Partership project shows the type of the cooperation he seeks to emulate in new initiative
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 30 used a groundbreaking habitat restoration on the League’s Orick Mill property in Humboldt County as the backdrop for his announcement of a new state salmon strategy that seeks to reverse years-long declining trends. Newsom and his staff met with representatives of the Yurok Tribe, CalTrout, the League and other partners to learn more about the Prairie Creek Restoration Project, which is restoring ecological function and providing critical juvenile salmonid habitat.
During his visit, Newsom spoke with members of the Yurok Tribe and learned about the importance of this project to the entire community. He said it was “an extraordinary project, a holistic project that has its origins in what we’re trying to do.”
The governor even planted a redwood tree on the uplands restoration site.
The Prairie Creek Restoration effort is enhancing 0.8 miles of the creek and restoring 18 acres of riparian and wetland floodplains. Revegetation will minimize invasive plant species and establish sustainable native plant communities and wildlife habitat.
The governor’s salmon strategy has six primary tenets: removing barriers and modernizing infrastructure for salmon migration; restoring habitat; protecting water flows in key rivers at the right times; modernizing hatcheries; transforming technology and management systems, and strengthening partnerships.
