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The Delta: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Recreation Survey —Chapter II. Previous Recreation Surveys
There have been many studies of recreation in the Delta. The first significant study was completed by the Resources Agency in 1956. This study, like many subsequent studies, did not attempt to quantify the level of recreation in the Delta. A basic problem is that there are numerous roads and highways across the Delta, but there is no single entrance where visitors can be counted and surveyed. This makes any meaningful effort to measure total recreation use time consuming and expensive.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Outdoor Recreation Survey, 1980
During the last seventeen years, most attempts to estimate the level of recreation use in the Delta have relied on a report titled "Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Outdoor Recreation Survey." This 1980 report was prepared for the Department of Water Resources as a component of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Levees Study, by Dr. Ed Cajucom, a recreation professor at California State University, Sacramento. This study began with a survey of all non-commercial vehicles leaving the Delta from August 1977 through August 1978. License plate numbers were recorded at 35 sites along roadways exiting the Delta. The names and addresses of the vehicles registered owners were obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Owners were sent questionnaires and asked to complete and return them. A total of 13,455 questionnaires were sent to visitors. Of the 7,712 questionnaires returned, 3,478 visitors indicated that they recreated in the Delta.
In addition, residents of the Delta were randomly surveyed using a specially constructed questionnaire. From a sample of 455 homes, 273 residents indicated that they used the Delta for recreation.
Some of the results were:
- Most common recreation activities were: motor boating (47.6%), fishing (47.5%), sightseeing (33.1%), camping (26.2%), picnicking (22.9%), swimming (22.1%), water skiing (14.7%), photography (4.2%), bicycling (3.6%), canoe-kayak rowing (2.5%), hunting (2.0%), and sailing (4%).
- Most common types of vessels were: ski boats (15.6%), cruisers (12.4%), houseboats (4.1%), and sailboats (2.4%).
- Visitors spent an average of $48, while resident groups spent an average of $37.
- Most visitors stayed one day (73.6%).
- Most visitors came from the following counties: Contra Costa (29.4%), San Joaquin (16.7), Sacramento (16.0%), Alameda (10.4%), Santa Clara (6.0%), San Mateo (2.4%), and San Francisco (2.0%).
One criticism of this study is its method of estimating annual visitor recreation days. The survey estimated that an average of 5.23 occupants were in each vehicle entering the Delta. However, this number was actually the average number of persons in a recreation group. Using 5.23 persons per vehicle, the survey estimated 11.9 million days of recreation use. Critics argue that other recreation surveys indicate that the typical vehicle entering a recreation area is closer to 3.5 people.
Sacramento River Recreation Survey, 1982
The Sacramento River from Keswick Dam near Redding, south to Courtland, was surveyed by the California Department of Water Resources. That part of the Sacramento River between the City of Sacramento and Courtland lies within the Delta.
The survey area included River Reach 12 - Discovery Park to Miller Park, and River Reach 13 - Miller Park to Paintersville Bridge. Recreation use was estimated by ground counts of recreationists on 33 randomly selected days in 1980, using the optimum allocation method described by Abrahamson and Tolladay (1959). Recreationists were also interviewed to obtain additional detailed information.
ESTIMATED RECREATION USE - In Reach 12 recreation was primarily concentrated in county and city parks and two private boat landings. Recreation use totaled 940,000 hours (427,000 recreation days) in 1980. Major activities included relaxing (30%), fishing (24%), pleasure boating/water skiing (13%), swimming/beach use (12%), picnicking (11%), and outdoor games/sports (4%).
Discovery Park was by far the major access site in this reach and provided access to both the Sacramento and lower American Rivers. The Broderick Boating Facility (Yolo County) and Miller Park were also important use areas.
INTERVIEW DATA AND VISITOR CHARACTERISTICS - 452 people representing 1,157 recreationists were interviewed in downtown Sacramento. The river was the destination for 94% of these people, 4% were en route elsewhere, and 2% were staying in the area. About 86% lived in Sacramento or Yolo Counties and 3% were from out of state. Day use visitors were 96% of the total and overnight visitors 4%.
The average length of stay for people staying overnight at the river was three days. People staying in the area average 4.7 days. Day users stayed at the river 3.4 hours, with a harmonic mean of 2.2 hours.
Fishing (42%), pleasure boating (23%), picnicking (21%), relaxing (17%), water skiing (13%), and swimming/beach use (18%) were the activities people most frequently mentioned. Nearly all of the boaters interviewed were power boating or jet skiing (97 %), but a few were sail boating (3%).
CREEL CENSUS DATA - Shore anglers in downtown Sacramento fished for anything they could catch (49%), striped bass (35%), catfish (13%), salmon (9%), nongame fish (6%), and rainbow trout/steelhead (5%). They fished 105,000 hours and caught an estimated 3,300 striped bass, 700 large mouth/small mouth bass, 700 nongame fish, 500 catfish, 100 rainbow trout/steelhead, and 100 sunfish.
Boater anglers sought salmon (38%), striped bass (34%), anything (27%), rainbow trout/steelhead (11%), and catfish (7%). Some of the boat anglers interviewed may have actually fished the lower American River. Boat anglers fished 122,000 hours and caught 5,200 catfish, 1,200 chinook salmon, 500 striped bass, and 400 rainbow trout/steelhead.
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Recreation Survey - Reach 13 received the most use for fishing, boating and water skiing of all the reaches surveyed. Total recreation was 740,000 hours (258,000 recreation days) with fishing 66 % of the total. Other major activities were pleasure boating/water skiing (20%), swimming/beach use (5%), and relaxing (4%).
Major access sites included several private marinas, Garcia Bend County Park, and Clarksburg Fishing Access. Many boats traveled downstream from Discovery Park, Broderick Boating Facility, and Miller Park to use this area.
INTERVIEW DATA AND VISITOR CHARACTERISTICS - 266 people representing 674 recreationists, were interviewed in Reach 13. The river was the destination for 97%, while 2% were en route, and 1% stayed overnight in the area. About 86% lived in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Day users comprised 74% and overnighters 26% of the people interviewed.
Average length of stay for people staying overnight at the river was 3.3 days and 8.3 days for people staying in the area. Day users spent four hours at the river.
Fishing (76%), relaxing (34%), swimming/beach use (31%), camping (25%), pleasure boating (23%), and water skiing (13%) were the activities most people said they were going to do in Reach 13. All of the boaters interviewed said they were power boating or jet skiing.
CREEL CENSUS DATA - Shore fisherman mostly fished for anything they could catch (59%). They also sought striped bass (36%), sturgeon (11%), catfish (10%), and American shad (7%). Shore anglers fished 199,000 hours and caught more fish in Reach 13 than in any other section of the river. The catch included 29,000 catfish, 6,800 striped bass, 5,500 American shad, 1,200 largemouth/smallmouth bass, and 500 nongame fish.
Boat anglers fished for striped bass (59%), anything (47%), catfish (12%), large mouth/small mouth bass (10%), and sturgeon (8%). They fished 289,000 hours and caught 17,200 striped bass, 900 chinook salmon, and 900 catfish.
Sacramento River Sport Fish Catch Inventory Project, 1995.
More recently, the California Department of Fish and Game surveyed anglers along Sacramento River as far south as Carquinez to determine the number and type of fish caught. This report, conducted through funding by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, was conducted during the years July 1, 1989 through June 30, 1994, and included six river reaches covering 400 river miles of the Sacramento River system that are accessible to anadromous fish. The objective was to produce a study estimating, with confidence limit of ±20%, angler use and sports catch of salmon and steelhead.
Difficulties with equipment acquisition and staffing delayed the start of survey portion of the program until the 1990-1991 fiscal year. Data for the project was gathered by aerial count and by roving census clerks in boats. Census clerks also interviewed anglers returning to the launch site. While the data is too extensive to summarize here, it is of significance that by far the most fishing activity occurred between Sacramento and the Carquinez Bridge. Also of interest was the decrease in fishing effort during the years of the study due, at least in part, to declining populations of anadromous fish and poor river conditions associated with the consecutive critically dry years.
North Delta Recreation Use Survey, 1997
This Department of Water Resources report summarizes the findings of a 1993 survey that encompassed that portion of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta north of Brannan Island State Recreation Area. The executive summary from the report is reproduced below.
"A survey of recreational use in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, north of Brannan Island State Recreation Area, was conducted in 1993. This survey was made to estimate the amount and types of recreation occurring in the North Delta area for use in SWP and CALFED planning efforts. The stratified random sample survey primarily consisted of roving use counts, but was also supplemented with interviews of accessible recreationists to gather information about recreation use, activities, and visitor origin. The information collected will help the Department meet its obligation, under the Davis-Dolwig Act, to plan for recreation in conjunction with future State Water Project operations in the Delta."
The survey was conducted on 21 dates during April through September. Total recreation use during this 183-day period (excluding use at parks and private marinas) was estimated to total over 1.4 million recreation hours along the North Delta survey route. Based on assumptions regarding low-season use and areas not surveyed, slightly more than 3 million recreation hours probably occurred annually in the North Delta. This represents about 800,000 recreation days, a number much lower than expected based on past estimates.
Water-skiing, general boating, and sailing comprised about 30% of total use. Two other major recreation activities were shore fishing and boat fishing, comprised about 24% and 15% of all recreation use, respectively.
Most of the individuals contacted for interviews were shore fisherman (93 out of 102). Almost all of those interviewed were in the area for day use (87 of 102). The average length of stay for all day users was 5.7 hours. A plurality of recreationists (39%) had traveled from the greater San Francisco Bay Area; other common visitor origins were the rural North Delta area and the greater Sacramento metropolitan area (22% and 21%, respectively).