The Smith River Alliance, Inc

This Project Is a Collaboration Between the Smith River Alliance (SRA) and the Arcata Coastal Program to Restore Four Acres of Coastal Wetland Habitat in Lower Elk Creek, a Small Coastal Tributary to the Pacific Ocean in Crescent City, California. the Elk Creek Watershed Is Located on the Coastal Plain Adjacent to Crescent City and Includes the Western Slope of the Coast Range Mountains. the Project Reach Is Located on the Mainstem of Elk Creek, Beginning Approximately 1.13 Miles Upstream From the Mouth at the Pacific Ocean. This Reach Is Just Upstream From an Oxbow Pond and the Confluence With the Large South Tributary of Elk Creek. the Property Is Located on a Broad Low-gradient Floodplain Flanked by Cdfw-managed Lands on the West, South, and East Sides, and Contains Freshwater and Tidal Wetlands With Upland Forests Primarily Around the Margins.the Elk Creek Restoration Feasibility Study Documented Juvenile Salmonids Including Esa-listed Soncc Coho Salmon and Coastal Cutthroat Trout Rearing in the Lower Watershed and Identified a Lack of Stream Complexity and Off-channel Habitat as a Limiting Factor. the Lower Elk Creek Watershed Consists of a Complex of Mainstem Channels, Tributaries, Conveyance Cross Channels, Drainage Ditches, and Ponds. Many of These Hydrologic Features, Including the Project Reach, Have Been Anthropogenically Simplified, Straightened, and Diked Over the Past Century.the Design Goal Is to Install Four Pairs of Structures Totaling Eight Bdas. the Bdas Will Be Placed in a Hydraulically Suitable Location Along the Mainstem of Elk Creek Where the Relatively Small Channel Size Will Facilitate Constructability and Multi-thread Planform Can Accommodate Fish Passage Along Multiple Flow Paths. the Project Will Enhance Approximately 300 to 400 Linear Feet of Habitat, Increase Surface Flow Connection to Approximately 3 to 4 Acres of Off-channel Wetland Habitat, and Will Provide Building Sites for Beaver in the Elk Creek Watershed to Maintain or Modify. the Goal Will Be to Mimic and Promote Wood Accumulation and Beaver Dam Activity.