Field Tour Coordinators: Peter Van De Burgt, The Nature Conservancy and Lauren Hammack, Prunuske Chatham, Inc.

 

The Garcia River, in southern Mendocino County, supports populations of coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead trout. Over the last 30 years, local community groups, public agencies, and non-profits have worked to conserve land and restore habitat throughout the watershed, from headwaters to river mouth. Yet, despite this long history of restoration, there remained a dearth of high-quality winter and spring outmigration habitat in the watershed. To address this need and to increase the watershed’s winter carrying capacity for coho salmon, The Nature Conservancy – in close collaboration with a wide range of project partners including the Bureau of Land Management, NOAA Fisheries, CDFW, North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, PCI, and others – developed and implemented the Garcia Estuary Habitat Enhancement Project. After more than 7 years of development, the project was constructed in 2022. Focusing on both instream and off-channel habitat along a 0.5-mile reach of the estuary, project construction included 18 engineered large wood structures (composed of more than 350 logs and root wads) and over 2 acres of floodplain enhancement. This was a tour of the project site. Participants had an opportunity to catch a bird’s eye view of the entire project from atop the bluffs on the south side of the estuary, before hiking down to see some of the project features up close. Staff from TNC, PCI, and other project partners led a wide-ranging discussion about the realities of implementing a complex restoration project in a dynamic and sensitive estuary environment. They discussed planning, design, permitting, construction methods, monitoring, lessons learned, and everything in-between.