Goat Mtn. & John Olmsted
  

 

Goat Mountain

Watershed Restoration Program

  
  
 
 
 
 

 

 

GOAT MOUNTAIN / CACHE CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION PROGRAM ‘JOBS-IN-THE-WOODS’ GRANT

©1997-2002

Watershed Habitat Restoration

Final Report of Project Completion

California Institute of Man in Nature, Across California Chapter, Post Office Box 1026, Nevada City, California 95959

Project Co-Managers, John Olmsted and Stephen Hein

 

ORIGINS

As part of its biodiversity / restoration transect along the arc of approximately 39 Degrees 15' North Latitude, California Institute of Man in Nature (CIMIN) has begun preserving an exceptional geo-ecological headwaters area of Cache Creek, Lake County, California (12 miles north of Clear Lake). By 1993, CIMIN had miraculously purchased the dominant 660 acres* for this Goat Mountain Ecological Staircase (as twin for its Jug Handle Staircase effort on the Mendocino Coast). Conjunction of this "Ancient Landslides" project with the immense 1996 Fork Fire in Mendocino Forest catalyzed application for a USFWS Jobs-In-The-Woods Grant entitled GOAT MOUNTAIN / CACHE CREEK WATERSHED RESTORATION PROGRAM.

* 30 long suffering Conservation Lenders are holding the Lovelady, Root, White Ranch and Addington Homesteads for funding that is only now in sight in 2003-2004. CIMIN's 1993 purchase of 660 total acres was for $420,000.

 

ABSTRACT / SUMMARY Project Description

CIMIN's $150,000 Goat Mountain/Cache Creek restoration grant in 1997-2002 focused on:

(1) restoring wetlands and adjoining uplands impacted by stock-spread weeds from 1890-1930s homesteading;

(2) minimizing habitat damage of the 1996 Fork Fire to the hundred wetlands, seeps and stream segments; and

(3) enhancing future wildlife/resource benefits while maintaining Aquatic Objectives in the Northwest Forest Plan.

Employees were hired from nearby timber-dependent communities, mainly in 2000 & 2001, to complete the project objectives on the ground. Through the substantial and cooperative efforts of all parties, including some trees from Mendocino National Forest, the project successfully facilitated the cataloguing, mapping, photographing, restoration, protection and enhancement of aquatic, riparian, and adjacent upland habitats. This benefits aquatic, prairie and forest-dependent species, with scientific and educational dividends.

Project Actions. More than a mile of East Fork-Wyman Creek received key road crossing, streambed and bank stabilization (pool creation, former bed recovery, headcut stabilization and bank stabilization/reinforcing to stop cuts in meanders). Fourteen acres of wetlands and 4 miles of riparian streambank have been enhanced through 90-100% per site removal of over 60,000 bull thistles and thousands of common mullein, salsify and cut-leaf blackberries; while 1.2 miles of in-stream habitat have been restored/enhanced.

Five miles of logging roads have been decommissioned, re-seeded, re-routed and/or converted to narrow road/trails for monitoring, management and ecological investigations. An additional ten acres of marsh-border, prairie and woodland have been enhanced through oak sprout thinning (instead of original contour felling plan), and by oak seedling transplant, pine planting, competitive species reduction, and removal of recent invader exotics like Star Thistle.

Over 950 wetland, prairie and forest plant species have been collected and identified. Seventy-five (75) of the most important are filed for permanent reference at U.C. Davis Herbarium. Cobb Mountain Lupine (L. sericea, only the 2nd known site) and Rayless Cone Flower (Rudbeckia occidentalis, wetlands disjunct) have returned in large numbers. Grape Fern is at only one wetland,(otherwise rare in Lake County). All of these have been enhanced by removal of exotics.

Habitats have been maintained for existing populations of western pond turtle, foothill yellow legged frogs and pacific giant salamander (former 2 are species of concern, latter is an elevational extension). Panoramic photos include landslide overviews and fire succession as part of an educational appendix to the project report.

 

INTRODUCTION

Introducing the site's 'geo-ecological' credentials begins with understanding CIMIN's 35 year mission, Goat Mountain purchase and legal problems, plus fiscal and health impacts which have resulted.

Owner Mission and Project Purchase. California Institute of Man in Nature (CIMIN)) was founded in 1968-69 "to restore a living thread of landscapes Across (Northern) California". This has included the following:

(1) A west-east John Muir Across California Re-Creation Trail* allowing Californians in the 21st century to experience the ecological diversity that existed in John Muir's day from Coast to Sierra and to the Nevada Desert.

*After 35 years of buying parks for the trail, a 300-mile trial walk of Mendocino-Tahoe Trail South was completed Sept. 5-27, 2002.

(2) Tahoe-Pacific State Heritage Corridor* between parks realizing Frederick Law Olmsted Jr's scenic corridors element for 1920s and 1940s State Park System Plans, including survey and purchase of missing link landscapes.

*After Mendocino-Tahoe Open-Space Surveys 1968-75, CIMIN has saved missing link parks for Trail/Highway 20 corridor purposes, catalyzing major Mendocino Coast and Yuba River State Park complexes including the 39-mile Wild and Scenic South Yuba River.

(3) a 39th Parallel Biodiversity* Corridor made of formal or functioning geo-ecological research natural areas.

*Including CIMIN's Jughandle and Goat Mountain Ecological Staircases and Yuba River Parks, all biodiversity treasurehouses.

To fulfill purposes (1) & (3), CIMIN purchased Goat Mountain/Cache Creek "headwaters homesteads" in 1992-93. At the time of purchase, these 1890s Lovelady Ranch western homesteads had reverted towards wildland status, and were largely surrounded by untouched old-growth USFS Ponderosa Pine and Sugar Pine forests.* A small but significant number of baseline photos preceded the immense 1996 Fork Fire, whose fire-storm razed 25,000 acres in final weekend including precious old-growth trees and wetland trees within and adjoining CIMIN's new 660 acre Goat Mountain/Cache Headwaters Reserve.

*Not found so far south in Coast Ranges, including State's(?) oldest sugar pine.

Expensive Legal Victory. But in 1994, the tax-escaping* former owner sued CIMIN to take back the 660 acres. The Carpenter vs. CIMIN/Olmsted lawsuit was based on Carpenter dissatisfaction with only 250% resale profit. A tax-purpose post-sale appraisal had shown increased value via doubled ponderosa pine timber values/1992-93, also due to an after-sale USFS survey that added a $200,000 north Addington old-growth pine triangle to CIMIN.

*Carpenter's 1992-93 taxes in 1996 court testimony had back-dating & 35,000+ deductions in a non-business. And after receiving $55K/7/92, he reported a $300K marijuana crop on property, claiming it's someone else's, a probability now looking highly unlikely.

The resulting five years in court*, etc. involved intense overwork and stress for CIMIN founder Olmsted**; compounded by an unjust but non-appealable Appellate Court decision denying CIMIN/Olmsted as winners any of their $250,000 legal fees or $100,000 each of other damages. This unjustified debt has caused years of problems.

*Without help of now-Humboldt-County Assistant District Attorney, Tim Stoen, CIMIN and Olmsted would have lost by default. Stoen was heroic.

**A further result of the stress was a Prostate Cancer 200 PSA count on Sept. 1, 1999 (after the Jobs-In-the-Woods Grant had begun).

The 1996 Fork Fire

Beginning 10 miles west and burning 10 days till the last week of the court trial, the 90,000-acre Fork Fire climaxed at SW face of Goat Mountain in late August 1996. Dry grassland "glades" acted as stellar fire breaks for North Slope forests at White Ranch, Wyman and Addington Creeks, but immense areas became natural clearcuts, killing 400 year-old pines and oaks, and vastly diminishing the pre-fire wildlife habitat diversity.

1997-2002 Grant

Upon undertaking a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Jobs-in-the-Woods Application in 1997 with the predominant help of Earl Brown of Ukiah (with JITW experience), California Institute of Man in Nature appointed John Olmsted, Plant Ecologist and Stephen Hein, Surveyor as co-project managers for the grant. The former would be the field supervisor and the latter would handle mapping aspects and payroll., while James Hannah coordinated office activities. The prostate cancer + fiscal impacts of the "expensive legal victory" were not yet apparent. These delays would not be allowed to prevent overall completion of the project.

 

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AREA

Statewide Setting. The exceptional geo-ecological headwaters of North Fork Cache Creek, Lake County, is part of CIMIN's biodiversity transect along the arc of approximately 39 Degrees 15' North Latitude across Northern California. This Mendocino-Tahoe Biodiversity Transect links Mendocino Coast, Clear Lake, Sutter Buttes plus surrounding state and national wildlife refuges, a 30,000 acre Yuba Foothills Landscape, the 39-mile South Yuba Wild and Scenic River and the Donner/Castle Peak area leading to Donner Lake and North Lake Tahoe.

Along this decathlon of geo-ecological landscapes, Clear Lake represents one of the most ancient of North American lakes, yet holds Pleistocene-erupting Mount Kenocti on its southern side. 300,000 acres of a Cache Creek/Putah Creek Inner Coast Range Open Space Planning Area proceed east and south along main Cache Creek from Clear Lake. Twelve miles north of Clear Lake lies Goat Mountain, southernmost high peak in the Inner North Coast Range, with its southwest slope Landslides as the highest head-waters of North Fork Cache Creek.

Northeasterly Surroundings: 6120' Goat Mountain is a triple watershed divide draining NE to Red Bluff, SE to Woodland and NW to Eureka. The adjoining NW to SE 20,000 acres include North Fork Cache Creek Study Area, Snow Mountain Wilderness, Little Stony Creek CRMP and Frenzel Creek Research Natural Area (serpentine). The rainshadow public/private lands just East, at the foot of Goat Mountain Road (main site access road) have uncommon California Juniper and Cypress species with associated rare butterflies. Professor Robert Shapiro of U.C. Davis has been studying the butterflies of the Goat Mountain to Mendocino Pass Area for over 25 years and finds it one of the three most diverse state butterfly areas, all on 39 Degrees North Latitude.

Goat Mountain/ Cache Creek Headwaters. Capping the 6000' crest area of Goat Mountain is a significant White Fir Forest and a limited amount of Jeffrey Pine representing the Canadian Life Zone. Under the trees, North and NE slopes include some of the oldest, rarest rocks from the Franciscan series of California's Coast Ranges. Watersheds running west from the western shoulders of Goat Mountain plus its Southward Knife Ridge of Goat Rock and 5700' "Saddle Mountain" (CIMIN's name) are, north to south: Rice's Fork Eel River, Root Creek from Addington Springs (highest headwaters), Wyman Creek (two forks), White Ranch Creek, Ladybug Creek and Hospital Creek. From a "panoramic bend" west of Wilson's Camp turnoff, one looks North at the main mass of Goat Mountain, with Ladybug Creek below, its north ridge coming down from Saddle Peak's SW flank from the right.

Goat Mountain's Cache Creek Headwaters Slides. Possibly 1/2 million years ago a "Richter 9.5 Cascadia Quake" may have struck Goat Mountain's crystalline knife ridge (toppling a bit from Clear Lake's downdropping to south?). Giant Twin Stairstep Slides from East and North (2 miles X 4 miles) thundered down to detour Cache Creek. From South Panoramic Bend above project gate, one first notices a bald (termed "Glade"), part-way-up Saddle Peak, one of the higher steps of the 11-step giant East Slide, most of which started Wyman and White Ranch Creeks anew, and a bit of East Slide forming the new head of Ladybug Creek.

Stretching from the Gate West and North of Ladybug Creek's head below us, the first of four 1890s homesteads (1870s Lovelady Ranch's 4 sons) is a mile by 1/4 mile E-W slice of the East Slide. Driving west to the barren northwest ridge of Ladybug Watershed, we see upper-steps of North Slide coming from Goat Mountain's 6000' shoulder, still outlined post-fire by 300-800 year "Rim of the Giants" ancient forest* of Sugar Pine, Ponderosa, and Canyon Oak. Below, Root, Wyman and White Ranch Creeks dissect the two slides, some like miniature rivers on a glacier's back.

*Big Bertha Sugar Pine may be oldest in state. The 2 Wyman Creek forks join West of South Root 80, splitting the Slides Junction in two.

This geo-ecological study area with 660 acres of embedded homesteads includes approximately 1400 acres of surrounding Mendocino National Forest. The latter possesses the best ancient pine forests, shares the best oak forests, the streams and rare and disjunct plant and animal species, while the homesteads possess the vast majority of Glades and Wetlands (especially 5 landslide-graben wetlands nestled at the bottom of an extremely chaotic North Slide riser, leaking old streambeds into rare jewel-marshes amid dry chamise brushland and knobcone forests). Smaller wetlands dot both Landslides including many dozens of springs feeding the four streams.

Discovering Goat Mountain Ecological Staircase, 4/23/92

A century after the Lovelady sons homesteaded Goat Mountain's Giant Slides (as wetlands and grasslands for sheep and cattle), a dozen* CIMIN trekkers finally discovered and partially recognized an East Goat Mountain Ecological Staircase for natural science. Like the first naturalist's descent of Jughandle Ecological Staircase in November of 1969, this first Goat Mountain trek would jump-start preservation efforts for another major volume for the 39th Parallel Library of California Landscapes.Whereas, Jughandle Staircase has 1 mile x 1 mile steps, 100 feet high, Goat Mountain's East Slide has steps a half mile long and 400 feet high. CIMIN's nine day Mendocino to Malakoff Trek of 1992 involved a dozen 6th day hikers in a 40 mile car shuttle letting 'up-and-down-staircase" parties to trade keys at a heavenly 2nd Step wildflower garden. The 6 wild miles of wilderness traversed included 7 Steps of East Staircase and 4 miles of Cache and Soap Creeks. Evan Evans and Pieter Myers led the "down-hikers", but neither they nor John Olmsted had ever trod the middle 3 miles.

*Up-hikers: John Olmsted, Muir actor Frank Helling, Oakland Museum Docent Sally Symon & 3 Oceansong Staff including D. Berman

Up East Slide/Staircase with Discoverers

Six of us ferried Evan Evans truck from Bear Valley to Bartlett/Crabtree Road, then hiked down Soap to Cache Creek. Here Mexican to Canadian Life Zones spanning 4000 miles South-North are compressed into 4 miles West-East (4000' up from an 1875' junction of N. Fork Cache and White Ranch Creeks to 5800' Saddle Mountain). East Slide SE base has San Diego wildflowers like Chia (Salvia columbaria='chia pet'). These near-desert wildflowers and low Chaparral plants grow on Cache Creek 1st Step stream terraces (1950') with 105 Degree (F) summer temperatures adjoining lowest slopes of East Staircase 1st Riser. After traversing lush ferny Canyon Forest and crawling through deer hunter's trails choked by Chamise, the 6 Up-hikers emerged in a misty paradise of light green deer pastures covered with a descending galaxy of white popcorn flowers and blue lupines at East Staircase 2nd Step (2600').

Wispy clouds back lighted occasional 300 year Ponderosa Pines at their lowest limit on the East Staircase Second Step. Lost in a Niagara Falls of blue and white flowers above us, down the draping landslide slopes from what seemed a great distance above and way off among the flowers were Evan, Pieter, Annie and friends. Misty clouds to right and left partially masked the old growth Douglas Fir and Canyon Oak in White Ranch and Wyman Creeks (bears, deer and coyote can all be seen with binoculars on this 2nd Step from the 3rd, 4th, or 6th steps above). Now at our heavenly lunch among dew-bedecked tightly-curled poppies, we switch car keys. Finally, in winter's last drizzle, we ascend to 7th Step (4200') where our own vehicles magically await us.

White Ranch and Wyman Creeks Bound East Staircase. Lush north-facing slopes of Douglas Fir Forest line White Ranch & Wyman Creeks where Yellow-legged Frogs (Rana Boylei) and Pacific Giant Salamanders live at higher than their usual range. Immense Alders, Maples, and Oregon Ash shelter Aralia California and Woodwardia chain ferns, with Mimulus Cardinalis hummingbird gardens in sun clearings. A spring half way up East Wyman Creek (South Root 80A) possesses a localized Grape Fern colony (Botrychium). In ragged slide-top canyons that dissect the more-or-less consolidated East Landslide walls, natural erosion locally threatens ancient Douglas Firs and Canyon Live Oaks (plus 1 lowest elevation White Fir). USFWS Grant bank stabilization has saved 15 big trees. 1 x 1/2 mile of steep stepless upper Wyman Creek gulches divides upper East Staircase from upper North Staircase.

East Staircase 1st & 2nd Step Risers(2050'-3050'). On the rocky slide materials North towards Wyman Creek, 90% Chamise up from Cache Creek becomes Knob-cone Pine Chapparal above the 2nd Step. An unexplored wetland (2350') may be fed by the small wet meadow at 2550' fed by White Ranch Glade Spring. A 50' mini-riser to main 2nd Step has the densest spring flowers, bordered by Fire-survivor Ponderosa Pine. At 2800'-3000' is an Ancient Blue Oak Forest up to 400 year old. Ancient Gray Pines share this Foothill Woodland, but the1996 Fire killed old Ponderosas. Spectacular displays of blue-purple Lupine, pink Bird's eye Gilia, white Popcorn Flower and Caespitose Poppies are seen in late April, painting both 2nd and 3rd Step Risers (2700'-3400'). They cascade down like a technicolor wildflower Niagara that has refracted out of pure white light from ephemeral snowfalls. Varying rainfall times in different years may influence proportions of white, blue, pink or gold. Tiny gray moths visit white blood-sapped Popcorn Flowers (Plagiobothrys nothofulvus). The moth must have ears. It flees at camera shutter clicks.

Edging the Third and Fourth Steps is an old Canyon and Kellogg Oak, Bay-Laurel and Douglas Fir Forest draping into Wyman Creek. But the Slide falls more steeply into White Ranch Creek southward. The 4th step's top edge is lined by Buckbrush plus 3 highest Blue Oaks (3500'). A long narrow 5th Step meadow was lined in pinkish Gilias (May 21st - late spring of 2003) beneath one of the ten largest Ponderosas on Goat Mountain (5.5 feet in diameter). Rising to the Section Quarter Corner one passes an immense Canyon Oak, slide-suspended above East Wyman Creek.

At East Staircase 6th Step (Wyman Flat 3700'), a main lower camp area was established in 2000. A wooded hill west of the Flat (up to 3790') seems to be a splash from the giant east landslide event. A possible smaller aftermath landslide event down the steep switchback-road slope (6th Step Riser), left several small mounded hills in the Flat, one forming the hill for Two Oaks Camp, damming Wyman Creek as it crosses East Slide. It's the recent breaching of this natural dam by Wyman Creek that may have created the headcut treated by the USFWS grant, saving some of the 4' diameter Alders. Judging mound counts, there seem more gophers on 2nd and 3rd steps than here at the 6th Steps' gray-green soil. Adjoining spring sites possess large Trilliums in rushes (Juncus) in full 98 Degree June sun.

Chaparral-Knobcone-Blue Oak Woodland/California Foothills Life Zone, 1st to 3rd Steps (1850'-3400').

Ponderosa-Kellogg Oak Belt/Oregon to Washington Life Zone is mainly on 4th to 9th Steps (3400-5400').

Upper White Fir/Canadian Life Zone (5400-5800'), increased White Fir + Jeffrey characters in Ponderosa Pine.

(Perigrine Falcon nest on South knife ridge (5600') looks out over moister coast ranges to west and rainshadow hills east to Great Valley.)

Features of North Staircase 10 Steps:

1) Largest steps are at higher elevations, including 4300', 4600' and 4800'.

2) Some uppermost flats have large broken rocks implying far more recent rockfalls than the age of the main Slide.

3) The flats are more likely to have wetlands or forest or both, except at 4 acre Addington Glade/meadow (4600').

North Staircase is bounded by Wyman Creek and Addington Springs/Root Creek. Although 4 Lovelady sons homesteaded the Cache Headwaters Slides in 1893, by 1913 all except the mile-long East Lovelady

(1) were sold;

2) the square SW 160A to White,

3) the 2 off-set NW 80Acres to Root and the square N 160A to Addington.

According to Victor Ledbetter the Root Family daughter around 1915(?) used to ride her horse to Twin Valley for high school across North Fork Cache Creek. But she had to cross Wyman Creek and descend the East Staircase because the North one was a dead end point between the deep canyons of Root/Addington and Wyman Creek Falls.

North Slide's 10 steps have less glade-forming gravel than East Slide, but perhaps more clay. Resulting(?) wet meadows and depressions are on the Addington Homestead (Steps 5-6 at 4200'-4600'), and at "slide-graben wetlands" of the North Root 80 Acres (Step 3 at 3100'-3250'). As visited from south to north the latter are: (1) Upper Root Glades (Homestead area) , (2) Bear Wallow Marsh, (3) Great Vernal Pool, (4) Lesser Vernal Pool, (5) 3 Walnuts Marsh (cattail swamp) feeding (6) Lower Hidden Springs (wet/dry) Meadows.

The Addington wetlands are (SE-NW): (1) an old wet/dry meadow, 1/2 dammed between 2 slides and made into Ledbetter Pond, (2) Indian Flat's gravelly coneflower gardens draining into (3) Fallen Fir Marsh (spring, shallow pond, vernal pool), (A4) Hanging Marsh and (A5) Addington Glade wet and dry meadows fed by 7-10 lily garden headwater springs.

Uncommon Staircase Plants: The SW Goat Mountain upper North Slide between 4200’ and 4800' is the world's only other known site for Cobb Mountain Lupine (Lupinus Sericata). How it colonized the new landslide except by bird transportation from 4500' Cobb Mtn. 30 miles to the south would be hard to imagine. Its distinctive wide silver felt leaflets and lavender flowers are a June 1st treasure beneath "Big Bertha", the nearly 8' Sugar Pine whose dry site could make it 750 or more years old, perhaps the oldest one anywhere. The NW California swamp thistle (Cirsium Douglasii) reaches 8 feet high. Its unshowy flowers serve Monarch Butterflies, etc. as late as October. The rayless Coneflower (Rudbeckia Occidentalis) is disjunct from NW California mountains (a few on Hull Mtn.). And rare Bottlebrush Sedge must have come on a duck or Virginia Rail foot to 3 Walnuts Marsh where it's found. The overall floral diversity on the Slides may be less than expected*, but habitat diversity appears to be far greater.

*From 2600'-4800' Squawbush (Rhus trilobata) occurs but almost no Poison Oak. Poison Oak's infrequency on the Slides implies slow post-Slide re-colonization for certain less mobile species, and consequent reduced overall floral diversity except in wetlands ).

Plant Inventory of Project Area