WILLITS, 1/10/20 — The Eel River Recovery Project, a non-profit which organizes a number of watershed health and restoration projects throughout the Eel River, will be holding two community meetings, on January 12 in Covelo, and January 14 in Laytonville. The organization will also be releasing a report on the fall Chinook salmon run in the Eel River soon.
The Round Valley event will be held at the Round Valley Commons, and will focus on potential grants, and possibilities for wilderness recreation in the area, followed by a discussion about Round Valley issues and free community dinner. The Laytonville event takes place at the ERRP office in Laytonville, will focus on updates from the Ten Mile Creek Conservation and Restoration Pilot Project, including an update on various fish communities and the potential for additional grant funding for conservation.
Here’s the full press release from the ERRP, with all the details:
The Eel River Recovery Project is a non-profit grassroots organization with programs and involvement throughout the Eel River watershed. ERRP will host its annual community scoping session at the winter meeting of their Board of Directors that will be in Covelo on Sunday, January 12, followed by a community feed. On Tuesday, January 14 ERRP will host a public meeting at its Laytonville office to discuss preliminary findings of the Tenmile Creek Conservation and Restoration Pilot Project.
The ERRP Board meeting will be at the Round Valley Library Commons, which is at 23925 Howard Street in Covelo, starting at 10 AM. The first two hours of the meeting will focus on ERRP 2019 performance and 2020 prospects, while the afternoon will be devoted to community scoping and issues important to Round Valley residents.
ERRP has hosted workshops on forest health in Covelo in conjunction with the last three Salmon Awareness Festivals, and it is generally agreed that obtaining grant funds through the Cal Fire Climate Change Initiative (CCI) fund would be desirable. Afternoon discussions will focus on how the community might obtain such funds to create local jobs and improve public safety and watershed health. ERRP has also sponsored several restoration and education projects in Round Valley, and we’ll discuss the prospect of a large-scale Department of Water Urban Streams Restoration Program grant targeting Town Creek, schools and community education. Wilderness is also a big issue in Round Valley, so the potential for economic and recreational development related to eco-tourism will be part of the conversation. There will be a community dinner hosted by ERRP from 4-6 PM, also at the Round Valley Library Commons. No charge, but donations will be accepted.
On January 14, ERRP will present findings from the Tenmile Creek Conservation and Restoration Pilot Project, which is funded by the California Coastal Conservancy from Prop 1 funds. The public is invited to attend and snacks and refreshments will be served. This meeting will be from 5 PM to 7 PM, in the ERRP office at 44935 Highway in 101 Laytonville, behind BioEngineering Associates and adjacent to the southeast corner of the Geiger’s Market parking lot.
ERRP Managing Director and fish biologist Pat Higgins will present on water temperature and the fish community of various reaches and tributaries of Tenmile Creek. Since 2018, consulting hydrologist Thomas Gast has been collecting flow data at four locations in the watershed. Humboldt State University student interns Brian Murphy and Edward Davis will explain how they used the flow data and a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency model to compare the hydrology of Streeter and Big Rock creeks to the undisturbed control stream Elder Creek that flows west off Cahto Peak into the Angelo Reserve on the upper South Fork Eel. Dr. Hollie Hall is identifying water conservation opportunities and will talk about grant funding sources for tanks and ponds and the steps necessary to meet requirements for forbearance related to receiving such grants. Time will be devoted to a discussion about developing a Tenmile Creek community water conservation plan.
For more information on either event, call Pat Higgins at 707 223-7200, see EelRiverRecovery.org or follow ERRP on Facebook.