Lake Earl (California)

Lake Earl is a body of water in Del Norte County, California, in the United States, partly within Tolowa Dunes State Park and partly within Lake Earl Wildlife Area. Entirely misnamed, Lake Earl generally refers to a large lagoon with two principle lobes separated by "the Narrows." The smaller lobe, which is also closer to the ocean and the breach, is called Lake Tolowa by the California Department of Fish and Game, or Lake Talawa [Final Report Intensive Habitat Study for Lake Earl and Lake Talawa Del Norte County, California, March 2000] in some documents. The larger lobe of the lagoon is Lake Earl. As opposed to an estuary, which is typically open to the ocean and fresh water constantly, a lagoon seals up seasonally and fills with a predominance of fresh water. The lagoon, located on the coast of California about 11 miles south of the border with Oregon [measured straight line in "Google Earth"] , is manually breached when the water levels rise to 8-10 feet mean sea level (MSL). [permit #27850 from Army Corps of Engineers, dated Feb. 25, 2005.] If allowed to breach normally, the water surface would rise to 12-14 feet [Draft Environmental Impact Report, Lake Earl Wildlife Area SCH No. 1989013110, June 2003] . At 10 feet MSL there is approximately convert|4900|acre|km2 of water surface in the lagoons and convert|4950|acre|km2 of wetlands; at 8 feet MSL, the surface waters area is approximately convert|4200|acre|km2. At two feet MSL, the combined surface area is a mere convert|2191|acre|km2 of open water (TetraTec, 2000) surrounded by convert|2000|acre|km2 of rotting vegetation and mud.

Lake Earl is largest coastal lagoon in California, and possibly in the west coast of the continental United States. Due to the remoteness and natural beauty of the landscape, the state park is popular with kayakers, birders and duck hunters. Water skiing is prohibited.

Endangered Species Act

The lagoon is home to numerous California state- and/or federally listed threatened or endangered species. To permit the breaching, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers consulted with United States Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the effects of water movement on several species. Species affected included the California Brown Pelican, Western Snowy Plover, Bald Eagle, Oregon silverspot butterfly, and tidewater goby. The Corps formally determined that the project would have no effect on the western lily. Coho salmon had not been observed in the lagoon since 1989, seven years after the Department of Fish and Game stopped planting them.

History

The California legislature directed and provided funding to the California Department of Fish and Game to begin purchasing properties for the Lake Earl Wildlife Area under the Keen-Nejedly Act of 1975 [Draft Environmental Impact Report, Lake Earl Wildlife Area SCH No. 1989013110, June 2003] . The Department of Fish and Game owns most of the area directly affected by the rising waters of Lake Earl in the Lake Earl Wildlife Area and the Tolowa Dunes State Park. Other properties are owned by various non-profit organizations and private citizens. The Department of Fish and Game plans to purchase the remaining properties at fair market value, though some landowners feel that Fish and Game is managing the lagoon to flood their land and drive the price down.Fact|date=June 2008

The lagoon is also the site of a busy history, including indian massacres, feuds between cattlemen and loggers, and eventually between government and private property advocates.

There is a native legend or metaphor of the Great Snake that abides in the lagoon and escapes to the ocean periodically. It goes when the Snake wants.Fact|date=June 2008

Notes

External links

*gnis|222843|Lake Earl