Press Release - November 30, 2004

Bear Creek Watershed Assessment

Western Shasta Resource Conservation District
6270 Parallel Road Anderson , CA 96007
Contact: Shiloe Braxton 365-7332 ext. 212
Shiloe@westernshastarcd.org
Date: November 30, 2004

SHINGLETOWN—The Bear creek watershed assessment, started in May 2004, is currently being written. Local Bear creek watershed group members have provided a wealth of information about the area, including the smaller Ash Creek watershed, which will be incorporated into the assessment along with data from government sources and local historical societies. The assessment if due to be completed in late 2005.

We all live, work and play in a watershed. Watersheds provide water for drinking, irrigation, agriculture, industry, recreation and home for a vast array of plants and wildlife. A typical watershed is a drainage area whose boundary is defined by ridge tops, where water falling onto the ridge flows by gravity to a creek or river. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. Bear Creek is one such watershed in western Shasta County. Although Bear Creek starts as a trickle, it gets larger as water flows into it from dozens of smaller creeks, such as Dickerson Creek, Snow Creek, Sheridan Creek, Shingle Creek, Lack Creek, and Dry creek. At the end of Bear Creek where all the water in the watershed flows is the Sacramento River. Ash Creek, which is included in this assessment, is a separate smaller watershed that flows to the Sacramento River but is too small for its own watershed assessment.

The Bear Creek Watershed Assessment is an important first step in watershed planning and will help guide natural resource planners by providing historical and current environmental conditions of the Bear Creek watershed. This assessment will bring together related data from various government agencies and provide critical information on where new ecological data needs to be gathered.

A Watershed Assessment is a collaborative process that involves Community members, State, federal, and local agencies. Successful Watershed Assessments in Shasta County have been completed on Upper and Lower Clear Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Battle Creek, and Cow Creek.

Community members of the Bear Creek watershed are encouraged to attend the Bear Creek Watershed Group meetings 7:00PM every 1 st Thursday of the month at Black Butt Elementary School in Shingletown.

Funding for this project has been provided in full or in part through an Agreement with the state Water Resources Control Board(SWRCB) pursuant to the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000 (Proposition 13) and any amendments thereto for the implementation of California's Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and polices of the SWRCB, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

For more information about the Bear Creek Watershed and Watershed Assessments contact the Western Shasta RCD office at (530) 365-7332