Summer 2011 Western Shasta Resource Conservation District Newsletter

8/3/2019 Summer 2011 Western Shasta Resource Conservation District Newsletter

1/10

matches the color of the

overlook railing.

Other additions

to the overlook area in-

clude two new benches

with views of the creek,

and three new tables on

the overlook platform.

The platform is now a

great location to enjoy a

picnic lunch with a view.

Finally, a new bike rack

in the shape of a salmon

is being installed to en-

hance the fish theme at

the overlook. This area

has been transformed into

a wonderful recreational

and educational destina-

tion, so next time you get

the chance, check it out!

Recent ly the

Clear Creek Gorge Over-

look has had some excit-

ing improvements. One of

the newest additions is an

educational kiosk, which

includes seven interpre-

tive panels, a tile mosaic

of the salmon lifecycle, a

shade canopy, three

benches, and a new walk-

way to get from the park-

ing lot to the overlook

platform. The interpre-

tive panels, relating to

the Clear Creek water-

shed, include general wa-

tershed facts, Native

American history, min-

ing, the Central Valley Im-

provement Project, restora-

tion projects, fish identifi-

cation, and a salmon lifecy-

cle panel that explains the

tile mosaic.

The idea behind the

tile mosaic was for visitors,

especially kids, to be able to

walk the salmon lifecycle

while parents or teachers

explain the process with

detailed information from

the panels. The tiles were

created by local artist Palul

(Paul Rideout), with bright

and vivid colors that are

incredible. The tiles are set

in colored concrete in a 9-

foot diameter circle in the

center of the kiosk. The ki-

osk is covered by a metal

21 x 21 canopy and sur-

rounded by railing thatBenchoverlookingClear

CreekGorge

Clear Creek Gorge Overlook

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Sulphur

Creek

2

Citizen

Monitoring

3

WSRCD

Staff

3

Clear Creek

Monitoring

4

FEMA

Update

7

Archer

Fuelbreak

8

Employee

Highlight

10

Watersheds and YouS U M M E R 2 0 1 1

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Backbone

Fuelbreak

The Shasta

Conservation

Fund

Phase 3B

Floodway

Rehabilitation

Whole Earth

and Watershed

Festival

Grazing Leases

EducationalKiosk

TileMosaicofthesalmonlifecycle

SignatClearCreekGorge

Salmonbikerack


2/10

P A G E 2

A total of

26,000 cubic

yards of

gravel were

removed from

the site.

WillowPond

Sulphur Creek Mitigationdiately northeast of the

Turtle Bay Nursery and

south of Turtle Bay

School. This site origi-

nally consisted of a dis-

turbed area of gravel

quarry scars associated

with the historic mining

activities at Turtle Bay.

While the depres-

sion held water, its level

varied greatly during the

year. The combination

of steep rocky banks and

extreme changes in water

level resulted in little

wetland vegetation de-

velopment within the

site.

A total of 26,000

cubic yards of gravel

were removed from thesite to build the initial

wetland structure and

increase the water hold-

ing capacity of Willow

Pond. The structure was

then lined with 5,000 cu-

bic yards of sandy loam

and planted with native

species. Willow Pond isbeing developed into a

self-sustaining native

wetland habitat.

A new walking

bridge, trails, benches

and interpretive displays

have incorporated the

site into the Turtle Bay

Arboretum. Willow Pond

is becoming a popular site

for visitors and wildlife

alike.

The WSRCD

was contracted by Cal-

trans to undertake the

mitigation for the Dana

to Downtown Highway

project along State

Route 44. This project

included new bridge

construction and sev-

eral road widening ele-

ments at the highways

crossing of the Sacra-

mento River, within

the City of Redding.

The Dana to

Downtown project re-

sulted in loss of 1.4

acres of riparian habi-

tat and 0.4 acres of wet-

lands. US Army Corps

of Engineers and Cali-

fornia Department of

Fish & Game permits

acquired for this pro-

ject specified off-site

restoration for the im-

pacted habitats. This

resulted in the require-

ment to create 1.2 acres

of wetlands and 4.2

acres of riparian habi-tat.

The wetland

mitigation site, Willow

Pond, is located imme-

Gravelquarryscarring

W A T E R S H E D S A N D Y O U

CanadaGeeseatthewetland

RingneckDuckatthewetland

Benchandinterpretive display


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Citizen Monitoring

P A G E 3

The start of the second

annual Aquatic Bioassessment

Sampling season is here! If you

are a concerned citizen interested

in learning about the health of

your local streams and are will-

ing to give up a few hours on a

Friday morning, then please join

us for fun and learning in the

great outdoors! Aquatic Bio-

assessment Sampling is a great

way to look at the physical fea-

tures of the creek in order to

gather info about the habitat

that is available for fish and

other aquatic organisms. In ad-

dition, we also collect benthic

macroinvertebrates (creek bugs),

which are sent to a certified Cali-

fornia Department of Fish &

Game laboratory to help us

gauge the health of our local wa-

tersheds. We provide all the gear

needed, all you need to bring is

plenty of water, food, and sun-

screen. Please contact our office

for more details at (530) 365-

7332 ext. 207, and hope to see

you out in the creek!

Dave DeMarGIS Specialist, Archaeologist

and Project Coordinator

Joe AndrusLead Conservation Tech I

Steve MorefieldField Supervisor

Jonathan HawkinsLead Conservation Tech

Billiejo Morefield Conservation Technician

Benjamin NewcombConservation Technician

Clark MatthewsConservation Technician

Corey LewisConservation Technician

Mary Mitchell District Manager

Rhonda DarlingChief Financial Officer

Christy Marroquin Assistant Fiscal Officer

Jack BramhallProject Manager

Ryan TeubertProject Manager

Maureen TeubertProject Manager

Rachael AschbacherAdministrative Assistant for

Grant Writing and Grant Management

Ali WarrenAdministrative Assistant

Lee DelaneyEastside Watershed Coordinator

Leslie BryanWestside Watershed Coordinator

Gretchen GarwoodProject Coordinator

Jeremey KelleyLead Conservation Tech II, GIS

Technician, and Project Coordinator

2011AquaticBioassessmentTraining

WSRCD TEAM

TheWSRCDStaffscatWillow.


4/10

P A G E 4

PRBOMonitoring

Clear Creek Monitoringstruction, and finally, re-

storing flow into a section

of historic stream chan-nel diverted by aggregate

extraction.

Restoration of the

channel and floodplain in

combination with gravel

injections and appropri-

ate flow releases should,

in theory, initiate and

sustain natural sedimenttransport processes and

channel migration; re-

store aquatic, wetland,

and riparian habitats;

improve floodplain con-

nectivity and riparian re-

generative processes; and

restore ecological func-

tion to the riverine eco-

system. To evaluate pro-

ject success relative to

anticipated ecological

benefits, a monitoring

plan was developed and

specific monitoring objec-

tives were defined and

logically divided into

three categories for

evaluation (USBR et. al.

2000). The three catego-

ries developed include:

avian resources, geomor-

phology, and riparian

communities.

The Lower Clear

Creek Floodway Reha-

bilitation Project(LCCFRP) was divided

into four phases that

included restoration of

floodplains and upland

habitats. Phase 1 of the

project was completed in

1998 with funds provided

through the Central Valley

Project Improvement Act

and included construction of

a natural bar to reduce

stranding of juvenile salmon

and improve passage condi-

tions for adult salmon mi-

grating upstream. Phase 2,

completed in 2000 and 2001,

initiated restoration of

floodplains by filling aggre-

gate extraction pits within

the stream channel and

floodplain. Phase 3A, com-

pleted in 2002, was the first

portion of the project to in-

volve active stream channel

rehabilitation, improving

floodplain connectivity, and

revegetation of natural ri-

parian communities. Laterphases of the project were

planned to continue moving

downstream from Phase 3A,

completing channel reha-

bilitation, floodplain con-


The WSRCD con-

tracted with three compa-

nies to do the monitoring.The companies were Point

Reyes Bird Observatory

(PRBO), Tehama Environ-

mental Solutions (TES),

and Graham Matthews &

Associates (GMA). PRBOs

monitoring methods in-

cluded point count surveys,

species richness and bird

abundance calculations,

spot mapping, adult annual

survival and nest monitor-

ing. TESs monitoring

methods surveyed specific

transects used to measure

survival, height, and can-

opy of the plantings and to

measure the density and

canopy of natural recruiting

vegetation on the con-

structed floodplains. GMAs

monitoring methods in-

cluded topographic and ae-

rial surveying, gage installa-

tions to quantify stream

flow, assessments of bed

TESMonitoring


5/10

Clear Creek Monitoring Continued

P A G E 5

texture, floodplain deposit size

analyses and mapping the

movement of spawning gravel.

At the sites that PRBO

monitored, their results suggest

the effects of restoration on the

avian community have been

mixed with some sites and spe-

cies showing increases and oth-

ers showing little response or

even decreases. This is due pri-

marily to each species specifichabitat needs and that the

floodplain vegetation will ma-

ture and change over time. The

final report stated that the res-

toration area is functioning

well, and made some sugges-

tions on how to improve the

current project area, and re-

commendations for future res-

toration projects. At the sites

that TES monitored their re-

sults stated that the canopy

cover on the various stages of

riparian plantings ranges from

less than ten percent to forty-five

percent. Natural recruitment con-

tributes six to eleven percent can-

opy cover. Areas of varying resto-

ration success that are not well-

explained by hydrologic factors

are likely influenced more by

variations in soil texture and, per-

haps, compaction. GMAs spawn-

ing gravel site results were listed

by priority. The top three priori-

ties were: Below Dog Gulch, belowNEED Camp, and Upper 3A. Be-

low Dog Gulch is a highly effec-

tive area where the gravel moves

out quickly and gets more ft/yr of

recharge than most injections.

This is the most promising method

to recharge the reach above

Peltier. Below NEED Camp is

part of Reach Two. Reach Two is

the most limiting reach for

achieving continuity. GMA rec-

ommended keeping Reach 2 in-

jection area full. Upper 3A am-

bient rates are too low to main-

tain desirable channel conditions

millions of dollars in restora-

tion must be locally recharged

until we achieve continuity. In-

jecting at the highest location

provides the most benefit.

GrahamMatthews&AssociatesMonitoring


6/10

P A G E 6

Promote a

sustainable

community

with clean

water and

healthy people

for present

and future

generations.


with clean water and

healthy people for pre-

sent and future genera-

tions.

2. Optimize those fea-

tures of the physical and

biological environment

for the benefit and well

being of the human com-

munity within the area

covered by the Western

Shasta Resource Conser-

vation District.

3. Sustain and enhance

the resource values

within the Western

Shasta Resource Conser-

vation District, i.e. water

quality, ranching, agri-

culture, hydro-power,

forestry, fisheries, wild-

life, recreation, wetlands,

riparian areas, and his-

toric resources by pursu-

ing solutions to resource

issues that are economi-

cally feasible, environ-

mentally sound, and so-

cially acceptable, while

maintaining a liaison

with concerned regula-

tory/resource agencies

and landowners/

stakeholders. Also edu-

cating, informing, gener-

ating, and sharing infor-

mation to promote con-

servation of resources

within the above stated

goals.

The Shasta

Conservation Fund

was formed in Octo-

ber 2001 as a 501C3

non-profit and is a

sister organization

to the RCD. Its spe-

cific purpose is to

provide education, ex-

change scientific informa-

tion, and foster the con-

servation or restoration

of Western Shasta

Countys natural re-

sources, especially in the

areas of watershed im-

provement, fuels and

vegetation management,

and erosion control.

The Shasta Con-

servation Fund has three

main goals: 1. Promote a

sustainable community

The Shasta Conservation Fund

LowerClearCreekWatershedPaintedbyMartiWeidert

Whole Earth and Watershed FestivalDespite the

weather, thousands ofpeople attended this

years festival to learn

ways to live a health-

ier lifestyle, save

money and energy,

protect and restore

natural resources, and

discover how thework of many local

groups make our re-

gions communities

better places to live.

Over 100 exhibitors

were at the event in-

cluding government

agencies, businesses,educational organiza-

tions, community

groups, and local non-

profits.


7/10

Phase 3B Floodway Rehabilitationsummer of irrigation. Some of

the willow cuttings are al-

ready over 7 feet tall.

Crew member Billiejo

Morefield has been working to

get all of the lines flushed,

emitters replaced, and weeds

Its that time of year

again to get the irrigation

system up and running out

at the 3B restoration site

along Clear Creek. The

11,800 plants that were

planted in January 2010 did

extremely well after the first

knocked back to

allow the irriga-

tion system to

run properly this

summer. The site is

looking great and the

plants are looking healthy.

FEMA Update

P A G E 7

RCD Project Managers,

Ryan and Maureen Teubert, at-

tended the Association of State

Floodplain Managers annual

conference in Louisville, Ken-

tucky the third week of May.

The conference was a great

learning experience with multi-

ple networking opportunities

with FEMA Region IX collabo-

rators, as well as agency repre-

sentatives from DWR, ACOE,other FEMA contractors, Flood-

plain Managers, and many oth-

ers. Many of the workshops they

attended during the conference

focused on outreach and educa-

tion of flood risk. As a cooperat-

ing technical partner

(CTP),WSRCD staff will be

leading the FEMA outreach ef-forts for much of Northern Cali-

fornia through collaboration

with other RCDs. One of the

highlights of the week was a

course on the newly developed

Floodplain Simulation System

a hands-on 3-D model that can

be taken to public meetings,

schools, community events, and

other public forums to demon-

strate flood risk to communities.

Maureen, Ryan and Dave

DeMar are the key staff working

on the CTP agreement with the

FEMA Regional Engineer. Re-

cent discussions about flood risk

mapping focused on the develop-

ment of a cookbook to help

rural communities seek funding

to deal with flooding issues. The

team discussed the State Water

Plan and potential outreach op-

portunities with other RCDs in

neighboring counties. One of the

first activities WSRCD com-

pleted for FEMA was the Water-shed University in October 2010,

a training workshop on how

FEMA regulations and maps are

created.

Ryan and Maureen will be

traveling to the FEMA Emer-

gency Management Institute in

Emmitsburg, Maryland for a

week in August to attend a CTP

Special Topics Course. Maureen

also submitted two abstracts to

be presented at the Annual

Floodplain Managers Association

Conference in San Diego, Califor-

nia, and both were accepted, so

she and Ryan will also be attend-ing that conference in early Sep-

tember.

Billiejostandingnexttothewillow

cuttings


8/10

P A G E 8

Archer Road Fuelbreak

Backbone McCandless FuelbreakThe Backbone

McCandless Fuel-

break Project has agoal of reducing wild-

fire risk in a rural

area northwest of the

community of Round

Mountain and north

of Ingot. The project

is located near the

junction of Backbone

and McCandless Roadsand proceeds eastward

along Backbone Ridge

Road to Fenders Ferry

Road.

In 2003, the

WSRCD received three

grants through Shasta-Trinity National Forest to

create a 17-mile fuelbreak

on Backbone Ridge. This

project was completed in

2007. Good News: Cal Fire

was able to use the fuel-

break in 2008 to halt the

progression of the Pine

Fire.In 2009, the

WSRCD received an addi-

tional grant with federal

financial assistance pro-

vided to the California

Fire Safe Council from the

USDA Forest Service. The

grant was used to extendthe fuelbreak another 7.1

miles.

The project is re-

moving mixed conifer,

manzanita, and buckbrush

to reduce the fire hazard in

the area. The Cal Fire

Sugar Pine Conservation

Camp inmate crew is assising to make this project a

success. Completion of thi

project is expected by Oc-

tober 2011.

partment of Interior Na-

tional Parks Service.

The project is a

mile long and the main

fuels in the area are mixed

conifer stands, manzanita,

and buckbrush. The fuels

are being removed

through the efforts of the

WSRCD crew and the Cal

Fire Trinity River Conser-

vation Camp inmate crew.

This project is expected to

be complete by November

2011.

The Archer Road

Fuelbreak is located west

of Igo, California.

The projects

main goals are to create a

shaded fuelbreak and to

provide a safer egress for

residences located on a

dead-end road. In 2010,

the WSRCD was

awarded a grant with

federal financial assis-

tance provided to the

California Fire Safe

Council from the US De-


BeforeandafterphotosfromtheBackbone

McCandlessFuelbreak

BeforeandafterphotosftheArcherRoadFuelbre


9/10

Grazing Leases

P A G E 9V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

In 2004, the Department

of Fish and Game (DFG) ob-

tained 346 acres located on Balls

Ferry Road, in Cottonwood,

California. In 2008, DFG ob-

tained another 148-acre parcel

located in the same area.

The parcels have been

used for cattle grazing and hay

production on an annual basis.

The DFG has contracted with

the WSRCD to prepare a man-

agement plan, administer the

grazing contract, and oversee

certain aspects of the lands

management to improve wildlife

habitat.

In 2009, the WSRCD

created a management plan for

the 148-acre parcel. The objec-

tive of the management plan is

to maintain the property in its

existing condition providing

quality short grass habitat for

Canada geese, shorebirds, and

raptors. Currently goats and

sheep are eating blackberry and

other invasive species. This is

helping maintain the grass habi-

tat.

In 2010, the WSRCD

created a management plan for

the 346-acre parcel. The objec-

tive of the management plan is

to restore and maintain winter-

ing waterfowl habitat, protec-

tion of sensitive wetland re-

sources, control of invasive non-

native plant species, protection for

special-status wildlife and riparian

habitat protection and restora-

tion. Currently, 48 acres are hayed

twice annually on the south side of

Balls Ferry Road and grazing oc-

curs from April through October

on the north side of Balls Ferry

Road. Both activities result in

short grass and open areas, which

are ideal for the winter foraging

habitat of geese.

Cowsatcurrentgrazinglease

Goatatcurrentgrazinglease

Sheepatcurrentgrazinglease

Cowsatcurrentgrazinglease

Pastureaftercowshavegrazed


10/10

6270 Parallel Road

Anderson, CA 96007

Phone: 530 365-7332

Fax: 530 365-7271

email: [email protected]

Web: www.westernshastarcd.org

Our Mission:

Collaborate with willing landowners,

government agencies and

other organizations to facilitate

the conservation and restoration of

Western Shasta County's natural resources.

Employee HighlightRecently Christy bought

a new home in Cottonwood

where she enjoys horseback rid-

ing and mountain biking in her

spare time with her three chil-

dren (two boys and one girl).

In October Christy will

begin her classes from National

University, where she will be

studying for her Masters Degree

in Accounting.

Christy Marroquin

started with the Western

Shasta RCD in June of 2009.

She has a BA in Business Ad-

ministration/Human Resource

Management from Simpson

College in Redding. She always

has a smile on her face and is

available to help anyone at

any time with any accounting

need.

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Summer 2011 Western Shasta Resource Conservation District Newsletter

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