Big Creek Area

More salmon. More wildlife. Thriving rivers.

Even more reason for local pride, increased property values and a return of the rivers we remember from way back when. That’s the intent behind Return of the Redds, an exciting new collaboration between the North Coast Watershed Association, local landowners, the forest products industry, nonprofits, state and federal agencies all united around a common goal: To revitalize the once abundant Big Creek watershed and chum salmon populations.

Why Chum?

Because chum are some of the hardest workers of the salmon family and their aggressive spawning behavior can actually help repair lower watershed health. Historically, they returned here by the thousands and, after creating their “redds” and spawning, their carcasses fed everything from eagles and bears to the very chinook, coho and trout that define our great community.

what’s the plan?

Our plan begins by connecting with landowners to better understand localized watershed conditions. We hope to collect community feedback, share information and begin a watershed-scale stream assessment to better understand how river flows are interacting with the landscape. As we move into the future we aim to work with voluntary landowners to implement projects that could benefit their land management goals and improve watershed health at the same time. Throughout these efforts, NCWA will be networking with timber companies, stakeholders and watershed councils to build healthy ecological processes into the future. Fact: we can’t do any of this without your support.

Where do landowners come in?

To determine where and what watershed improvement activities will benefit the river most, we need to gather more information on the current state of the river. If you’d like to participate, granting NCWA temporary access to your section of streambank allows us to conduct the stream survey. Participation is voluntary and there is no commitment to anything beyond the stream assessment, but we hope you’ll be as excited as we are and join us in our efforts to bring more salmon back into the river.

Have Questions? Want to Volunteer?

We’d love to answer any questions you have, tell you about volunteer opportunities or sign you up for our emails to let you know the latest news on RREDDS. Jump to our contact page to fill out form and we’ll be in touch soon!