Cosumnes River Preserve Holds Cougar Wetland Meetings

 

 

Cosumnes River Preserve Holds Cougar Wetland Meetings

 

The Cosumnes River Preserve will hold public meetings Thursday and Sept. 26 to discuss the proposed Cougar

Wetland Unit restoration project.

 

Both meetings will be held at the preserve's visitor center, 13501 Franklin Blvd., Galt, from 6 to 8 p.m.  The preserve is managed by the Bureau of Land Management's Mother Lode Field Office,

 

"We would like to receive input from any interested parties regarding the scope and potential designs for the proposed project," said Mariah Garr, wetland manager.

 

The Cougar Wetland Unit is located off Orr Road, southwest of the McFarland Living History Ranch, near Galt.  The unit is currently managed as a seasonal wetland habitat. However, the preserve is proposing to re-establish a historic active floodplain and slough system to the Cosumnes River.

 

"The proposed project would provide a rare opportunity to restore historic floodplain connectivity to the lower portion of a Central Valley river, an area generally defined by its degraded channels lacking complexity, few connections to side channels, backwaters, or low elevation floodplains," she said.  If the historic floodplain is re-established, the restoration would have multiple ecosystem benefits, including endangered species recovery, rare habitat restoration, flood amelioration, and recreational opportunities on public lands.