Miller Family's Mad River Slough Dike Rehabilitation Wetlands Enhancement Project

Miller Family's Mad River Slough Dike Rehabilitation Wetlands Enhancement Project

The Miller Family has observed that the frequency of peak high tides (8 feet and greater above Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW)) over-topping dikes on their property has been increasing in recent years. This is due in part to erosion of these dikes over time and in part to what appears to be an increase in high tide elevations in Mad River Slough. The apparent increase in winter peak or extreme high tides was dramatically illustrated in 2003 (9.85 feet recorded at the nort spit) when a dike along the eastern shore of Mad River Slough breached, flooding a large area of the Mad River bottom. The Miller Family desires to maintain agricultural uses on their property. However, the Miller Family are avid waterfowl enthusiasts and they have recognized the existing and potential wetland functions and values of their land, which is why they are proposing an innovative design to integrate the rehabilitation of their dikes to prevent salt water inundation of their fields with restoration of former salt marsh habitat as well as enhancing seasonal freshwater wetland areas, and lastly restoring riparian habitat.

Arcata

Humboldt

California Coastal Commission (CCC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Eureka Region 1 (CDFW), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 1 (DOT), California Highway Patrol, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast Region 1 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of Water Resources, Resources Agency

Other (Dike and wetland enhancement)

Use Permit

Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Coastal Zone, Drainage/Absorption, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Hydrology/Water Quality, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildlife