The Laguna de Santa Rosa (or
Laguna) is the second largest freshwater marsh in Northern California. It
is called the "river that flows both ways." During heavy rains, the Laguna
flows south carrying floodwaters away from the Russian River, reducing its
flood levels. After rains subside and the tides fall, the Laguna reverses
its flow, returning the floodwater north, back into the Russian River and
eventually to the Pacific Ocean. More water enters the Laguna from a
collection of creeks, tributaries, springs, seeps and sub-surface flows.
Because of this diverse water supply, the Laguna, through primarily a
marsh, has characteristics of a stream, creek, seasonal wetland, open
water, and other aquatic habitats in various locations.
The Laguna is a major retention
basin, which is critical to reducing flood levels in the Russian River.
The watershed encompasses 250 square miles and drains the southwestern
part of Santa Rosa, the Cotati-Rohnert Park area, as well as the eastern
side of Sebastopol. Flood waters flow from the Russian River into the
Laguna, whenever the flood stage in the river is higher than that in the
Laguna, creating a temporary lake, The total flood storage capacity of the
Laguna is 80,000 acre feet at the 76 foot elevation. By comparison,
130,000-acre feet are allocated to flood control at Lake Sonoma.
Inundation of land along the Laguna may occur several times in a wet year
(Elgar-Hill, November 1983).
When floodwaters rise above the
76-foot level, the storage capacity exceeds that of Lakes Mendocino and
Sonoma combined. Without this natural flood storage area, the 100-year
flood level at Guerneville would be 14 feet higher, effectively submerging
most of the town's structures. Any decrease in the storage capacity means
a corresponding increase in flood levels. Some increased fill in the
Laguna must be expected from natural and man-induced causes, a fact which
should be considered when evaluating controllable filling of the
basin.
Some of the earliest records of
the natural environment of the Laguna area came from the first decade
after the discovery of gold. Frank Marryat, a writer and explorer, kept a
journal of his exploits from 1850-1851 in the North Bay area and his
visits to San Francisco in Gold Rush days (Marryat 1977). Bayard Taylor, a
poet and lecturer, described the beauty of natural features in the Santa
Rosa Plain during an 1859 ride to the Geysers, in New Pictures from
California (Taylor 1951).
Marryat's first impression of
the Santa Rosa valley is captured in the following comments:
Leaving (town of) Sonoma .
. .. studded with groups of oaks and flowering evergreens. . .. herds
of deer . . .. and here and there a drove of elk or antelope. (Page
12)
[M]arsh full of wildfowl. .
.. wooded plain with grasses as tall as ourselvesabounded with deer,
elk, and antelope. . .. shot all the came in our way . . ..native
horses. . .. much wild duck. . .. (Page
14)
Included in this scene were
grizzly bears, which fed on the silver salmon and steelhead migrating to
spawning gravels throughout the Mark West Creek, Santa Rosa Creek, and
Laguna de Santa Rosa watersheds.
One of the most dominant
aspects of the early Laguna environment was oak woodland vegetation.
Marryat, from a high spot on the west side of the valley, reported a
"thickly wooded plain extended for miles" - on one side bounded by
mountains, on the other . . .. the winding Russian River." (Page
22)
On a trip through the valley on
the way to the Geysers in 1859, Bayard Taylor wrote of the oaks:
As we got out of the shabby
little village of Santa Rosa, I perceived we were already in the Russian
River Valley. Its glorious alluvial level, sprinkled with groves of noble
trees, extended far and wide before us. . .. The greater part of the land
was evidently claimed and the series of fenced and cultivated fields on
either side of the road was almost uninterrupted. It was melancholy to see
how wantonly the most beautiful trees in the world had been destroyed; for
the world has never seen oaks as grown in the Russian River Valley. The
fields of girdled and blackened skeletons seemed doubly hideous by
contrast with the glory of the surviving trees. (Page 28).
From these accounts, it is
clear that the Santa Rosa Plain and Laguna were much different than today.
More trees and marsh were present; waterfowl and wildlife
abounded.
Natural Functions Provided by the Historic Laguna Ecosystem
The original natural plant and
animal communities in the study area functioned as integrated units in the
larger ecosystem, roughly defined by watershed boundaries. Matter and
energy originated from the peaks and slopes of the upper watershed beyond
the study area, flowed through the Laguna ecosystem and accumulated in the
Laguna floodplain. There, the vast, swampy riparian forests and freshwater
marshes removed or transformed them into organic form, acting to improve
downstream water quality by reducing the quantity of nutrients available
for algal blooms (Mitsch and Gosselink 1986). Organic matter produced by
riparian and marsh plants was a key source of energy for detritus and
filter-feeding organisms at the base of the food chain leading to native
fishes of the Russian River and Laguna system.
The freshwater marshes of the
Laguna functioned similarly to those of the riparian forest wetlands. The
marshes functioned as a nutrient sink; transforming inorganic nutrients
brought in from the watershed into organic compounds, which were flushed
into downstream riverine ecosystems during high flows. This organic export
was utilized as an important supplement to the base of the food chain in
the Russian River. Other nutrients became bound in sediment of the marsh
and were removed from short-term cycling in the ecosystem.
Freshwater marshes are among
the most heavily producing ecosystems in the world. The increased food
availability served as a resource when the surrounding oak woodland was
senescent during the summer. The number and variety of niches may have
been less than the riparian forest, so diversity of species was less.
However, freshwater marshes provide essential habitat elements for
waterfowl and shorebirds, which do not frequent riparian wetlands. This
perennial freshwater marsh represented the most limited habitat in the
study area. Relatively small acreage of open water bodies interspersed
with marsh vegetation was very attractive for waterfowl. Without the
freshwater marshes, the waterfowl component of the Laguna area would have
been greatly diminished.
The oak woodland/vernal pool
complex surrounding the wetlands of the Laguna ecosystem provided an
extensive seasonal resource dominated by availability of acorns and
grasses. These food elements allowed large populations of herbivores to
exist on the Santa Rosa Plain. The grasses provided winter, spring and
early summer forage for the antelope, elk, and deer herds. Acorns
supplemented this feed and also sustained bears and a number of small
mammals such as gray squirrels and ground squirrels, which in turn were
prey for eagles, hawks, coyote, fox, badgers and bears. The grain resource
supported rodents and rabbits, which also served as prey. The large
herbivores were likely preyed upon by cougar, grizzly bear and wolves.
Turkey vultures joined the carnivores to feed on carrion.
These woodlands would come into
productivity earlier in the spring because soils warmed sooner and were
not saturated as long as those of the wetlands. The deeper porous soils
would absorb rainwater and release it slowly to surface water of the
streams. The vernal pools acted as a buffer to heavy rains, storing water
that otherwise would have run off directly into the Laguna and increased
its flood-peak. These pools also acted as seasonal wetlands, prolonging
the usefulness of the dryer grasslands by supplying water and growing
forage. Migratory waterfowl utilized the aquatic food resource of the
pools, with resident mallards nesting in adjacent grasslands. Mallards,
pintails, wood ducks, and other birds would feed on the abundant acorn
crops, as would deer, elk, bears, raccoons, rodents and other
mammals.
Changes to Laguna Ecology
By 1859, permanent changes to
the landscape of the Laguna area had been affected by the coming of
Europeans and the resulting agricultural conversion; but man had already
altered the vegetation before the arrival of any whites in the
area.
Use of Fire
Vegetation and habitats of the
Laguna ecosystem had been subject to a millennia of disturbance at the
hands of the indigenous Native Americans. The following account indicates
the local Pomo Indians had a large effect on the landscape through the
practice of burning:
The rainy season was
approaching and the heat became occasionally intense. At times, the
Indians would fire the surrounding plains, the long oat-straw of which
would ignite for miles. The flames would advance with great rapidity,
leaving everything behind them black and charred. . . The Digger Indians
burn the grass to enable them to get at roots and wasp nests; the young
wasps being a luxury with them (Marryat 1977; page 36)
The effect of this practice
would be to suppress the establishment of woody plants, except those, like
oaks, can regenerate from a tap root. Even so, fires would remove the
weaker trees and hinder establishment so that the woodland remained
relatively open and park-like. Despite this inhibitory effect, the plains
would appear much more like a woodland than the scattered trees, which
make up our savanna today.
Hunting of Wildlife and Waterfowl for Sustenance and Commerce
Much of the food supply for
residents and visitors to the Laguna area came from the hunt, which
apparently was accomplished with ease:
The wild fowl came over in
heavy flight and settled in our vicinity. The geese were in incredible
numbers; white and grey geese and brandts. Of ducks we had several
varieties, and I regret that I failed, from want of materials, in my
endeavors to preserve specimens of them. The geese are very easily shot
when they arrive, soon become very wary (Marryat 1977; page 33)
Before long, commercial hunters
appeared on the scene to supply the hungry citizens of Gold Rush San
Francisco. One market hunter bagged 6,200 ducks in 1892 (LeBaron 1987). As
reported by Dodds (1976):
Deer and antelope brought
twenty dollars each delivered to the waiting boats on the headwaters of
Petaluma Creek. The hind quarters of a fat elk was worth $40, and even
quail sold for $9 a dozen. Ducks were worth a dollar each and bear meat
jerked or fresh was a staple in the gold rush diet. Some elk and grizzlies
could be found far back in the hills of the county until the 1870's, but
the valley populations were quickly exterminated.
The combined effect of the
market hunters had decimated waterfowl to such a degree by 1897 that a
local gun club prevailed on the Board of Supervisors to outlaw commercial
hunting (LeBaron 1987). But by this time, the composition of the Laguna
ecosystem had changed and the diversity of species had diminished
greatly.
Introduction of Cattle and Loss of the Native Prairie
A drastic change to the
vegetation of the Santa Rosa Plan was the conversion of the native
grassland vegetation after cattle were introduced on the scene. Although
feral horses and cattle had probably invaded Sonoma County in the late
1700's, soon after the Spanish colonization of California, the impact on
grasslands became significant after General Vallejo granted essentially
all of the Santa Rosa Plain to the Carrillo family in 1837 (LeBaron 1987).
The family controlled all the land from Rincon Valley on the east to
Laguna de Santa Rosa on the west. Making up the remainder of the Santa
Rosa Plain were Rancho San Miguel to the north and Cotate Rancho to the
south.
The lifestyle practiced by
these early settlers varied greatly form that of the Native Americans, who
were often coerced to work on the ranches. The pastoral life of the
Californios, remembered as giving early California much of its romantic
charm, introduced a use of the land centered on a cattle export industry.
Longhorn cattle were raised primarily for hides and tallow, which were
shipped to Mexico. Although this practice (in which the bulk of the animal
was discarded) benefited the carrion-feeding wildlife, the native grasses
were reduced by grazing. The original Santa Rosa Plain grassland was
dominated by a mix of perennial bunchgrasses and annual forbs. The
longhorns, and later varieties of cattle, quickly destroyed the forage
base of native grasses, which were not adapted to such heavy use (Heady
1988; Bartolome 1987). In their place, new plants, survivors of thousands
of years of livestock use in a climate similar to California's arrived
from the Mediterranean.
Deforestation of the Oak Woodland
At one time, much of the Santa
Rosa Plain was covered by a mantle of oak woodland, varying in density
from forests to open savanna. Settlers looked upon the trees as a resource
to be exploited, or a problem to be removed. Many trees were girdled, a
practice in which all the living tissue (i.e., the outer layers) of a tree
trunk was removed in a ring around the trunk, to make way for wheat fields
(Taylor, 1951). Taylor attributed the practice to people known as "Pikes",
a term referring to settlers from Missouri, Arkansas and adjacent areas.
He sums up the Pike attitude to trees as follows:
[H]e has an implacable
dislike to trees. Girdling in his favorite mode of exterminating them;
but he sometimes contents himself with cutting off the largest and
handsomest limbs. When he spares one for, the sake of a little shade
near his house, he whitewashes the trunk. (Page
13).
Commercial harvesting also
diminished the extent of oak woodland on the Santa Rosa Plain. Evidence of
the extent of this harvest can be seen in typical railroad shipment data
from the little village of Fulton in 1878:
9000 cords firewood
1000 cords tanbark (oak used in
tanning leather)
150 railroad carloads of
charcoal. (Dodds 1976)
At times the valley must have
been under a pall of smoke from charcoal production. Another secondary
impact of this denudation was increased erosion of hillsides. The sediment
loads would foul spawning grounds and accelerate sedimentation of the
Laguna lowlands. Evidence of accelerated sedimentation continues to the
present, with recent fences subject to burying during peak runoff events.
The increase in flooding led to pressure on local officials and landowners
to begin flood control and channelization projects, which further
exacerbated the loss of important wildlife habitats.
This history of deforestation
since the days preceding the arrival of European man follows a pattern
described by Soule (1986) for Mediterranean climates world-wide, in which
deforestation leads to the development of savannas and eventually deserts.
This final desert state in the Laguna area has been avoided because of the
availability of water for irrigated pasture and crops.
Cultivation
In 1851, Marryat returned to
Santa Rosa after a winter's sojourn in the Russian River and found the
Carrillo family departed in the wake of Yankee progress and its
accelerated capitalist economy. The days of the vaquero and the
Californios were over. Instead, in 1853, Jacob Miller brought out most of
the Carrillo family's Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa and subdivided it among
ambitious wheat farmers. The rest of the ranchos soon followed the same
fate, and grain carpeted large acreages of the Santa Rosa Plain. Many tons
of wheat were shipped from Petaluma at this time (LeBaron 1987). In 1915,
most of the production of wheat and oak grains was from the Dublin clay
adobe (Clear Lake clay) in the area referred to as the "Cotati Valley"
(Watson et al. 1917). This use of the land converted what was once
a vast seasonal and perennial wetland complex into intensely managed
cropland (described further in the section on drainage, below). By this
time, the production of grain was used mostly for hay, and was exported
because volumes exceed local need; a situation reversed today.
Former areas of grain crops on
better soils were converted to higher cash crops such as fruit trees
(especially prunes, plums, pears and peaches), wine grapes, and some
walnuts and hops in alluvial areas of the major drainages.
Channelization of Creeks and Wetlands
Grains were planted in much of
the Cotati valley, as the more productive soils went to other agricultural
uses. These soils developed under marshy conditions (Helley et al. 1979),
and were considered the most marginal soils for cultivation in the Santa
Rosa Plain area. An 1867 map, the earliest known map of the Laguna, shows
the creeks tributary of the upper Laguna disappearing without defined
channels into the wetlands of the Cotate Rancho. By 1877, the area had
been traversed by the San Francisco and Northwestern Pacific Railroad and
two of the major creeks draining the west slope of Sonoma Mountain,
Copeland Creek and Crane Creek, showed defined channels crossing the
Cotati Valley and connecting directly with the Laguna de Santa Rosa on the
western side of the valley. By 1915 these channels had been further
straightened. The construction of the railroad likely prompted the need to
drain the east side of the tracks, in order to prevent the creation of a
miles-long dam restricting outflow from the Sonoma Mountain. This effort
worked in tandem with the local desire to increase productive use of the
land, thereby draining a large acreage of what was once a vast seasonal
and perennial wetland.
In 1915 these wetlands
conservatively totaled approximately 1,400 acres. Technically, only the
wettest, most saturated areas were depicted on these maps; seasonal
wetlands were probably not considered. A comparison with the latest USGS
map of the Sebastopol quadrangle (USGS 1980 shows a much reduced area of
the map symbol for swamps and marshes present; an indication of changes
which have occurred to Laguna wetlands with the passage of time.
In 1945, a USFWS biologist
surveyed the Laguna (McBride 1945, in Cardwell 1958), and reported that
"at times, the Laguna area is one continuous body of water as much as 10
miles in length and ranging in width from a few hundred feet to as much as
1.5 miles locally". He goes on to state that "[e}vapotranspiration occurs
on a large scale along the Laguna de Santa Rosa at the western side of
Santa Rosa Valley in a swampy area that varies in size with seasonal
rainfall conditions but averages about 1,000 acres during the summer."
Study of 1941 aerial photographs in the local Soil Conservation Service
office in Santa Rosa reveals that at least 500 acres of riparian forest
(i.e., forest which occurs along a waterway's edge and separates it from
surrounding marshlands) had been cleared before McBride's survey (Waland
1989), by local farmers wishing to increase cultivated acreage along the
boundaries of the Laguna floodplain. Evidence of accumulated woody debris
and buried charcoal at shallow depths is widespread in the Laguna today,
including areas in which the cleared forest has reappeared (Waaland,
unpublished field data). Only 272 acres of this riparian forest exist
today (Waaland 1989).
Most of the recent clearance of
the Laguna channel was a direct result of a channelization project
undertaken in 1966, which the SCWA implemented for agricultural drainage
purposes (SCWA 1960). The SCWA undertook the project at the urging of
local farmers (de Mars et al. 1977). Eight miles of pilot channel
with a 100-foot right-of-way was excavated from Occidental Road to one
mile north of Guerneville Road. From this point to River Road, the Laguna
was channelized as a result of the efforts of local farmers.
Need for Restoration
Past agricultural and urban
development have adversely affected the Laguna. Riparian forests and oak
woodlands have been cleared, past flood control practices have negatively
affected the Laguna, and waste disposal practices have affected water
quality. Even though a significant portion of the Laguna habitats have
been lost or degraded, much remains. The remnant habitat must be protected
against further loss, and restoration must occur to damaged
habitat.
According to the March 1997
Russian River Action Plan published by the Sonoma County Water Agency,
there is a need for "...preservation, restoration, and enhancement of
riparian, oak/vernal pool/grassland, and historic wetland habitat in the
Laguna de Santa Rosa area." These efforts will "...improve water quality,
improve integrated flood plain management, maintain and enhance native
habitat values, assist recovery of plant and animal species, enhance
scenic values and coordinate resource management." (Russian River Action
Plan, page 18).
Recent Restoration and Protection Efforts
Citizen efforts to protect and
restore the Laguna began in the 1970's, including in the City of
Sebastopol. Lands of the Laguna directly adjoin the City of Sebastopol. In
1986, the City of Sebastopol appointed a broad-based citizens advisory
committee regarding the Laguna. This committee produced a comprehensive
report in 1988. Continuing these efforts, in 1990, the City initiated the
development of a master plan for restoration of the Laguna in the vicinity
of Sebastopol. The Laguna de Santa Rosa Master Plan was adopted by the
City Council in 1992.
In 1998, the City Council funded preparation of a Laguna
de Santa Rosa Wetlands Preserve Implementation Plan for City-owned
land. These plans will be the basis for actual construction
of improvements and restoration projects in Sebastopol. Using
a $400,000 donation from Emmett Blincoe, a local resident,
and contributions from other members of the community, and
in a cooperative effort with the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation,
the City started construction of the first elements of the
Preserve in November 1998, and completed these improvements
in January 1999, using plans prepared for the Implementation
Plan. The City successfully obtained restoration grants from
the State Wildlife Conservation Board, and the Sonoma County
Fish and Wildlife Advisory Board. In addition, through sponsorship
of Assembly Member Virginia Strom-Martin, the City obtained
a $95,000 grant from the State of California for construction
of an outdoor classroom for environmental education. The fourth
place of implementation involved the City's successful application
for a $258,300 Coastal Conservancy grant for a loop trail,
restoration, a trail guide, and a wonderful interpretive poster.
Contributions to this phase were also made by the Barlow Company.
In 2003, a major turnout of Americorps volunteers and Laguna
Keepers resulted in the completion of a new "primitive"
trail segment, the "Americorps Trail."
Volunteers as well as workers
from Americorps and the California Conservation Corps have conducted a
number of Laguna cleanup and non-native plant removal events, which also
performed an important educational function. Using volunteers from the
community, over 1000 native trees and shrubs were planted for this project
in Fall 1998. More work was accomplished in 1999, including additional
trails, a wetland enhancement project, development of a seasonal floating
trail bridge, and an outdoor classroom as well as planting of hundreds of
additional trees, shrubs, and grasses.
The City of Sebastopol's Laguna
Wetland Preserve is the only publicly designated natural park in the
Laguna. While there are scattered restoration efforts and projects by
other entities such as the State Department of Fish and Game, the City of
Santa Rosa, and the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, the City of
Sebastopol's Wetland Preserve is the only area specifically designed for
public access and passive recreation and educational uses.
The City expects its modest
beginning to act as a lightning rod for efforts in the entire watershed to
restore, protect, and provide public access.
The Laguna Preserve is expected
to be of particular utility for area schools. In addition, the Laguna
Preserve is expected to attract visitors from throughout Northern
California and beyond. The Laguna is one of the premier bird-watching
areas in Northern California. By providing public access to the Laguna and
education about it, this project will facilitate access to persons within
and well beyond Sonoma County. In addition, the improvements are designed
to be accessible to the elderly, the disabled, and with no cost of
admission, the economically disadvantaged.
For More Information
Copies of the City of
Sebastopol's
Laguna de Santa Rosa Park Master Plan
(two volumes)
are available at the Sebastopol Planning Department, 714 Johnson Street,
Sebastopol, and are also on reserve at the Sebastopol Regional Library at
7140 Bodega Avenue in Sebastopol. The Master Plan has extensive
information about the Laguna, as well as setting forth broad plans and
policies for that portion of the Laguna adjacent to Sebastopol.
