Spring Edition

Spring Edition
Spring Edition

Monday, April 30, 2018

Giving Back to the Yuba River ~ SRYCL's Hammon Bar Willow Resteration Project



Volunteering my time is important to me on local rivers and fisheries that I guide on. For the third year in a row I’ve been a volunteer on the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) Hammon Bar Willow Restoration Project, working with staff and other volunteers. 



It was a beautiful day with big puffy cumulus clouds, a nice cooling breeze, and great company. The wildflowers are going nuts in the Yuba Gold Fields right now. I’ve never seen so many Lupine and California poppies down there in my life. If you appreciate nature, do yourself a favor and go check them out as soon as you can. They won’t last long.


Restoration Coordinator and Team Leader Karli Foreman used advanced GPS and a detailed map to find the remaining pods of willows to be recorded. My job was a little different this year, I wrote down pod identification numbers, and how many different species of willows (Arroyo, Red, and Gooding’s) including cottonwoods that were alive or dead, and taking detailed notes. A few observations we noted was a very high activity of beaver chomping away branches. This poses a problem as many of the branches they take away have a metal ID tag on them. That’s what the GPS is for in case the ID tag is missing. Also we came to the conclusion that many tags were buried by several feet of cobblestones and gravel from the floods of 2017.



We worked great together as a team and put in some serious work, 56 pods were recorded in about 4 hours of actual time on Hammon Bar. Jim, our other volunteer measured the height of the willows and cottonwoods, as well as the diameter of the base of selected specimens. Jim has been volunteering since the very beginning on this willow project and had some great knowledge. His insight was refreshing, and I learned even more about the ecology of the Yuba River.


So why are willows and cottonwoods so important to the Lower Yuba River? They capture woody debris which in turn controls silt, plus provides salmon, steelhead, and trout fingerlings with cover to hide from predators during higher flows. In some cases, they also provide adult fish with the same type of helpful habitat. Birds, adult aquatic insects, beavers, and rattlesnakes also benefit from the foliage. 

Karli will be on site for the next few weeks collecting data at Hammon Bar, volunteers are needed and she sure would appreciate any help. You can contact her at 530.265.5961 ext. 216. If you have the time and want to give back to the river you love, give her a call and lend a hand.




Though the picture above looks like we are way too serious, it’s a great time filled with science, data, and lots of laughs. I had a great time being next to the Yuba River and can't thank Karli and Jim enough for the awesome company and good times. Though we did not see as much wildlife as last year, it was still cool to see a few rising wild trout, a snowy egret, and a few Pale Morning Dun Mayflies riding the currents of the Yuba River. It was absolutely beautiful. For you fly anglers, the river conditions are looking really good, the water clarity is clear, and the flows are at 2,335 cubes. If you can’t donate your time, think of joining SYRCL or making a donation. Every penny helps with one of the most important and wild watersheds on the west coast. See you on the water…


2 comments:

Matt said...

I love those willows. For as long as you've fished the Yuba, how often do the willows change? The willow forests above the bridge have all been ripped out has this happened before in the past?

Jonny B. said...

Matt, The surrounding land and foliage constantly changes with mega high water events. Some strands of willows last longer due to their location. When massive amounts of cobblestones move they either bury, or displace willows. This has been happening for thousand upon thousands of years.

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