Location:  T.24N. R.8E. Sec. 15                                                                        

Sponsors:  Plumas Corporation – Feather River CRM; landowner

Project Type: Restoration

Est. Cost:  $ 52,000             Amount Funded: $51,000 of Majority Funding approved May 2006

Est. Start Date:  July 2006                               Est. End Date: October 2007

Project Description: 
 

Silver Creek:  This project would restore Silver Creek in Meadow Valley, a major tributary of Spanish Creek.  The entire Meadow Valley stream system has degraded, including that portion of Silver Creek located in the valley (Burney’s property).  Project work would remain within the entrenchment and would involve a variety of treatments.  The proposed treatments include:  1. affecting approximately 250 feet of stream channel upstream of the main treatment section with 3 large, log jams designed to capture bedload.  2.  Treating 50 feet of channel bank with boulder vanes, sloped bank and transplanted vegetation at the one bridge within the project reach.  3.  Treating 60 feet of stream length with a fourth log jam within the actively eroding channel section to capture bedload and maintain channel grade.  4.  Stabilize 170 feet of channel bank with boulders placed under exposed tree roots and with transplanted vegetation. 5.  Treat 320 feet of meander bend streambank with reshaped bank, boulder vanes and transplanted vegetation.  6.  Treat 550 feet of stream channel with raised riffles and improved scour holes to reconnect the inset channel with a mid-terrace (floodplain) and dissipate energy.  7.  Slope back 110 feet of channel bank and vegetate with transplanted material.  

Project Goals/Objectives:
The goal of the project is to restore the primary functional attributes of the stream channel and floodplain systems and to either capture and store bedload sediment or facilitate its transport.  The objective for the project on Silver Creek is to minimize erosion of the entrenchment (gully), capture much of the sediment delivered to it (aggrading the entrenchment) and reconnect the inset stream channel with the mid-terrace/floodplain.  This project is justified because it will restore the function of the stream and its floodplain at this location in the landscape to capture sediment, and improve on-site and downstream conditions, including aquatic and riparian ecosystems and water quality.   

Project Activities: