Mendocino Land Trust - Big River Stewards

Big River Stewards

Who We Are:

The Big River Stewards are volunteers - full-time residents, part-time residents and visitors alike - who realize that the task of saving Big River didn't end with the property's purchase and transfer to State Parks.

What We Do:

Stewards are helping state parks monitor the impacts of winter storms on the park's extensive network of legacy logging roads and performing hand labor to minimize harmful sediment from those roads reaching the river and its estuary.

Above, a volunteer works to clear debris from a culvert inlet along the Big River Haul Road. In 2007, the Stewards worked to reduce erosion from about 10 miles of "legacy" logging roads at Big River, contributing 175 volunteer hours during six workdays.

Stewards are monitoring the park's natural resources: along with volunteers from the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, Stewards have risen at dawn to survey the park's avifauna to establish an ecological baseline of bird species at locations throughout the park so that trends can be tracked over time. While it can take many years of surveys to establish trends in bird populations, data collected by "citizen scientists" with the Stewards has already proved useful for restoration planning at Big River.

Stewards are restoring the park by removing invasive plants species, such as Broom, Jubata Grass, Bush Lupine, Cottoneaster, Ice Plant, Ammophila, and English Ivy from areas throughout the park.

Above, volunteers pose with a large pile of jubata, also known as pampas grass, removed with the aid of the manual winch in the foreground. Since 2004, the Stewards have donated more than 690 hours during 36 workdays to removing non-native plants, with 323 hours worked in 2007 alone.

During the summer of 2007, the Big River Stewards donned wetsuits, masks and snorkels to survey Big River for endangered Coho Salmon and threatened Steelhead Trout. In all, over a mile-and-a-half of pool habitats were surveyed as Stewards snorkeled 20 pools on the mainstem and another 10 on the Little North Fork.

Above, a volunteer snorkeling with juvenile Coho Salmon . Volunteers were trained to discern coho and steelhead juveniles on the Little North Fork of Big River, then surveyed deep pools on the mainstem where we found Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout despite water temperatures near the thermal limits for the species. Pools in excess of four feet in depth are difficult to sample with electrofishing equipment so these pools are rarely surveyed. A digital underwater camera was used to document our findings.

Above, Coho Salmon young-of-the-year, or yoy, in a deep pool on the mainstem of Big River in August. Coho were present in 17 of the 20 pools surveyed by the Stewards on the mainstem during the summer of 2007. The highest densities observed (more than 15 per pool) were downstream from the confluence with the Little North Fork of Big River.

Below, Steelhead Trout yearling, or y+. Steelhead can have very complex life histories, residing in freshwater from 1-5 years before smolting and outmigrating to the ocean. They can also live their entire life in freshwater as a rainbow trout. Steelhead juveniles of several size classes were observed in 19 of the 20 mainstem pools surveyed by the Stewards in 2007.

Divers also discovered extensive beds of freshwater mussels identified as Western Pearly Shell (Margaritifera falcata) which can live to be 100 years-old. Unlike Coho and Steelhead, the mussels have no special conservation status, yet they are often used as indicators of habitat quality due to their concentration of toxins present in the ecosystem and sensitivity to elevated sediment levels.

Other fish species observed during the surveys include Threespine Stickleback, Sacramento Western Sucker and Sculpin. Other aquatic organisms observed included Western Pond Turtles (CDFG "species of special concern"), Northern Red-legged Frogs (CDFG "species of special concern") and Foothills Yellow-legged Frogs (CDFG "species of special concern".) Also observed were American Bullfrogs, a non-native frog.

The Big River Stewards also deployed stream temperature recording devices, called Hobo Temps, to document critical summer stream temperatures at five stations on the mainstem and one each on the Little North Fork and Laguna Creek, important tributaries to Big River. Big River is lised as "impaired" for excessive temperatures and sediment by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In 2007, three of the mainstem monitoring stations involved Hobos mounted at 2' and 6' depths to investigate possible thermal stratification. While all deeply-mounted hobos recorded cooler temperatures than shallowly-mounted units, only one (immediately downstream of the Little North Fork) recorded bottom temperatures dramatically cooler than surface waters.

In 2008, the goal is to add Large Woody Debris surveys to our efforts to monitor the aquatic resources of Big River. LWD is an important component of streams, providing escape cover and thermal refugia for salmonids and also helps to create deep pools.

For more information about the Big River Stewards, please contact volunteer coordinator Matt Coleman at 707-962-0470 or, by e-mail at, mcoleman@mendocinolandtrust.org



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	MLT About Big River About the Program Big River Watershed Coalition Big River Stewards Bird Surveys Volunteer! Upcoming Events Big River Interpretive Walks Contribute Links Sign Up for Our Newsletter Email Address: Tools Sitemap Print Version Mailform Login P.O. Box 1094 Mendocino, California 95460 (707) 962-0470 phone (707) 962-0444 fax info@mendocinolandtrust.org Office Location 330 North Franklin Street, Suite 7 Fort Bragg, CA 95437 The Mendocino Land Trust is a member of the Land Trust Alliance since 1985 and the California Council of Land Trusts since 2007		Big River Stewards Who We Are: The Big River Stewards are volunteers - full-time residents, part-time residents and visitors alike - who realize that the task of *saving Big River* didn't end with the property's purchase and transfer to State Parks. What We Do: Stewards are helping state parks monitor the impacts of winter storms on the park's extensive network of legacy logging roads and performing hand labor to minimize harmful sediment from those roads reaching the river and its estuary. Above, a volunteer works to clear debris from a culvert inlet along the Big River Haul Road. In 2007, the Stewards worked to reduce erosion from about 10 miles of "legacy" logging roads at Big River, contributing 175 volunteer hours during six workdays. Stewards are monitoring the park's natural resources: along with volunteers from the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, Stewards have risen at dawn to survey the park's avifauna to establish an ecological baseline of bird species at locations throughout the park so that trends can be tracked over time. While it can take many years of surveys to establish trends in bird populations, data collected by "citizen scientists" with the Stewards has already proved useful for restoration planning at Big River. *Stewards* are restoring the park by removing invasive plants species, such as Broom, Jubata Grass, Bush Lupine, Cottoneaster, Ice Plant, Ammophila, and English Ivy from areas throughout the park. Above, volunteers pose with a large pile of jubata, also known as pampas grass, removed with the aid of the manual winch in the foreground. Since 2004, the Stewards have donated more than 690 hours during 36 workdays to removing non-native plants, with 323 hours worked in 2007 alone. During the summer of 2007, the Big River Stewards donned wetsuits, masks and snorkels to survey Big River for endangered Coho Salmon and threatened Steelhead Trout. In all, over a mile-and-a-half of pool habitats were surveyed as Stewards snorkeled 20 pools on the mainstem and another 10 on the Little North Fork. Above, a volunteer snorkeling with juvenile Coho Salmon . Volunteers were trained to discern coho and steelhead juveniles on the Little North Fork of Big River, then surveyed deep pools on the mainstem where we found Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout despite water temperatures near the thermal limits for the species. Pools in excess of four feet in depth are difficult to sample with electrofishing equipment so these pools are rarely surveyed. A digital underwater camera was used to document our findings. Above, Coho Salmon young-of-the-year, or yoy, in a deep pool on the mainstem of Big River in August. Coho were present in 17 of the 20 pools surveyed by the Stewards on the mainstem during the summer of 2007. The highest densities observed (more than 15 per pool) were downstream from the confluence with the Little North Fork of Big River. Below, Steelhead Trout yearling, or y+. Steelhead can have very complex life histories, residing in freshwater from 1-5 years before smolting and outmigrating to the ocean. They can also live their entire life in freshwater as a rainbow trout. Steelhead juveniles of several size classes were observed in 19 of the 20 mainstem pools surveyed by the Stewards in 2007. Divers also discovered extensive beds of freshwater mussels identified as Western Pearly Shell (Margaritifera falcata) which can live to be 100 years-old. Unlike Coho and Steelhead, the mussels have no special conservation status, yet they are often used as indicators of habitat quality due to their concentration of toxins present in the ecosystem and sensitivity to elevated sediment levels. Other fish species observed during the surveys include Threespine Stickleback, Sacramento Western Sucker and Sculpin. Other aquatic organisms observed included Western Pond Turtles (CDFG "species of special concern"), Northern Red-legged Frogs (CDFG "species of special concern") and Foothills Yellow-legged Frogs (CDFG "species of special concern".) Also observed were American Bullfrogs, a non-native frog. The Big River Stewards also deployed stream temperature recording devices, called Hobo Temps, to document critical summer stream temperatures at five stations on the mainstem and one each on the Little North Fork and Laguna Creek, important tributaries to Big River. Big River is lised as "impaired" for excessive temperatures and sediment by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In 2007, three of the mainstem monitoring stations involved Hobos mounted at 2' and 6' depths to investigate possible thermal stratification. While all deeply-mounted hobos recorded cooler temperatures than shallowly-mounted units, only one (immediately downstream of the Little North Fork) recorded bottom temperatures dramatically cooler than surface waters. In 2008, the goal is to add Large Woody Debris surveys to our efforts to monitor the aquatic resources of Big River. LWD is an important component of streams, providing escape cover and thermal refugia for salmonids and also helps to create deep pools. For more information about the Big River Stewards, please contact volunteer coordinator Matt Coleman at 707-962-0470 or, by e-mail at, mcoleman@mendocinolandtrust.org