Grass Valley Creek Watershed Restoration Project: Restoration in Decomposed Granite Soils
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Grass Valley Creek Watershed Restoration Project: Restoration in Decomposed Granite Soils A Report Prepared by Trinity County Resource Conservation District and Natural Resources Conservation Service Weaverville Field Office in Cooperation with The Trinity River Restoration Program COPYRIGHT INFORMATION The Trinity County Resource Conservation District encourages the use and dissemination of the information contained in this manual. No permission is needed to reproduce any material contained in this manual, however the District should be cited as the reference source. Participating Agencies - Trinity River Task Force USDI, Bureau of Reclamation California State Water Resources Control Board Russ Smith Jerry Johns Northern California Area Office P.O. Box 2000 16349 Shasta Dam Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95812-2000 Shasta Lake, CA 96019 USDI, Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Indian Affairs Steve Borchard 1900 Churn Creek Road 355 Hemsted Drive Redding, CA 96001 Redding, CA 96002 USDA, Natural Resource Conservation Service National Marine Fisheries Service Jim Spear Jim Bybee P.O. Box 1450 777 Sonoma Avenue, Room 325 Weaverville, CA 96093 Santa Rosa, CA 95404 USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service Cal-Trout Bruce Halsted Tom Weseloh 1125 16th Street 1976 Archer Road Arcata, CA 95521 McKinnleyville, CA 95521 California Department of Fish and Game Karuk National Reservation Barry Collins Harold Tripp 5341 Erikson Way P.O. Box 282 Arcata, CA 95521 Orleans, CA 95556 USDA Forest Service Yurok Tribe Dave Cross Troy Fletcher 2400 Washington Avenue 15900 Highway 101 N. Redding, CA 96001 Klamath, CA 95548 California Department of Water Resources Commercial Fishing Bill Mendenhall Ken Bay-Humboldt Fish Marketing Assn. 2440 Main Street 216 "H" Street Red Bluff, CA 96080-2398 Eureka, CA 95501 Hoopa Valley Tribe Simpson Timber Mike Orcutt Bernie Bush P.O. Box 417 P.O. Box 68 Hoopa, CA 95546 Korbel, CA 95550 Trinity County California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Ralph Modine Duane Shintaku P.O. Box 1258 P.O. Box 1296 Weaverville, CA 96093 Weaverville, CA 96093 Humboldt County Paul Kirk 825 Fifth Street Eureka, CA 95501 i TABLE OF CONTENTS I Participating Agencies................................................................................................... i PART ONE: BACKGROUND AND HISTORY Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION A. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT ................................................................................... 1 B. OVERVIEW OF THE REPORT ................................................................................. 1 C. DESCRIPTION OF THE WATERSHED .................................................................... 1 1. Regional Setting................................................................................ 1 2. Location and Boundaries................................................................... 1 3. Watershed Description ...................................................................... 2 4. Climate ............................................................................................. 2 5. Geology ............................................................................................ 2 6. Soils and Erosion .............................................................................. 4 7. Hydrology and Roads........................................................................ 4 8. Relationship to the Trinity River Fishery ............................................ 6 Chapter 2 BACKGROUND OF THE GRASS VALLEY CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION PROJECT A. TRINITY DAM CONSTRUCTION ................................................................. 8 1. Central Valley Project (1937)............................................................. 8 2. Trinity River Act - PL 86-386 (1955) .................................................. 8 3. Sediment Dam Authorization - PL 96-335 (1980)............................... 9 4. Trinity River Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act - PL 98-541 (1984) .... 9 B. EARLY GRASS VALLEY CREEK SEDIMENT REDUCTION EFFORTS ..... 10 1. Grass Valley Creek Sediment Ponds and Debris Dam (1984, 1991)........................................................ 10 2. Tree Planting (Early 1980’s) ............................................................ 10 3. Sediment Inventories (1986,1992)................................................... 10 C. REDUCTION OF CAUSES OF EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION ............ 11 1. Construction Improvement Standards for Roadways (1981) ............ 11 2. Off-Road Vehicle Usage Restriction Ordinance (1986) .................... 11 3. Change in Land Management (1992)............................................... 11 Chapter 3 EVOLUTION OF THE GRASS VALLEY CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION PROJECT A. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 12 B. Phase One: GVC WATERSHED RESTORATION, 1992-93 ........................ 12 C. Phase Two: GVC WATERSHED RESTORATION, 1993-94........................ 15 D. Phase Three:GVC WATERSHED RESTORATION, 1995-96 ...................... 15 Grass Valley Creek Watershed Restoration Project Final Chapter 4 RESTORATION IMPLEMENTATION ASPECTS A. RESTORATION PHILOSOPHY .................................................................. 19 B. PLANNING PROCESS ............................................................................... 20 C. CONTRACTING PROCESS........................................................................ 22 PART TWO: RESTORATION IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING Chapter 5 PHYSICAL TREATMENTS AND MONITORING A. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 24 1. Inventory......................................................................................... 24 2. Prioritization.................................................................................... 25 B. PRESCRIPTIONS FOR PHYSICAL TREATMENTS ................................... 27 1. Road Removal ................................................................................ 27 2. Road Drainage Improvement .......................................................... 35 3. Turbidity Control and Sediment Capture.......................................... 44 4. Stream Channel Stabilization .......................................................... 49 Chapter 6 REVEGETATION TREATMENTS AND MONITORING A. REVEGETATION TREATMENTS ............................................................... 56 1. Introduction ..................................................................................... 56 2. Vegetation Inventory ....................................................................... 56 3. Prescription Process........................................................................ 57 4. Revegetation Treatments and Seed Collection................................ 58 5. Critical-Area Treatments ................................................................. 58 6. Sheet and Rill Treatments............................................................... 74 7. Cone, Seed, and Acorn Collection................................................... 80 8. Native Plant Nursery ....................................................................... 84 B. MONITORING AND RESULTS OF REVEGETATION TREATMENTS ........ 86 1. Introduction ..................................................................................... 86 2. Methods .......................................................................................... 86 PART THREE: PROJECT OUTCOMES Chapter 7 MONITORING AT THE WATERSHED LEVEL A. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................... 97 1. Stream Gauging Station.................................................................. 97 2. Hamilton Ponds............................................................................... 97 3. Buckhorn Sediment Dam ................................................................ 97 B. Findings ...................................................................................................... 98 ii Grass Valley Creek Watershed Restoration Project Final Chapter 8 CONCLUSIONS TO DATE A. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................100 B. PHYSICAL TREATMENTS ........................................................................100 1. Inventory........................................................................................100 2. Planning.........................................................................................101 3. Design............................................................................................102 4. Implementation ..............................................................................106 C. REVEGETATION TREATMENTS ..............................................................106 1. Planning, Inventorying, and Monitoring...........................................106 2. Use of Native Plant Materials.........................................................106 3. Use of Native Straw Mulches .........................................................107 4. Willow Wattling and Staking...........................................................107 5. Sheet and Rill Treatments..............................................................107 APPENDICES A. LITERATURE CITED .................................................................................A-1 B. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.........................................................A-5 C. GLOSSARY OF TERMS