Pescadero/Butano Watershed – A Challenge

by Lennie Roberts

The Pescadero Marsh is a wonderful natural preserve, under the stewardship of California State Parks. Like many coastal estuaries, the marsh is undergoing rapid change, as land use practices over the past 150 years have accelerated deposition of sediment in the marsh and its two streams, Butano and Pescadero Creeks.

Early settlers believed they could reap the benefits of the creeks and marsh and the adjacent uplands with impunity. They fished, hunted, farmed, and logged the huge redwoods and Douglas firs in the upper watershed. During the early 1920s, land owners built levees along the creeks, creating artificial impediments to the natural hydrology, restricting the flooding that had occurred historically over the wide valley and marsh. Today, because of the levees, creek and marsh sedimentation has accelerated, causing more frequent flooding in Pescadero and along Butano Creek. Some residents of the area are calling for drastic measures in the name of flood control and habitat enhancement-dredging Butano Creek, cutting the riparian vegetation along the banks and eradicating the non-native beavers.

This watershed has experienced a drastic decline in populations of native fish and other aquatic species, as have many coastal creeks. Six species are listed as threatened or endangered in Pescadero Marsh: steelhead trout, Coho salmon, California red-legged frog, San Francisco garter snake, tidewater goby, and brackish water snail. The fact that so many species dependent upon our coastal streams are now listed as threatened or endangered is a clear indicator of crisis.

Endangered species that inhabit the two creeks and the Pescadero Marsh where the creeks join have unique and sometimes conflicting habitat requirements. The agencies responsible for the survival and recovery of these species must proceed carefully, because they are mandated to avoid harming one species to benefit another.

A watershed-wide assessment, beginning this summer, will address the watershed’s sources of sediment, which contribute both to flooding and loss of habitat. It is very important for a more sustainable model of watershed management to address hazards and habitat, as prior studies concluded that without reduction of the sources of sediment, dredging the creeks or building more levees would quickly be overcome by new sediment doses.

Unfortunately, a year ago, the one entity that attempted to bring all groups to the table, the Coordinated Resource Management and Planning (CRMP) group for the Pescadero watershed, was disbanded due to lack of trust and respect among the participating individuals and groups.

It will take a renewed commitment from everyone interested in achieving solutions to facilitate an inclusive process. Only if all parties are involved in looking at the entirety of the watershed, and devising strategies to provide sustainable solutions over the long term, will this effort succeed. This is not an easy challenge and will require devising a plan that meets multiple goals, has a good scientific basis, avoids unintended consequences, is effective, and conserves public monies.

The Committee for Green Foothills remains strongly committed to preservation of this complex ecosystem, and we will continue to work with the parties involved for a comprehensive and sustainable solution.

Published August 2001 in Green Footnotes.