The Park Project: Streams & Species & Trails, Oh My!
| Click on the photos to enlarge |
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| A shot of the expansion area. Some of the trees will stay, some will be removed to make space for the RV stalls. The other plants will be replanted along the edge of the creek. |
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| A lovely view of Widow White Creek. That white stuff way down there is soap, unfortunately. |
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| Here’s a better view of the soap—though the picture is a bit out of focus (especially if you enlarge it). |
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| An old “structure” that was put in decades ago to keep the stream from cutting away the bank behind. |
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| This picture is one frame to the right of the one above (that shows the log structure). This kind of pipe and wire setup is no longer used as fish resting in the pools can get cut up on the wire. |
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| The fish ladders installed by CalTrans in the early ’50s. They’re too high for young fish to jump. |
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| A view through the culvert. A very long swim in swift moving fast water for young fish. Weirs need to be installed to create resting pools and the water depth increased. |
One of the most interesting things about projects like The Park Project—or any other project where the use of the land has not been previously defined—is the opportunity it presents to demonstrate how we can blend the project into the land on which it is situated and, in some cases, undo the environmental damage done by previous generations.
It is somewhat ironic that, with this project, the limited amount of damage that’s been done is not in the expansion area itself, but rather in the stream areas adjacent to the project, and North and South of the Park property. As the pictures at right show, someone up-stream is pumping a lot of soap into the creek from time to time; there are lots of invasive species (Eucalyptus and English ivy being the two big ones) in the area that date back to the turn of the last century; and the old weir structures were very poorly designed and prevent young steel head and salmon from making it upstream. (There are still a few about, but not as many as there should be.)
Now-a-days the various agencies that manage our land resources are becoming more pro-active in their desire to at least minimize further environmental damage to sensitive areas, if they don’t outright mandate that steps be taken to reverse it. And most land developers and folks in the construction industry see that stance being an intrusive roadblock to their plans for the property.
Indeed, it seems to me that there is a valid argument to be made against forcing current property owners to foot the bill for cleaning up the mess of prior generations. And in the hands of a different project designer and manager, this project certainly might have quickly gone down a confrontational (and therefore very expensive) road. Fortunately, I didn’t fall off the political turnip truck yesterday. Everything you see here is being funded by, and the work done by, NGOs in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Game. The Park and its personnel are also volunteering some time to various aspects. The work will benefit the public; it will also benefit the project as a whole.
From the beginning my goal for the expansion was zero environmental impact. That meant no runoff into the creeks; that meant controlling public access to the stream areas, either by blocking it off completely or managing the traffic flow by installing trails. I designed and laid out the expansion accordingly.
The goal paid off in spades with the willingness of State and County agencies and NGOs to eagerly come on board to save the much abused Widow White Creek. As the plan stands now:
- The invasive species will be removed.
- Replanting with local species will take place where needed—mostly to replace removed Eucalyptus.
- The stream will be restored as needed. Old structures will be removed and where needed will be replaced. The culverts on both ends of The Park will have proper fish weirs installed so that young steel head and salmon can make it up stream.
- Fish & Game is eager to improve the upstream area beyond The Park. Something as simple as removing the pollution (especially the surfactants) will help the fish population enormously.
- Interpretive trails will be built, with bridges across the creeks and signs identifying the structural work, plant species, and so forth for Park guests and controlled public tours. (I understand the local high school botany class makes field trips to the creek every year.)
By the time the project is finished it should look as nice as any State or Federal Park, and maybe nicer than some.
Do you have a project like this planned? Let me know!
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