Greetings from Seely Creek. We are wrapping up our watershed assessment project and analyzing the data collected last year. We found, for example, that Seely Creek's 4,000-acre watershed has 97 percent canopy cover, which is not too shabby for a sub-basin in the South Fork Eel River. Forty-eight percent is conifer and 49 percent broad-leaf evergreen or deciduous.

We mapped 43.8 miles of permanent, seasonal, and abandoned roads in Seely Creek (with many miles of abandoned roads not yet mapped): 12.7 miles of permanent roads, 10.3 of permanent, personal driveways, 12.9 of seasonal roads, and 7.9 of abandoned roads. Fifty-two percent of the roads are used year-round.

Seely Creek watershed has approximately 7.5 miles of road per square mile. Some estimate that three to four miles of road per square mile will impact a Pacific Northwest watershed heavily. Forester Richard Hart says that one mile is about the maximum North Coast California watersheds can handle while retaining ecosystem integrity.

We estimate very conservatively that just the twenty-three miles of permanent roads and driveways contribute 345 cubic yards of sediment per year to Seely Creek (only calculating erosion from road surfaces and inboard ditches, not from culvert-formed gullies or natural landslides). Why do we assume that we have the god-given right to drive everywhere? Give this Earth a break, and take a hike!

The SCWA will be sponsoring a branch packing workshop April 7th, led by restorationist Lachrien Nightgoose. This Swiss Alps technique for stabilizing gullies and stream channels lets you use just about any brush or woody material at hand.
For more information, contact Georje: (707) 923-2502; girlgeorje@asis.com.

More Updates

• March, 2003 Update
  

Main Page