Sproul Creek Salmon Habitat Restoration Project
The Sproul Creek watershed is a very important for Coho recovery within the South Fork Eel Watershed and has been identified as a high priority for restoration by the Salmon Habitat Restoration Priorities (SHaRP) team. Historical logging practices in the Sproul Creek watershed resulted in an out of balance stream. A lack of obstructions to stream flow, as well as a long history of road building near the stream has led to a lack of in-stream habitat as well as little off channel habitat.
Sproul hosts all three salmonid species and provides year-round rearing and spawning habitat. The project reach has potential for high quality pool and off channel habitat, but is lacking the necessary complexity to reach its full potential. This project will remedy anthropogenic impacts to the stream through large wood loading, which will help restore geomorphic function and ecological complexity to Sproul Creek.
This is a two part project that takes place on Green Diamond Resource Company property. Over the course of two years we will be partnering with Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps (CCC) to place a total of 576 pieces of large wood along 5 miles of Sproul Creek. This project will provide habitat to Coho, Chinook and steelhead. These habitats will also be exceptionally suitable for lamprey adults and ammocoetes. Additionally, 300 conifer seedlings and 100 native plants will be planted along the project reach.
The Project received funds through the CDFW from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP).
Middle Fork Cottaneva Creek Salmonid Habitat Project
Much of the Cottaneva Creek watershed, including most of the headwaters and the entire project reach, is owned by
Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) and is managed for industrial timber production. MRC has spent the last 15 years working with various entities to improve stream conditions through fish passage and habitat enhancement as well as sediment reduction. The Cottaneva Creek watershed hosts steelhead, Chinook salmon and Coho salmon. The Coastal Multispecies Recovery Plan (NMFS, 2016) identifies the watershed as impaired, but Middle Fork Cottaneva has high intrinsic potential. The 2008 CDFG Stream Inventory Report recommends “adding high quality complexity with woody cover in the pools” (CDFG, 2008).
The goal of this project is to increase salmonid reproductive success and juvenile survival by improving ecological complexity. This will be accomplished by partnering with Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps to add 30 in-stream structures containing 108 pieces of large wood along 0.8 miles of Middle Fork Cottaneva Creek. These structures are designed to provide winter and summer rearing to salmonids and will provide velocity refuge, shelter, and gravel sorting.
The Project received funds through the CDFW from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP).
Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) and is managed for industrial timber production. MRC has spent the last 15 years working with various entities to improve stream conditions through fish passage and habitat enhancement as well as sediment reduction. The Cottaneva Creek watershed hosts steelhead, Chinook salmon and Coho salmon. The Coastal Multispecies Recovery Plan (NMFS, 2016) identifies the watershed as impaired, but Middle Fork Cottaneva has high intrinsic potential. The 2008 CDFG Stream Inventory Report recommends “adding high quality complexity with woody cover in the pools” (CDFG, 2008).
The goal of this project is to increase salmonid reproductive success and juvenile survival by improving ecological complexity. This will be accomplished by partnering with Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps to add 30 in-stream structures containing 108 pieces of large wood along 0.8 miles of Middle Fork Cottaneva Creek. These structures are designed to provide winter and summer rearing to salmonids and will provide velocity refuge, shelter, and gravel sorting.
The Project received funds through the CDFW from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP).
Eel River Arundo Eradication Planning Project
Arundo donax can be found throughout California, particularly growing in riparian zones. As a non-native and invasive plant, Arundo has few predators and is able to outcompete native plants while providing very little benefit to native insects and animals. Arundo spreads very easily, can dominate riparian vegetation and once established, is very difficult to remove. Arundo jeopardizes riparian habitat for birds and insects (Herrera & Dudley, 2003). Arundo has been found in the Eel River watershed and if left untreated, may dominate the riparian zone as it has in other California watersheds.
This project consists of surveys to identify “patches” of Arundo, collection of location, descriptive data of the patches and the development of a treatment plan for all the identified Arundo along the Eel River. Surveys are conducted by boat and hiking the river floodplain. Additionally, public outreach will occur to inform the Eel River community of the invasive nature of Arundo and to help identify locations of Arundo not found during the surveys. If you think you have seen Arundo along the Eel River, please reach out to us!
This project was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Watershed Restoration Grant.
This project consists of surveys to identify “patches” of Arundo, collection of location, descriptive data of the patches and the development of a treatment plan for all the identified Arundo along the Eel River. Surveys are conducted by boat and hiking the river floodplain. Additionally, public outreach will occur to inform the Eel River community of the invasive nature of Arundo and to help identify locations of Arundo not found during the surveys. If you think you have seen Arundo along the Eel River, please reach out to us!
This project was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Watershed Restoration Grant.
Kenny Creek Instream Habitat Enhancement Project
Kenny Creek is an important salmonid-bearing tributary to the SF Eel River. It provides spawning and rearing habitat to juvenile and adult coho, Chinook and steelhead. A 2005 California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) stream inventory report recommended adding woody debris to increase shelter complexity and increase pool depth.
A recent survey by ERWIG and CCC found that Kenny Creek is severely lacking LWD, with an average count of 18.2 pieces of LWD per mile. This project will add 90 pieces of LWD over 1.1 miles of stream length with the installation of 28 LWD structures. Adding these structures will increase the average count up to 100 pieces of LWD per mile.
The project was accomplished by purchasing logs and uprooting trees with rootwads from areas in which the stream canopy was not affected. Structures were placed and secured by Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps. Upon completion, all exposed soil was mulched and 400 conifer seedlings were planted to aid in a long-term increase in carbon sequestration.
This project will result in a dramatic increase in suitable habitat for salmonids. Habitat improvements include velocity refugia, increased shelter, deeper pools, and increased spawning habitat. Additionally the improved habitat will also benefit animals that use basking logs and cover logs, such as western pond turtles, yellow-legged frogs, and river otters.
This project was funded by the Department of Water Resources.
A recent survey by ERWIG and CCC found that Kenny Creek is severely lacking LWD, with an average count of 18.2 pieces of LWD per mile. This project will add 90 pieces of LWD over 1.1 miles of stream length with the installation of 28 LWD structures. Adding these structures will increase the average count up to 100 pieces of LWD per mile.
The project was accomplished by purchasing logs and uprooting trees with rootwads from areas in which the stream canopy was not affected. Structures were placed and secured by Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps. Upon completion, all exposed soil was mulched and 400 conifer seedlings were planted to aid in a long-term increase in carbon sequestration.
This project will result in a dramatic increase in suitable habitat for salmonids. Habitat improvements include velocity refugia, increased shelter, deeper pools, and increased spawning habitat. Additionally the improved habitat will also benefit animals that use basking logs and cover logs, such as western pond turtles, yellow-legged frogs, and river otters.
This project was funded by the Department of Water Resources.
Upper Hollow Tree Wood Loading Project
This project is located on Hollow Tree Creek, a tributary to the South Fork Eel River. Much of the Hollow Tree Creek watershed, including most of the headwaters and the entire project reach, is owned by Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) and is managed for industrial timber production. MRC has spent the last 15 years working with various entities to improve stream conditions through: fish passage enhancement, sediment reduction, and habitat enhancement.
ERWIG and the California Conservation Corps (CCC) assessed the habitat along the Upper Hollow Tree project reach and found existing large wood (LW) to be well below SONCC target values. The lack of LW is tied to low shelter values, reduced gravel sorting, shallower pools and a simple, single-thread channel. The 2002 CDFW stream inventory assessment and the 2014 CDFW South Fork Eel River Watershed Assessment both agree with the findings of the ERWIG/CCC assessment that a lack of LW is resulting in decreased habitat values. During the ERWIG/CCC habitat assessment, locations suitable for habitat enhancement LW structures were identified and LW structures were designed to best optimize habitat at each location.
This project was the construction of 76 LW structures with a total of 271 pieces of LW. The LW structures were placed and secured by Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps along 2.1 miles of Hollow Tree Creek. This project exceeds SONCC target values of "very good" for number of pieces of LW per mile. These structures will enhance pool area and depth, increasing shelter complexity, increasing the frequency of floodplain and side channel inundation, aggregate the channel, capturing large and small wood, and providing velocity refugia during high flows.
The Project received funds through the CDFW from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP).
Somerville Creek Instream Restoration Project
This project is located on Somerville Creek, a tributary to Redwood Creek, which is a tributary to the South Fork Eel River. The land surrounding Somerville Creek is privately owned and managed for small scale timber production and ranching, with a few smaller residential parcels at the mouth of the creek. Much of the watershed is on the Marshall Ranch and is protected by a perpetual conservation easement.
The South Fork Eel River Watershed Assessment indicates that Somerville Creek has "degraded or fragmented in-stream and riparian habitat, with salmonids present, but reduced densities and age class representation". The assessment suggests that Somerville Creek has a need for additional large wood to provide vital rearing and holding habitat. It also states that pool quality, pool depth, and pool shelter have a suitability rating of “low”. A stream habitat inventory survey of Somerville Creek performed by CDFW in 2017 recommends an “increase [in] woody cover in the pools and flat-water habitat units” and an “increase [in] the number of pools" (CDFW, 2017). The draft Salmon Habitat Restoration Priority (SHaRP) Redwood Creek chapter identifies the need for in-stream summer and winter habitat within the project reach.
Somerville Creek is a historically important salmonid spawning and rearing tributary in the Redwood Creek drainage. It is utilized by Chinook, Coho, and steelhead of all age classes. The importance of LW in the development of a stream's morphological and biological productivity has been well documented. It strongly influences stream habitat characteristics and biotic composition. LW is often the structural element associated with pool formation and is considered one of the major elements that create complex fish habitat, vital for juvenile salmonid survival.
This project added 28 instream structures containing 131 pieces of large wood along 0.7 miles of Somerville Creek. The structures were placed and secured by Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps. This
project will provide immediate benefits including enhancing pool area and depth, increasing shelter complexity, sorting
substrate for spawning habitat, increasing the frequency of floodplain and side channel inundation, gravel capture, capturing large and small wood, and providing velocity refugia during high flows.
The Project received funds through the CDFW from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP).
The South Fork Eel River Watershed Assessment indicates that Somerville Creek has "degraded or fragmented in-stream and riparian habitat, with salmonids present, but reduced densities and age class representation". The assessment suggests that Somerville Creek has a need for additional large wood to provide vital rearing and holding habitat. It also states that pool quality, pool depth, and pool shelter have a suitability rating of “low”. A stream habitat inventory survey of Somerville Creek performed by CDFW in 2017 recommends an “increase [in] woody cover in the pools and flat-water habitat units” and an “increase [in] the number of pools" (CDFW, 2017). The draft Salmon Habitat Restoration Priority (SHaRP) Redwood Creek chapter identifies the need for in-stream summer and winter habitat within the project reach.
Somerville Creek is a historically important salmonid spawning and rearing tributary in the Redwood Creek drainage. It is utilized by Chinook, Coho, and steelhead of all age classes. The importance of LW in the development of a stream's morphological and biological productivity has been well documented. It strongly influences stream habitat characteristics and biotic composition. LW is often the structural element associated with pool formation and is considered one of the major elements that create complex fish habitat, vital for juvenile salmonid survival.
This project added 28 instream structures containing 131 pieces of large wood along 0.7 miles of Somerville Creek. The structures were placed and secured by Edwards Excavation & Restoration as well as the California Conservation Corps. This
project will provide immediate benefits including enhancing pool area and depth, increasing shelter complexity, sorting
substrate for spawning habitat, increasing the frequency of floodplain and side channel inundation, gravel capture, capturing large and small wood, and providing velocity refugia during high flows.
The Project received funds through the CDFW from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP).
