District Size: 1,175,370 acres Projects: PIT RIVER WATERSHED ALLIANCE: The Pit River Watershed Alliance is a collaborative, non-regulatory, effort that involves the active participation of various social, economic, and environmental interests, both private and public, working together to achieve the enhancement of water quality and aquatic habitat in the Pit River Watershed. Primary concerns in the watershed include water quality, noxious weeds, threatened and endangered species, and fuel load reduction. Fall River RCD joins Central Modoc RCD, Pit RCD, Goose Lake RCD, local Tribes, Resource Agencies, local landowners and businesses in this watershed effort.
FALL RIVER: Fall River in Shasta county is one of California's largest spring creeks and one of the best trophy rainbow trout fisheries. The rich productivity of this stream is witnessed by the abundant beds of aquatic vegetation, teeming with aquatic insects and other invertebrates, and by the robust population of large, wild rainbow trout. In the early 1990's significant quantities of sand sized sediment became apparent in the upper reaches of Fall River, primarily above the confluence of Spring Creek.
A 1998 article by Mike Dean for California Department of Fish and Game states, "Over time, some of that sediment has moved downstream, while some appears to have remained fairly stable. This sediment has created submerged dunes which have inundated some of the aquatic vegetation so important to the productivity of Fall River. Sources of this sediment are believed to be from collapsing streambanks along Bear Creek through the Bear Creek Meadow, the upper Bear Creek watershed, and to some degree, from the collapsing banks of Fall River itself. Some areas along Fall River have contributed sediment from collapsing banks due to excessive cattle grazing and the burrowing activity of muskrats. "
The Fall River Resource Conservation District (FRRCD) has obtained a grant under the Federal Clean Water Act (205J) to study the issues and make recommendations for action. An environmental consulting firm, Tetra Tech, has conducted an analysis under this grant, and has prepared a report. Copies of this report are available from the FRRCD. Recommendations of the report can be summarized as follows; 1) Control bank erosion by livestock exclusion fencing, muskrat control, and boat speed regulation enforcement, 2) Restore and protect high priority stream and meadow systems in Upper Bear Creek and Dry Creek, 3) Restore Bear Creek Meadow (between Spaulding Corner and Fall River confluence), and, 4) Conduct selective, experimental dredging of two sites in Fall River between Rick?s Lodge and Spring Creek.
FALL RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT: As part of the Fall River Restoration Project, Geographic Information System (GIS) maps were created as reported by the Cantara Trustees in 1999. One of the main purposes of the Project was to map the boundaries of the Fall River Resource Conservation District (FRRCD). These maps will be used as a tool for planning future restoration projects within the district. In addition to the district boundaries, a variety of other aspects were mapped, such as roads, streams, watershed boundaries, and sites with potential for restoration.
CONSERVATION EASEMENTS: In year 2000, the Conservation Fund and Fall River Resource Conservation District received $48,000 in grant funds from the McConnell Foundation to assist in the development of a program to permanently protect the Fall River ecosystem through acquisition of conservation easements.
