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habitat belov/ Pilot Creek. Although the Pilot Creek watershed lies 

 within extremely erodible terrain, Six Rivers National Forest is 

 planning a major timber harvest. An extensive road network exists 

 already and poses a high erosion risk. It would be prudent to defer 

 timber harvest and immediately implement erosion control in the 

 Pilot Creek watershed. Major contributions of sediment from this 

 watershed could eliminate the last of chinook salmon in the Mad 

 River. 



In the South Fork Trinity River drainage on Shasta Trinity 

 National Forest, Miner Creek and Bear Creek should be designated as 

 critical habitats for reasons similar to Grider Creek. These 



tributaries of lower Hayfork Creek may provide critical habitat for 

 salmon and steelhead juveniles. Hayfork Creek can reach 80 degrees 

 F during summer, but remnant runs of spring chinook and summer 

 steelhead still hold during summer in some years in deep pools, the 

 cold water that Miner and Bear Creek provide may be critical to the 

 survival of these fish. The Pattison Roadless Area that includes 

 Miner Creek and Bear Creek must remain undisturbed. Miner and Bear 

 Creeks are also two of the last undisturbed watersheds in the 

 entire South Fork Trinity River watersheds so should be preserved 

 as control sites for any studies or monitoring programs. 



Opportunities For Pilot Projects Taking a Watershed 

 Approach in Northwestern California 



Because a substantial amount of the research and testing of 

 watershed restoration techniques has taken place in northwestern 

 California, both the USFS and BLM may be ready to implement 

 programs in the near term. Klamath National Forest has already 

 formulated a plan to control erosion as an approach to restoring 

 the Salmon River, which harbors that last viable population of wild 

 spring chinook in the Klamath River. USFS personnel have worked 

 closely with the community in developing a restoration plan and the 

 community stands ready to participate. The Klamath Forest has also 

 acquired help in assessing sediment potential from the Pacific 

 Forest and Range Experiment Station in Areata, California so early 

 phases of erosion control activity could begin. 



The Bureau of Land Management has also been working closely 

 with community members interested in restoring chinook and coho 

 salmon to the Mattole River. The native salmon of the river are 

 recognized by the American Fisheries Society to be at high risk of 

 extinction. The BLM has assessed the need for erosion control 

 measures on land under its jurisdiction and could now proceed on i> 

 model project. BLM also needs to fill its fisheries staff position 

 which has been vacated recently vacated. 



Six Rivers National Forest has done erosion control assessment 

 for many of its watersheds. This should enable the Forest to begin 

 implementation of erosion control measures relatively quickly. 

 Recent surveys of existing road networks in Pilot Creek showed that 



