Conservation Highlights
Giving Fish a Fighting Chance - Chileno Creek, Petaluma
After. Sally and Mike Gale replanted native trees along Chileno Creek to keep evaporation in check, more water in the creek, and soil in place to benefit fish and other wildlife.
"It's not just about taking care of the land ... it's also about perpetuating a family legacy."
That's Marin County rancher Sally Gale. She and her husband Mike run cattle on their 600-acre Gale Ranch tucked away among the postcard-perfect hills stretching west from Petaluma to Tomales Bay. First purchased by Sally's great-great-grandfather in 1856, Sally and Mike took it over in 1993. the state of the ranch when the Gales received it, though, wasn't what it had been.
"When we moved here, the house, the barns, everything was falling down," Sally said. "We considered calling it Falling Down Ranch." Mike added, "The nearby creek looked like a moonscape. We basically just had to start over."
Starting over meant a new life for Chileno Creek, which zigzags through their property, and for the populations of now-threatened steelhead trout that, like the Gale family, have relied on the creek for generations.
Made in the Shade
Before. A bare stretch of Chileno Creek that flows through the Gale Ranch near Petaluma left threatened trout high and dry in the summer.
In collaboration with Sustainable Conservation, the Marin Resource Conservation District and other local nonprofits, the Gales revived Chileno Creek by planting hundreds of native, shade-producing trees along their stretch of the creek. The spot had previously been a popular hangout for fish, but over the years had become barren and was dry during the summertime.
Today, the lush bower of trees prevents evaporation and allows the creek to recharge the groundwater table that lies beneath it. The trees also keep the water temperature down, essential for healthy fish, and have prevented as much as 600 tons of sediment from clouding the creek and pristine Tomales Bay, into which the creek eventually empties. Trout migrating to and from the Pacific Ocean now enjoy clear, cool water even in hot months.
"Not only is the creek wet year-round now, but I've personally seen trout nesting [laying eggs] in the creek ... something I've never seen before," Sally noted. "Neighboring ranches got interested in doing the same thing. Now, more than six miles of stream have been planted." Fish aren't the only ones returning. Native songbirds are flocking back to nest in the thick streamside vegetation.
PRBO Conservation Science biologist Tom Gardali: "The number of bird species found on the Gale Ranch has increased significantly since their restoration project began. the growing populations of the 33 bird species inhabiting the ranch tell us the restoration is really paying off."
Asked what past generations of her family think about the legacy she and her husband are leaving for the Gales, fish and other wildlife to come, Sally exclaims, "My 93-year-old mother is very proud. I wish my father were alive to see it ... he would love it."