Prunuske Chatham, Inc.

These idyllic ponds are part of a complex designed and built specifically for California tiger salamander (CTS) breeding. California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) are federally listed as endangered and in California as a Species of Special Concern. They spend the majority of their lives underground in small mammal burrows but emerge to breed in ponds and vernal pools, typically between November and January in Sonoma County.

A complex of multiple ponds is needed for CTS persistence each year. The client retained PCI to develop construction drawings based on an initial design for the project, and provide biological, regulatory, construction oversight, planting, and monitoring services. A complex of three ponds was constructed which will remain inundated until late May or early June during a typical weather year but dry out by mid-summer to reduce bullfrog use. Pond spillways were designed with level spreaders to dissipate runoff into an open field to avoid a single graded channel to an adjacent creek. This will eliminate a direct connection to the waterway, which is important because predatory bullfrogs and crayfish will follow any water source to colonize new habitats.

Good fire alert! At this post-Tubbs Fire site, PCI has made plans to support future replanting of native trees and encourage natural regeneration. In this portion of the property, the plan, which encompassed the good fire pictured, looked something like this:

1. Our crew hand-pulled 90 cubic yards of broom (roots and all) after confirming that seed heads weren’t present, since broom seed can germinate from burning.

2. Under PCI forester guidance, crewmembers piled the broom per Cal Fire standards.

3. Additional hazard trees were removed for crew and public safety while leaving habitat trees in place.

4. After securing permits from Cal Fire and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, crewmembers burned the piles, clearing out the forest floor and making space for naturally regenerating trees to thrive.

Check out the new story in Bay Nature Magazine about Willow Creek, a tributary to the Russian River’s estuary in Sonoma County. PCI has participated in an ongoing, multi-pronged approach to ecological restoration in the watershed since the mid-1990s. Now, a fresh injection of federal dollars will allow Gold Ridge RCD, with PCI support, to continue working toward coho salmon habitat improvement.

A Last Best Hope for Coho in the Russian River - Bay Nature Now equipped with $8.4 million in federal money, conservationists are aiming to bring back the watershed's salmonids

Willow wattles are bundles of live cuttings bound with rope. They can be placed on contour or at the toe of a streambank to provide instant scour protection. After they sprout and set roots, they can provide long-term erosion protection by stabilizing the soil and slowing velocities while providing stream-edge habitat. PCI’s construction crew recently assembled roughly 120 linear feet of willow wattle for a streambank repair project in Sebastopol. The resulting treatment was beautiful, especially when secured against the bank between rows of live dogwood stakes.