Salmon Creek Watershed
Salmon Creek Watershed drains 35 square miles with 35.9 miles of blue line streams. Its headwaters are to the west and south of the town of Occidental, and it drains directly to the Pacific Ocean, just north of Bodega Head. Its major land use is agriculture (dairies and pasture land). Salmon Creek is home to a diversity of wildlife. Of these, coho salmon, steelhead trout, red legged frog, Northern spotted owl, and California freshwater shrimp are threatened or endangered species. Because of its geology, it is a naturally water-scarce watershed.
Natural Resource Conservation Efforts
Gold Ridge RCD has coordinated with the Salmon Creek community to build rainwater catchment and storage systems and enhance salmonid habitat throughout the tributaries and mainstem.
The Gold Ridge RCD is currently seeking agricultural landowners within the Estero Americano & Salmon Creek Watersheds who are interested in water security/storage. The drought impacts us all and we’d like to see if we
can help. We currently have grant funds available to assist landowners in developing engineered designs for rainwater catchment, off‐channel water storage, and water conservaon projects. We are also developing grant funding proposals for future projects, and we are interested in hearing your needs. For more information or to express interest, please contact William Hart at [email protected] or (707) 823-5244.
Instream habitat restoration projects such as installing large wood debris have been successful in Tannery, Nolan, and Thurston Creeks. Learn more.
Large scale water conservation for agricultural water reliability were completed at the Westview Jersey Dairy and Gilardi Ranch. These projects change the time of or replace stream diversions by providing storage for hundreds of thousands of gallons of stream and/or rainwater. Learn more.
Small-scale rainwater storage systems were built for emergency and residential water use in and around the town of Bodega in the second phase of the Save Our Salmon program. Learn more.
Watershed Resources
Watershed Management Plans, Surveys, Reports
- Salmon Creek Coho Monitoring Report, 2013
- Salmon Creek Water Conservation Plan
- Salmon Creek Integrated Coastal Watershed Management Plan
- Salmon Creek Watershed 2011 Juvenile Coho Salmon Snorkeling Survey Update
- Save Our Salmon (SOS): Salmon Creek Habitat Rehabilitation Program Phase I Fact Sheet
- Salmon Creek Integrated Watershed Management Plan Fact Sheet
- Salmon Creek Watershed Assessment and Restoration Report Draft
- Salmon Creek Watershed Assessment and Implementation Process
- Salmon Creek Estuary Study Results and Enhancement Recommendations
Department of Fish & Wildlife Salmon Creek Habitat Reports
Water Quality Reports
Water Quality Management & Sediment Reduction Quarterly Reports
- Jun - Dec 2011
- Mar - Jun 2011
- Oct 2010 - Feb 2011
- Learn More
Watershed Council
For more information: Noelle Johnson, [email protected]
Water Quality Reports
Water Quality Management & Sediment Reduction Quarterly Reports
- Jun - Dec 2011
- Mar - Jun 2011
- Oct 2010 - Feb 2011
- Learn More
Watershed Council