Wolf Creek Community Alliance Wolf Creek is Special! It’s all about diversity: Geography Geology Biodiversity History Human Impacts

Wolf Creek Watershed 20 miles long 50,000 acres 78 sq miles 3,000 ft 1,200 ft

Effects of Geography (and Geology) Low Sierra mountain setting means that not much of the precipitation in the watershed falls as snow Top third of watershed flows East to West Bottom two thirds flow North to South Geologic diversity as well – volcanic flows, granitic strata, gabbro and serpentine soils

Biodiversity Geography and geology provide biotic diversity The watershed has at least seven general types of plant communities The plant communities in turn support diverse animal communities

Plant Communities Annual Grass Blue Oak Woodland Blue Oak-Foothill Pine Closed Cone Pine-Cypress Douglas Fir Mixed Chaparral Montane Chaparral Montane Hardwood Montane Hardwood-Conifer Montane Riparian Ponderosa Pine Sierran Mixed Conifer Wet Meadow

Rare Plants

Rare Animals

Rare Habitat – Low-Altitude Mountain Meadows

The Diverse History of Wolf Creek 500 – 7000 years of continuous habitation by Maidu peoples People of European Origin enter the area – the Emigrant Trail runs along South Wolf Creek Discovery of gold in Wolf Creek A hundred years of gold mining, followed by: Sixty years of recovery

The Diversity of Impacts The main reach of upper Wolf Creek, and South Fork of Wolf Creek, have been heavily effected by mining South Wolf Creek had almost no mining Wolf Creek around Grass Valley is urbanized South Wolf Creek is almost entirely rural

The Diversity of Possible Futures The Wolf Creek watershed is being rapidly developed Much of the watershed could soon be like the urban reach in Grass Valley There are still open spaces that can be preserved… What kind of future will we choose for the Wolf Creek watershed?

Wolf Creek Community Alliance