2023 – Present
In 2023, OAEC began working with Sonoma County Regional Parks (SCRP) on a series of Fuels to Flows projects to promote upland recharge, enhance wildlife habitat, and increase overall watershed resiliency. While we have installed and modeled many of these process-based restoration (PBR) techniques onsite at OAEC, we are thrilled to help bring these innovative practices to more publicly-managed parks and preserves across Sonoma County to be enjoyed by the wider public. We are grateful to SCRP for taking a leadership role as a public agency that is incorporating PBR into the stewardship of our public lands.
Monte Rio Redwoods
OAEC spent a week doing hands-on training and installation with SCRP’s staff at Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park. We strategically timed our work periods with a roadside clearance project, reutilizing the byproduct fuel load to treat four actively eroding headcuts and ~100 linear feet of tributaries that flow into Dutch Bill Creek. OAEC also helped to facilitate an expedited permitting process for this project with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Board and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, an important “Change the Rules” strategy of our Fuels to Flows campaign to reduce permitting barriers for low-risk PBR applications. In the project’s second year, OAEC returned with the Resilience Works crew to facilitate further implementation and workforce development with SCRP staff.
Stillwater Cove
Our upland Fuels to Flows PBR work took us to the coastal Stillwater Cove Regional Park on northern Sonoma Coast for a week of hands-on implementation with SCRP, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and Swift Water Design. The project was focused on adding various PBR structures to increase channel complexity and the slowing, spreading, sinking function of Stockhoff Creek, which provides critical habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout. The crew also targeted a number of tributary gully channels to reduce rapid drainage and mobilization of fine sediment, while encouraging storage and slower release of water for summer juvenile rearing by salmonids.
Mark West
With the Sonoma Resource Conservation District and Sherwood Engineers, OAEC is advising on the development of an Upper Watershed Restoration Plan for Mark West Regional Park, SCRP’s newest 1,192-acre park located in Santa Rosa. The plan will assess key riparian areas and intermittent tributaries of Mark West Creek and propose a series of PBR solutions that address active gullies and erosion by reutilizing woody debris and slash from fuels and invasive species management in the Park. The goals of this project are to improve the overall health and function of the Mark West Creek watershed, specifically through improved water quality, streamflow, fish passage, and habitat for salmonids. One unique aspect of this project we are particularly excited to support is the development of a gully “scorecard,” which can be used to assess and determine restoration methods for any Class III waterway.
