SPAWN is working to restore an abandoned ready-mix concrete plant on Black Mountain Ranch in Point Reyes Station, California. The goal of the project is to restore the existing parking area back into a natural riparian forest, one that existed before the cement plant was built.
The first phase of this project was completed in 2016 and the second phase will begin in the summer of 2023. The second phase of the project will remove the remaining concrete surfaces from the parking area, re-contour the banks so the water flows naturally off the site, and plant thousands of plants and native trees throughout the site. The bank grading will also expand the floodplain area so that juvenile salmon can seek slow water refuge during storms.
Once the parking area is removed and the banks are shaped, SPAWN staff and volunteers will re-plant the area with native trees like redwood and elderberry and remove nonnative weeds like Himalayan blackberry and cape ivy. This native forest will improve water quality and provide complex riparian habitat to endangered coho salmon and other wildlife species.
Funding for the first phase of the project was provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and SPAWN members. The second phase of the project is funded by the State Water Resources Control Board.
