Community Resource Center
The Resource Centers in Petrolia and Whitethorn are available Monday through Friday, providing information and technological assistance. Resources including books, articles, photographs, tributary files, maps, and videos are available for free check-out. To see a complete list, please stop by the office or check the online database.
Volunteer! Community involvement is essential to the Council’s restoration efforts. Landowner participants and on-the-ground volunteers are needed. The Council hosts AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project members, a special program of the California Conservation Corps, who gain professional experience in a variety of restoration work. Contact us to find out how to get involved.
'Harbingers of Recovery' booklet now available
Watershed recovery is inherently a slow process. While it may take mere years to diagnose the harms affecting a watershed, it takes decades to address those ills, and centuries for a complete recovery. The processes of sediment transport, forest growth, and soil accumulation are simply that deliberate.Mindful of that time scale, 25 years after the Council began taking on projects in watershed restoration, the MRC has published a "quarterly report" -- a retrospective on what our first quarter-century of effort has accomplished. It's a 34-page booklet, issued at the end of 2011, entitled Harbingers of Recovery: A First Quarterly Report to Stakeholders. The images and excerpt below offer a flavor of what the booklet contains.
It covers not only the work the Council has done, but also the efforts of individuals and kindred organizations striving toward the same goal -- in some cases since before the Council was founded. A printed version of the report is available from the Council for a suggested donation of $10 or more, plus $2 in postage. Or, you can download an electronic version from the links below.
From the preface:
Some of the
Mattole Restoration Council’s early publications can be read as a catalog of
loss. Elements of Recovery, published in 1989, documented the sources of erosion that
were muddying the streams of the Mattole. A landmark 1988 map showed that less
than a tenth of the Mattole’s old-growth forests had survived the last forty
years. And yet, as inhabitants of the watershed, we knew that the Mattole
remained a precious place, with the potential to heal from these injuries. The
creatures we encountered, from salmon and salamanders to schoolchildren,
reminded us how important it was to foster that healing.
Twenty-seven years after the MRC was founded in the spreading shade of the Council Madrone near Ettersburg, we are pausing to take a long view of the watershed’s progress in rebounding from the injuries it suffered, to better understand the effectiveness of our efforts, and to share our experiences in the hope that they prove useful to the restoration movement beyond the Mattole.
We undertake this investigation knowing three things from the start. First, recent declines in coho salmon numbers have tinged our past accomplishments with bittersweetness. Even as human efforts eased the constraints on Mattole fish populations that were most apparent during the first decades of restoration, two new factors — unfavorable ocean conditions and low summer-time flows — have combined since 2002 to drive coho populations to new lows.
Second, we are cataloging more than the Council’s own handiwork. Much of the healing we depict is the result of the passage of time, the work of the elements, and the dedication of kindred groups and individual landowners shouldering these tasks alongside us. Their efforts began before the Council’s founding, as Freeman House describes below, and have been so significant that we could not undertake this project without reporting on their work as well.
Finally, many aspects of watershed recovery proceed at a pace slower than the human lifespan. While some stretches of creek have flushed themselves clean of the silt and gravel deposited as a result of early logging, other areas, such as the lower mainstem, may recover only over hundreds of years. And thus the subtitle of this booklet. Unlike the time-frame in which publicly traded corporations measure their achievements, the successes of the restoration movement will be gauged in centuries. Now, with just over 25 years behind us, it is time for our first quarterly report to everyone who has a stake in our watershed.
Can carbon credits benefit North Coast forestland owners?
You're invited to explore that question with Mark Andre, forester for the city of Arcata, on Wednesday, May 26, from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Mattole Valley Community Center in Petrolia.
The City of Arcata has won praise for its sustainable, selective management of its 2,200 acres of municipal forests, which produce timber revenues for the city as well as providing wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities for the public. Since last year, the city has been selling carbon credits to Pacific Gas & Electric, based on the carbon captured from the atmosphere by 460 acres of those forests, bringing an extra $400,000 into city coffers over a period of four years.
Mark, who planted 300,000 trees with Mattole restoration worker Randy Stemler and was recently appointed to the state Board of Forestry, will talk about the theory and practice of "carbon sequestration" and carbon credits, and how they might apply in the Mattole.
Light refreshments will be provided, and all are welcome. Hope to see you there!
Fact Sheets
The following fact sheets are broken into categories, and are available online for your convenience.FIRE and FIRE SAFETY
MRC Sediment Series
WATER CONSERVATION
Good Roads, Clear Creeks
Reducing erosion to improve aquatic habitat:
The single largest cause of salmon population decline in the Mattole is excessive erosion into streams, largely from roads and streambank failures. Sediment suffocates salmon eggs by clogging spawning gravel, and fills in cool, deep pools which serve as critical rearing habitat.
Starting at the headwaters and working downstream, sediment sources like culverts, poorly draining or abandoned roads, stream bank failures and landslides are prioritized and treated. Access roads are storm-proofed, abandoned roads are recontoured, and stream crossings are upgraded to meet fish passage and sediment delivery guidelines.
Staff visit with landowners to identify erosion sites with the potential to deliver sediment into watercourses. Findings from these visits and follow-up field surveys are then presented to landowners in the form of a customized report. With permission from landowners, the Council then carries out the prescribed restoration work.
NEWS:
GRCC has completed its 2009 work season and will resume treatments in the summer of 2010. This year we treated a total of 96 sites and prevented over 135,000 cubic yards of sediment from entering the Mattole and its tributaries!
COMMUNITY SERVICES:
Need help with roads and erosion? We offer free, confidential road work and erosion maintenance consultations to help landowners meet their stewardship goals. Please contact Joel at our Upriver office for more information on how to get involved.
PROGRAM DETAILS:
After funding is secured, the implementation phase begins. This generally includes heavy equipment work to storm proof access roads by replacing culverts and reshaping road segments to improve drainage systems. In addition, eroding streambanks are stabilized with rock structures in conjunction with willow planting and unstable segments of unused roads are decommissioned. Other implementation techniques include handwork to treat remote sites where streambanks are eroding. Local heavy equipment operators and Council personnel complete all of the work within the implementation phase.
Petrolia Project Area
An eroding streambank along the mainstem Mattole river prior to project implementation
In 2007, GRCC personnel performed a sediment source assessment on the roads and erosive streambanks within the lower Mattole area. The scope of this project encompasses the area from McGuiness Creek to the Mattole River estuary. GRCC staff identified over 100 sites with the potential to reduce 72,540 cubic yards of sediment from entering the watercourses. The implementation phase began in the summers of 2008 and will reach completion in 2011.
To measure the effectiveness of the upcoming sediment reduction work in the Lower Mattole, turbidity samples were taken at selected creeks. Turbidity, a measure of the water's cloudiness, is an indicator of the amount of sediment a stream is carrying and therefore it's suitability for fish habitat. Samples were collected during the winter of 2008 and the project will continue for up to four years. The results will give us a better understanding of how to make our work more effective.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Petrolia Area Sediment Assessment Report | 982.18 KB |
Bear Creek Project Area
The GRCC program is working to reduce sedimentation in the Bear, French and Wolf Creek sub-sheds to the Mattole River. The project is scheduled to reach completion in October 2009 with a total sediment savings of approximately 50,000 cubic yards. Nearly fifty culverts were replaced, numerous drivable rock-armored fords were installed on seasonal roads, and miles of road were reshaped to reduce surface erosion. In addition, two arch culverts were installed with the largest site located along Chemise Mountain Road in the headwaters of South Fork Bear Creek. Large streambank stabilization and fish habitat enhancement projects were also performed in the project area, including a large site visible just upriver from the Ettersburg bridge.
An inappropriately placed and undersized culvert (left) that acted as a partial barrier to salmonids was replaced with a larger and appropriately angled culvert (right).
An eroding streambank contributed large amounts of sediment to all areas downstream (left). After project completion, the toe of the slide was stabilized with boulders and large wood was placed for enhanced salmonid habitat.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Bear Creek Sediment Assessment Report | 380.92 KB |
Blue Slide, Mattole Canyon & Grindstone Creek
As the largest sediment savings project to date, GRCC will stabilize over 300,000 cubic yards of sediment by the end of this project in October 2010. This geographic area of the Mattole watershed has unstable geology and is prone to large landslides. Numerous instream large-rock and willow-bioengineered structures have been installed at the toe of major slides along these creeks. These structures are designed to stabilize the stream bank by directing the force of the water away from unstable areas. This work facilitates accelerated growth of streamside vegetation, further stabilizing the riparian corridor and shading the creek. Numerous roads have also been storm-proofed within this large project area.
An undersized culvert on Blue Slide Creek (left) is replaced with a bridge to allow for unimpeded high water flows in the winter. This culvert acted as a velocity barrier during high flows as the creek was forced, at high speed, through the undersized culvert.
In the summer of 2009, GRCC replaced this failing bridge abutment (left) that was leaking toxic creosote into Mattole Canyon Creek with a solid cement foundation that will withstand 100-year floods (right).
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Blueslide to Grindstone Sediment Assessment Report | 493.95 KB |
Eubanks Project Area
During the summers of 2006, 2007 and 2008 the GRCC program performed erosion control projects within Big Finley, Little Finley, Buck, Deerlick, Eubanks, and Nooning Creeks; all tributaries to the Mattole River. Approximately 70,760 cubic yards of sediment have been prevented from entering the Mattole River watershed. Several miles of road have been reshaped through crowning and outsloping. Over fifty culverts have been installed, all designed to withstand a 100-year flood events. Some of the most significant work included replacing old culverts that were impeding fish access and installing bottomless pipe arches. These structures allow salmon and steelhead trout to freely migrate under the road expanding their spawning and rearing habitat.| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Eubanks Sediment Assessment Report | 304.04 KB |
Ranchlands Water Quality Program
The MRC seeks to foster good working relationships with all land owners throughout the watershed and has developed this program as a means of outreach and relationship building with the ranchland ownership sector of the community.To date, sediment assessments have been performed on six ranches (not including three large
ranches within the Bear Creek and Blue Slide to Grindstone project areas that have participated in the GRCC program). GRCC staff is actively pursuing further ranchland involvement and development of implementation projects on these properties.
Mattole Forest Management Resources
Agencies with Forest Management ProgramsCALFIRE
CALFIRE is the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Landowners who want to do prescribed burning with agency help can apply to the Vegetation Management Program (VMP). The VMP program is a cost-sharing program that focuses on prescribed fire and mechanical treatments to reduce fuel loads.
Contact: Hugh Scanlon, 726-1206 or Mark Rodgers, 726-1224
Natural Resources Conservation Service
NRCS is a federal agency that employs a forester under their Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). EQIP can help a landowner develop a forest management plan for a cost share dependent on need and acreage. They will do a stand inventory and if the landowner also works with Humboldt Redwood Company (HRC) president Mike Jani, they can bring the plan into conformance with the Forest Stewardship Council standard in order to enable the selling of logs through HRC. The development of a management plan through NRCS will create options for cost-share projects like thinning.
Contact: Dave Casey, NRCS forester, 442-6058, ext 110
University of California Extension
There are several workshops annually that inform or help forest landowners with issues like Sudden Oak Death, woody biomass and estate planning. Check their website: ce.humboldt.ucdavis.edu
Contact: Yana Valachovic, Forest Advisor, 445-7351, yvala@ucdavis.edu
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
USFWS has restoration funding available through their Conservation Partner program. Prioritized projects include riparian restoration efforts.
Contact: Gregory Gray, 822-7201, greg_gray@fws.gov
Fire Safe Councils
Lower Mattole Fire Safe Council, contact: Josh Free, 629-3460
Southern Humboldt Fire Safe Council, contact Bill Eastwood
Local businesses relevant to forest management
[If you would like to be listed in this resource directory,
please contact Ali Freedlund at 629-3514 or ali@mattole.org.]
Whitethorn Construction
California’s largest native hardwood lumber yard, right here in the Mattole. 545 Shelter Cove Road, Whitethorn. To sell hardwood logs or purchase milled hardwood, call Ken Forden: 986-7412, kforden@whitethornconstruction.com www.whitethornconstruction.com
Humboldt Redwood Company
The Scotia mill owned by HRC is the closest mill to the Mattole. Because they are Forest Stewardship Council certified, they prefer FSC logs. To be FSC certified, a landowner needs a forest management plan. President of HRC, Mike Jani can help tailor a plan that fits the FSC standard (even if you work with NRCS to develop the plan).
Contact: Mike Jani, Humboldt Redwood Company, mjani@mendoco.com, (707) 272-0216
Equipment Operators
Chompers Cook: 629-3428
Mike and Bill Etter: 629-3240
Richard French: 986-7552
Sterling McWhorter: 502-4626
Whole Log Firewood Processors
Whole Log Firewood Processor (WLFP): The WLFP is a piece of equipment that can make 2 to 5 cords of firewood in an hour from whole logs. With an already stacked deck of logs, the WLFP needs a loader and optimally another helper. Two people who own them in the Mattole make them available for hire:
Marty Hobbs: 986-9521
Elk Ridge Forestry, Contact: Kai Ostrow: 223-0042, kaiostrow@gmail.com
Sawmill Operators
Bill Etter: 629-3240
Don Ozard: 845-2840
Dave Short: 786-4454
Foresters familiar with the Mattole
Jared Gerstein: 834-2912
Paul Harper: 825-0475
Tim Metz: timmetz@asis.com
People with chainsaws and other tools for hire
Bob Anderson: 629-3621
Jason Evans: 629-3560
Dan Gephart: 629-9998
Dave Kahan: 923-3453, sparky@asis.com
Mattole Restoration Roundtable
On Friday, November 18 the Mattole Restoration Council—in partnership with Mattole Salmon Group and Sanctuary Forest—will host a series of roundtable conversations focused on topics related to the restoration of the Mattole watershed. The event will be held at Beginnings in Briceland. The event will start at 10 AM with roundtable conversations running until 4PM. All are encouraged to attend and take advantage of this opportunity for information exchange!The roundtable conversation will be informative, participatory, and collaborative. Short presentations from local restorationists will be followed by time to discuss. Topics include:
* Sudden oak death, 10-11 AM
* Climate change, 11-Noon
* State of Mattole salmon, 12:30-2:00 PM
* Forest futures, 2:00 PM-3:30 PM
* Land use and local planning policy, 3:30 PM-4:30 PM
(all times are approximate; light lunch will be provided to all participants)
Following the roundtable conversation will be the Mattole Restoration Council’s annual meeting of the membership. Members will receive updates on the organizations accomplishments, finances, and all candidates for seats on the Board of Directors are invited to make a statement regarding their interest in the organization.
Working together all day is sure to work up quite an appetite so, starting at 6 PM we will be serving a lasagna dinner. This will be available for $15, or $10 for kids. A bake sale will provide a wide choice of desserts, with local beer and wine rounding out the delicious dining. Be sure to come prepared to bid on silent auction items donated by our generous supporters in the community.
The nightcap celebration will be dancing and socializing with the tantalizing jazzy sound of the Latin Peppers. These skilled local musicians are sure to provide a vibrant sound track for a great time. Come and give thanks for a healthy watershed, dance, celebrate, and chart the future of our community based restoration effort!
Mattole Technical Documents
Below are links to some valuable technical documents pertaining to the Mattole. Others appear as quick-to-download attachments.
Sediment Assessment Report for Bear Creek Project Area
Sediment Assessment Report for Blueslide to Grindstone Creek Project Area
Sediment Assessment Report for Eubanks Creek Project Area
Sediment Assessment Report for Petrolia Project Area
2009 Mattole Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Plan: Foresight 2020
2005 Mattole Watershed Plan
Mattole Turbidity Monitoring Plan, 2008
KRIS Mattole has a wealth of technical Mattole information
Mattole Salmon Group Reports and Documents
Some of Sanctuary Forest Inc.'s technical documents
.
Recent MRC Publications
With funding from the State Water Resources Control Board Integrated Watershed Management Program, MRC has recently produced a series of new publications covering a range of topics from Sudden Oak Death to watershed-friendly economic possibilities.-White paper investigating the potential for establishment of a Long Term Ecological Research Station in the Mattole.
-Report on our current understanding of the Sudden Oak Death infestation in northern California, potential impacts in the Mattole, and how restoration can mitigate its effects.
-Report on climate change and scenarios of what it means for the Mattole watershed and our restoration effort.
-White paper on Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and its potential applications in understanding Mattole forests.
-Forest management pamphlet providing information for Mattole forest landowners on managing their property for increased health and productivity. (Note that this PDF is configured to print for center-stapling, so the pages are not in order on your screen.)
-Brochure and fact sheet on Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations for sediment and water temperature, and what these mean for Mattole landowners.
All of these publications are linked below.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Long Term Ecological Research in the Mattole | 302.83 KB |
| Sudden Oak Death in the Mattole Watershed | 1.23 MB |
| Climate Change and Watershed Restoration | 971.49 KB |
| Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) for Forest Charictarization in the Mattole Watershed | 1.05 MB |
| Mattole Forest Management Pamphlet | 881.12 KB |
| TMDL Brochure | 1.37 MB |
| TMDL Factsheet | 77.25 KB |