07/27/2026
The Russian River is well known for its salmon, but the key to recovering the watershed's salmon population may lie in one of its tributaries.
Mark West Creek runs 47 miles through the Mayacamas Mountains and holds an abundance of coho salmon and steelhead trout spawning beds that are rare and critical to the watershed's recovery.
Low summer flows are one of the primary reasons coho and steelhead have struggled here. Streams that run shallow also run warm—and can become a barrier instead of a pathway. Restoring that flow requires action across many properties, from how water is used to how land is managed along streams.
Roughly 94% of the watershed is privately owned, and right now, we're actively engaging with landowners to explore conservation easements and acquisitions that would connect a protected corridor from the upper headwaters to the Russian River.
In nature, there are no borders, and what happens on one property will eventually flow into the Russian River regardless of property lines.
If you are a landowner in the Upper Mark West Creek watershed and want to help bring salmon back, get in touch with Melina Hammar at [email protected]
