by Chris Larson
December 15, 2002

For most people in the Mattole, the summer is the busiest work season, a time to complete as much as possible before the winter rains and short days are upon us. This is definitely true of those working on road projects and in-stream habitat restoration. During summer of 2002 there was a lot of activity in the Mattole intended to help along natural processes of watershed recovery. From the very headwaters down to Mill Creek near the river’s mouth, work crews along with their heavy equipment took care of injured landscapes to reduce future siltation of the Mattole and its tributaries. Whether they worked in the protected Sanctuary Forest or a rural residential neighborhood, these work crews deserve our thanks and recognition.

This season, the Council completed its first Good Roads, Clear Creeks Project, working to upgrade and stormproof roads in the Mill Creek area near Petrolia. With a goal of improving salmon habitat in this important Mattole tributary, the Council removed an abandoned road, upgraded a main residential access road, replaced rusted-out and undersized culverts and treated a streambank landslide. Working with over a dozen private landowners, five funding agencies, three pieces of heavy equipment, and at over twenty-five worksites, the project had many facets. In the midst of this complexity, we are happy to report that most have judged the project a success. In coming months, local residents will be watching the road to see how it weathers winter storms.

Also completed this summer was an erosion inventory in middle Mattole-area creeks, a necessary pre-cursor to treating sediment problems such as faulty roads, landslides and streambank failures. The MRC identified over 140 sites in a twenty square mile area that can be treated to reduce sediment entering into Fourmile, Sholes, Middle and Westlund Creeks (roughly the area between Panther Gap and Wilder Ridge Road). For me, the work took on a new significance when the Department of Fish and Game confirmed that coho salmon are present in Fourmile Creek.

In the upper river area, Sanctuary Forest, Inc., a Whitethorn-based land trust and partner in the Good Roads, Clear Creeks Program, has undertaken an ambitious effort to remove many of the roads that lace the 3,000-acre Sanctuary Forest. The Sanctuary Forest, an old-growth reserve with miles of beautiful salmon creeks throughout, has been protected through the efforts of many local residents. This summer’s road project will help ensure the ecological integrity of the Mattole’s headwater streams and most important salmon habitat.

The completion of these projects demonstrates that the Good Roads, Clear Creeks Program is coming of age. The MRC is excited to be offering real services to landowners interested in good roads, while also helping the imperiled Mattole salmon runs. You can read about what landowners involved with these projects thought about them. Landowners participating in these projects have been generous in allowing the Council access to survey areas of the watershed. Working together to fix these problems, the Council and participating landowners are truly making a difference for the river and its salmon.


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Table of Contents for Mattole Restoration Newsletter, Issue 19 - Winter/Spring 2002-03