Prunuske Chatham, Inc.

10/05/2025

PCI’s vegetation management team has been busy in the Mark West Creek watershed, managing slash and accumulated fuels resulting from past wildfires. The 2017 Tubbs fire burned approximately 36,807 acres in Sonoma and Napa Counties, including devastating damage to residential neighborhoods in the northern Santa Rosa area. Many of these neighborhoods are situated in highly vegetated areas serving as important urban interface areas but also posing threats such as high wildfire risk.

As the vegetation returns in a burned area, brush, dense regrowth, and invasive species like French broom can quickly turn a recovering landscape into a fire hazard. French broom is an invasive plant species present in the area, likely introduced from historic land management practices. It is often one of the first plants to grow and spread rapidly after wildfire because the seeds are heat stimulated. French broom fixes nitrogen in the soil which is necessary for healthy plant life but can create toxic conditions for native vegetation when occurring in excess. In extreme cases, French broom can even create soil conditions too toxic for itself. Its fast, dense growth out-competes native plants for resources and limits native plant recovery. It also increases future fire risk by creating a dangerous source of wildfire fuel as it’s highly flammable and can act as a ladder fuel. This invasive species is notoriously difficult to manage and requires years of careful monitoring and often retreatment to manage future population booms. PCI found removing whole roots when the soil is moist is the best method to eradicate the broom. Piling and burning piles of broom is a cost-effective means of disposal, rather than collecting and hauling off-site.

PCI is working to remove invasive species and protect native species in the project area, including the removal of French broom, to support the recovering landscape and reduce potential wildfire fuel. Invasive species are removed and disposed of in burn piles on site. Native species are left undisturbed or fitted with protective fencing after invasive competing plants are removed. After broom removal, PCI installed native perennial mulch and native perennial grass seeds. All burning is conducted through the appropriate CDFW Burn permits.

31/03/2025

Roy’s Redwoods, a Marin County Open Space property, re-opened to the public this past fall after the implementation of a restoration project through the redwood valley sponsored by Marin County Parks and Open Space District and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. PCI and Restoration Design Group supported the effort with designs for the restoration effort and trail design, constructed by Hanford Arc. The project was funded by multiple sources including the California State Parks Grant, Wildlife Conservation Board Grant, Marin County Accessibility Program, Marin County Measure A funds, and One Tam philanthropic donations.

The park is a favorite for Marin County locals and visitors for its stand of old-growth redwoods tucked away along the valley floor of upper Larsen Creek. This park’s popularity created some ecological challenges stemming from the frequent and long-term use of an expansive network of unofficial social trails. The project goals were to restore natural hydrologic conditions to help ensure that the redwood grove will be resilient and capable of supporting visitor use during periods of extreme drought or excessive rainfall. The restoration activities included decommissioning social trails, relocating segments of existing trails to remove them from sensitive areas, upgrading existing trails to improve drainage and reduce erosion and sedimentation, and other habitat restoration activities.

Social trails in redwood forests can have a significant negative impact on the environment. Redwood forests often have soft, loamy soil characterized by dense leaf cover that plays an essential role in soil composition, the native ecosystem, and hydrology of the forest floor. Social trails kill native vegetation and cause soil compaction that disturb natural conditions, which leads to increased erosion and the formation of gullies. Additional impacts include decreased soil moisture, disrupting wildlife, fragmentation of habitat, and spread of invasive species. These issues cause a positive feedback loop, or sn*******ng effect, that can significantly degrade natural ecosystems.

PCI worked with the design team to develop a restoration design that prioritized improving hydrologic conditions and protecting sensitive habitats, but maintained some of the “explorative/wandering/adventurous” feeling that social trails offer. The design features an “Exploration Area” that allows visitors to stray from constructed paths and puncheons, featuring fallen logs and stumps that lead to a redwood fairy ring with opportunities to wander, build forts, and traverse alternative paths. Beyond this exploration area, the project includes ADA accessible trails and boardwalks that allow for access inside the redwood forest with opportunities to view wetlands, channels, and massive old growth trees. The design is focused around a shallow channel with areas that disperse across the forest floor before joining back together downstream. Carefully placed log structures, rocked grade control structures, and graded areas imitate naturally occurring conditions and create plenty of opportunities for water to disperse and settle without damaging hiking trails, even during high flows. The PCI designers worked together with the trail designers to create an environment that supports high quality ecological function while allowing visitors to enjoy a truly magical space.

The PCI planning and science team prepared a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration. PCI planners also applied for and negotiated the necessary permits with state, federal, and local agencies on behalf of Marin County.

Photo labels:

1. Old growth redwood trees

2. Accessible trail through the redwood grove

3. Unofficial trail/road through the meadow

4. Erosion in the meadow

5. Meadow after restoration

6. Constructed trail and log structures

7. Constructed trail and log structures after a rain event

8. Erosion and accumulation of debris before restoration

9. Trail to exploration area

10. Exploration Area

11. Video of restored areas during a rain event

14/03/2025

Over the past two years, PCI has been developing its unmanned aircraft system (UAS), or drone, program. PCI has incorporated drone operations into an already extensive toolbox of services used to support site assessment and design decision making. Drones are powerful tools that serve multiple purposes, including surveying large areas, producing detailed orthomosaic maps, and capturing high-resolution aerial images.

Our remote pilots are FAA certified commercial operators, meaning they understand the regulations, operating requirements, and procedures for safely flying drones. Senior Hydrologist John Hardy is a skilled drone pilot that has utilized drone-based products to assess and document restoration projects at various stages throughout his career. Kyle Johnson, Environmental Planner, recently acquired his Part 107 license but has been a recreational drone pilot for many years.

21/02/2025

Chinook salmon have returned to their historic breeding site in the Sonoma Creek Watershed, marking a significant milestone 10 years after the removal of fish passage barriers from Stuart Creek. These barriers had long blocked steelhead and Chinook salmon from reaching crucial spawning areas. The sighting of Chinook salmon upstream of the removed barriers highlights the remarkable migratory instincts of these fish and offers hope that steelhead may soon follow suit. This return demonstrates that when barriers are removed, salmonids will return to their natural habitats.

The Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) contracted with PCI Ecological to design improvements for fish passage along the length of Stuart Creek within SLT properties. The project was implemented in 2014 and included removal of three human-made fish passage barriers, restoring access to over two miles of high-quality spawning and rearing habitat. The project design and permitting was funded by the State Coastal Conservancy and construction by California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A culvert under Arnold Drive created conditions with high water velocities and shallow depths, making it impassable for all salmonid life stages. A new low-flow channel or “fishway” was constructed to regulate flow depths and flow velocities. Baffles were installed to improve fish passage by reducing water velocity during high flows and maintaining depth during low flows.
The channel at the second location on Stuart Creek had down cut after a bridge failure, creating an over 5-foot drop. The drop created an excessive jump barrier for migrating salmonids. The project design introduced a series of chutes with pools to create a channel that fish could effectively pass. The rock-stabilized steps and pools ensure fish passage while preventing further erosion.
The 10-foot-high Glen Oaks Dam had a 6-foot-wide spillway approximately 11 feet long. The smooth, gently sloping spillway, combined with a nearly 3-foot drop to the pool below, created a significant barrier for adult salmonid passage and a complete barrier for juvenile fish to pass. Because the dam was listed as a historical structure, PCI found options to allow fish passage while preserving most of the dam structure. The design included widening a notch and lowering the spillway, reducing the drop to just over 1-foot. Retaining the dam was also crucial to maintain a high-quality, perennial pool downstream of the dam and to prevent large-scale channel adjustments that could affect salmonid habitat.
This project expanded the window of opportunity for salmonid spawners to reach depth and velocity-limited areas where conditions are suitable for fish passage. The project restored access to one mile of high-quality habitat upstream of Stuart Creek Run and 0.75 miles upstream of Glen Oaks Dam. An additional fish passage barrier exists in the area, and PCI completed 100% design plans for removal of this barrier. PCI is working with partners to secure funding to implement the project in 2026. This is the final barrier identified in the Stuart Creek watershed, and its removal will restore access to another 0.5 mile of stream channel.

This project is a shining example of the power of fish passage barrier removal in action. Focusing on small sections of our streams can lead to significant gains by restoring access to high-quality habitat. This project truly exemplifies the kind of work that inspires our team at PCI, and we are incredibly proud to have collaborated with such great partners and support staff from the various agencies and organizations involved.

Thank you Sonoma Land Trust for sharing incredible fish photos and videos for this post! For more great shots and information, take a look at the Sonoma Land Trust video on their page.

Photo Descriptions:
1. Chinook swimming in the creek (video by )
2. Stuart Run Before
3. Stuart Run after
4. Stuart Run after vegetation growth
5. Glen Oaks Dam before
6. Glen Oaks Dam after
7. Step pool example

04/02/2025

We would like to congratulate Emily Mallard on recently completing the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE)!!

Emily joined PCI in September 2021 as an Assistant Landscape Architect and has since advanced to the role of Registered Landscape Architect II. Achieving her Landscape Architect’s license is a testament to her education, experience, and expertise in the field, all of which she applies in her work every day. The process of preparing for the licensing exam was especially rewarding, thanks in part to helpful study tips from her colleague, Diana Grandi, and the solid foundation of education and experience that set her up for success. Outside of her professional life, Emily is a mom to two teenage boys and their dog Buddy. Dance has always played an important role in her life, and she even incorporated it into her landscape architecture master’s program, creating a focus called the ‘Kinetic Landscape,’ which explored how dance and body awareness influence the way people move through and experience landscapes. When asked about her favorite part of working for PCI and in the field of landscape architecture, Emily shared:
“What has always drawn me to this profession is the way I get to be creative in design, blending art with environmental considerations that create unique outdoor spaces. PCI has such a quality and holistic way of approaching projects that I am extremely proud to be a part of. The interdisciplinary approach is a brilliant way to achieve the goals that PCI cares about and I am extremely lucky to work alongside the people here.”

Congratulations, Emily, on passing your exam! We are proud of you and your hard work and consider ourselves lucky to have you on the PCI team!

22/10/2024

Check out our recent project at Shiloh Regional Park! We teamed up with Sonoma County Regional Parks and Wylatti Resource Management Inc. Management to implement a design to stabilize and enhance Shiloh Pond.

A failing spillway threatened the stability of the stockpond, and Sonoma County Regional Parks secured grant funds to hire PCI to complete a design to restore the area. Wylatti constructed the project. The stock pond is a much needed water source for wildlife in the park and surrounding region, and a favorite stop for hikers and equestrians.

Erosion from the failing spillway formed deep gullies that threaten the pond and nearby trails. In addition, the incised gullies lowered the water table, impacting the local plant communities and threatening the ecological health of surrounding habitats.

After filling in the gullies, Rock grade control structures and logs were installed to secure vegetated native soil fills and dissipate energy from winter storm flows. These restoration methods imitate natural processes and will help prevent the negative impacts of erosion. The project includes a robust planting plan with native species that we expect to thrive in the newly stabilized environment. The Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation grew the native plants and will install them along with an irrigation system later in the year.

This project also presented the opportunity to support native wildlife species by removing invasive species from the pond. The PCI biology group led teams from Regional Parks and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove invasive wildlife species from Shiloh Pond while Wylatti completed the necessary dewatering.

You can see the work for yourself via a short hike on Pond and Creekside trails at Shiloh Regional Park. Visit during different times of the year to see how these restoration methods stabilize the channels and boost the surrounding ecology!

05/07/2024

Some losses are hard to fathom. Last month beloved Restoration Technician / Equipment Operator, Roberto Riveros passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Roberto had been at PCI for over 22 years, and the net benefit of his environmental work continues to grow alongside the countless native trees and shrubs he planted and tended. He was always up for traveling and volunteered for some of our company’s toughest jobs. He was very proud of his restoration work and recently went on an adventure with his kids to the Pit River / Burney Falls area to check on some trees he planted many years ago. He was a master with rock work and excelled at some of the more technical aspects of the technician job. RIP Bob, “the man who planted trees,” a dear friend.

10/05/2024

These idyllic ponds are part of a complex designed and built specifically for California tiger salamander (CTS) breeding. California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) are federally listed as endangered and in California as a Species of Special Concern. They spend the majority of their lives underground in small mammal burrows but emerge to breed in ponds and vernal pools, typically between November and January in Sonoma County.

A complex of multiple ponds is needed for CTS persistence each year. The client retained PCI to develop construction drawings based on an initial design for the project, and provide biological, regulatory, construction oversight, planting, and monitoring services. A complex of three ponds was constructed which will remain inundated until late May or early June during a typical weather year but dry out by mid-summer to reduce bullfrog use. Pond spillways were designed with level spreaders to dissipate runoff into an open field to avoid a single graded channel to an adjacent creek. This will eliminate a direct connection to the waterway, which is important because predatory bullfrogs and crayfish will follow any water source to colonize new habitats.

01/03/2024

Good fire alert! At this post-Tubbs Fire site, PCI has made plans to support future replanting of native trees and encourage natural regeneration. In this portion of the property, the plan, which encompassed the good fire pictured, looked something like this:

1. Our crew hand-pulled 90 cubic yards of broom (roots and all) after confirming that seed heads weren’t present, since broom seed can germinate from burning.

2. Under PCI forester guidance, crewmembers piled the broom per Cal Fire standards.

3. Additional hazard trees were removed for crew and public safety while leaving habitat trees in place.

4. After securing permits from Cal Fire and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, crewmembers burned the piles, clearing out the forest floor and making space for naturally regenerating trees to thrive.

31/01/2024

Check out the new story in Bay Nature Magazine about Willow Creek, a tributary to the Russian River’s estuary in Sonoma County. PCI has participated in an ongoing, multi-pronged approach to ecological restoration in the watershed since the mid-1990s. Now, a fresh injection of federal dollars will allow Gold Ridge RCD, with PCI support, to continue working toward coho salmon habitat improvement.

Now equipped with $8.4 million in federal money, conservationists are aiming to bring back the watershed's salmonids

23/01/2024

Willow wattles are bundles of live cuttings bound with rope. They can be placed on contour or at the toe of a streambank to provide instant scour protection. After they sprout and set roots, they can provide long-term erosion protection by stabilizing the soil and slowing velocities while providing stream-edge habitat. PCI’s construction crew recently assembled roughly 120 linear feet of willow wattle for a streambank repair project in Sebastopol. The resulting treatment was beautiful, especially when secured against the bank between rows of live dogwood stakes.

22/11/2023

PCI Civil Engineer Lucas Walton explains part of the earthwork process for the construction phase of the Lakeville Creek Restoration project. Roughly 9000 cubic yards (or 900 dump truck loads) of soil were moved to fill the incised channel and create a “Stage Zero” wet meadow complex.