Willow Creek Bridge dedication is Dec. 16: Work represents 10-year collaboration

JENNER – State and county officials will celebrate the
construction of the new Willow Creek Bridge in a public ceremony
scheduled next Friday, Dec. 16 at 11:30 a.m.
Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks, Charlton H.
Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Game,
along with officials from the NOAA Restoration Center and other
organizations will be on hand for the gathering on Willow Creek
Road, past the Willow Creek Environmental Campground.
The new bridge will open the watershed of Willow Creek to migrating
coho salmon and steelhead, and eliminate the annual flooding that
created problems for residents, state parks and the popular Pomo
Canyon Campground, said Michele Luna, executive director of the
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.
Prior to the new bridge installation, Willow Creek had changed its
position in the valley, and instead of flowing under the historic
bridge, it passed through a series of 3-foot culverts located under
Willow Creek Rd. Over time, sediment and debris blocked the
culverts, impeding passage for migrating fish and resulting in
frequent road flooding.
“The dedication is the culmination of a 10-year process involving
several nonprofit and government agencies,” said Luna in a media
announcement this week.
“When this project began, folks were looking for a simple solution
to open up historic coho habitat and to stop Willow Creek Road from
flooding,” said Charlton Bonham, who had previously been involved
in the project as California Director of Trout Unlimited. “But
studies revealed a complex problem, compounded by historical
logging and farming practices and poor road and bridge
design.”
Coho salmon are listed as endangered in the Russian River
watershed. Willow Creek was historically a vibrant coho stream, and
there are indications that steelhead (listed as threatened in the
watershed) also spawned in the creek.
Restoring passage to this watershed by replacing the culverts with
a clear-span bridge, “allowed us to release 11,000 juvenile coho
salmon raised through the Coho Broodstock Program at Warm Springs
Hatchery into Willow Creek this past fall,” said Joe Pecharich, a
biologist for the NOAA Restoration Center. “We are very hopeful
that we will soon see adult coho salmon and steelhead returning to
the creek.”
In developing a watershed management plan and channel restoration
feasibility analysis, California State Parks (which maintains Pomo
Canyon Campground and much of the Willow Creek watershed) joined
forces with Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, NOAA Fisheries,
California Department of Fish and Game, Sonoma County Department of
Public Works, Trout Unlimited, LandPaths, Mendocino Redwoods
Company and Prunuske Chatham, Inc.
Four years of research and planning led to the solution of allowing
Willow Creek to flow in its new channel. This required the removal
of the culverts and the installation of a new 43-foot span
bridge.
“Once we had a restoration plan, we were really excited about the
opportunities for coho, (which historically lived in Willow Creek)
but we needed funding,” said Luna of Stewards of the Coast and
Redwoods.
“It took 10 years, and a lot of sweat, persistence and wonderful
partnerships, but we pulled together several partners to fund the
$1 million project,” said Luna.
Funders for the bridge project include the Department of Fish and
Game, NOAA Restoration Center s Open Rivers Initiative, NFWF
California Environmental Management Fund and a pass-through grant
provided by Trout Unlimited from the Sonoma County Water
Agency.
Other funders for planning and prior restoration components include
Russian River Watershed Project Grant Program (Proposition 13),
California State Water Resources Control Board, Russian River
Watershed Council, Sonoma County Fish and Wildlife Commission, and
the California State Coastal Conservancy.
Fifth District County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, representatives
from NOAA Restoration Center, Prunuske Chatham, Inc. and Stewards
of the Coast and Redwoods will also make remarks.