Lee Fong Biomass Pole Pavilion: Fall 2008
Lee Fong Biomass Pole Pavilion: Fall 2008
Fall 2008
Vol. XVII No. 4
Lee Fong Biomass Pole Pavilion
stunning new structure with a gleaming copper-colored roof sits in the center of Lee Fong Park in Weaverville. Built this autumn from locally harvested logs, it is designed to provide shade for at least two picnic tables during the summer months as well as a reprieve from rain during inclement weather. The log pavilion is located adjacent to a beautiful rock BBQ. The 16-foot by 24-foot open-sided structure is the result of a grant from the U.S. Forest Service to promote biomass utilization -- the use of smaller logs -- in Trinity County. It is a project of the Northwest California Resource Conservation and Development Council in collaboration with the Trinity County Resource Conservation District. Originally, the demonstration project was planned to provide a large shelter over the amphitheater stage, but costs to engineer that structure and budget constraints caused the project to be scaled down to this stout and sturdy picnic pavilion. The majority of the materials were purchased locally, with some poles coming from the Watershed Research and Training Center in Hayfork and other materials purchased f local businesses. f k d h i l h d from l l b i The largest logs in the structure are from a Chico log home company. The expert craftsmanship and forethought of the three local builders who constructed the pavilion are evident in the beauty of the structure. Their attention to detail makes this a perfect example of what can be done with timber removed from forest lands during fuels reduction projects, which ultimately reduce the catastrophic effect of wildland res. In the past, smaller trees would have been considered to have no commercial value, but the smaller poles used here have enormous economic potential, as demonstrated by the pavilion. Another example is the new transitional housing recently completed by the Human Response Network. Its design incorporated small timber from Hayfork for attractive railing on the duplex as well as for ornamental features throughout the project. The new Lee Fong Park pavilion was made possible by funding from the US Forest Service and the McConnell Fund of the Shasta Regional Community Foundation. Special thanks go to contractors Eric Blomberg of Fine Line Building, to David Hazard, and to James Casebolt. Schmidbauer Lumber generously donated use of its crane truck which helped get the large logs placed, and the Watershed Research and Training Center in Hayfork donated poles.
Also In This Issue:
Watershed Restoration Projects ......... 2 TRRP Lewiston/Dark Gulch Project .... 3 2008 Salmon Festival ...................... 4-5 2008 Environmental Camp .............. 6-7 Young Family Ranch Open House .... 8-9 Volunteer Trail Day .......................... 10 Upper Trinity River Watershed Coordination..................................... 10 Lewiston Outreach ........................... 11 District Manager's Report ................. 11
Fall Issue 2008
Watershed Restoration Projects
he District's restoration efforts continued during the summer on a variety of projects in Trinity County to reduce road-related sediment delivery to watercourses. The District began the season with a road improvement project in the Union Hill area on a popular BLM road that provides access to the Trinity River. That work involved road drainage improvements including rock surfacing and rocked rolling dips, to halt erosion and reduce the risk of sediment reaching adjacent watercourses and impacting Trinity River sheries. Work then moved to road decommissioning and road upgrade projects in both the Trinity and South Fork Management Units of Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Those crews wrapped up the season with work on emergency re-related road improvements in the Conner Creek area near Junction City. The District decommissioned a total of approximately 20 miles of roads and upgraded another 20 miles, all on federally managed lands. Funding for these projects was provided by California Department of Fish and Game, California Off-Highway Vehicle Commission, North Coast Water Quality Control Board, United States Forest Service and the Trinity River Restoration Program.
Fall Issue 2008
In-River Work for Lewiston/Dark Gulch Project is Complete
onstruction of the Lewiston-Dark Gulch Channel Rehabilitation Project began in late August. It consisted of eight project areas over three miles of river. In-channel work was completed by September 15 to comply with requirements of several regulatory agencies. Additional work on the sides of the river channel resumed in mid-October, and will be completed by December 2008. The overall project includes placement of almost 11,000 cubic yards of coarse sediment in the Trinity River and re-contouring adjacent areas. Coarse sediment is an important ingredient for a dynamic, healthy river system and is needed by salmon and steelhead for spawning. Floodplain re-contouring and side channel construction is designed to create areas of slower moving, shallow water and edge habitat that is good for rearing juvenile sh. This project was funded by the Bureau of Reclamation and a grant from the California Department of Fish and Game obtained by the Trinity County Resource Conservation District.
Before
After
View from the Old Bridge in Lewiston looking up river. Alternating gravel bars are designed to change a long, linear reach of river to one with a more diverse and meandering form. Coarse sediment will also improve spawning and rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and steelhead.
The initial cut.
Placing the tree.
The nished product.
Large woody debris (tree trunks and root wads) helps create geomorphic diversity and improved sh habitat. Project designs call for placement of large wood taken from other construction sites to key locations at the rivers edge.
Constructing gravel bars near Lewiston.
Constructing a side channel.
Fall Issue 2008
2008 Salmon Festival
Fall Issue 2008
Fall Issue 2008
2008 Environmental Camp
Fall Issue 2008
Fall Issue 2008
Young Family Ranch Open House
Fall Issue 2008
Fall Issue 2008
Weaver Basin Volunteer Trail Day
good number of community volunteers turned out early November 15 to grab picks and shovels and help make the Weaver Basin Trail Restoration Day a fun and successful event. The goal of the project was to reduce erosion to the trail tread by digging water bars to divert water and by clearing sediment and debris from existing water bars. The 13 volunteers who participated worked hard to reshape and clear water bars along nearly a mile of trail starting from the East Weaver trailhead. This trail maintenance project was coordinated as an independent service project by AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project (WSP) member Erica Spohn. It is a requirement of WSP that its members recruit volunteers to participate in a service project that benets watershed health. Erica, who has been assigned to the Trinity County Resource Conservation District since January, said she found coordinating a trail maintenance project in Weaverville very rewarding. She was impressed by how much community effort goes into keeping the Weaver Basin trail system looking as great as it does.
District Kicks o Watershed Eorts in North Lake
District received a grant the California Conservation last summer. This grant is identify and The thewatershed coordinationfromTrinitydesigned toDepartment ofdevelop possible projects above dam based on the Upper River Watershed Action Plan which was completed by the District in 2006. The rst step has been for the District and representatives of the Natural Resources Conservation Service to meet with interested landowners and land managers. The Coffee Creek Volunteer Fire Department hosted a community meeting in early October and that has led to a series of meetings hosted by the Trinity Center Community Service District in November and December. These efforts will help to determine where and what types of projects can be designed and implemented to benet landowners, the North Lake communities and the watersheds that drain into Trinity Lake. The initial focus will be on projects that reduce wildland res, as well as reduce sediment delivery into the lake and improve water quality in the region. Possible projects include fuels reductions in and around communities, larger forest treatments to reduce the effects of a wildland re and enhancements to roads to reduce the amount of sediment delivered to the streams and therefore the lake. For more information on this project, please contact Alex Cousins at the Districts ofce or email him at [email protected].
Fall Issue 2008
District Managers Corner
Pat Frost
the last days of season which we take These arecooked down intoautumn. It is thehavebeenduring bedwrapped and stock in our productivity. Our gardens have put to tomatoes have been sauces, apples been picked, stored and a couple of pumpkins sit on the counter waiting to be turned into pies. Fall also is a very productive time for the District. In fact September and October were a blur of activity. This issue of the Conservation Almanac is our opportunity to highlight some of the most memorable projects. Here are some things to keep in mind as you look through the photo-essays: this was the tenth anniversary of Environmental Education Camp and also of the Salmon Festival. The well-attended open house event at the Young Family Ranch was a rst for us, but followed on the heels of our most successful Summer Day Camp yet. All of these activities were the products of a wonderful aspect of living in Trinity County the spirit of community cooperation and the strong partnerships amongst local organizations, including our new partnership with the Trinity High School Future Farmers of America. One cord that binds these great projects together is the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project. It isnt a coincidence that this is the tenth year we have had members of the Watershed Stewards Project in Weaverville, working with us on watershed restoration and conservation projects, teaching watershed and sheries-based lessons to students and leading community outreach events. This year we have had the great good fortune of having Erica Spohn as our AmeriCorps member. Her dedication and energy helped us make events like the Salmon Festival the best ever. Her year of service with us is coming to an end, but Erica's impact on the District and our community will not end with her last day of work.
Lewiston Outreach
atural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) teamed with the Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD) to host a meeting of landowners in Lewiston October 18. The purpose was to discuss options for limiting erosion and reducing sediment delivery from the area's re damaged watershed. Landowners in attendance expressed interest in focusing on certain areas more than others, with a desire for continuing work to develop a long term plan.
So far, team representatives have visited about 30 properties at landowners' request to help identify problem areas. Some issues being examined include erosion caused by lack of vegetation or due to improper construction of roads and grading practices; re hazards; stormwater diversion and erosion at stream crossings or undersized culverts; and accumulated sediment. The team is studying costs and feasibility of creating sediment basins to capture and store eroded soil. Sierra Pacic Industries, with partial funding from the Trinity River Restoration Program, constructed debris dams and planted 10,000 trees to help control erosion on its lands in the burned area. TCRCD purchased culvert for use by landowners to install in trenches, through an in-kind match from landowners. The District is also developing a fuels reduction program intended to limit impacts of future wildres by managing vegetation. The District will be doing some planting on private and public lands, plus manual work on existing vegetation to promote healthy plants and limit regrowth. The long term purpose is to decrease erosion through selective improvement of area vegetation.
Fall Issue 2008
Trinity County Resource Conservation District P.O. Box 1450 Weaverville, CA 96093
Established 1956
District Board Meetings Third Wednesday 5:30 PM Open to the Public TCRCD Ofce Number One Horseshoe Lane PO Box 1450 Weaverville, CA 96093 Telephone (530) 623-6004 FAX 623-6006 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.tcrcd.net
The Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD) is a special district set up under state law to carry out conservation work and education. It is a not-for-prot, self-governing district whose board of directors volunteer their time.
The TCRCD Vision
TCRCD envisions a balance between utilization and conservation of our natural resources. Through economic diversity and ecosystem management our communities will achieve and sustain a quality environment and healthy economy.
The TCRCD Mission
To assist people in protecting, managing, conserving and restoring the natural resources of Trinity County through information, education, technical assistance and project implementation programs.
TCRCD Board of Directors are Mike Rourke, Rose Owens, Patrick Truman, Colleen O'Sullivan, and Greg Lowden. The RCD is landowners assisting landowners with conservation work. The RCD can guide the private landowner in dealings with state and federal agencies. The RCD provides information on the following topics: Forest Land Productivity Erosion/Sediment Control Watershed Improvement Wildlife Habitat Water Supply and Storage Soil and Plant Types Educational Programs Fuels Reduction This issue of the Conservation Almanac is funded in part by grants from the Trinity River Restoration Program, California Department of Fish and Game, OHMV Commission, RC&D Council, California Dept. of Conservation, U.S. Forest Service, and the Young Family Ranch, Inc..
