Inside Sonoma Land Trust’s purchase of Stuart Run Creek
Sonoma Land Trust Conservation Director Wendy Eliot dips her feet into Stuart Creek on the site that the Trust has just obtained to restore spawning waters now blocked by a bridge.
By SUZIE RODRIGUEZ/SONOMA VALLEY CORRESPONDENT
The Sonoma Land Trust has protected more than 25,000 acres of Sonoma County land over the years, including the 5,630-acre Jenner Preserve and the 2,327-acre Sears Point Baylands.
But sometimes good things come in small packages. That’s the case with Stuart Creek Run, a tiny but pivotal 3.53-acre Glen Ellen parcel the group purchased this summer.
“It’s just a little 3.5 acres, but it has the potential to accomplish so many wonderful things,” says Wendy Eliot, the non-profit’s conservation director.
Chief among them is giving Sonoma Valley’s federally-threatened steelhead access to 14 miles of high-quality spawning habitat.
The new property includes a one-third mile stretch of Stuart Creek that has for decades been inaccessible to steelhead.
Over the years, the creek has eroded a portion of the property’s creek bed so deeply that a steep drop-off has been formed where the creek passes beneath a small bridge. On the downstream side, the creek is about 5½ feet lower than on the upstream side, creating an obstacle higher than homecoming steelhead can jump.
If the fish could continue their journey, they would arrive in a sort of Trout Paradise: pristine lengths of Stuart Creek that are under the protection of Bouverie Preserve and Glen Oak Ranch.
The drop-off situation is made even worse by the decaying bridge. If it fell into the creek, it would generate tons of polluting sediment.
But now, with the Land Trust in possession of Stuart Creek’s Run, good times are ahead for the steelhead.
The property was first brought to the attention of the Land Trust in 2005, when the Sonoma Ecology Center and Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown asked for help acquiring it. Owners Toni and Jeff Piccinini had purchased the land with the intent of building a home, but a maze of regulations and permits made their dream impossible.
“The price was $800,000 when we were first brought into this,” says Eliot. “We couldn’t afford it and thought it was way over-priced. Now we know the asking price was a reflection of the kind of insane bubble world we were all living in at the time.”
Upstream from Stuart Creek Run the creek enters 14 miles of protected habitat.
When that bubble burst, the property was still on the market, and it stayed there, steadily dropping in price.
“Last June we got together with the Piccininis to try to make it work,” Eliot says, “and we did.” The final purchase price was $140,000. The Land Trust hopes to get enough private donations to pay back that loan.
Along with Sonoma Ecology Center, the group will restore Stuart Creek to its historic channel pattern, giving steelhead access to its traditional spawning habitat.
The partnership also will create a roadside park at Stuart Creek Run where residents and visitors can enjoy a tranquil picnic, take a leisurely stroll and learn about fish and creek restoration.
Last week Eliot stood atop the bridge at Stuart’s Creek, inspecting the landscape and thinking of the work that lies ahead. She pointed at the large rocks piled against the river bank and held down by thick rope netting, a previous owner’s attempt to halt erosion.
“That will have to go,” she said. So will the bamboo forest, the blackberry vines sprawling the length of the creek, the bridge, the debris. When all that is gone, the habitat reconstruction can finally begin. The picnic area will follow, perhaps with signage that explains the delicate eco-system.
“It’s probably going to run into the high six figures to get everything done,” she said.
A few feet downstream from the bridge Eliot stopped to gaze at a pool of water. “It’s amazing to see such a deep pool in our Mediterranean climate in August, isn’t it?” she said.
Pointing out native grapes, a baby oak tree and wild grasses, she said, “It’s going to take a lot of work, but it’s worth it. This property is a little jewel box.”
Sidebar: Steelhead vs. Rainbow Trout
Steelhead and salmon are different species, but people sometimes confuse them because both are anadromous, migrating from the ocean up rivers to spawn.
Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species, except that rainbows live all their lives in fresh water, while steelhead split their time between fresh and salt water.
“The same stream can have both,” says Richard Dale, Executive Director of Sonoma Ecology Center. “Even the same redd, or nest of eggs, can produce some fish that remain as rainbow trout and others migrate out and become steelhead.”
It’s not clear what triggers a young fish to migrate to the ocean or stay in its native habitat, Dale says, adding that food supply is one possible factor.
“If there isn’t enough food, the young smolt will move seaward. If there’s plenty of food in the stream for a juvenile, it may remain.”
Steelhead spend at least one year in their home stream before heading to sea, where they live for up to four years before returning. Unlike salmon, which die after spawning, steelhead can repeat the journey as many as five times.
Do you have memories of Stuart Creek or Sonoma Creek from an earlier era? Tell us about it below…
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