and studied to inform the engineers and hydrologists. To ensure the project will be built correctly, data needs to be collected and analysed to best inform the appropriate designs to meet project goals. The same data being used by the experts designing this restoration plan is accessible for viewing on our project website. Two types of monitoring devices have been installed on the Preserve; stream and groundwater monitors. These devices also monitor data continuously, with data points being logged and uploaded every 15 minutes in real time.

Three in-stream monitoring stations have been installed in various spots on Manning Creek and measure the stage (water height/depth), flow (Cubic feet per second or CFS) and water temperature.

These locations are depicted as blue pins on the graphic. This project is going to be designed to improve the hitch habitat in Manning Creek, and water depth, flow, and temperature have all been shown to have some influence on where and when hitch prefer to migrate up Clear Lake creeks to spawn. Therefore, it makes sense that these are the three parameters the equipment in the creek is gathering for project design.

The project scientists have also installed ten piezometers in monitoring wells - depicted as colored circles in the graph (see above). This will allow the team to identify how hourly precipitation relates to the groundwater elevation. This is important for the project design because the relationship between ground water and surface water needs to be considered before heavy construction and land moving occurs. The overall goal of the project is to ensure there is enough water in the stream for Clear Lake hitch to swim, spawn, and for juveniles to emerge and get back to the lake before the restored creeks dry out, which can be influenced by both surface and ground water sources.

All the data being collected is not only interesting (especially for us nerdy science geeks) but is vitally important for this project to be appropriately designed.

Click here if you lean to geekish for a look at some cool live data!

More to Share

We are enhancing our YouTube Channel. Take a look at the drone footage recently taken at Kuhlanapo Wetland Preserve on our YouTube channel. Can you spot the newly installed pavilion over each of our two viewing platforms?

Click here to watch the video.

Exciting News!

Back County Press has a new guidebook for the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Region, covering much of Lake County and adjacent area. Discover the region's biodiversity, geological history, and cultural heritage, including insights into Native Peoples and 19th-century settlement. The Lake County Land Trust is excited to share this with our supporters who value conservation. Click here for more information.

Lake County Land Trust

A Charitable Non-Profit Protecting Land in Lake County

PO Box 1017, https://www.lakecountylandtrust.org/

Lakeport, CA 95453

707-262-0707

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