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FIRST PROJECT
In 1985, erosion problems in the Feather River water-shed prompted an
alliance of local, state, and federal agen-cies and landowners to organize
themselves into the Feather River Coordinated Management group (CRM). CRM
group members decided to conduct a small demonstration project in the head
waters of the Feather River wa-tershed as a first step toward coordination
of erosion control efforts across the entire watershed. Goals for the demonstration
project were to test whether erosion control techniques would be effective
at stabilizing stream banks, slowing sediment production and improving
water quality. They also hoped to develop a cooperative process among supporting
organizations that could be used on future projects.
PROJECT LOCATION
The demonstration project is located on a one mile stretch of Red Clover
Creek, a tributary of Indian Creek, which feeds into the the East Branch
of the North Fork of the Feather River (EBNFFR). The creek flows through
Red Clover Valley, a highly credible alluvial valley at an elevation of
5,400 feet in Plumas County, California, 30 miles Northeast of Quincy.
The valley, which is six miles long and two miles wide, is privately owned
and used for grazing cattle while the surrounding sparsely forested pub-lic
land is administered by the Plumas National Forest.
Near the project area. Red Clover Creek flows in a mean-dering channel
up to 50-60 feet wide and 10 feet deep, with bare and eroding vertical
banks.
Red Clover Creek, in the Feather River Watershed
Plumas County Calif.
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SITE HISTORY
Red Clover Creek has down cut it's channel severely over time due to
both natural processes and intensive land use. The amount of vegetation
and number of plant species found along the creek has declined dramatically
since the turn of the century. Before 1880, Red Clover Creek was a narrow
stable channel with vegetation, including hardwood trees, willows, and
grasses, growing along it's banks. Increased land use and disturbance since
that time has produced a drier, less vegetated site which is vulnerable
to large floods and erosion. Timber harvesting, mining, railroad and road
construction, and grazing have acted together to cause the decline.
Unmanaged grazing can lead to stream degradation when cattle consume
and trample plants leaving stream banks bare of protective vegetation.
Without this plant cover, the stream's banks erode more quickly during
storms. Bank erosion leads to widening and deepening of the channel over
time. The deeper channel drains the lands adjacent to the creek more quickly.
The shallow water table across the flood plain lowers, drying out plants
and soils. Fewer plant species can survive under these drier conditions
which allow sage brush to replace the more desirable willow, sedges and
grasses. This reduces the area's suitability for grazing by livestock and
wildlife. The silt produced by eroding banks also clogs the stream and
covers spawning gravels, making it less suitable for fish habitat.
PROJECT PLANNING
The Red Clover Creek Demonstration Project was conceived to attempt
to reverse the stream's decline. Planning of the project started in August
of 1985. A team of agency resource experts surveyed the site and then a
study plan was developed by the Feather River CRM Steering Committee. The
project site is on a privately owned ranch, while the control area is on
land administered by the USFS.
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