Wednesday April 9, 2025
Lost Coast Outpost —
After more than ten years of meticulous planning and collaboration among local landowners, government officials, tribes and environmental scientists, the Redwood Creek Esturary Restoration Project is finally gaining momentum.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Humboldt County officials will host a public meeting at the Orick Community Hall at 4 p.m. on Wednesday to discuss next steps for the estuary restoration project, which aims to revitalize critical habitat for threatened and endangered salmonid species in Redwood Creek.
“This week’s community meeting intends to introduce the Redwood Creek Estuary restoration study to members of the public that are not involved in the study through the Redwood Creek Estuary Collaborative,” Joél Flannery, senior project planner for the Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District, wrote in an email to the Outpost. “We also hope to gain valuable insights and engage in conversation about the estuary, drainage impacts and restoration visions.”
The restoration project would undo decades of ecological degradation caused by the earthen levee system that runs through the heart of Orick. Originally designed to control flooding along the lower 3.4 miles of Redwood Creek, the levees have “reduced the size, complexity, and ecological function of the estuary,” according to the project’s description.