The Butte Creek Ecological Preserve and Butte Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve consist of 2 distinct management units, the Preserve, aka the "Honey Run Unit" owned and managed by the Chico State Research Foundation, and the "Virgin Valley" and "Canyon" Units , owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The units are located east of

Chico Chico () means ''small'', ''boy'' or ''child'' in the Spanish language. It is also the nickname for Francisco in the Portuguese language (). Chico may refer to: Places *Chico, California, a city *Chico, Montana, an unincorporated community *Chic ...

along Butte Creek in northern California. This stretch of Butte Creek is spawning habitat for the largest population of Central Valley spring-run

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...

, an evolutionarily significant unit that is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead trout also spawn in the creek. The

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Department of Fish and Wildlife considers the Butte Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve valuable in terms of providing wildlife habitat and protection of critical shaded riverine and aquatic resources. The Butte Creek population of Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon is the largest and one of the few remaining self-sustaining populations in the Central Valley, and is listed as threatened under both the state and federal

endangered species act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

s. The reserves protect habitat for other species such as

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

, Swainson's hawk, beaver and the western pond turtle. At the headwaters of Butte Creek is a separate nature reserve called the Butte Creek House Ecological Reserve is managed by the

California Department of Fish and Wildlife 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 ...

(CDFW).

Reserve units detail

Butte Creek Canyon Unit

This unit is located two miles (3 km) southeast of the City of Chico and is in size. It is managed by CDFW. This unit has a high amount of non-native grasses (over 40 per cent) and several sensitive or rare plants, including California

black walnut ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south t ...

(''Juglans hindsii'') and shield-bracted

monkey flower Erythranthe, Monkey flower can refer to: *Several genera of plant family Phrymaceae, including: ** ''Diplacus'' ** ''Erythranthe'' ** ''Mimulus'' *Various snapdragon-like Lamiales, including: ** ''Linaria vulgaris'' ** ''Phyllocarpus septentrionali ...

(''Mimulus glaucescens'').

Virgin Valley Unit

This unit is in size and is also managed by CDFW. It is one half mile downstream from the Butte Creek canyon mouth on an

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

apron. This unit contains forests of

valley oak ''Quercus lobata'', commonly called the valley oak or roble, grows into the largest of California oaks. It is endemic to California, growing in interior valleys and foothills from Siskiyou County to San Diego County. Mature specimens may attain a ...

(''Quercus lobata'') growing on streamside terraces and on the alluvial aggregate.

Honey Run Unit

This unit is managed by

Chico State California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

University Research Foundation in cooperation with other agencies and is located within the Butte Creek canyon proper. It is in size. The area of Butte Creek had been used in dredge

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

from the 1800s to about 1950, and mining for sand and gravel from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 1980, a cluster development project of 75

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s was approved for the site by the Butte County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. The project was stopped by concerned local citizens with a successful ballot initiative that overturned the Butte County decision. The flood of 1986, which caused more than $13 million damage in Butte County, washed out the two bridge crossings on Butte Creek and helped start the preservation sequence of events. The bridges connected to the haul road that went from the gravel mining sites to Baldwin Construction's plant. Soon after the historic flood, the mining company sold its properties, with some parcels being bought by the California Department of Fish and Game, and one parcel (the Honey Run unit) being bought by John McAmis. McAmis contracted for a subdivision of single family homes, which was voted down by the Planning Commission, but a subsequent development plan was submitted and approved. After construction began on the property, local concerns were again raised which eventually led to McAmis willingly selling the property to Chico State University, Research Foundation.Management Plan
p.5 In 1998, CSU, Chico Research Foundation bought the parcel from McAmis with support from CSU's Office of Watershed Projects, and funds from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Board, CALFED and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Butte Creek House Ecological Reserve

The Butte Creek House Ecological Reserve is located at the headwaters of Butte Creek. It is of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

meadow and forest near the base of Snow Mountain. The site was purchased in 1986 to preserve and restore the area as a part of the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

(FERC) Project 803, the De Sable-Centerville Hydroelectric Project. This reserve is located near montane

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

, a type of plant community that includes greenleaf and pinemat manzanitas (''Arctostaphylos patula, A. nevadensis''),

bitter cherry ''Prunus emarginata'', the bitter cherry or Oregon cherry, is a species of ''Prunus'' native to western North America, from British Columbia south to Baja California, and east as far as western Wyoming and New Mexico. It is often found in recentl ...

(''Prunus emarginata'') and bush chinquapin (''

Chrysolepis sempervirens ''Chrysolepis'' is a small genus of plants in the family Fagaceae, endemic to the western United States. Its two species have the common name chinquapin. The genus occurs from western Washington south to the Transverse Ranges in Southern Califor ...

'') that grow at elevations from up to . Forested areas include pure stands of lodgepole pine (''Pinus contorta'') and

red fir ''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...

(''Abies magnifica'').Existing Conditions Report, Ch. 6- Ecology
pp 5-6

Restoration

The restoration efforts of the Butte Creek watershed by environmental groups, together with private landowners and state and federal agencies is showing results. "The restoration there I think has clearly had a measurable response," said Rob Titus, a senior Department of Fish and Game environmental scientist.Resurgence in Butte County" by Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle
May 26, 2008. The fish count of Chinook salmon in 1987 was 14. The number counted in 1998 was 20,000. During the period 1994 through 1997, several agricultural structures were removed, fish screens were installed and a new fish ladder was also installed. In addition, a minimum streamflow rate of is maintained from October 1 to June 30.Butte Creek Revegetation and Restoration Assessment Project p.3 "The spring run in Butte Creek is doing exceptionally well. "For the fish, it's a success story...", according to the California Department of Fish and Game's Harry Morse. Other restoration work has been the removal of invasive plant species including

star thistle ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...

scotch broom ''Cytisus scoparius'' ( syn. ''Sarothamnus scoparius''), the common broom or Scotch broom, is a deciduous leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe. In Britain and Ireland, the standard name is broom; this name is also used for other ...

and Himalayan

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

. Non-native plants can displace the native species, which may decrease

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and cause a loss of habitat that provide nest sites and food sources. The riparian or streamside plant areas along Butte Creek are the most vulnerable to invasive non-native plants.

Notes

References

California Department of Fish and Game-Ecological Reserves

CDFW Butte Creek Canyon Ecological ReserveButte Creek Ecological Preserve

External links

US Fish and Wildlife Service's Anadromous Fish Restoration Program website
{{Protected areas of California, SWA Nature reserves in California California State Reserves California Department of Fish and Wildlife areas Protected areas of Butte County, California California State University, Chico Sacramento River