To empower communities to collaborate in monitoring the ecological conditions of the Eel River. To share information about the health of the watershed and to work together to formulate a restoration strategy.
The Eel River Recovery Project won a CALFIRE Climate Change Initiative grant, the Tenmile Creek Watershed Forest Health Project, which is to thin 975 acres of forest in northern Mendocino County near the community of Laytonville, California. Hand thinning the forest and creating piles for burning or using lop and scatter methods for broadcast burning, with a total of 925 ares planned for prescribed fire. Services are being provided to private landowners and the Cahto Tribe, with forests on the Cahto Rancheria being thinned. The project is creating local jobs, reducing the risk of catastrophic fire, restoring oak woodlands, and improving biodiversity and is expected to also improve stream base flows, as tree evapotransperation is decreased. Outreach and education are also included in this project.
The State Water Resources Control Board awarded ERRP a 319h grant funded with use of US EPA money to abate non-point source pollution. The Tenmile Creek Erosion Control and riparian Restoration Project will repair 620 feet of eroding stream bank, restore the riparian area using living willow and create improved fish habitat for ESA-listed Pacific salmon species.
This grant from the Mendocino County Community Foundation was from their Community Enrichment fund and was for the purpose of getting students from Laytonville and Leggett schools in northern Mendocino County involved in outdoor education, including hands-on science experience monitoring water temperature and riparian air temperature.