Information and RSVP for 2021 Mattole Summer Steelhead Dives
Mattole River- Petrolia, CA
Friday July 9th and Saturday July 10th, 2021

The Mattole Salmon group invites all participants to join us in our 25th annual Summer steelhead dives. Conducted annually since 1996, this watershed-wide survey is our primary source of information on the abundance and distribution of the elusive adult summer-run steelhead, and also provides information on the distribution of other native and non-native aquatic species.

Registration is required, please fill out the RSVP form below.

Event Details:
We are excited to host this year’s dives again at the beautiful A.W.Way County Park. We will have camp sites reserved for tent space available for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. We will be asking divers who camp for a $5-10 donation to help us offset the costs of camping and day-use fees. There are flush toilets, hot showers and an awesome swimming hole!
 
Friday, July 9:  We will meet at A.W.Way County Park (directions below) at 8:00 a.m. Please do not to be late. We will have coffee and pastries, and gear for those who have reserved it. We will assign teams and carpools, give background information, safety procedures, and dive tips. We will depart A.W. Way at 9:00 a.m.

Saturday, July 10:  We will meet at A.W.Way county park at 9:00 a.m. When you are done with your survey, bring all gear and data sheets back to the park where we will host a BBQ for all of our volunteers!

You do not need to dive both days, let us know which days in our RSVP questionnaire listed below.

Gear:
Please bring your own gear if possible!  All gear needs to be decontaminated before entering the Mattole River- make sure your gear is either thoroughly dried in low humidity for at least 48 hours (after manually moving all debris), frozen overnight, or submerged in a QUAT solution. Email me if you have any questions regarding decontamination.
Gear to bring:
Mask and Snorkel
Dive/Wading Boots
Hood and gloves for colder, upriver reaches or if you run cold.
Wetsuit (4 or 5mm is best)
Dry Bag/Waterproof Container for your lunch (IMPORTANT!).
Small Daypack
Our gear will be available on a first come first serve basis depending on when you RSVP and sign up. We will let you know prior to the dives if we cannot accommodate your gear needs. If you have extra gear you would be willing to loan to other divers, PLEASE bring it. Try borrowing gear from a friend or renting in Arcata/Eureka at Pacific Outfitters!

If you need gear, please let us know by filling out the RSVP questionnaire at the bottom of this email- Please do not show up and assume we will have gear for you.

Vehicles:
Thank you in advance for volunteering your vehicles for the dives! It's a lot to ask and we really appreciate your help in our dive efforts. The shuttling works so that you and the rest of your dive team only needs to drive to the put-in of your reach. When you are done with your reach you will drive the vehicle that the crew downstream of you drove in and the crew upstream of you will drive your put in vehicle back to A.W. Way. This has worked really well for us in the past and cuts a lot of time off from having to shuttle back to your put in. With this being said there are logistical issues with agency vehicles so please let me know if you are driving an agency vehicle and which agency. Also, if it's a private vehicle and you prefer to have a specific person drive your car, please specify. We want to accommodate you however we can.

Questions have been added to the RSVP form regarding vaccination status and comfort with carpooling, please answer those questions honestly to help us keep everyone safe and within their personal comfort level.

Food and camping logistics:
If you are camping please bring your own camping gear and cooking supplies. You can show up to camp as early as Thursday afternoon.

Bring your own lunches for Friday and Saturday in a waterproof container, dinner for Thursday and Friday night (if camping), high energy snacks and any additional food you may need . A light breakfast is provided each day, but please bring additional food if you need it.
 
To reduce waste, please bring your own eating utensils and plates for the Saturday BBQ. BYOB and ice.
 
First-come first-serve camping is also available at the BLM campground at Mattole Beach.

Fill up your vehicle up with gas prior to the dives in either Garberville, Fortuna, or Eureka. There are general stores with gas and some groceries in Petrolia and Honeydew, but hours and selection are limited - come prepared with food and gas.
 
Directions to A.W. Way County park:
Coming from the South: on Hwy 101, take the South Fork/Honeydew exit (22 miles north of Garberville) turn left onto the Mattole road, entering Humboldt Redwoods State Park, after 22 miles you will cross a green spanning bridge over the Mattole, take a right after the bridge and follow the Mattole road for another 8 miles, the park is on your left hand side.
 
Coming from the North: From Ferndale, turn right onto Bluff street/Ocean Ave and your first left onto Wildcat Ave/Mattole road. Take this for 36 miles, pass the town of Petrolia and stay on the main road, after passing the Mattole Grange the park will be immediately to your right.

PLEASE RSVP by JULY 6th.  The RSVP date helps us to make everything run smoother for scheduling, so we appreciate your help in responding as soon as possible.


Please give me at least 24 hour notice if you cancel your plans to dive or things change with your vehicle situation.  There is a very detailed schedule planned for each day so we need to know if you can't make it ahead of time.

There is no pre-dive training this year, but please thoroughly read over the training packet which will be sent to you upon registration.




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