The Garcia: A River in Strong Recovery After a 30-Year Effort

The Garcia River after restoration.
The Garcia river after Bio Engineering Associates restoration. Photos by Craig Bell

By Craig Bell The strong recovery we are witnessing today in the Garcia River is thanks to a 30-year effort that began in 1991 when Mendocino County Supervisors approved the Garcia River Watershed Enhancement Plan (GRWEP, Caldon, Monschke, Higgins 1991). The GRWEP was the first watershed plan in the county (and maybe the state) that…

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Forest & River News

Forest & River News Forest & Rivers News Highlights Searchable online articles from published Forest & Rivers News magazine issues Read The Entire FRN Blog About Dam Time! Mar 29, 2024 Read More → Restoring Beneficial Fire in the Klamath Mountains: A Long Time Coming Mar 29, 2024 Read More → KS Wild’s PLAY Program:…

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Salmonid Conference 2024

Holding Space—Restoring Habitat and Making Room for Innovation By Salmonid Restoration Federation Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) produces the largest salmon restoration conference in California, convening a diverse range of people in the watershed restoration field including planners, engineers, policymakers, students, Watershed Stewards Program members, consultants, academics, tribal members, on-the-ground practitioners, and landowners. It is this…

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The Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference, March 2024

The Garcia River tour, at the SRF Conference, will visit habitat enhancement sites in the Garcia River estuary. Photo courtesy The Nature Conservancy Test

Holding Space: Creating Habitat and a Platform for Innovation Salmonid Restoration Federation Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) produces the largest salmon restoration conference in California, convening a diverse range of people in the watershed restoration field including planners, engineers, policy makers, students, Watershed Stewards Program members, consultants, academics, tribal members, on-the-ground practitioners, and landowners. It is…

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Then & Now! Richard Gienger Report

Craig Bell on site of riparian recovery (2011 during a Coho Confab) gesturing and describing the restoration project in the lower Garcia River which he catalyzed and led in its implementation. On the right side of the river, across from Craig and the group, the replanted alders and associated efforts stabilized sheer, unprotected, and eroding banks often 15 to 20 feet high. The subsequent results included substantive improvements in stream/river habitat for coho & Chinook salmon and steelhead — as well as other water dependent and terrestrial and avian wildlife.

Then from Trees Foundation’s Branching Out, Winter 1998-99, first Diggin’ In It’s hard to know where to start in the midst of so many pressing issues about the forestland watersheds and people of California’s North Coast. Perhaps it is best for me to go back to some of the personal perspectives that I and others…

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Mattole Restoration Council

Mattole Restoration Council Mattole Restoration Council (MRC) The Mattole Restoration Council works on restoration projects on the up slopes of the Mattole watershed and King Range Conservation Area. Our big projects for this year focus on riparian restoration in the Mattole Estuary, grassland restoration on Prosper Ridge, invasive plant removal in the King Range, native…

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Salmonid Restoration Federation

Salmonid Restoration Federation Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) Salmonid Restoration Federation promotes restoration stewardship, and recovery of California native salmon, steelhead, and trout populations through education, collaboration, and advocacy. SRF provides affordable technical and hands-on trainings to the restoration community.; and conducts outreach to inform the public about the plight of endangered salmon and the need…

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