Future Efforts

This proposal represents the first phase of a multi-year project. Phase I includes assessment, monitoring and concept design. Phase II would follow with permitting, final design and implementation once the technical work is complete. Problem Statement: The mouth of Moffett Creek remains unstable. Sediment fills pools during low water periods and banks cut out during higher flows. In summer, the mouth becomes warm and stagnant which limits oxygen and creates conditions that discourage fish from entering. The channel has little complexity, and the floodplain does not engage as it should. These conditions reduce habitat quality and slow natural recovery processes.

$158,260.13

This project will stabilize approximately 150 feet of actively failing bank at the confluence of Kidder Creek and the Scott River and remove accumulated eroded material that has constricted the channel and blocked fish movement. Continued bank failure at the mouth of Kidder Creek has reduced channel capacity, impeded adult coho salmon access to upstream habitat, and created conditions that trap out-migrating juveniles during low-velocity periods. By installing durable, habitat-appropriate bank revetment and restoring the natural channel opening, the project will reestablish reliable fish passage, reduce ongoing sediment inputs to the Scott River, and improve overall channel function at this critical junction in the watershed.

$145,021.38

This project will replace an unimproved low-water road crossing at Masterson Road with a bottomless, stream simulation culvert to restore fish passage and protect aquatic habitat in Noyes Valley Creek, a tributary to the East Fork Scott River. Noyes Valley Creek provides seasonal spawning, rearing, and migration habitat for ESA-listed coho salmon and other native salmonids and has been habitat typed by the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD) as recently as 2023. Currently, the creek flows directly over a dirt road surface during winter and early spring runoff, forcing vehicles to drive through the active channel and creating shallow, unstable passage conditions for fish. The proposed project will span the active channel, maintain natural bed and hydraulic conditions, and accommodate sediment and debris transport, improving aquatic organism passage while reducing roadway maintenance and safety concerns.

$130,648.96

Preliminary plans: Building on Phase I’s detailed geomorphic and habitat assessment, Phase II will transform planning into on-the-ground restoration across the four-mile corridor of lower French Creek and Scott River Reaches 15–14. To restore instream complexity, we will install 22–24 engineered log jams by October 2027, creating roughly 660–720 feet of new pool habitat and enhancing gravel sorting for salmonid spawning. Concurrently, we will reconnect approximately 3,000 feet of historic side channels and construct 17 beaver dam analogues to reestablish off-channel refuge and reduce bank erosion at key hotspots. Riparian health will be bolstered with the planting of 12,000 native willow, alder, and cottonwood stems and the installation of four miles of protective fencing, ensuring an average canopy cover above 50 percent within three years and a browse-pressure reduction of 90 percent. A new sediment-source mapping and treatment objective will inventory and stabilize the five highest-priority erosion sites, leveraging bio-engineered bank armor and a GIS “sediment-yield” map. Our rigorous five-year monitoring and adaptive management program will deploy four continuous stage gauges and twelve temperature loggers, conduct annual bathymetric and biannual fish-use surveys, and track riparian survival in forty permanent plots, supplemented by three rounds of drone/LiDAR mapping. Together, these efforts—supported by targeted permitting, engineering design finalization, and stakeholder coordination—are budgeted at $2.5 million, ensuring that Phase II delivers measurable habitat gains, resilience to future droughts, and lasting benefits for both salmonids and local agriculture.

$2,500,000.00

The Siskiyou Resource Conservation District (SRCD) is initiating the Shackleford Confluence Habitat Improvement Project Phase 1 to address critical habitat restoration needs within the Shackleford Creek watershed, a vital tributary to the Scott River in Quartz Valley, Siskiyou County, California. This project focuses on enhancing fish passage and improving critical spawning and rearing habitats for endangered coho salmon, chinook salmon and steelhead trout. The targeted 1.25-mile section of Shackleford Creek, located at its confluence with the Scott River, has been significantly impacted by historical land use practices, altered hydrology, and increasing climate-related stressors. Large boulders, elevated water temperatures, and reduced habitat complexity, such as a lack of large woody debris and deep pools, create barriers to fish passage and reduce habitat suitability. The confluence area loses surface flow during low-flow periods, further impeding access to upstream habitats essential for salmonid reproduction. Building on past restoration activities within the Shackleford-Mill Creek watershed, including bioengineering, riparian exclusion fencing, and large-woody-debris installations, SRCD aims to restore connectivity, increase habitat complexity, and address these ecological challenges. This project will also continue to inform conservation efforts by expanding on habitat assessments from the 2003-2004 Scott River coho Spawning Assessment and sediment studies conducted in 2010. A previous SRCD proposal in 2009 targeted similar activities in the Shackleford Creek confluence area, and Phase 1 of this initiative will further develop these goals, ensuring the recovery and sustainability of salmonid species in this crucial watershed.

$479,027.93

The proposed project directly aligns with the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District’s (SRCD) mission to identify conservation and watershed enhancement needs and provide support to landowners and resource managers through technical, financial, and educational leadership. By addressing the preservation of native plants and biologically sensitive botanical areas in the Scott River watershed, this project encapsulates SRCD’s commitment to fostering environmental stewardship and sustainable land use practices.

TBD