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.
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Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.
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