Photo from Humboldt State University

CalTrout and partner Save the Redwoods League are excited to announce that the Lower Prairie Creek Restoration Project has been recommended for funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to restore rearing, spawning, and over-winter habitat for three species of Endangered Species Act-listed salmon. The project site at the confluence of Prairie and Redwood Creeks near the southern gateway to Redwood National and State Parks in Humboldt County. The League bought the former mill site from California Redwood Company in 2013 with the intention to build a visitor center and restore the creek. The intention is for the land to become part of Redwood National Park.

The League and CalTrout have been working together for the past few years to study the site, develop restoration concepts and build support among agencies and the community. This award will facilitate restoration actions within a critical section of the larger Redwood Creek watershed, thereby providing some of the best potential habitat to contribute to the recovery of coho, Chinook salmon, and steelhead.

The most downstream section of Prairie Creek is in poor condition. Industrial scale timber harvesting, flood control construction, road and municipal infrastructure, and the conversion of wetlands and bottom lands to agricultural production have profoundly impacted stream conditions and water quality within the Redwood Creek watershed. These land use changes have led to damaged instream habitat; elevated sedimentation in stream channels; and decreased connectivity with floodplains and tributaries. The vision for the site is to restore a functional creek channel with access to the productive floodplain, backwater areas, and seasonal wetlands over a range of flow conditions for the benefit of winter and summer rearing juvenile salmonids that will increase population productivity, as well as restore fish access to tributaries to increase spawning habitat.

NOAA’s 2017 Community-based Restoration Program Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration Grants Program recommended funding of $289,500 to fund Year One of this multi-year award, in which we will continue design, planning, and permitting activities. Subsequent funding up to $603,375 total for 2018 and beyond will be awarded annually, depending on project need and available federal funds.

Save the Redwoods League and California Trout are very grateful to NOAA for its partnership and support. Read the award announcement here.

This project was featured in the Times Standard, “Former Orick mill site conversion to national park before commission“, August 2, 2017.