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Widow White Creek Restoration
NRS and the McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD) co-sponsored the Widow White Creek project which has been ongoing since 2001. Funding was provided by the California Department of Water Resources - Urban Streams Restoration program, NOAA Fisheries (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration- National Marine Fisheries Service), the State Coastal Conservancy, and cost shares from landowners, local businesses, and community volunteers. The project included a bank stabilization project to protect part of the California Coastal Trail (the Hammond Trail, Widow White Creek Interpretive Loop), fisheries restoration, riparian vegetation enhancement, a hydrologic assessment, development of an outdoor education curriculum, and construction of a trail along the creek behind the McKinleyville High School. The hydrologic assessment determined that the 2-year recurrence flow had increased by 229% over pre-development conditions. The resulting bank erosion caused water quality problems and was threatening public easements – the MCSD sewer line right-of-way on the North Fork of Widow White Creek and the Hammond Trail. Fish habitat also was being negatively impacted by the soil from bank erosion filling in pools, clogging spawning gravels, and degrading water quality.
Final costs, not including cost shares, were $229,450. The project involved collaboration between 2 consulting firms, a hydrologist, a fish biologist, the MCSD, Humboldt County, the California Department of Fish and Game, the Army Corps of Engineers, National Marine Fisheries Service, and RCAA-NRS. The County assisted with obtaining the required CEQA documents needed for the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) streambed alteration agreement and producing the Coastal Development Permit (CDP) needed for the bank stabilization project. The National Marine Fisheries Service expedited their review so the project could be implemented within the construction and contract windows. The Army Corps of Engineers also expedited their review and provided the necessary Regional General Permit and Nationwide Permit for the project. DFG assisted with the project design to make sure the best plan was produced. The MCSD donated materials, equipment, and labor.
The project protected a trail corridor, improved fish habitat, and got the community involved in Widow White Creek. The project also improved water quality and riparian habitat along more than 1,000 feet of the stream corridor, improved fish passage to an additional 2.5 miles of habitat, and took corrective measures to prevent a catastrophic culvert failure that would have damaged public infrastructure and degraded fish habitat and water quality. Equally valuable was the opportunity to work with the local high school students to increase their knowledge of the stream ecosystem. The outdoor education curriculum is a tool that can be used for years to come to make school children aware of the importance of the stream and riparian zones and to get them excited about the natural resources around them.
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