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| Spring 2008 |
Vol. XVII, No. 2
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WATERSHED PROJECTS
South Fork Trinity River Watershed
In 2007 the RCD completed its eleventh year of implementing road restoration projects in the South Fork of the Trinity River Watershed. This year 41,692 cubic yards of road fill was excavated from 32 stream crossings along 6.61 miles of Forest Service roads in the Hyampom, and Hidden Valley compartments. Road crossings over creeks if not maintained or adequately sized pose a high risk to anadromous fisheries in the South Fork.
The RCD has been implementing road-related, sediment reduction projects in the South Fork Trinity River Watershed since 1997, including road upgrades. Upgrading roads reduces the potential for sediment to reach streams and keeps the roads drivable by redesigning the drainage of the road, especially through the installation of larger culverts that can withstand 100-year storms. Over 190 miles of roads have been treated with 99 stream crossings upgraded, 239 stream crossings excavated and over 166,261 cubic yards of soil excavated from the stream courses.
To date, about $4.9 million has been spent on restoration work in the South Fork Trinity River Watershed. The District will return to the South Fork in 2008 with funding amounting to over $950,000 from the State Water Resources Control Board, the US Forest Service, California Department of Fish & Game and Trinity County Resource Advisory Committee.
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Before, during and after stream crossing excavation at MM 5.90 on 1S11 road.
View upstream—October 2007
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Lewiston 4 & Dark Gulch Channel Rehabilitation
The District obtained a $575,000 grant from the California Department of Fish and Game to assist the Trinity River Restoration Program with their Lewiston 4 and Dark Gulch Channel Rehabilitation Project. The District is acting as lead CEQA agent for this project and is facilitating public hearings. This grant provided needed additional funds for this $2.27 million project that will be implemented during the summer of 2008. The project includes removing riparian berms, addition of coarse sediment, constructing side channels, incorporating large woody debris, and removing instream barriers to improve spawning and rearing habitat for anadromous salmonids.
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Trinity River Watershed Council
The District facilitated the Trinity River Watershed Council during 2007. This formation of a cooperative partnership between residents, private and commercial landowners, local, state and federal agencies has evolved as a process to seek common solutions to protect and restore the health of the Trinity River watershed.
This Watershed Council offers participants the opportunity to be involved in the decision making process at the local level and to evaluate and implement projects of mutual interest. This partnership will result in the ability to accomplish long-term watershed management planning and project implementation at the watershed scale across land ownerships and boundaries. The signatories of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recognize the value of coordinating land management and planning activities among public agencies at all levels as well as between these agencies and private landowners. Each party is independent, has its respective responsibilities, and yet recognizes the need to coordinate for the successful delivery of conservation programs related to our natural resources.
The mission of the Trinity River Watershed Council is to facilitate an inclusive, community-based process to maintain, restore, and enhance the ecological health of the Trinity River watershed through cooperation, project planning and implementation, responsible stewardship, and education.
A significant accomplishment of the Trinity River Watershed Council was to prioritize potential restoration projects designed to reduced sediment delivery to the Trinity River.
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