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Swimmer's
Delight is a popular swimming and camping spot along the Van Duzen
River. Each summer, dozens of visitors gather there every day
to cool off in the gentle pools that dot the river. Sharing
these pools with us are the salmon and steelhead who fight against
the winter currents to spawn in the Van Duzen and her tributaries,
as well as the juveniles that are a result of this effort.
Just upstream, however, a massive eroded cliff is
threatening the quality of these waters. An 800-foot-long,
25-foot-high sheer cliff has formed from heavy winter flows
sloughing off the bank. The Humboldt County Park has already
recorded at least 11 redwood trees, some up to 200 feet long, that
have fallen into the river, and are barely resisting being swept
downstream.
To control this problem, ERWIG and its
partners have teamed up to construct two massive wing deflectors and
four willow baffles to divert and control the flows away from the
sensitive bank. Areas in between the structures have been
heavily vegetated with alder and willow plantings. The redwood
trees will be secured to their locations by anchoring them to large
clusters of four-ton boulders. With this remediation in
effect, Swimmer's Delight will remain a beautiful, healthy river
reach for salmon, steelhead, and humans alike.
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