Old Mill Creek (Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio) explained

Old Mill Creek
Pushpin Map:USA California
Pushpin Map Size:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of the mouth of Old Mill Creek in Marin County, California
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:United States
Subdivision Type2:State
Subdivision Name2:California
Subdivision Type3:Region
Subdivision Name3:Marin County
Subdivision Type5:City
Subdivision Name5:Mill Valley, California
Source1:South flank or Mount Tamalpais East Peak
Source1 Location:20NaN0 northwest of Mill Valley, California
Source1 Coordinates:37.9219°N -122.5739°W
Source1 Elevation:1432feet
Mouth:Confluence with Arroyo Corte Madero del Presidio
Mouth Coordinates:37.9052°N -122.5466°W
Mouth Elevation:17feet
Tributaries Left:Cascade Creek

Old Mill Creek is a 2.3adj=midNaNadj=mid[1] year-round stream in southern Marin County, California, United States. Old Mill Creek is a tributary to Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio, which, in turn, flows to Richardson Bay at Mill Valley's municipal Bayfront Park and 106acres Bothin Marsh.

History

Old Mill Creek, as is the town of Mill Valley, is named for the sawmill there, built in 1834 by John Reed, grantee of Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio.[2]

Watershed

Old Mill Creek drains a watershed of approximately 1.86sqmi.[3] Old Mill Creek, and its 1miles long tributary Cascade Creek both begin high on the southeast flank of the East Peak of Mount Tamalpais. Old Mill Creek has a small decommissioned dam and reservoir above the convergence with Cascade Creek. The dam was built by noted engineer Michael M. O'Shaughnessy for The Tamalpais Land & Water Co. for water supply to Mill Valley.

Ecology

Old Mill Creek and its Cascade Creek tributary are spring-fed perennial streams.[4]

Historically, the Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio (Mill Valley) watershed was used by coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) for spawning and rearing.[5] [6] The last record of coho salmon in Marin County tributaries to San Francisco Bay was on September 18, 1981 when Dr. Rob Leidy reported collecting two juveniles from Corte Madera Creek and two from Old Mill Creek.[7] NOAA Fisheries has identified both the Corte Madera Creek and Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio watersheds as critical habitat for coho salmon. In its 2004 "Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon" the California Department of Fish and Game recommended restoration of the Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio watersheds' historic coho salmon habitat. This is one of only two San Francisco Bay Area streams considered in the Department's 2004 Strategy to be essential to the recovery of coho salmon in California.[8]

Steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) continue to enter Old Mill Creek and reproduce successfully, despite multiple partial fish barriers.[9] The culverted reach of Old Mill Creek beneath the post office in Mill Valley is a severe barrier to fish passage evaluation. Cascade Dam, located on Old Mill Creek 0.4miles above the confluence with Cascade Creek, was constructed in the 1870s and is a complete barrier to upstream fish passage. According to a restoration feasibility study for the Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio drainage, Old Mill Creek provides the best remaining salmonid habitat in the watershed.[10] A 2003 stream crossing and fish passage evaluation identified key passage barriers under the Post Office and at Cascade Drive.[11] A California Department of Fish and Wildlife Stream Inventory Report concluded in 2009 that Old Mill Creek should be managed as an anadromous, natural production stream.[3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 9, 2011
  2. Book: California Place Names . Erwin Gustav Gudde . 202 . 1960 . University of California Press . Berkeley, California.
  3. Old Mill Creek Stream Inventory Report . California Department of Fish and Wildlife . 2009 . October 30, 2021.
  4. Web site: Major Streams and Watersheds of East Marin . Marin County . October 30, 2021.
  5. Life history of Hesperoleucas venustus Snyder . D. H. Fry . 1936 . California Fish and Game . 22 . 2 . 65–98.
  6. Five species of salmon, Oncorhynchus, in the Sacramento River, California . Hallock, R .J. . D. H. Fry . 1967 . California Fish and Game . 53 . 1 . 5–22 .
  7. Distribution and Ecology of Stream Fishes in the San Francisco Bay Drainage . Robert A. Leidy . October 1, 1984 . Hilgardia . 58 . 2 . 76 . October 31, 2021.
  8. Recovery strategy for California coho salmon. Report to the California Fish and Game Commission. . California Department of Fish and Game . 2004 . 6.45 . October 31, 2021.
  9. Historical distribution and current status of steelhead/rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in streams of the San Francisco Estuary, California . Leidy, R.A. . G.S. Becker . B.N. Harvey . 2005 . Center for Ecosystem Management and Restoration . Oakland, California . 10.1.1.552.6622 .
  10. Feasibility Study to Rehabilitate the Fishery Resources of the Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio Watershed, Mill Valley California . Alice A. Rich . May 31, 1995 . October 30, 2021.
  11. Marin County Stream Crossing Inventory and Fish Passage Evaluation . Ross Taylor and Associates . 2003 . Marin County Public Works . October 30, 2021.