The power of excluding cattle and restoring creeks, mixed with the tincture of time, creates native habitat refuge for wildlife and cleanses the water of excessive sediment, pathogens and nutrients.
Eleven years ago, SPAWN embarked on a project to improve water quality on a creek that runs into Lagunitas Creek, which is home to California’s most important run of wild coho salmon, an endangered species.
The ephemeral creek (ephemeral streams only run for a short time after a storm event) captures runoff off of Golden Gate Recreation Area lands, on leased cattle pasture, in the ghost town of Tocaloma, CA.
With a small grant for CA Fish & Wildlife and a lot of volunteers helping, SPAWN erected a cattle exclusion fence 30 feet from the sides of the creek, with a small pass-through to allow cattle to move from one side to the other.
We set about restoring the riparian zone with willow stakes, and native grasses, sedges, rushes and trees.
Here is what it looked like before we began in 2014:
The barren and eroded ephemeral stream bed, dry in summer months,had virtually no vegetation the except non-native European grasses originally for planted for cattle fodder.
Intern Jeremy Rich, Watershed Conservation Director Preston Brown, and longtime volunteer Mel Wright erect a cattle exclusion fence hundreds of feet up the canyon.
SPAWN executive director, Todd Steiner, delivers willow stakes for planting.
2017:Â Â A couple of years later, willow stakes are a couple of feet tall and line of banks of the creek.
By 2025, willows and oaks dominate the riparian zone with a healthy understory of native grasses, sedges and rushes. This vegetation filters out sediment, pathogens and nutrients before they enter Lagunitas Creek, and creates a sheltered corridor for bobcat, mountain lions, coyotes and foxes.
These photos allow us to see what a restored native landscape can look like, and allow us to imagine how much more re-wilding can be accomplished to create a healthy ecosystem for all living things. All we need is a bit more work and the tincture of time.
