Table Of ContentBLM LIBRARY
88047895
HONEYDEW CREEK
WATERSHED
ANALYSIS
Honeydew Creek Watershed Analysis
A report on the fourth largest tributary to the Mattole River
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Bureau of Land Management
Areata Resouree Area
lip-
November 1996
Analysis Team:
Elaine Adams USFWS T&E species
Jentri Anders Private Social assessment
Jennifer Anthony-Wheeler BLM Botany
Dan Averill BLM Natural resources
Jennifer Bamesberger Americorps Fisheries
Bruce Cann BLM Recreation/wilderness
Tom DeMatte BLM Forest ecology
Dave Fuller BLM Fisheries
Greg Goldsmith USFWS T&E species
Steve Hawks BLM Wildlife
Hank Harrison BLM Forest ecology
Gary Pritchard-Peterson BLM King Range operations
John Price BLM Data management
Paul Roush BLM Team lead
Joanne Spitler USFWS T&E species
BLM/CA/PT-97/004+72
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Printedon recycledpaper
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Table of Contents
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE WATERSHED
1
Physical 1
Biological 4
Human 4
ISSUES AND KEY QUESTIONS 7
Watershed-Specific Issues 7
Standardized Core Questions 8
REFERENCE CONDITIONS
10
Erosion Processes 10
Vegetation 11
Species and Habitats 13
Aquatic Habitats and Fish 13
Terrestrial Habitats and Owls and Murrelets 14
Water Quality 15
Stream Channel 15
Human Uses 16
CURRENT CONDITIONS
19
Stratification of the Watershed 19
Geologic Conditions 21
Land Use Practices, General Surface Conditions, Erosion 22
System Road and Trail Network Overview 31
Fisheries and Aquatic Habitats 35
Species Occurrence and Life History Requirements 35
Habitat Conditions 37
Plant Communities, Fire, Terrestrial Wildlife Habitats 40
Vegetation Conditions and Processes 40
Fire Frequency, Suppression, Management 42
Terrestrial Wildlife Habitats 44
General 44
Land Allocations 45
Riparian Reserves 45
Habitat Conditions 48
LSOG Recruitment 59
Owl Habitat Analysis 62
Connectivity Issues 64
.
Other Species and Their Habitats 66
Survey and Manage Species 66
Human Uses 67
SYNTHESIS AND INTERPRETATION 68
Watershed-Specific Issues 68
Standardized core questions for watershed analysis 76
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROJECT PLANNING
79
Aquatic Habitat Maintenance and Restoration 79
Terrestrial Habitat Maintenance and Restoration 80
Fire and fuels management 81
Cooperative management 82
Monitoring and Data Needs 83
Appendices
A. The History and Sociology of the Human Presence in Honeydew Creek Watershed,
Mattole River, Southern Humboldt County, California, Jentri Anders, PhD.,
1995.
B. Results of the 1994-95 Non-vascular Plant Survey for the Honeydew, Bear Creek, and
South Fork Bear Creek Watersheds, David L. Largent, PhD., 1996.
C. Honeydew and Bear Creek Restoration Plan, pp 7-10, Natural Resources Management
Corporation, 1996.
D. California Wildlife Habitat Relationships legend.
List of Maps
Map 1. Location 2
Map 2. Land Status 20
Map 3, Stream Crossings 24
Map 4. Landslide and Erosion History (1947) 27
Map 5. Landslide and Erosion History (1966) 28
Map 6. Landslide and Erosion History (1992) 29
Map 7. System/non-system Roads 30
Map 8. System Roads 32
Map 9. Interim Riparian Reserves 47
WHR
Map 10. Vegetation Types (1992) 55
Map 11. Vegetation Types (1948) 56
Map 12. Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl Suitable Habitat (1992) ... 57
Map 13. Marbled Murrelet and Northern Spotted Owl Suitable Habitat (1948) ... 58
Map 14. King Range Late-successional Forest Connectivity 65
11
List Of Figures
Figure 1. Monthly Precipitation 3
Figure 2. Annual Rainfall 3
Figure 3. Reference Serai Stages 11
Owl/MAMU
Figure 4. Reference Habitat 14
Figure 5. Salmon Escapement 35
Figure 6. Stream Elevations 39
Figure 7. Estimated Serai Stages 40
WHR
Figure 8. Bear Trap 51
WHR
Figure 9. Eastern Watershed 52
WHR
Figure 10. Upper Watershed 53
Figure 11. Owl and Murrelet Habitat 54
Figure 12. LSOG Habitat Recruitment 59
Figure 13. LSOG Habitat Recruitment (Upper Watershed) 60
Figure 14. LSOG Habitat Recruitment (Eastern Watershed) 61
Figure 15. LSOG Habitat Recruitment (Bear Trap) 63
List of Tables
Table 1. 1948 Soil-Vegetation Mapping and Serai Stage Estimates 13
Table 2. Land Status 19
Table 3 Road Mileage and Stream Crossings 23
Table 4. Herpetofauna Occurrence 37
Table 5. Predicted Salmon Habitat by Stream Gradient 39
Table 6. Geomorphic Stability 48
Table 7. Wildlife Habitat Relationships and Serai Stage Estimates 50
Table 8. Wildlife Habitat Relationships for NSO and MaMu 51
Table 9. Owl Territory "Take" Analysis 63
111
Chapter One
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE WATERSHED
PHYSICAL
The Honeydew Creek watershed lies in southwestern Humboldt county in the California Coast
physiographic province ot northern Calilornia (Thomas 1993). Honeydew Creek public lands
are within the boundaries of the King Range National Conservation Area. The headwaters drain
north and east slopes of the King Range with the watershed boundary along the crest of the King
Range approximately three miles from the ocean. It is the fourth largest tributary of the Mattole
River with its conlluence % mile southeast of the village of Honeydew eight miles inland from
the coast. The Northwest Forest Plan identifies the watershed as a portion of the King Range
Late Successional Reserve and as a Tier-1 Key Watershed in its entirety (USDA, USD! 1994).
The watershed contains 11,001 acres of which 7,670 acres (70%) are public land managed by
the Bureau of Land Management, Areata Resource Area.
The Honeydew Creek landform is typical of much of the King Range and its environs. It is an
extremely steep and dissected topography. Elevations range from a high of 4,087 feet on King
Peak at the head of the Upper East Fork, to 340 feet at the confluence with the Mattole. The
drop occurs over a distance of just over 5 miles, a straight-line gradient of nearly 15%. This
steepness is reflected in the stream morphology. Stream channels are typically V-shaped and
gradients in the smaller channels typically exceed 15%. The lower three and one-half miles of
the mainstem and a short reach at the confluence of the East Fork are the only channels with
gradients of less than 3%. High-gradient tributaries transport sediments which are deposited and
stored in the lower mainstem. The watershed exhibits a high stream density, the seventeen
square mile area containing 193.9 miles of perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral stream channel
averaging 11.4 miles of stream for each square mile of the landscape.
The dramatic topography is a product of intense seismic activity and has some of the highest
uplift rates in California rising as much as ten feet per thousand years at Cape Mendocino. The
collision of three tectonic plates offshore from Cape Mendocino and the myriad of subsidiary
faults results in frequent earthquakes reported at the rate of one to three per day. Numerous
earthquakes of magnitude four or greater occur each year with damaging earthquakes on the
average of every three years (Dengler et al. 1992). The continuously growing mountain chain
of the King Range tends to oversteepen slopes. The uplifted mountains are a collection of
marine sediments consisting of serpentine mixed with volcanic material (MRC 1989). As they
are uplifted, these sediments are folded and mixed creating a parent material which is
incompetent, breaking down easily and being highly subject to erosive forces. Mass wasting and
chronic surface erosion, particularly on disturbed sites, is common. Geologic mapping
completed by BLM in 1995 indicates that 43% of the watershed is geologically "unstable" and
another 12% is "potentially unstable" (Granfleld Associates 1995).
Honeydew Creek WulersheilAnalysis I
MAPI
HONEYDEW
CREEK
WATERSHED
LOCATION
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HtmeydewCreekWatershedAiwtysis 2
Climate can be broadly described as Figure 1
"Mediterranean" in terms of rainfall Monthly Precipitation
distribution. Winters are wet and cool, and
WilderRidge
summers very dry and hot with virtually no
precipitation. Nearly all rainfall occurs
between October and April (Fig. 1). The
location and topography of the King Range
result in a high degree of orographic
(terrain-induced) lifting of storms
approaching the coast, causing intense and
heavy rainfall. Rainfall exceeds 100 inches
annually and occasionally exceeds 200
inches (Fig. 2). The total amount of
precipitation combined with the
occasionally intense and prolonged rainfall
events brings flood or near-flood events to
the watershed frequently. Twenty-four hour rainfall totals on Wilder Ridge on the eastern
boundary of the watershed periodically exceed 16 inches. Though almost entirely occurring as
rain, precipitation in the form of snow occasionally occurs at virtually all elevations.
Accumulations are rare with the exception of higher elevation shaded aspects along the King
Range crest where moderate accumulations may persist. "Rain-on-snow" events rarely exhibit
the catastrophic flooding in Honeydew Creek as occurs in other more inland northcoast
A
drainages. coastal climatic anomaly associated with the King Range is the general absence
of summer fog, a condition responsible for
Figure 2
the absence of redwood along this section of
the California coast. Evidence of strong Annual Rainfall
prevailing offshore wind patterns is found on WilderRidge
ridgetop trees. "Flagging", or the wind-
induced pattern of limb development on
ridgetop Douglas-fir, point westward
indicating an easterly flow. This wind pattern
carries warmer inland air into the King Range s
during the summer months. ^
The combination of the dynamic geology,
generally unstable and erosive soils, and very
high and concentrated precipitation greatly
increase the sensitivity of the watershed and
its resources to various land use practices.
Honeydew Creek WatershedAnalysis 3
BIOLOGICAL
The public land within the watershed is allocated as Late Successional Reserve in the Northwest
Forest Plan and exhibits a nearly continuous forest cover. Public lands within the watershed are
93% forested. The type is described as "mixed evergreen" with Douglas-fir as the dominant
conifer species. Typically, forest stands include Douglas-fir in varying densities as the overstory
component with tanoak and madrone understory. Other species in the mixed evergreen forest
include bigleaf maple, California laurel, Pacific yew, chinquapin, and canyon live oak. Some
drier sites within the watershed support scattered sugar pine. The mix of species is largely
dependent upon soil type, moisture regimes, slope, aspect, etc.; however, the serai stage
distribution throughout the watershed reflects the effects of fire, both natural and human-
induced, and of land use practices. Most late successional forest stands occur near stream
channels.
Wildlife species are typical of forested regions of the Pacific Northwest. Game species induce
black bear, California quail, blue grouse, band-tailed pigeon, gray squirrel, and feral pig.
Federally listed species include northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, peregrine falcon, and
bald eagle. Three owl territories are known in the watershed. No marbled murrelets have been
observed. Peregrines and bald eagles have been observed but are not known to nest. Other
"species of concern" known or suspected are the southern torrent salamander, northern red-
legged frog, tailed frog, western pond turtle, red tree vole, goshawk, and pileated woodpecker.
The watershed is a Key Watershed under the Northwest Forest Plan and supports four
anadromous and one resident fish species. These include steelhead, chinook salmon, coho
salmon, Pacific lamprey, and three-spined stickleback. Coho salmon and steelhead are proposed
for federal listing as threatened.
No known federally listed plant species occur. The Northwest Forest Plan lists species which
require additional management considerations beyond standards and guidelines for the general
land allocations. These species are known as "Survey and Manage" species and include vascular
and non-vascular plants, bryophytes, amphibians, mammals, mollusks, and arthropods. The
vascular and non-vascular plants have been surveyed in the King Range. Of the several hundred
vascular and non-vascular plants identified, one vascular and 5 non-vascular plants are from the
Survey and Manage list. (See Appendix B)
HUMAN
Little is known about the indigenous peoples of the Mattole watershed. The original inhabitants,
the Sinkyone and the Mattole, respectively, occupied the Mattole headwaters and the lower main
stem. Tribal boundaries are often unclear in the literature, but apparently the Honeydew Creek
watershed included a possible boundary between these two peoples, though various reports
indicate that the Wailaki, inhabitants of the Eel River watershed, also utilized the Honeydew
Creek watershed (Baumhoff 1958, Kroeber 1960). There is evidence that the Wailaki travelled
Honeydew Creek WatershedAnalysis 4
