McLean grants benefit Eel River watershed
Local watersheds in the Eel River Valley and Southern Humboldt County will benefit from five grants recently awarded by the McLean Foundation.
Grant recipients are the Eel River Recovery Project and Friends of the Van Duzen, the Salmonid Restoration Federation, Mattole Restoration Council, Friends of the Eel River, and Friends of the Lost Coast.
“It was such a great pleasure working with these different organizations throughout the grant application process and learning the many ways they are implementing projects to better our communities and our environment,” McLean Foundation grants director Denise Marshall said.
The Next Generation is the title of the project to be funded by the grant awarded to the Eel River Recovery Project and Friends of the Van Duzen. This grant will be used to merge the environmental projects of both groups including the placement of temperature probes in both the Van Duzen and Eel rivers, with the Fortuna Creeks Project, a program based in the science program at Fortuna Union High School.
“I’d say that of the community service opportunities available to students, the Fortuna Creeks Project was impactful in many ways,” said McLean Foundation Board member Chris Broadstock. “It (has) showed just how close our local creeks are in location to our everyday lives.”
Grant funding will pay for training participants in the Fortuna Creeks Project in the placement and retrieval of temperature probes in both rivers and assisting with water monitoring activities for students in grades 6 — 8 both in the classroom and in the field.
In a letter of support for the grant, Fortuna Creeks Project advisors Jacey Spies, Mark Thom, and Gloria Valdez said, “This grant will allow us to broaden our work with the environment and provide students with a more in-depth, realworld experience in the fields of environmental science.”
A portion of this grant will also support continued discussion and planning for the Lower Eel River Salmon Parkway, including building a trail and creating a habitat restoration showcase from Fortuna to Loleta.
The McLean Foundation grant to the Salmonid Restoration Federation will be used for Redwood Creek and South Fork Eel River planning and outreach. The project is also to include collaboration with other restoration partners including the Watershed Stewards Program. The primary goal of this project is to enhance stream flows between the months of May and October.
Friends of the Eel River will receive a McLean Foundation grant for a project titled Free the Eel River. This grant will help cover the costs of launching a public awareness and education campaign about removal of dams on the Eel River and continuing regular meetings regarding the Potter Valley Project with organizations representing recreational and commercial fishing, Native American tribes, Humboldt County, and other nonprofit groups.
The Mattole Watershed Council has received a grant from the McLean Foundation to be used to update the Mattole Integrated Watershed Plan, a 10-year restoration plan originally completed in 2009. This plan sought to improve watershed health, assessed current conditions, proposed goals, and included a specific list of actions to be taken during the next 10 years.
The McLean Foundation grant to Friends of the Lost Coast is for Lost Coast Phenology Project Leader Training. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life. The plan is to revive a currently dormant phenology program in the King Range National Conservation Area and potentially establish additional sites in the Lost Coast and redwood region.