The Salmon Protection and Watershed Network will restore floodplain and riparian habitat along one mile of creek in Jewell and Tocaloma in what it says is its biggest project to date.
The $1.2 million restoration follows up on a National Park Service effort last year to demolish over a dozen homes and other structures dating to the 1930s. The project also includes demolishing SPAWN’s own headquarters at some point in the future.
A public comment period for the project, which is expected to get underway in 2018, lasts until April 24.
SPAWN plans to remove retaining walls and fill, and then create side channels and install woody debris to create habitat for fish. Coho salmon and steelhead trout spend their first year in the creek and return to lay their eggs there. The area also supports some of the densest concentrations of endangered freshwater shrimp in the region, according to the nonprofit.
The land was purchased by the park service in the ‘70s, when homeowners were given reservations of use and occupancy that expired roughly a decade ago.
“The homes are built to the edge of the creek,” said Todd Steiner, the nonprofit’s executive director. He said that historically, the area would flood in the rainy season.
SPAWN will also remove invasive plants like Himalayan blackberry, ivy and Japanese knotweed and plant native species; it will leave cultivated plants like apple trees.
Much of the project’s expense, Mr. Steiner said, will fund moving 125,000 cubic yards of fill, which must be disposed of off-site. Near its own offices, the group will realign a tributary that was routed away from residences with a berm decades ago. That work, according to the scoping notice, is the first phase of the project.
The second phase will include removing the two buildings that house SPAWN and its parent organization, Turtle Island Restoration Network, once “the NPS and SPAWN determine the office buildings are no longer suitable for occupancy” the scoping notice states.
Mr. Steiner said it made sense financially to conduct surveys and prepare environmental documents for the second phase while it was working on the floodplain project. He said the buildings are in working order; before the nonprofit moved in some years ago, the park service installed a new septic system, built a new roof and, in short, “made it usable.”
And though the restoration is primarily meant to benefit fish habitat, Mr. Steiner surmised it may bring modest benefits to homeowners downstream: “More floodplain can reduce flooding for homes downstream. It might not have a huge impact, but every little bit helps.”
To comment, visit parkplanning.nps.gov/pore and click on “SPAWN Lagunitas Tocaloma/Jewell Floodplain and Riparian Enhancement Project.” People can also mail or hand deliver comments to “SPAWN Lagunitas Project Scoping” c/o Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956.