Washout! This road washout on Mattole Road on the way to Ferndale is an example of what happens when a culvert plugs.
Photo: Amanda Malachesky
It’s hard to imagine on a nice summer day that the bottom of the river you see is not the same river bottom that was there a year ago. Older residents talk of forty foot deep pools in the river where only fifteen foot pools now exist. Fishing is what it used to be about, but now a once chilly river is warm enough for an enjoyable afternoon swim. These changes have all been caused by sediment – the thousands and millions of cubic yards of silt, sand, rock, debris, cobble and boulders that Mattole tributaries flush during each heavy winter storm.
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Other Articles in This Issue Lower Mattole Residents Plan For Fire Discussion of fire history in the Mattole watershed, and the development of the Lower Mattole Fire Safe Council.
