Stemple Creek Watershed

Watershed Description

The Stemple Creek watershed is a sub-watershed of the Bodega Bay watershed, in Marin and Sonoma Counties. It lies approximately 40 miles northwest of San Francisco. Nearby cities include Petaluma, Cotati, and Rohnert Park, all within 5 miles of the eastern end of the watershed, and Santa Rosa, about 10 miles north. The watershed’s area is about 32,980 acres, or 51.5 square miles. Its east-west length is about 14 miles and its north-south dimension ranges from 3 to 6 miles. State Highway 1 crosses the watershed about 4 miles east of its outlet.

Stemple Creek flows westward through the watershed to its estuary, the Estero de San Antonio. The Estero empties into Bodega Bay, a broad indentation in the Pacific Coast. The Estero is an important coastal resource and is included in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

The watershed is characterized by rolling coastal hills, most with slopes of 30 percent or less. Slopes are generally steeper in the western part of the watershed. The hills flanking the creek’s valley on the north and south are higher than those across its eastern end. Elevations range from sea level at the mouth of the Estero, to about 300 feet at the eastern end of the watershed, 700 feet along the northern boundary, and 850 feet along the southern boundary.


Watershed Goals and Objectives

The following goals and objectives are taken from the Stemple Creek/Estero de San Antonio Watershed Enhancement Plan (July 1994):

  • Encourage the local community to take the lead in developing and implementing enhancement projects;Fencing Project In Stemple Creek
  • Assist agricultural producers with practices that promote the conservation and enhancement of natural resources;
  • Reduce pollutants entering Stemple Creek and the Estero;
  • Reduce soil erosion;
  • Encourage environmentally-sound management of rangeland;
  • Conserve and enhance existing natural habitats;
  • Restore the riparian corridor;
  • Develop a long-term monitoring program; and
  • Support agriculture as a major land use in the watershed.

Current Projects and Funding

  • The NRCS, along with local support from MRCD and SSCRCD, have begun a five-year effort to study the collective environmental benefits of government conservation programs on agricultural land. Through the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), the Department of Agriculture will study the environmental benefits of conservation practices implemented through 2002 Farm Bill programs. CEAP is composed of two basic parts:
    1. a nationwide assessment of conservation benefits;
    2. and more in-depth studies of these benefits in 20 selected watersheds.

    • In-depth studies within eight special-emphasis and 12 benchmark watersheds will occurEstero de San Antonio flooding simultaneously with the national assessment and other on-going watershed research efforts. NRCS selected the special-emphasis watersheds to address specific concerns such as manure management on animal feeding operations, water use on irrigated cropland, drainage management, wildlife habitat and riparian restoration.

    • These watershed studies should help develop performance measures for estimating soil quality, water quality and wildlife habitat benefits for specific conservation practices.

  • SSCRCD and MRCD, through the NRCS, have applied for funding through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 83-566, as amended). The Final Watershed Project Plan and Environmental Assessment has been completed and submitted to the NRCS National Office for consideration of funding. The funding will be utilized to improve water quality through reducing contaminated runoff, improving riparian habitat, and reducing erosion and sedimentation. Copies of the plan are available for review at our office.

Accomplishments

  • The Stemple Creek Watershed Enhancement Plan was completed in 1994.
  • Beginning in 1996 and continuing into 1997, the RCD completed a number of fencing projects for riparian habitat enhancement and erosion control for property owners along Stemple Creek. Project partners included Partners for Wildlife, the Sonoma County Fish & Wildlife Advisory Board and the Coastal Conservancy.
  • In 1996, the RCD developed a model Dairy Construction Plan with landowners, McClelland and Moretti, with 319(h) funds from the SWRCB.

STRAW in action

  • From 1998 through 2004, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has granted $595,998 in Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds for watershed enhancement projects.
  • Another RCD partner, STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed), created the "shrimp club" to assist local efforts in restoring habitat to enhance viability of the California Freshwater Shrimp. This internationally known and award-winning project features locally led conservation, student-driven eco-study and service learning. In total, six miles of Stemple Creek has been restored collectively by these partners.

©2004 Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District