Childs Meadow: Restoring the Deer Creek Headwaters
Restoring Habitat with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Proposition 1 Grants Program
(Cover Photo: Childs Meadow; CDFW photo by Edda Eggeman)
Project Vicinity
Childs Meadow forms the headwaters of Deer and Mill Creeks, both of which are strongholds for Spring-run Chinook salmon, a federally and state-listed threatened species. The meadow was used for cattle ranching for over a century with extensive timber harvest from the 1940s to the 1980s. Cattle ranching and timber harvest activities have degraded the stream and meadow quality at Childs Meadow. The impacts to Childs Meadow reduce the water quality downstream.
Quick Facts
- Project Proponent: Point Blue Conservation Science
- Focus Habitat/Species: Montane Meadow
- CDFW Grant Support: $374,588
- Location: Tehama County, 40 miles east of Red Bluff
- Scale: 348 acres
- Timing: Estimated completion date December 2021
- Funding Source: Proposition 1
- Priority: Protect and Restore Mountain Meadow Habitat
Quad showing location of Childs meadow (Basemap Source: © ESRI, all rights reserved)
The restoration action at Childs Meadow aims to improve water quality for spring-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead that spawn downstream. Restoration will also improve habitat for the Cascades Frog, the Willow Flycatcher, the Greater Sandhill Crane, a variety of neotropical migratory birds, and the Tehama deer herd that utilize the meadow.
Post-Construction wetland in a meadow (CDFW photo by Edda Eggeman)
The project will develop a shovel-ready restoration plan for the 348-acre meadow. Project activities include data collection, baseline performance monitoring, restoration designs for priority areas, and complete permitting for implementation. This project will integrate with a Sierra Nevada Conservancy and CalFire project that is treating conifer encroachment into the meadow.
For information about other CDFW funded Deer Creek restoration projects, please visit the Deer Creek Overview StoryMap or see these links:
- Deer Creek Restoration Projects Overview
- Lower Deer Creek Flood and Ecosystem Improvement Project, Phase 1
- Stanford Vina Fish Passage Planning and Design Project
- Deer Creek Irrigation District (DCID) Dam Fish Passage Improvement Project
- Lower Deer Creek Falls Fish Passage Improvement Project
- Deer Creek Irrigation District: Ditch System Master Plan
To see other Project Highlight StoryMaps like this one, see: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Watersheds/Project-Highlights
For Information on Proposition 1/68 Projects, please see: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Watersheds/Restoration-Grants/Projects
For further information, please contact: WatershedGrants@wildlife.ca.gov
