Roughly 2.8 stream-miles (Smi) lie between Beatty Creek’s headwaters in the Capitol State Forest and its confluence with McLane Creek. A few days ago I performed a quick survey of 6 viewpoints located at easily-accessed locations on the stream’s corridor. All but two of these were at places where a roadway crossed the main body of the creek. Designated and ranked by elevation, these included:
VP 1130’ / Headwaters – no direct access, not visited
VP 679’ / Smi 0.5 – no direct access, not visited
VP 374’ / Smi 1.3 – Bridge on Westhill Drive SW Northill Drive (corrected 12/15/2020)
VP 302’ / Smi 1.6 – Bridge on Arnesen Lane SW
VP 240’ / Smi 2.0 – Bridge on Chelsie Lane SW
VP 200’ / Smi 2.2 – Ravine on unmarked, unpaved, unmaintained road
VP 155’ / Smi 2.7 – Bridge on Capitol Creek Lane SW (private road)
VP 148’ / Smi 2.8 – 50 yards SW of McLane Nature Trail
Above, a view upstream, at VP 374’. A nearby sign identified this area as being part of a nature trail under the jurisdiction of the Alpine Hills HOA. Note the English ivy on the young alders. Other highly invasive plant species in abundance at this site include Archangel (lamium) and Herb-Robert.
Similar infestations of the same invasive plant species appear at VP 302’, both up and down the stream corridor. I was unable to access the area where the light colored material is concentrated, but my best guess is it is sawdust.
At VP 240’ the view upstream (above) is typical; however, the culvert itself appears to be failing (below). Why this culvert has begun to fail isn’t clear from the site itself. One way or the other, it is potentially very bad news for the home-owners further to the north in this part of the neighborhood.
Below, an upstream view of VP 200’. This portion of the stream was clearly once bridged; but there remains no sign of the single lane structure that used to be here. Furthermore, the “road” leading to the sight shows signs of not being maintained for many years – perhaps decades.
My brief survey wasn't scientific, but it anecdotally confirms details of previous studies of this creek and its environs. It clearly shows the Urban Stream Syndrome at work; and while some of the views I've presented here may appear to show a stream in good health, nothing could be further from the truth. (1) Tree cover, the all-important variable in stream temperature control, is steadily decreasing over large areas of the stream, thanks in part to ongoing development in the non-Capital State Forest areas, but also in part to infestations of English ivy. (2) Corridors in the upper elevations are unstable; the products of attendant landslides contribute significantly to overall turbidity. (3) Some of the most destructive and persistent invasive plant species are abundant. I've only commented on the ones shown in the photos, but others are known to be present and abundant in the environment. I'll detail those more fully in future posts.
(Note: Photos of VP 155" and VP 148' were shown in the previous post.)