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49-692: The true meaning of "Putah" in Putah Creek has been the subject of discussion and speculation. It was originally called "Arroyo de los Putos" (1844) and "Puta Creek" (1845), but the "Puta" form was rejected by the United States Board on Geographic Names , likely because of the resemblance to the Spanish word puta (lit. "whore"). According to Erwin Gudde (1889–1969), the resemblance is "purely accidental". The revised fourth edition of Gudde's California Place Names has

98-606: A hazard to the area. This concentration of mercury in Putah creek creates health risks for anything that may eat the fish, as the bioaccumulation of mercury found in the fish passes along the food web to birds and potentially humans. The stream continues east along State Route 128 , receiving Pleasants Creek before arriving at Lake Solano where the Putah Diversion Dam diverts flows to the Putah South Canal, carrying water to

147-573: A map created by Eugène Duflot de Mofras , a French naturalist and explorer, and published in Paris in 1844, Putah Creek was once known as Young's River , named for the fur trapper Ewing Young , who hunted beaver on an expedition up Putah Creek to Clear Lake and on to the Mendocino County Coast in March, 1833. The lower reaches of the creek used to sometimes be called Walnut Bayou , in reference to

196-523: A natural flow regime of higher winter and spring flows, with lower summer and fall flows, but mandated sufficient perennial flow to support rearing salmonids. The Accord mandated a short three-day pulse to occur between 15 February and 31 March to initiate spawning behavior, followed by a month-long release of elevated flows. Further, the Accord established a schedule of monthly baseline flows designed to maintain continuous lotic (flowing) conditions year-round from

245-520: A nearby Superfund site formally known as the Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research (LEHR), has shown elevated levels of Mercury reaching 500 ng/L entering Putah Creek. While the site has been decommissioned since the late 1980s and federally listed as a National Priority Superfund site by the EPA in 1994, the amount of contamination to the soil, groundwater aquifer, and nearby Putah Creek, continue to be

294-633: Is CDFW's investigative unit. The SOU investigates crimes related to improper use of California's natural resources, including poaching of fish and game. The unit accomplishes this with a combination of physical surveillance and undercover operations . The CDFW operates an Air Services unit for the purposes of aerial surveillance, fish stocking, and transportation. All CDFW pilots are fully qualified peace officers, pilots, and airplane mechanics. They are responsible for maintaining their own aircraft, and fly out of Hemet , Fresno , Sacramento , and Redding . The Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR)

343-764: Is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior . The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal government of the United States . Nevertheless, its rulings and policies have been controversial from time to time. On January 8, 1890, Thomas Corwin Mendenhall , superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Office, wrote to 10 noted geographers "to suggest

392-462: Is a forensic laboratory that uses molecular biology to investigate crimes against animals. The lab is staffed by three wildlife forensic specialists who help CDFW officers identify species, determine the biological sex of an animal, and determine whether two samples are from the same animal. The California Fish and Game Commission is an organ of the California state government, and is separate from

441-565: Is a branch of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that is tasked with responding to pollution and protecting the wildlife of California. The OSPR has authority over all surface waters in California, both inland and up to 200 miles (320 km) off the coast. The funding for the OSPR's Oil Spill Prevention Administration Fund comes from a fee placed on every barrel of crude oil entering California. The CDFW Wildlife Forensics Laboratory

490-510: Is a gated concrete weir structure with an earth-fill embankment wing. It creates the small Lake Solano , which has a capacity of only 750 acre-feet (930,000 m). The canal is entirely concrete-lined except for a mile (1.6 km) of pipe called the Putah South Pipeline. Most of the lands are below the level of the canal and are served by gravity . Lands above pump water straight from the canal. The canal ends at Terminal Dam, which

539-529: Is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency . The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protects the state's wildlife, wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, algae (kelp and seaweed) and native habitats (ecosystems). The department is responsible for regulatory enforcement and management of related recreational, commercial, scientific, and educational uses. The department also prevents illegal poaching . The Game Act

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588-474: Is made from earth-fill. The dam forms a small 119 acre-foot (147,000 m) reservoir called Solano Lake. This reservoir supplies drinking water to the city of Vallejo . Most of the canal is operated by Solano Irrigation District, including its headworks. Steelhead trout (coastal rainbow trout) ( Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus ) and Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) continue to survive in Putah Creek. Although these anadromous salmonids cannot pass

637-448: Is mentioned in 1817, and the wife of Pedro Putay in 1821 (Arch. Mis. 1:94.81). In 1842 the stream was well known by its name: "I know that the Rio was called 'Putos.'...It is well-known by the name which has been given it" (J. J. Warner, land-grant case 232 ND). The name was probably fixed by William Wolfskill , who named his grant Rio de los Putos on May 24, 1842. In 1843 the name was used in

686-639: Is now the UC Davis Arboretum channel, but early settlers redirected the creek south of Davis in 1871, and in the late 1940s the Army Corps of Engineers added levees to what is now the South Fork Putah Creek. A few miles east of Davis , the county line turns south, but the South Fork Putah Creek continues eastward, passing south of Davis to feed into the Yolo Bypass about a quarter mile (400 m) west of

735-624: Is often a phase lag where a delay occurs in adoption of a locally used name. Sometimes the delay is several decades. Volunteers in the Earth Science Corps are used to assist the US Geological Survey in collecting names of geographic features. The BGN currently publishes names on its website. In the past, the BGN issued its decisions in various publications under different titles at different intervals with various information included. In 1933,

784-616: Is to provide water for irrigation, though it also supplies municipal and industrial water to major cities in Solano County . About 32,000 acre-feet (39,000,000 m) is provided by the project annually. An 11 MW hydroelectric plant generates electricity for the Solano Irrigation District, which owns and operates the dam. The Putah Diversion Dam, or PDD, also constructed in 1957, diverts water into Putah South Canal about 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream of Monticello Dam. The dam

833-553: The Sacramento Deep Water Channel . Monticello Dam , a concrete arch dam, is the only major storage dam on the creek. It forms Lake Berryessa , which has a capacity of 1,602,000 acre-feet (1.976 × 10 m), making it one of the largest reservoirs in the state of California. The dam and lake are part of the United States Bureau of Reclamation 's Solano Project and was completed in 1957. The project's purpose

882-586: The BGN published a significant consolidated report of all decisions from 1890 to 1932 in its Sixth Report of the United States Geographic Board 1890–1932 . For many years, the BGN published a quarterly report under the title Decisions on Geographic Names . California Department of Fish and Wildlife The California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game ( CDFG ),

931-416: The BGN's decisions. The BGN has an executive committee and two permanent committees with full authority: the 10- to 15-member Domestic Names Committee and the 8- to 10-member Foreign Names Committee. Both comprise government employees only. Each maintains its own database. The BGN does not create place names but responds to proposals for names from federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and

980-508: The Board are to be accepted [by federal departments] as the standard authority for such matters." The board was given authority to resolve all unsettled questions concerning geographic names. Decisions of the board were accepted as binding by all departments and agencies of the federal government . The board has since undergone several name changes. In 1934, it was transferred to the Department of

1029-537: The CDFW. Although the department's name was recently modified by changing the word "Game" to "Wildlife", no such name change has occurred for the commission. CDFW officers were followed by the National Geographic Channel show " Wild Justice " in 2010 and 2011. A fictionalized version of the CDFW is depicted in the 2022 film, Jurassic World Dominion . Rangers capture and relocate dinosaurs that escaped into

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1078-527: The Department of Fish and Game (DFG). California Fish and Game also collaborated with the indigenous Native American Tribes to ensure their proper fishing rights. The Yurok tribe has collaborated with them as recently as 2011. The department also helped figure out the official count of fish killed (which was around 30,000) in the 2002 Fish Kill on the Klamath River . The Klamath river is very important to

1127-525: The Interior . The Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names was established in 1943 as the Special Committee on Antarctic Names (SCAN). In 1963, the Advisory Committee on Undersea Features was started for standardization of names of undersea features. Its present form derives from a 1947 law, Public Law 80-242. The 1969 BGN publication Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States stated

1176-752: The Law Enforcement Division into the California Highway Patrol has been discussed, similar to how Alaska has a Wildlife Trooper division within the Alaska State Troopers . Given that the CDFW Law Enforcement Division has faced low numbers of Wildlife Officers for the last ten years. The Marine Region officers patrol the entire coastline of California, and up to 200 miles off the shore. Marine officers enforce commercial and sport fishing laws through spot checks on

1225-771: The PDD to the Yolo Bypass. In December 2014, the California Fish and Game Commission designated Putah Creek a "Wild Trout Water" and efforts by citizen groups to restore the creek resulted in increased Chinook salmon rearing in the lower watershed. The natural flow regimes simulated by releases from the dams has restored native fishes while suppressing non-native fishes, the latter best adapted to warmer water and stagnant conditions. By increasing releases briefly in winter/spring and allowing much lower flows in late summer/fall, there has been little impact on overall water availability for diversion to agriculture and residents. An interesting study of

1274-630: The Putah Creek watershed from a bioregional perspective can be found in "Lifeplace: Bioregional Thought and Practice" by Robert L. Thayer Putah Creek is also known as the Green River due to the buildup of algae and vascular plants in the late summer. Putah Creek is the subject of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song " Green River " and served as a childhood vacation spot for John Fogerty . United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names ( BGN )

1323-426: The Putah Diversion Dam, stream resident rainbow trout (the landlocked form of steelhead trout) continue to thrive above Monticello Dam in the upper headwaters and grow to large size in the first few miles directly below the dam. The ecological centerpiece of the 2000 Putah Creek Accord mandated flow releases from the Putah Diversion Dam intended to secure spawning and rearing flows for spring-spawning native fishes with

1372-529: The Putah South Canal to users in Solano County . In this section the creek offers excellent fishing opportunities year round. California Department of Fish and Wildlife regulations require "catch and release" in this section of the stream, as well as the use of artificial lures with barbless hooks. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory for fish caught in Putah Creek based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species. Stormwater runoff from

1421-499: The agency's chief purpose as: [Names are] submitted for decisions to the Board on Geographical names by individuals, private organizations, or government agencies. It is the Board's responsibility to render formal decisions on new names, proposed changes in names, and names which are in conflict. [The decisions] define the spellings and applications of the names for use on maps and other publications of Federal agencies The board has developed principles, policies, and procedures governing

1470-479: The creek flows southeast, merging with Butts Creek just before it empties into Lake Berryessa , and the Monticello Dam. Downstream of Monticello Dam , on the southeastern corner of the lake, Putah Creek leaves Napa County and becomes the boundary between Yolo County and Solano County flowing about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to the Putah Diversion Dam (PDD), where most of water flows are diverted south through

1519-444: The exception of Sacramento , Yolo , and San Joaquin counties). The department employs wardens to protect California's wildlife and natural resources. CDFW wardens are armed law enforcement officers with statewide arrest authority. Their primary mission is to enforce California state laws related to hunting, fishing, pollution, endangered species, and wildlife habitat destruction . However, they can enforce any state law, anywhere in

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1568-786: The feature or place name are cited. Variant names, alternatives to official federal names for a feature, are also recorded. The BGN has members from six federal departments as well as the Central Intelligence Agency , the US Government Publishing Office , the Library of Congress , and the US Postal Service . The BGN rules on hundreds of naming decisions annually and stores over two million geographical records in its databases at geonames.usgs.gov. State and local governments and private mapping organizations usually follow

1617-620: The first fish ladder in the state was built on a tributary of the Truckee River , and a state hatching house was established at the University of California in Berkeley . In 1871, the state appointed the first Game Wardens to handle wildlife law enforcement, making the Enforcement Division of the Department of Fish and Game the first state law enforcement agency enacted in California. Over

1666-436: The following entry: Putah Creek [Lake, Napa, Solano Cos.]. From Lake Miwok puṭa wuwwe "grassy creek" (Callaghan; cf. Beeler 1974:141). The similarity to Spanish puta "prostitute" is purely accidental. In the records of Mission San Francisco Solano (Sonoma Mission) of 1824, the natives of the place are mentioned with various spellings from Putto to Puttato. In the baptismal records of Mission Dolores an adulto de Putü

1715-542: The local name for federal use. The BGN does not translate terms, but instead accurately uses foreign names in the Roman alphabet. For non-Roman languages, the BGN uses transliteration systems or creates them for less well-known languages. The BGN does not recognize the use of the possessive apostrophe and has only granted an exception five times during its history, including one for Martha's Vineyard , Massachusetts. In federal mapping and names collection efforts, there

1764-581: The next 30 years, the Board of Fish Commissioners were given authority over game in the state as well as establishing hunting and fishing licenses. In 1909, the Board of Fish Commissioners changed its name to the Fish and Game Commission. The Division of Fish and Game was established in 1927, set up within the Department of Natural Resources. In 1951, the Reorganization Act elevated the Division of Fish and Game to

1813-514: The organization of a Board made up of representatives from the different Government services interested, to which may be referred any disputed question of geographical orthography." President Benjamin Harrison signed executive order 28 on September 4, 1890, establishing the Board on Geographical Names . "To this Board shall be referred all unsettled questions concerning geographic names. The decisions of

1862-412: The public. Any person or organization, public or private, may make inquiries or request the board to render formal decisions on proposed new names, proposed name changes, or names that are in conflict. Generally, the BGN defers federal name use to comply with local usage. There are a few exceptions. For example, in rare cases where a locally used name is very offensive, the BGN may decide against adoption of

1911-696: The residents of Vallejo. Below Lake Solano, Putah Creek flows 37 kilometres (23 mi) before reaching the Yolo Bypass and by that artificial route, to the Sacramento River. In this section, Putah Creek first receives McCune Creek, then its last tributary, Dry Creek. After the Dry Creek confluence it passes through the town of Winters to reach Interstate 505 . From there Putah Creek channel continues eastward, parallelling Putah Creek Road to Stevenson Bridge Road. Putah Creek used to flow near downtown Davis in what

1960-407: The state. Vehicles used range from the patrol pickups to boats, catamarans , four-wheelers , snow-mobiles , horses , helicopters , and planes. The wardens investigate, collect evidence, serve search warrants, arrest criminals, and ensure public safety. Wardens patrol the state of California and 200 miles (320 km) off the coast. As of 2014, about 380 wardens patrolled the state. Merging

2009-597: The titles of their Departments. This change reflects the trend toward expansion of the Agencies' missions from sport fishing and hunting alone, to protection of non-game wildlife and whole ecosystems. In June 2015, the CDFW phased out lead ammunition for hunting on state land in order to keep lead out of backcountry ecosystems. The Department of Fish and Wildlife divides the State of California into seven management regions whose boundaries mostly correspond to county borders (with

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2058-708: The titles of three other land grants, in one of which the spelling Putas occurs. In the Statutes of the early 1850s, in the Indian Reports, and in the Pac. R.R. Reports , the spelling of the name is in complete confusion. The present version was applied to a town in 1853, was used in the Statutes of 1854, was made popular by the Bancroft maps, and finally was adopted by the USGS . According to

2107-545: The town of Anderson Springs , where it joins Bear Canyon Creek. North of Middletown , it curves counterclockwise around Harbin Mountain , merging in close succession with Dry Creek, Helena Creek, Crazy Creek, Harbin Creek, and Big Canyon Creek . From Harbin Mountain, it flows east again, joining Bucksnort Creek, then enters Napa County at a confluence with Hunting Creek about 11 mi (18 km) east of Middletown. In Napa County,

2156-436: The tribes that live along that river. By 2012, California was one of only 13 states still using "Game" in the title of their wildlife agency. The State Legislature changed the department's name to Fish and Wildlife on January 1, 2013. The legislation followed recommendations of a 51-member stakeholder advisory group. 18 other states use the term "wildlife," while the others generally use "natural resources" or "conservation," in

2205-531: The use of domestic and foreign geographic names, including underseas. The BGN also deals with names of geographical features in Antarctica via its Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names . The Geographic Names Information System , developed by the BGN in cooperation with the US Geological Survey , includes topographic map names and bibliographic references. The names of books and historic maps which confirm

2254-419: The warm and sluggish water and the abundance of California Black Walnut trees on the banks. The creek originates from springs on the east side of Cobb Mountain south of the town of Cobb in southwestern Lake County and flows approximately 130 kilometres (81 mi) to Lake Berryessa. It descends eastward to the town of Whispering Pines , where it turns southeast, parallelling State Route 175 . It passes

2303-458: The water and on land. As of 2001, the Marine Region was patrolled by 63 officers piloting 65-foot, 54-foot, and 40-foot mono-hull patrol vessels and 18-foot and 24-foot rigid-hull inflatable patrol boats . Some rigid-hull inflatable boats are carried on the larger patrol vessels, while others are carried on trailers to respond to emergencies on the north coast. The Special Operations Unit (SOU)

2352-463: Was made the first game refuge of California in 1869, believed to be the first in the United States. In 1870, the Legislature, with the support of Governor Henry Huntly Haight , created the Board of Fish Commissioners. The Board stipulated that fish ladders were now required at state dams. The Board outlawed explosives or other deleterious substances, and created a $ 500 fine for violations. In 1870,

2401-571: Was passed in 1852 by the California State Legislature and signed into law by Governor John Bigler . The Game Act closed seasons in 12 counties for quail, partridge, mallard and wood ducks, elk, deer, and antelope. A second legislative action enacted the same year protected salmon runs. In 1854, the Legislature extended the act to include all counties of California. In 1860, protection controls were extended for trout. Lake Merritt in Oakland

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