Redwood Creek (Humboldt County)
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Redwood Creek is a large stream in Humboldt County, California. The rivers headwaters are in the Coast Range at about 5,000 feet and it flows roughly northwest until it empties into the Pacific Ocean near the small town of Orick, the only urban development in the 280 square mile-watershed.
The greatest problem for the creek and its tributaries is erosion, which leads to excessive sediment buildup in the streambeds. The increased erosion is caused by extensive logging in the upper watershed, which began in the 1950s and continues today as the primary land use. In the last couple of decades along, 65% of all land and 75% of the forested land in the basin has been harvested for timber. The building of logging roads has also increased erosion in the watershed. The sediment has filled in the pools and spawning habitat used by steelhead and coho salmon, which has caused a major decline in the fishery.
Habitat in the lower portion of the creek has been degraded due to actions taken after the flooding of 1964. The United States Army Corps of Engineers channelized the last 3.4 miles of the creek through dredging and the building of levees. This has changed the creek's hydrology and sedimentation patterns, resulting in a decrease in water volume. In addition, it has destroyed the riparian vegetation, which helps protect against erosion and decreases the water temperature to a level suitable for the creek's coldwater fish.
The lower portion of the creek and part of its estuary are in Redwood National and State Parks, but the upper portion is mostly privately owned. The park makes up 41 percent of the watershed and the Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service own 3 percent. Private lands downstream of the parks makes up only 1 percent. Private lands upstream make up 55 percent, 90 percent of which is owned by eight landowners, Simpson Timber Company being the largest.
