Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 9, 2011 year-round

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

in southern

Marin County, California Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...

, United States. This watercourse is also known as Corte Madera Creek, although the actual stream of that name flows into San Francisco Bay further north at Point San Quentin. This watercourse has a catchment basin of about and drains the south-eastern slopes of

Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...

and much of the area in and around the town of

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 census. Mill Valley is located on the western and ...

; this stream discharges to

Richardson Bay Richardson Bay (originally Richardson's Bay) is a shallow, ecologically rich arm of San Francisco Bay, managed under a Joint Powers Agency of four northern California cities. The Richardson Bay Sanctuary was acquired in the early 1960s by the N ...

History

Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is named for the Spanish ''corte de madera'' meaning "a place where wood is cut". In this case the wood was cut for the building of the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

. In 1834, the governor of

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish a ...

awarded to John T. Reed the first land grant in Marin,

Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to John (Juan) Reed. Corte Madera del Presidio means the "lumber mill of the Presidio". The grant enco ...

Watershed

The Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio watershed drains of the southeast and east flanks of

. Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is joined by long Old Mill Creek on the right in Mill Valley. Old Mill Creek, and its long Cascade Creek tributary, both begin high on the south flank of the east peak of

. Cascade Creek has a small dam and reservoir which was built by noted engineer Michael M. O'Shaughnessy for The Tamalpais Land & Water Co. for water supply to Mill Valley. The other three named tributaries of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio are Reed Creek (flows through Homestead Valley), Widow Reed or Widow Creek (flows down East Blithedale Canyon), and Warner Creek The stream's discharge location, into

occurs within the

municipal Bayfront Park. The Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio enters

from the west via

Bothin Marsh Bothin Marsh is a wetland in Marin County, California. Parts of the wetlands are in the Bothin Marsh Open Space Preserve, a regional park. Natural history The marsh, positioned at the northern arm of Richardson Bay is fed by Arroyo Corte Madera ...

Ecology and Conservation

Historically, the Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio (Mill Valley) watershed was used by

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

(''Oncorhynchus kisutch'') for spawning and rearing. In the late 1800s, coho salmon and steelhead trout were commonly seen swimming up Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio ("called Widow Creek, Corte Madera Creek and Arroyo Corte Madera Creek, at different times") flowing through Blithedale Canyon. The last record of coho salmon in Marin County tributaries to

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

was on September 18, 1981 when Dr. Rob Leidy reported collecting two juveniles from Corte Madera Creek and two from Old Mill Creek.

NOAA Fisheries The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the stew ...

has identified both Corte Madera Creek and Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio as critical habitat for coho salmon. In its 2004 "Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon" the

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is a state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages and protect ...

recommends restoration of Arroyo Corte Madera's historic coho salmon habitat. This is one of only two San Francisco Bay Area streams considered in the Department's Strategy to be essential to the recovery of coho salmon in California. Cascade Dam, located on Old Mill Creek above the confluence with Cascade Creek, was constructed in the 1870s and is a complete barrier to upstream fish passage to steelhead/rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') and

. A 1965 stream survey indicated presence of steelhead/rainbow trout within of the dam. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife Stream Inventory Report in 2009 recommended that Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio be managed as an anadromous, natural production stream for salmonids. A 1990 study indicated the

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

of upper

below the discharge of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio to be impaired by high

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

and

coliform Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non- spore forming Bacilli that possess β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature of 35-37°C. They can be aerobes or facultative ...

levels; This same study indicated that Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is subject to periodic

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing. Slightly further upstream the stream winds through moderately dense single family development, with backyards offering terraces and decks on the banks of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio. A private organization, the ''Mill Valley Streamkeepers'', is active in research and conservation of this creek. Some historic information about Arroyo Corte Madera concerning

and fish

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is found at the KRIS (Klamath Resource Information System) website.

Fish stream surveys

The first recorded stream survey occurred in the year 1946; this survey by the

found some healthy

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...

''(Oncorhynchus mykiss)'' within the stream.Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio watershed stream surveys
/ref> The next Department of Fish and Game survey transpired in 1963, finding numerous steelhead of lengths varying between and ; this survey concluded that the lower of the creek represented an important nursery and rearing habitat for steelhead and possibly for

Coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...

. The next survey in August 1965 concluded that the habitat was an excellent resource, with deep shaded pools and an average of 75 steelhead per of lineal stream. In 1984, steelhead were still found to be present. A 1991 stream survey documented the historical presence of Coho salmon. The next survey in 1994 found abundant steelhead, ranging from densities of 0.1 to 0.6 fish per square yard (0.1-0.7 per square meter). The 1997 stream survey found densities of steelhead ranging from seven to twelve fish per 100 lineal feet (30 lineal meters), depending on stream reach.

Role of Mill Valley Streamkeepers

The Mill Valley Streamkeepers is a private

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization established to promote

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

, awareness and

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

of streams in the Mill Valley area. This group includes scientists and laymen and has participated in the following specific studies involving Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio: *''Feasibility Study to Rehabilitate the Fishery Resources of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio'' *''Bio-assessment of four Marin County Watersheds'' *''Macroinvertebrate Sampling and Identification Study, Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio and Old Mill Creek'' *''

Salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

oid Habitat Survey and Erosion Survey, Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio and Old Mill Creek'' *''Preliminary Fish Barrier Culvert Modifications and Flood Assessment, Arroyo Corte Madera/Old Mill Creek, Mill Valley, California *''Index of Sediment Impairment to Stream Habitat in the Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio Watershed, Marin County, California''KRIS Website: Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio, Sept, 2005
/ref>

Recreation

Bayfront Park features many active uses including a bicycle path, walking paths, a dog park and picnic areas. The park also features a pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the tidal portion of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio, which is the best single viewing location of the creek in its lower reaches.

References

External links

California Coastal Salmon and Steelhead Stream Habitat Distribution Table: including data for Arroyo Corte Madera del PresidioMill Valley Streamkeepers
{{San Francisco Bay watershed Rivers of Marin County, California Mill Valley, California Tributaries of San Francisco Bay Rivers of Northern California