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.

This project will remove the concrete surfaces from the parking area, re-contour the banks so the water flows naturally off the site, and plant thousands of native trees throughout a mile-long stretch of the creek corridor. 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 this project has been provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and SPAWN members.

Project Impact

1,500

Square feet of concrete removed from the creekbank

150

Cubic yards of concrete and asphalt removed from the edge of the creek

70+

Native plant and tree species planted on the project site

Project Background

Rich Readimix Concrete was established on Point Reyes-Petaluma Road in 1958. In 2012, due to a decrease in demand as a result of less new home construction and more competition, the plant was closed and demolished. A barn owned by Black Mountain Ranch has stayed. The abandoned site is located adjacent to Lagunitas Creek, one of the most important watersheds left for recovering endangered coho salmon.

Before…
After!

SPAWN Begins Restoration of Redi-mix Concrete Plant at Black Mountain Ranch

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Project Timeline

SPAWN has been working to transform the former concrete manufacturing site into a native wetland forest since 2016.