February 08, 2005
Garbage! Don't leave it at the water!!
This (what's pictured) just flat out pist me off. I was ranting out loud, cussing up a storm. Since it was early, and raining, not a soul was out there, except the birds and animals.
I just don't get it. The lake isn't so large that it can absorb all this crap and refuse, without it having a detrimental effect on the fish, birds and animals living there, not to mention the PEOPLE WHO EAT THE FISH.
Especially the fishing gear, I mean, if you're planning on eating what comes out of that lake, you would think the folks would try to keep it halfway clean. Someone, most likely the County Parks dept. and a few dedicated citizens who care about the lake, are cleaning up weekly. I've hit the Douglas Rd. north shore a few times because of all the trash from passing motorists, and man, is there a lot of trash that blows in there. I decided that I needed to wear waders and pants the next time I'm trudging around out there, as well as gas myself with Off bug spray.
Last time I was out there cleaning up, I came back bitten and scratched, so common sense takes over, always:
And last of all, check in with park about getting some trash bads and get permission to dump what I collect in the parking lot dumpster. All I need is to get the Polizei on my case for anonymous dumping.
- wear pants and long sleve shirt
- bring along trash tongs
- wear gloves
- bring a pair of waders/rubber boots
Posted by cystdog at 09:33 AM | TrackBack
January 28, 2005
~GISUser: Mapping Birds with the USFWS and USGS
GISuser.com - GIS & mapping news, jobs, software, data, education, and forums
Mapping Birds - NBII Bird Conservation
Friday, 21 January 2005
Interactive map from the NBII Bird Conservation Node features Bird Surveys, Conservation Units (Regions), Physical and Vegetation data, and political units. This site is made available through partnership between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and USGS's National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).
This application was developed to facilitate informed querying of certain bird monitoring databases accessible through the NBII Bird Conservation Node as well as to display the results of geospatial queries of these databases that are of general public interest. The capabilities of this site are intended to be of use to professional wildlife biologists and conservation planners as well as to the general public.
This application enables the user to interactively view various elements of select bird population survey designs (e.g., strata boundaries, transects, segments, routes, zones). The user can display these design elements over a backdrop of political boundaries, NABCI Bird Conservation Regions, landcover, hydrology, and/or elevation.
Using these views, the user should be better able to define efficient queries of the bird population databases and retrieve data relevant to their interests. Additionally, certain queries of the population and geospatial databases that are of general interest to the public are also enabled by this application.
Examples of query output that can be generated using this application include: a) maps of estimated population abundance within survey units, b) maps of percent change in estimated population abundance within survey units between user selected years, c) maps of active survey routes, and d) maps of species relative abundance. More information on individual databases may be found by selecting that particular database through the "Retrieve Bird Data" button in the application.
Posted by cystdog at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 27, 2005
Short videos of Mather Lake
I took some 15 second Quicktime movies w/o audio while out at the lake, using my old Olympus. The camera is set up to point and shoot Quicktime .mov files at 320 x 240 and 160 x 120. The later is nearly useless for viewing. The 320x240 .mov files average 4MB in size. Unfortunately, most people don't use Quicktime, so I exported .avi movie files from each .mov file for folks using Windows Media Player.
The .avi files, as exported, average 25 MB in size. I'm getting the hang of this so I hope to cut the .avi file size in half while retaining the image quality.
I'll be using the new Canon to make short clips, with audio, and at 640x480 res once I get a few larger SD cards, probably 1GB, which will be great when spring arrives. The sounds out there in the morning before the shooting range gets under way really help to get the sense remotely of how life is teaming around the lake.
Here's what I came up with using the the 'ole Olympus:
Mather Dam and Morrison Creek flowing west
051.mov 4.3 MB
051.avi 25.7 MB
Trash in water on Lake side of Mather Dam
050.mov 4.4 MB
050.avi 26.3 MB
Looking south across the lake from the northwest shore
054.mov 4.2 MB
054.avi 26.4 MB
Panning west to southwest from the northeast corner of the lake near Douglas Rd.
060.mov 4.2 MB
060.avi 25.7 MB
A view of an inlet looking west from the east shore of the lake
069.mov 4.5 MB
069.avi 26.3 MB
The view looking west from atop the Morrison Creek Flume inlet
073.mov 4.5 MB
073.avi 26.3 MB
Posted by cystdog at 06:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 24, 2005
Photos others have taken of Mather Lake
I came across two photo archives of Mather Lake that were really encouraging to find. 
The first gallery, hosted on Yahoo by "mayrobinson26", is from a local resident who appears to regulary walk the trail north of the golf course and on into the lake trail area on the east shore, and to nearby vernal pools and prairie.
Their collections titled "prairie", "park", "Birds in Mather Park", and "Mather Regional Park" are a real treat. They even stumbled upon what appears to be a gopher snake while west of the golf course and Eagles Nest Road in the prairie area.
The second gallery, hosted on PBase by "Dave H", consists of photos taken from a canoe. Very Cool! They managed to capture several shots of a Great Blue Heron in taking off and in flight, as well as a Great Egret "in repose" as they float by.
The hightlight for me of their photo-journey was the crossing of the Morrison Creek Flume. When I spotted this, I was blown away, and am now determined to rent a canoe and do it myself.
They took a great photo looking back west across the flume to Mather Lake, showing a plush, green "explosion" on the other side of the cold concrete flume.
The flume crosses the Folsom South Canal and is about 15 feet above the water in the canal. After riding my bike below the flume, along the canal bike trail, and hiking past the flume from the lake side, seeing it from the Douglas side (now the Safeway shopiing center side) was pretty cool.
I hope to find more photos of the lake and nearby park and Morrison Creek, or photos of the seasonal vernal pools. If you have photos, and are either unable to have them hosted, or don't know how to post them online, email me and I'll gladly host them, or help you to set up your own gallery online.
Posted by cystdog at 06:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 19, 2005
Alien in our midst - U.B.L.Os sighted at Mather Lake
I spotted 2 Unidentified Bird-Like Objects @ Mather Lake which appeared in the last 120 days. Took pics of them on the 16th. I do not know their purpose, or who placed them there, but I intend on finding out. It's probably part of some study, I hope.
Complete photoset:
Unidentified Bird-Like Objects @ Mather Lake
Posted by cystdog at 04:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 17, 2005
Said the Fisherman: "Where are those lake maps you told me about?"
While I was taking photos yesterday at Mather Lake, I overheard a few fishermen talking about the "the best spot" for fishing in the lake. I'd had my own best spots, some of which I won't reveal, but it occurred to me that I should share the water depth map I have from the Resource Management Study. It's not widely available, in fact, one could say it's "obscure".
At the very least, it's not easily found or available. Aside from County Parks and Rec having copies, I imagine the only other copies might exist at the County Central Library. An even greater long shot would be at the Rancho Cordova Branch Library.
As one of the fisherman walked past me down the levee headed south, I decided to approach him about the map. He seemed interested in getting a copy. Another fisherman came over after hearing the conversation and was also interested, as well, he shared some info I was interested in, the Bass spots, which for me had long ago dried up from years before the dieoff in 1994. The best I've been able to do back in my old spots at the south end of the lake was Blue Gill, and once a small trout, which blew me away when I pulled it in. I'd thought the water would be too warm and shallow at that end of the lake.
Both fishermen I spoke with with back at the dam were, of course, interested in the lake depth maps, as I was and have been since a kid, and wanted to know where to get a copy. That's when the awkward fun began explaining my domain and blog URL. So, to make it easier, I set up (rather painlessly) another MT blog called "Mather Lake".
If it appears the site starts to get traffic, and more interest is expressed by folks out at the lake, I'll get a domain for it, to make it easier for people to find it. I still need to wqork on adding to the site, expanding it, but it will get there. I also set up an email that will be easy for folks to remember: matherlake at gmail dot com.
This week, I'm going to contact the Parks Dept. about placing copies of the habitat, aquatic habitat and water depth maps in one of the kiosks at the entrance to the lake. I'd also like to ask them if I can post photos of the trash people are leaving around the lakeside, in the kiosk, and maybe some photos of what trash looks like inside fish after they've digested it.
It just makes no sense:
- leave trash at the lake side
- it blows into the lake and begins to degrade
- fish eat part of the debris once it's become broken up into small pieces
- fish gets sick from trash
- people catch and eat fish
- people eat the trash they leave via the fish
Posted by cystdog at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Al Pacino at Mather Lake?
I photographed the Rotary improvements at Mather Lake Rotary Park Sunday morning, and each bench includes a dedication to the person who sponsored the bench. I came across this bench sponsored by "Al Pacino". I'd like to think that it's the actor Al Pacino, as it would make it more interesting, but I'm grateful to any Al Pacinos' out there that would support the lake. My first thought after reading this plaque was:
Ricky Roma:
You never open your mouth until you know what the shot is.
Posted by cystdog at 09:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
A favorite fishing spot
Before I have to go back to work, I am definetely going to pull down some fishing and picture time down at Mather Lake in the evening.
This spot is close walking distance both to the parking lot, bathrooms, and the trail leading down the north shore of the lake that abuts Douglas Road. My ambassador pals will also be there to greet me. They're pretty friendly, I just wish people didn't feed them It's terrible for them to get used to our garbage with such a rich oasis of good stuff for them to eat.
Still, it's nice to have them join you for company and spice things up waiting for the planter fish to get stupid. Fishing at Mather Lake isn't like it was in the 1980s, especially since the die off in 1994.
Posted by cystdog at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 06, 2005
A lake in maps - Mather Lake revealed
In 2001, a resource management study of Mather Lake was commissioned by the Sacramento County Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Open Space. The study, and recommendations for a Resource Management Plan, were drafted by ECORP Consulting, in concert with other natural resource studies being conducted to eventually be used to draft the Mather Regional Park Land Use Plan.
The Mather Lake Resource Management Study was released on November 12, 2002, and was only available upon request from the County. The study was never made available in a digitized format, either in pdf ir jpeg format. This is a great loss for the public as there is a treasure trove of information that reveals a coincidental man-made oasis, exploding with life, in the midst of a shuttered Air Base, neighbored by auto wreckers and groundwater contamination monitoring wells.
Terrestrial Habitat Map | Aquatic Habitat Map | Water Depth Map |
I'd had a copy of the study since 2003, and have wanted to scan certain maps contained in the study, but never made the time. I finally got them scanned and have uploaded them to my hosting account.
There are 3 maps in particular that I think will be of interest to everyone who frequents Mather Lake and is concerned for it's long term survival, a:
- Terrestrial Habitat Map (Small | Large | Large/PDF)
- Aquatic Habitat Map (Small | Large | Large/PDF)
- Water Depth Map (Small | Large | Large/PDF)
Ultimately, I'd like to get the entire study digitized (scanned as a searchable pdf) posted online, and perhaps even obtain shape files from ECORP to use in making customs maps of the lake and surrounding habitat. Until then, I'll have to settle for what I have and the maps I scanned from the study.
If you're interested in obtaining a copy of the Mather Lake Resource Management Study, contact Jill Ritzman, Deputy Director, Regional Parks and Contract Maintenance: Jill Ritzman (916) 876-5134, or Sarah Egan or Shannon Brown with ECORP Consulting of Roseville, CA.
You can also contact the Mather Lake Rotary who are actively developing Mather Lake's recreation and interpretive opportunities through their Mather Lake Rotary Recreation Area service project with ecology kiosks along the lake trail, a Military Memorial, a playground, picnic/bbq facilities and a fish cleaning station.
Posted by cystdog at 06:25 AM
January 02, 2005
Flowers on south shore, Mather Lake
I'm trying to get to know the plants around Mather Lake, and am wondering if this rather lucky shot I took from the south shore of Mather Lake is a California Wild Rose bush. They're all over the place.
Posted by cystdog at 03:37 PM
