Relief funds expedite Watershed restoration program (GPRA)--National Park Service--WASO-INFO





		by Darci Short
	In 1998, work began on repairing the damage caused to Redwood National and State Parks by the 1997 New Year’s Day storm that hit much of northern California. This storm caused extensive damage to roads, trails, and buildings throughout both parks. The greatest damage was caused by landslides or culvert failures along old abandoned logging roads incorporated into the park during the 1978 park expansion. In total, 91 road sites suffered varying degrees of damage, cutting off access to about 30 miles of road segments. As a result of the storm damage, Redwood National and State Parks received $8.99 million as part of the 1997 Natural Disaster Relief Act and $1.19 million from the Federal Highways Administration Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads program. Approximately 80% of the funds are earmarked for removing unneeded road segments isolated by landslides or culvert failures, and 15% for repairing essential park access roads. The remainder is for repairs to damaged trails and buildings. The parks had already been removing unneeded roads as part of the ongoing watershed restoration program. Since park expansion in 1978, approximately 200 miles of roads have been removed or treated for erosion control. The storm funding supplements the existing base-funded Redwood Creek watershed restoration program, adding approximately 10 times the annual funds formerly available for this work. Without the supplemental funds, it would take many years to remove these roads. Left untreated, they pose a great threat to park ecosystems and downstream aquatic and riparian resources. The storm damage came at a time when the national park had just completed an inventory of potential erosion that could result from the 155 miles of park roads that remain in the Redwood Creek watershed. The park had developed a prioritization scheme based on the existing quality of aquatic and riparian ecosystems within the tributary watersheds, the erosion and sedimentation threat from upslope roads, proximity to ancient redwood groves, and the disturbance levels in cultural and scenic landscapes. The 1997 storm “tested” the stability of these roads. The resource damage highlighted the urgency to remove the abandoned logging roads before additional, more serious damage occurs. The highest-priority area of the park in need of restoration work is the Lost Man Creek watershed. This watershed provides habitat for the threatened coho salmon and two bird species (northern spotted-owl and marbled murrelet) listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Road removal in the Lost Man Creek watershed will allow for more rapid recovery of the heavily logged watershed, providing the best protection for these threatened species and adjacent downstream park resources. Storm damage funds will pay for the removal of 30% of the roads within the Lost Man Creek watershed in the next few years.

Heavy rains from a 1997 New Year’s Day storm saturated road fill and resulted in the collapse of this hillside into Redwood Creek (above, left), just 1 1/2mile upstream of the world’s tallest tree. Emergency funds are helping the park address the severe erosion problem posed by 155 miles of remaining logging roads. Emergency funds are being used to restore abandoned logging roads, such as this one (top right) that crossed a headwater stream in an old-growth redwood forest. The road was excavated down to the original stream channel (middle), restoring the natural slope and hillside hydrology and greatly reducing the threat of erosion. One year after restoration (bottom), vegetation is aggressively reclaiming the area. darci_short@nps.gov Geologist, Redwood National Park, California AML PROGRAM FUNDED (GPRA) With needs identified since 1987, the Abandoned Mineral Lands (AML) Program of the National Park Service was approved for base funding in 1998. The funds are awarded to parks for projects designed to address degraded lands and waters and mitigate safety problems related to abandoned mines. The program is administered by the NPS Geologic Resources Division, which supported 21 projects in 17 parks throughout five NPS regions during the year. These projects related to mine site reclamation, mine hazard mitigation, habitat conservation, site characterization, and future project planning. More than 140 park units manage issues related to abandoned mineral lands. SEQUOIA RESTORATION CONTINUES The last of 194 buildings in former visitor lodging and employee housing areas was demolished in September, completing one phase of the Giant Forest restoration in Sequoia National Park (California). Ecological restoration began as roads, parking lots, walkways, and building pads were recontoured; compacted soil was loosened; and disturbed soil was protected from erosion with wood chips or soil retention blankets. In October the first 4,570 grass, forb, shrub, and tree seedlings were planted on the site of the Giant Forest Lodge, beginning the revegetation phase in these formerly developed areas beneath the giant sequoia trees. Back to Chapter 5: Resource Restoration Endemic tule elk to range freely at Point Reyes National Seashore by Thomas Kucera Great expectations for the black-footed ferret at Badlands by Glenn E. Plumb, Ph.D., and Bruce Bessken Piping plover on the increase at Sleeping Bear Dunes by Max W. Holden Hatches Harbor: Progress on restoring a salt marsh by Norm Farris Partners restore wetland in the Santa Monica Mountains NRA by John Tiszler, Jim Benedict, Lisa Edgington, and Alan Hsu Home

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Last Updated: 07/22/99
Direct comments on this website to jeff_selleck@nps.gov
This article is from Natural Resource Year in Review--1998, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in June 1999 (publication D-1346)