Russian River
Coho Water Resources
Partnership

Dutch Bill Creek | Grape Creek | Green Valley Creek | Mark West Creek | Mill Creek

Mill Creek Map of the Mill Creek watershed             - click to enlarge images-     Mill Creek Streamflow Gauge Data For more information, see Mill Creek on the Sotoyome RCD website. Mill Creek is a tributary to Dry Creek, west of the City of Healdsburg in the Russian River watershed. Other major tributaries within this sub-basin include Felta, Wallace, and Palmer Creeks. Mill Creek and its tributaries drain a basin of approximately 24 square miles and has a total of 29 miles of USGS blue-line streams with an elevation gradient ranging from 1,400 ft. at the headwaters to approximately 60 ft. at the Dry Creek confluence. The watershed is primarily hardwood, chaparral and conifer forest with land use being mainly timber, rural residential and vineyards. The Mill Creek watershed is considered to be a high priority watershed for coho recovery and was identified as having some of the best summer rearing habitat in the Russian River watershed according the Russian River Biological Opinion (National Marine Fisheries Services, 2008). Water quantity was among the greatest areas of concern identified in 2002 by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG). In addition to coho salmon, the watershed supports habitat for numerous aquatic species including steelhead, sculpin, and Pacific giant salamander. Juvenile coho have been released from the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program into Mill and Palmer Creeks annually since 2004. Projects A number of resource enhancement projects addressing sedimentation, fish passage and habitat enhancement are currently being identified and developed to build upon past efforts in this watershed. Sotoyome RCD is formulating a watershed assessment and action plan for the Mill Creek watershed as a part of the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, sponsored by DFG. The plan will provide tools and resources for the stewardship of this unique watershed area. Sediment reduction on rural roads. Fish passage enhancement. Riparian vegetation enhancement. Instream habitat enhancement. Watershed Assessment and Action Plan currently being developed. 4179 Piedmont Ave., Suite 325, Oakland, CA 94611 | Email: info@cohopartnership.org | (510) 420-4565, ext. 107 Images are made available for personal use only and may not be copied, reproduced, or used in any way. © 2009-2011 Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership