Tocaloma Floodplain Restoration

By September 12, 2014Uncategorized

SPAWN has begun a project to developed a restoration and enhancement plan for a mile-long stretch of stream and floodplain forest just west of Samuel P. Taylor State Park, formerly known as Jewel and Tocaloma.  This wildlife-rich area is home to at least five species on the U.S. Endangered Species List including endangered coho salmon, threatened steelhead trout, endangered California freshwater shrimp, threatened northern spotted owls, and threatened California red-legged frogs.

The large-scale restoration project will work to restore degraded creek-side floodplain habitat along Sir Francis Drake Blvd. with focusing on creating in-stream fish habitat improvements including high water floodplain refuges, evolving side-channel features, and creating slow backwaters for juvenile fish rearing. This restoration will also include improvements to benefits the other threatened and endangered species that live in the area.

To kick off this project, SPAWN hosted a meeting this month to bring all involved stakeholders together to collaborate on the approach to restoration. Members from Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Marin Municipal Water District, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and expert consultants all shared their knowledge of the area from archaeological finds to biologically significant information.

SPAWN is now working with the firm ESA-PWA to map vegetation that currently inhabits this mile-long stretch of creek floodplain. Preliminary surveys of the vegetation (natives and invasives), canopy cover, and forest type have been done by the team, and that knowledge will be used to craft a restoration plan that incorporates existing old growth vegetation as well as plans for removal of invasive plants.