Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning
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Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Community Meeting Presentation April, 2019 Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Scope Location: 9.5 miles of mainstem Sonoma Creek from Adobe Canyon to Madrone Road Goal: Create a Restoration Vision and design a demonstration project to • Improve Steelhead Habitat • Address Streamside Landowner Needs • Improve Hydrology and Water Quality • Address Bank Erosion Issues • Improve Riparian Vegetation Timeline: January 2019 – July 2020 Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Landowner Survey: https://sonomaecologycenter.org/creeksurvey/ • Mailed to 280 creekside property owners • 20% response rate Responses to: Which is your biggest concern for Sonoma Creek? (check all that apply) Flooding Bank Erosion Habitat for 1 Steelhead Summer Flows Mosquitos Debris or Litter 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Goal: Improve Steelhead Habitat • Improve Steelhead spawning and rearing habitat in Sonoma Creek • Improve high flow refuge for Steelhead Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Goal: Address Streamside Landowner Needs • Reduce risk of property damage from erosion or flooding along Sonoma Creek • Cultivate land owner stewardship of streamside properties Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Goal: Improve Hydrology and Water Quality • Restore natural hydrology in Sonoma Creek (Slow it, Spread it, Sink it) • Improve Sonoma Creek water quality (temp, contaminants, pathogens, fine sediment) Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Goal: Address Bank Erosion Issues • Reduce bank erosion, increase coarse sediment retention, arrest incision Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Goal: Improve Riparian Vegetation • Expand the Sonoma Creek riparian corridor • Remove invasive plant species and restore native plants along Sonoma Creek Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Project Timeline May • Initial landowner outreach and community meetings 2019 Aug • Field assessments and enhancement actions identified 2019 Dec • Community input on prioritizing restoration sites and actions 2019 Feb • Conceptual designs presented to community: 10 selected, 1 demonstration site 2020 May • Restoration Vision booklet created and distributed to community for review 2020 July • 65% design created for Demonstration Project 2020 • Obtain additional grant funding for final design and implementation 2021 • Plan more habitat restoration with landowner input 2023 • Demonstration Project construction (pending funding) • Community outreach, monitoring, planning more habitat restoration Historical Ecology historical ecology, hydrology, geology Sonoma Creek Watershed Napa Sonoma Petaluma Vallejo Sonoma Historical Ecology historical ecology, hydrology, geology Project Reach Alluvial Fan Wetlands Historical Ecology historical ecology, geology, hydrology Groundwater Recharge Wetlands Historical Ecology historical ecology, geology, hydrology Flow not entering creek during winter Flow released by STREAM FLOW wetlands in summer Alluvial Fan Wetlands Stream Evolution Historical Conditions Stream Evolution Historical Conditions Land Use Changes Land Use Changes: • Channelizing Creek • Draining Wetlands • Deforestation • Increased Impervious Area • Roadside Ditches • Storm drains Stream Evolution Historical Conditions Land Use Changes Results • More flow in Sonoma Creek during winter storms Ø Increased Flooding, Ø Increased channel and bank Erosion • Less Flow below ground infiltration into and flow Ø Less Groundwater, Present Degraded Conditions Ø Lower Summer Flows Stream Evolution Historical Conditions Land Use Changes Restored Habitat Conditions Present Degraded Conditions Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Habitat restoration can address many of land owner concerns Responses to: Which is your biggest concern for Sonoma Creek? (check all that apply) Flooding Bank Erosion Habitat for 1 Steelhead Summer Flows Mosquitos Debris or Litter 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Model for success: Napa River Restoration: Rutherford & Oakville Reaches • Landowner initiated Restoration Vision for 13 miles of the river • Partnership between Landowners and Napa County, resource agencies, local resource conservation district, and ESA • Results: • 7 miles and counting of restorated salmonid habitat and stabilized banks Timeframe: • Numerous landowner benefits and • Planning: 2003 – ongoing positive testimonials • Implementation: 2009 – ongoing • Same vision for Sonoma Creek Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Biotechnical stabilization of eroding banks Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Reduce channel confinement by widening channel Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Re-create seasonal wetlands next to the creek for habitat and flood management Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Control invasive plant species and establish diverse native vegetation Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Add large wood in creek to provide habitat Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Remove fish passage barriers Upper Sonoma Creek Habitat Restoration Planning Examples of Potential Restoration Actions • Reduce dry season extraction and increase winter diversion/storage and release during summer months.