Dutch Bill Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed March 9, 2011 north-flowing

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 the hills of western

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

, which empties into the Russian River at

Monte Rio Monte Rio (Spanish: ''Monte Río'', meaning "River Mountain") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California along the Russian River near the Pacific Ocean. The town of Guerneville lies northeast of Monte Rio, and Jenner is to ...

about from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Course

Dutch Bill Creek parallels the Bohemian Highway from the town of

Occidental Occidental may refer to: * Western world (of or pertaining to) Places *Occidental, California, a town in Sonoma County, California, US * Occidental Park (Seattle) Other uses * Interlingue, a constructed language formerly known as Occidental * Oc ...

to Monte Rio. It originates just north of Occidental and descends to the north. Lancel Creek enters from the east just south of the town of

Camp Meeker Camp Meeker is an unincorporated community, Sonoma County, United States, located on the Bohemian Highway, between Occidental and Monte Rio. It has approximately 350 homes on properties ranging from a couple thousand square feet to many acres, ...

. Dutch Bill Creek continues through Camp Meeker, where it turns to the northwest, receiving the outflow of Baumert Springs. Alder Creek, Grub Creek, and Duvoul Creek enter from the right. Then the creek flows through Westminster Woods before feeding into the Russian River at Monte Rio, just west of the

Bohemian Grove Bohemian Grove is a restricted 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) campground at 20601 Bohemian Avenue, in Monte Rio, California, United States, belonging to a private San Francisco–based gentlemen's club known as the Bohemian Club. In mid-July each year, ...

History

"Dutch Bill" Howard (born 1823) was a Danish seaman who jumped ship at

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 ...

in 1849 and started a new life as a homesteader near the source of this creek. In the 1870s, the

North Pacific Coast Railroad The North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC) was a common carrier narrow-gauge steam railroad begun in 1874 and sold in 1902 to new owners who renamed it the North Shore Railroad (California) (NSR) and which rebuilt the southern section into a standar ...

was built through the valley. In return for donating right-of-way to the railroad, Howard received a lifetime railway pass and got a station named after him.

Habitat and pollution

As of 2000, Dutch Bill Creek and several of its tributaries supported

steelhead trout 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 ...

. As of December 2001, one year class of Wild Coho Salmon have been spawning in Dutch Bill Creek. In 2002 Dutch Bill Creek has been part of the captive broadstock program and since 2006 juvenile coho have been released in DBC as a part of this program. In 2000 recommendations to improve salmonid habitat in Dutch Bill Creek were made following a 2007 habitat inventory conducted in accordance with the methodology presented in the California Salmonid Stream Habitat Restoration Manual. In 2009, the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District (GRRCD), working with the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District, removed the Camp Meeker Dam which had been identified as one of the worst barriers to salmon and steelhead passage in the Russian River Watershed. Camp Meeker Dam had been built in the 1950s to create a seasonal swimming hole and beach area. In place of the dam, a prefabricated 80 foot steel pedestrian bridge was installed, improving public access across the creek, and stream banks were stabilized and revegetated, along with creation of a more natural meander and grade change. These improvements will help return the natural transport of gravel from upstream and provide better fish habitat. The GRRCD also removed a culvert barrier to fish passage at Market Street in nearby

Occidental, California Occidental is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2010 census, down from 1,272 at the 2000 census. History Founded in 1876, Occidental was a stop on the North Pacific Coast ...

Bridges

Dutch Bill Creek is spanned by several bridges: * Main Street in Monte Rio crosses on a pair of concrete continuous slabs built in 1953 and 1975 * Fir Road in Monte Rio crosses on a steel bridge built in 1974 * Market Street crosses on a concrete culvert built in 1958 * Bohemian Highway crosses 5.4 miles south of State Route 116 on a concrete slab built in 1935.

References

External links