Chamberlain Creek Project

Rusty old culvert on Chamberlain Creek is blocking salmon migration.


It’s no secret that salmon need all the help they can get!

The Mendocino Land Trust is proud to release this update on our Chamberlain Creek Fish Passage Project, which has been years in the making. Almost $1.5 million will be required to assess, design, and execute this project to help remove barriers to salmon migration. MLT secured grant funding from the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program to design a new creek crossing that will replace an existing culvert currently blocking passage for juvenile salmon!

Below you can read an abridged version of the assessment of the problematic culvert on Chamberlain Creek. Kudos to those on our grant-writing and stewardship team who have worked hard to help restore access for coho salmon and other aquatic organisms.

Project Design Memorandum

Passage Design Project (Abridged & Edited by MLT)

The objectives of this project (by the Pacific Watershed Associates) were to develop a design to improve passage for coho salmon and Pacific lamprey at a single crossing. This crossing is a barrier for coho adults and juveniles in Chamberlain Creek, a tributary to the North Fork Big River.

Chamberlain Creek supports endangered coho population.

Chamberlain Creek Location Map.

This identified culvert is limiting access to about 1.6 miles of upstream habitat, and it is at a high risk of failure.

The existing fish habitat was evaluated under low-flow conditions beginning 300 feet downstream from the culverted crossing and ending 300 feet upstream from this crossing.

Chamberlain Creek Vicinity Map

The crossing was described in a 2011 Stream Inventory Report as having a 0.7-foot plunge at the outlet with some holes in the culvert bottom, and coho juveniles were observed above the crossing. However, in a 2021 survey, by Pacific Watershed Associates, no coho juveniles were observed above the crossing. PWA’s survey also found that the culvert’s condition had degraded over 10 years and nearly all the stream flow was through the rusted bottom and under the culvert.

Chamberlain Creek culvert alignment drawing from Pacific Watershed Associates.

This Passage Design Project 100% Basis of Design Memorandum details the culvert’s current condition, fish passage potential for coho salmon, and plans for removing and replacing the culvert.

Chamberlain Creek from report.

The culvert is failing, and the bottom is nearly rusted through and the creek flows underneath. Sediment accumulation limits pool-jump depths required for adults to leap into the culvert and travel upstream. Deeper water levels within the culvert could also present as a barrier for adults, where the laminar flow velocities could exceed the burst speed needed for an adult to each the upstream side.

From the files - Salmon running into culvert.
File photo: A coho salmon attempts to leap into a culvert at Otto Jarsted Park in Gorst.

Although inaccessible under current conditions, and most likely under flows during winter and storm events, the habitat above the Chamberlain Creek culvert is suitable for spawning and rearing coho and other salmonid populations, and for Pacific lamprey populations, which all depend on this tributary watershed.

This article is an edited portion of a 112-page report prepared by: Pacific Watershed Associates Inc. That document, which can be viewed here, includes PWA’s design plans.

Don’t Mess With Newt!

Image of Taricha torosa, the California newt. This is a toxic amphibian found in California.

Don’t mess with Newt!

Say hello to the California newt (Taricha torosa), a local celebrity. You may have seen them bumbling along the forest floor during the rainy season. These newts range from San Diego up to Mendocino County.

With their clumsy gait and cute, doleful eyes, you would think they are just another harmless and quirky addition to California’s fauna. But watch out! They are actually one of the deadliest animals in the world. California newts contain high amounts of tetrodotoxin throughout their bodies.

Tetrodotoxin is an incredibly potent neurotoxin that can kill an adult human if even a fraction of an ounce is ingested. According to reptile scientist Dr. Gary Bucciarelli of the University of California Davis, “Taricha newts should not be handled unless by knowledgeable personnel, because they can contain up to 54 milligrams of tetrodotoxin per individual. Doses up to 42 micrograms per kilo of body weight can lead to hospitalization or death.” Bucciarelli made the remarks in a November, 2023 article in www.phys.org. 

In 1979, a 29-year-old man died after taking a bet and swallowing a California newt. But most websites report that you won’t fall gravely ill from quickly moving a newt out of the way and then immediately washing your hands. Still, it’s best to err on the side of caution and avoid contact or carry your handy-dandy disposable plastic gloves!

Why would cute-newt resort to so much overkill? It’s because one of their few predators — the California garter snake – is resistant to tetrodotoxin. This is an example of how nature stages an arms race, where predators and prey species evolve specific adaptations over time in response to one another. In this case, the newts have evolved to be unbelievably toxic while the garter snakes have evolved to find them unbelievably delicious.

Now you may think: “Well … how does being more deadly than cyanide help when you’re already being eaten?” And that’s a fair point because it actually doesn’t. What it does do is take down the predator with you, assuring your remaining newt friends and family won’t meet a similar fate at the hands of that particular snake or peckish raccoon.

And this does not mean that the newts go impassively and quietly into the night. Their main defense warning is to arch back their heads and tails in a sort of silly yoga pose, exposing their bright orange underbelly. This is the newt’s color-coded roadway-hazard warning to potential predators. Things that are bright and visible in nature are usually colorful for a reason. In this case it’s not about mating, it’s about toxicity.

These newts have also been known to flip on their back with the drama of a Shakespearean actor to convey that same message. Quite a curtain call when your back is against the wall.

When they aren’t polishing off anything foolish enough to lay their lips on them, the California newt is either eating, mating or hibernating until the next rainy season. A classic springtime scene in forest puddles is a “newt ball,” a cartoonishly large dogpile of male newts all wrestling for the chance to mate with the female who is usually at the center. So, they do romantic comedy, too!

Newts can be very active on rainy evenings. Please be careful to avoid them if they’re crossing roads!

And don’t eat them.

Flashback Friday – Heider Field & The Origin Of MLT

The earliest days of land conservancy in Mendocino county began with local citizen’s desire to preserve open space in Mendocino. This article, from the February 26, 1976 edition of the Mendocino Coast Beacon documents one of the first steps towards what ultimately would be the first project of the group behind the formation of the Mendocino Land Trust. Article courtesy The Mendocino Beacon, used with permission.

Fun Fact – 4/6 Is Poppy Day!

Public Domain image of California Poppy. Image used to celebrate April 6th, California Poppy day! Yes, it's really a thing.

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is out in force, and–get this–it has its own official holiday!

I guess that means it gets the day off?

It’s true. April 6th of each year California celebrates this visual reminder of our Gold Rush days. The poppy was named our official state flower in 1903. Contrary to popular belief, it is not illegal to pick–on your own land–but grabbing one off a roadside may well violate trespassing and petty theft laws. Besides, poppies last so much longer in the ground, are there for everyone to enjoy, and stand a better chance of being there again next year in even greater numbers.

Check out these links for more information on California’s native plants, and plants you should NOT plant in your yard or garden.

Northern Elephant Seals – A Comeback Story

Michael Heine photo of elephants seals on the beach.

Did that boulder just sneeze?

No! It’s a northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) lazing on a sunny beach.

Elephant seals can be found resting on beaches all over Northern California. They earned their name because of the uniquely long nose on males — called a proboscis. But their size counted too when monikers were handed out. In addition to their elephant-like proboscis, they are one of the largest species of true seals. Bull males weigh in at up to 2.5 tons! Females are much smaller and sport somewhat more subtle sniffers, a fantastic example of sexual dimorphism – when sexes of the same species exhibit different morphological features that aren’t necessarily directly related to reproduction. They’re also known for the incredible depths they dive – up to 3,000 feet – while chowing down on squid and fish.

The fact they can be found at all nowadays is a miracle of conservation.

Starting in the 1800s, northern elephant seals were hunted extensively for oil to the point that they were thought to be extinct in 1884. This belief persisted until 1892 when a Smithsonian expedition rediscovered — and promptly killed several for their collections – a small population on Guadalupe Island off Mexico. That surviving population was estimated to be about 40 individuals. Since that low point, with intense protection and the implementation of the 1972 Marine Mammal Preservation Act, northern elephant seals have slowly begun recolonizing the west coast of North America. Each decade new colonies expand northward, reclaiming their historical range.

Northern elephant seals weren’t even known to breed on the coast of central California in modern times until the 1950s. Now the northernmost stable breeding population has recently been established in the Kings Range coastline near Whitethorn, California. Today there are more than 150,000 of these massive sea creatures! This is an encouraging sign of a species eager to regain its rightful place as kings and queens of the beach. Their distinctive bellows are once again a common sound along the West Coast. 

And, of course, you’ll hear the occasional sneeze. So, gesundheit, big fella. No worries.

MLT Salutes Cesar Chavez

United Farm Workers President Cesar Chavez meets with supporters at the UFW headquarters in Keene, California
United Farm Workers President Cesar Chavez meets with supporters at the UFW headquarters in Keene, California

Cesar Chavez – Leader in Labor and Environmental Justice

Most people have heard his name associate it with seeking fair pay and better working conditions for farmworkers, but he did more than that, much more. His efforts for better working conditions went far beyond demanding fresh drinking water, proper sanitary facilities in the fields, and decent housing. Decent working conditions also called for steps towards environmental justice–banning of toxic pesticides on grapes.

According to an article by Marta Segura, one of the first chicana women to major in environmental studies, Chavez is the father of environmental justice. It was Chavez and the United Farm Workers, under his leadership, that demanded a ban on pesticides in the vineyards. Segura, who earned a masters in public health at UC Santa Barbara in the 1970s, first learned as a high school student about the connection between these pesticides and birth defects such as spinal bifida. She was horrified to hear about these children, “who never had a chance to lead a healthy life.” Her awareness came, in part, from educational pamphlets produced and distributed by UFW organizers.

Chavez knew and spread the word that exposure to these widely used toxins led to cancer, birth defects, chronic lung and organ failure, and premature death. His work saw him reaching out to Mexican, Filipino and Muslim farm workers in California and beyond.

MLT salutes his efforts and those of the UFW, today, on Cesar Chavez Day. Their dedication made the environment safer for everyone who works in, lives near, or consumes straight-from-the-field agricultural products. Much work remains to be done, literally, in the fields of environmental protection and social justice. But we all owe a debt of gratitude to his passionate and dogged determination in the face of fierce and often brutal repression.

You can read the full text of Segura’s article here.

Photo – Caesar Chavez at the national headquarters of the United Farm Workers Union, talking with grape boycott leaders, Keene, California, Library of Congress Public Domain Archives

Banana Slugs – Slimy But Helpful!

Mike Heine photo of a banana slug next to an actual banana, on right :)
Banana Slug next to a banana. Banana is on the right. 🙂

If ever there was a mascot for the cool, damp forests of the West Coast, it’s the banana slug, a common name applying to several species in the genus Ariolimax. The most common in Northern California’s forests is the Pacific banana slug (Ariolimax columbianus).

Reaching top speeds of up to 30 feet per hour, not bad for a snail, they are also the world’s second largest species of slug (banana for scale). Pacific banana slugs’ colors range from bright yellow to dark brown, and they can have any number of black spots. You might think that their bright yellow color would stand out in the dark understory of a conifer forest, but not so! They’re surprisingly hard to find when they’re among the dead leaves and mosses on the forest floor. They also are tiny recycling centers of the forest, eating pretty much anything they find – including poop! – and turning it into nutrients for the surrounding plants. Favorite foods that aren’t poop include fungi and the first new leaves on spring wildflowers.

Why so slimy?

It’s no secret that you can tell where a banana slug has been by the trail of mucus left behind. This slime serves many functions, from deterring predators to surviving warm summers. While they aren’t highly toxic as their colors would have you believe, that slime coating numbs the tongues of any predator bold enough to try and eat one. They are usually spit out unharmed. Their slime also forms a barrier between the rough ground and their foot – the large underpad they slither around on – which makes it much easier for them to scoot around. When droughts occur or the weather heats up, the slime thickens and they wrap themselves in a blanket of mucus and forest litter to “aestivate,” a form of temporary hibernation until it’s cool and wet enough again to venture forth.

Most species are found from British Columbia down to Santa Cruz, but there’s also a population high atop Palomar Mountain in San Diego. This population is a relic of a much cooler and wetter time during the end of the last Ice Age. Banana slugs are very sensitive to drying climates and can only aestivate for so long, so preserving connectivity between habitats is key for them to be able to continue moving (however slowly) to more suitable areas as the world warms.

So, please stay out of their way, help them along their path… and don’t try to eat one!

Story and photos courtesy Michael Heine

A Fish Tale

Yikes, what’s with this bright red, three-foot-long creature flopping around MY backyard? How the heck did it get here?

Well, it’s a fascinating fish-story if there ever was one. Let’s take a moment to tell the tale.

These behemoths are colloquially referred to as “salmon,” the most common along the North Coast of California being coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). If you’re someone whose turf is infested, consider yourself lucky. There are fewer and fewer people who suffer from this particular backyard “malady” nowadays. Salmon may be tenacious swimmers and famous for surviving epic migrations across thousands of miles, but they are much harder to find than they were a century ago.

Salmon live life traveling in one big loop. They emerge from their eggs in freshwater streams and rivers after just a few weeks or months of growth. Next, they spend several months hiding from predators in their nests and in small, shallow pools. They face long odds – only 1% or so of these eggs survive to adulthood. As the hatchlings grow and get bigger, they venture into deeper waters within the river. There they will continue growing for one to two years. Then they begin to turn a silvery color. This offers better protection as they can blend in with the ocean while they move into the lagoons and estuaries at the mouths of rivers. Here, they acclimate to salt water, and then they move to live the bulk of their lives in the ocean until they’re given the cue that it’s time to come home.

How does this happen?

Adults sense changes in their environment caused by the first decent rains of the year. Different species follow a different “clock.” The coho come home to spawn after about three years while Chinook are can take up to seven years to return to the exact rivers and streams where they were spawned. 

During this arduous trip, salmon will search to find suitable spawning habitat. They crave cool, clear water flowing over beds of gravel. They will fight for nest space, court mates, spawn, and then die. 

This trip home takes its life-ending toll. Not every adult makes it back. 

While homeward bound, salmon do not eat, their scales are scraped off from rocks, and they are constantly preyed upon. This may seem sad, but it’s an essential part of the ecosystem’s health. Salmon deaths are genetically programmed to occur during this journey. Their bodies decay and nourish both the water they’re in and the surrounding forests.

This cycle of birth-growth-travel-transformation-and return has been going on since long before recorded history. But while they’re often depicted in massive schools fighting their way upstream, California’s salmon are currently a fraction of what they were a century ago. Centuries of logging, damming, and water diversion has sent an unnatural amount of sediment into our watersheds, burying the gravel beds salmon need as dams came up and blocked migration routes. Perhaps some of the worst blows came in 1955 and 1964, when both years experienced historic flooding that flushed a century’s worth of logging sediment into our waterways, essentially “flattening” rivers and destroying the complex network of deep pools salmon spend the summers in addition to spawning beds.

California’s salmon are in a fight for their very existence, but they have allies! 

The Klamath River is currently the site of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history. The Eel River is slated to have its dams come down, and a dedicated network of conservation groups are pouring countless hours into restoration projects to assure that bright red, three-foot-long critter in your “backyard” will be a much more common sight in the future.

So chill out. Flop down next to that fish. And say hello.

Or maybe just take a picture?