Draft EIS/EIR for the San Luis Reservoir SRA Resource ...

4. Plan Overview
Guidelines
• Consider partnerships with DWR to optimize the use of the Romero
Visitor’s Center and other water operation facilities for interpretive
purposes, with DWR responsible for the bulk of the interpretation of the
CVP and California Aqueduct.
• Interpret the roles of San Luis Reservoir, Los Banos Creek Reservoir, and
O’Neill Forebay in the CVP and California Aqueduct.
• Interpret how the water is used for irrigation, drinking water, and
generation of electricity.
• Consider partnership with the SCVWD to describe their use of San Luis
Reservoir water, the methods for retrieving and distributing the water, and
the importance of maintaining high water quality.
• Interpret the construction of the dam, including Basalt Quarry, and the
effects of geology on the dam.
Secondary Theme 2
• Year-round water sources and nearby Pacheco Pass have had a direct and
continuing impact on human movement through and settlement in the
area, and reminders still remain of earlier human use.
Guidelines
• Interpret the use of Los Banos Creek and other local water sources by
Northern Valley Yokuts and other Native American groups.
• Interpret the Spanish missionaries’ “Path of the Padres” along Los Banos
Creek.
• Interpret the use of the route through the Plan Area and over Pacheco Pass
by Native Americans, early Spanish and Euro-American travelers, the
subsequent roads and state highway that followed this route until the dam
required a bypass, and the remains of the old trails and roads that still
exist.
• In conjunction with Pacheco State Park, interpret the broad flat valley and
watering hole that existed where San Luis Reservoir and O’Neill Forebay
are now located, as well as the Pacheco family’s Rancho San Luis
Gonzaga that included this valley for over 100 years.
• Interpret the visible cultural resources that still exist in the Plan Area from
ranching and farming activities.
Secondary Theme 3
• Of the plants and animals found in the Plan Area, some have lived there
since before the reservoirs were built, some have moved into the area
because of the reservoirs, and others have been purposefully or
inadvertently introduced by humans.
San Luis Reservoir SRA 4-17
Draft RMP/GP and Draft EIS/EIR