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The Development of Watershed Groups Throughout the Eel River Basin

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The Development of Watershed Groups Throughout the Eel River Basin , . The Development of Watershed Groups Throughout the Eel River Basin A directory and information packet of restoration groups and activities in the Eel River Basin. Prepared for the Eighteenth Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference, Fortuna, California March 2000 By: Bill Matson Watershed Coordinator Eel River Watershed Improvement Group 610 Ninth Street Fortuna, CA 95540 707-725-4317 The Development of Watershed Groups Throughout the Eel River Basin Bill Matson Watershed Coordinator Eel River Watershed Improvement Group Introduction: In a recent telephone interview I was asked if landowner involvement in the restoration process was a "good thing". I quickly, and perhaps over-simplistically, said "its not only important, it's the only thing that will help the salmon come back". As residents of the watersheds and land managers of the larger holdings see the need for more responsible stewardship of the lands they control and take a pro-active approach to repairing the damage caused by past land-use practices, real restoration will begin to occur. It begins in the people. The information in this directory emphasizes landowner and private citizen efforts in the Eel River Basin. In an effort to be inclusive I have included as many agencies and assistance groups as I could identify. If I missed some it was not intentional. The next two paragraphs illustrate how important at least one agency, DFG, feels landowner involvement is. "The Eel River is the third largest producer of salmon and steelhead in California. Human land and resource uses during the last 150 years have created radical changes to the Eel River watershed in general, and to fish habitat in particular. Many of the most dramatic changes and watershed disturbances have occurred within the last 50 years. Since the natural resources of the Eel River basin will continue to be in demand for economic and societal utilization, it is perhaps unreasonable to presume that salmon and steelhead populations can be restored to historic levels; however, DFG feels present fishery conditions can be significantly improved and those historic populations are useful as benchmarks to work toward". (The Executive Summary of the Eel River Action Plan, California Department ofFish and Game (DFG) Inland Fisheries Division, January 28,1997.) The "Action Plan" goes on to say, "Achieving these goals will require a massive cooperative commitment for an extended period of time, initially at least 20 years of intensive effort and high cost. Dedicated efforts should improve watershed and stream conditions to a level that can be maintained on a long-term basis, but only iftrue watershed stewardship is adopted by landowners and resource users. Ultimately, the future of the Eel River's fishery is dependent upon land-use strategies and restoration commitments made by the private landowners and managers who control 86 percent of the watershed". (Ibid.) Landowners and resource managers appear to have been listening to these recommendations. Grass root landowner based watershed groups are common in the Eel River basin today. Each one has its own story of how it came into being and its area of focus but there is one common theme, "we want to do something to improve conditions in our watershed". This packet contains information about landowner based watershed groups that are organized in the Eel River basin. Some are well organized, some are so new they are still struggling to organize and define themselves. Some have formed official non-profit corporations but most are simply a group oflandowners meeting together to improve land-use practices in their watershed. Every effort was made to identiry all groups, but it is very possible I missed some. For that reason the reader should not consider this list exhaustive. It does illustrate the extent of activity among landowners and offers an opportunity to learn from these groups. Each group was asked to tell their story in their own words. The biographical information on each group is included for your use and you are encouraged to contact any of them if you have questions or want more information. Included in this packet for your information is also a list of Restoration Practitioners. These are restoration professionals who are employed through their restoration efforts. Some of these groups represent the first efforts by non-professionals to restore the salmonid runs in the Eel River. They need to be recognized and remembered. Their stories can broaden our understanding of the history of restoration in the Eel River and their continued presence offers us a resource to be utilized. Landowner Assistance Groups represent another restoration group I have decided to include for your information. These are restoration professionals organized into a non-profit group for the purpose of assisting landowners and landowner groups in group development, watershed assessment, land use planning and project implementation. I have included the ReD's in the list because in reality they are landowner based, their Boards are composed of local resource users and serve without pay, and they offer professional land use services to landowners. Many agencies are included in the list of Assistance Groups as a reference for your use. Bill Matson Index , Landowner Groups Willits Landowner Group --------------------------------------------------------------------1 2. Upper Eel Forum -----------------------------------------------------------------------------2 3. Round Valley Indian Tribes ------------------------------------------------------------------3 4. Woodman Creek Road Association ---------------------------------------------------------3 5. Upper Eel Landowners Association ---------------------------------------------------------4 6. Friends of the Eel River ----------------------------------------------------------------------5 7. Mainstem Eel Restoration Group (MERG) ------------------------------------------------6 8. China Creek Restoration Group -------------------------------------------------------------7 9. Seely Creek Watershed Association --------------------------------------------------------8 10. Cummings Creek Watershed Advisory Council (CCWAC) ------------------------------9 11. Yager (Van Duzen) Environmental Stewards (YES) ------------------------------------11 Landowner Assistance Group 12. California Coastal Conservancy-------------------------------------------------------------12 13. Fish Farm and Forest Communities Forum ------------------------------------------------12 14. Humboldt Farm Bureau ----------------------------------------------------------------------12 15. Round Valley Resource Center -------------------------------------------------------------13 16. Institute for Sustainable Forestry (ISF) ----------------------------------------------------14 17. Eel River Watershed Improvement Group (ERWlG) ------------------------------------15 18. Humboldt County Resource Conservation District (HCRCD) --------------------------16 19. Mendocino County Resource Conservation District (MCRCD) ------------------------17 20. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Coastal Calif. Fish and Wildlife ------------------------ 17 21. U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) ----------------------------------18 22. U.c. Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor ------------------------------------------------18 23. U.S. Bureau of Land Management ---------------------------------------------------------18 Restoration Practitioners 24. AroeriCorps Watershed Stewards -----------------------------------------------------------19 25. California Conservation Corps (CCC) ------------------------------------------------------19 26. California Department ofFish and Game (DFG) ------------------------------------------19 27. Freshwater Farms -----------------------------------------------------------------------------20 28. Eel River Salmon Restoration Project ------------------------------------------------------20 29. Fortuna High School Creeks Club ----------------------------------------------------------21 30. Coastal Stream Restoration ----------------------------------------------------------------- 21 31. Bioengineering Associates -------------------------------------------------------------------22 32. Jack Monschke Watershed Management ---------------------------------------------------23 33. Pacific Coast Fish, Wildlife and Wetlands Restoration Association (pCFFRW A) -----24 34. Natural Resource Management Corp. -------------------------------------------------------24 35. Pacific Watershed Associates (PWA) -------------------------------------------------------25 Landowner Groups Willits Landowner Group The Willits Landowner Group is a landowner stewardship group. The groups purpose is, through cooperative self-help, to maintain, coordinate, and facilitate the efforts of individual landowners who are interested in protecting, managing and improving their land, their resources and the associated environment for the control of potential sources of pollution, protection of surface and groundwater quality, and the enhancement of aquatic species. The primary purpose is to be an educational source to the landowner and to keep the group informed about the legal responsibilities under various state and federal regulations, and to help landowners implement the best management practices for their individual properties. The area of concern for the Willits Watershed Group is that area bounded on the East by that watershed draining into the Eel River North of Tomki Creek, including
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