Head Hunter/Smoke House Nonpoint Sediment Reduction
California State Parks - North Coast Redwoods District, Del Norte County
Project Abstract
The Head Hunter/Smoke House Non-point Sediment Reduction will decommission approximately 3 miles of critically unstable abandoned logging roads in the Rock Creek watershed, tributary to the Smith River and the headwaters of Wilson and Hunter Creek. The decommissioning will include the removal of actively failing stream crossings and large perched landing fills.
Project Goals
- This project is consistent with the first objective of the NCIRWM Phase 1 Plan: “Conserve and enhance native salmonid populations by protecting and restoring required habitats, water quality and watershed processes.”
- This project is also consistent with delisting goals IV and V of the Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon prepared by DFG:
- IV “Maintain existing habitat essential for coho salmon”.
- V “Enhance and restore habitat within the range of coho salmon”.
- The primary goal of this project is to protect park resources and preserve prime salmonid spawning and rearing habitat by eliminating sources of road-derived sediment. The project will use road removal to:
- Prevent direct sediment delivery to the drainage network from failed road embankment fill and landing sidecast fill.
- Prevent direct sediment delivery to the drainage network from crossing failures.
- Eliminate interception and diversion of runoff on the road surface.
- Prevent runoff diversions that cause severe gullying on roads and slopes.
- Prevent mass movements caused by diverted flow directed onto interfluve slopes.
- Re-establish the natural landform and original hydrology.
- Eliminate direct linkage between streams and roads.
- Eliminate road surface areas that collect water.
- Improve ecosystem function by eliminating road-associated barriers and fragmentation.
Objectives
- This project will eliminate non-point source sediment pollution from 39 failing stream crossings (40,250 cu.yds.) by removing them and stabilizing the fill on nearby road benches.
- The project will also stabilized 12 miles of critically unstable abandoned road (10,000 cu.yds.) by recovering potentially unstable fillslopes and using the material to eliminate road surface erosion and drainage ditches (1,200 cu.yds).
- Thirty-seven large yarder landings with potentially unstable fill (8,000 cu.yds.) will also be stabilized by recovering perched fillslope material.
- Following the earthmoving, a team of hand laborers will cut and distribute locally derived mulch on the soil surface adjacent to all stream crossing excavations to achieve 80% ground coverage.
- During the following winter, tree planting crews will revegetate the crossing sites with an appropriate mixture of native tree species for future shading and large woody debris recruitment.
- Trees used for revegetation will be propagated from trees growing within the project area.
Budget
IRWMP Proposition 50: $280,680
Funding Match: $0
Total Project Cost: $280,680
Other Project Information:
On-line Project Management Tool
Road Inventory and Assessment