Meeting: Friends of Butte Creek

Allen Harthorn completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography in 1975 with an emphasis on climatology and hydrology. In 1988, he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and in 1991 a Master of Science degree in Agriculture with an emphasis in irrigation and tree crops. Since 1995, Allen has been involved in public outreach for the protection of Spring Run Chinook Salmon (SRCS) on Butte Creek. He has attended and helped organize more than 30 conferences, workshops, and other events related to Bute Creek and salmon restoration, including a week-long Fluvial Morphology Class at UC Berkeley and numerous field trips on Butte Creek. Allen worked for the CSU Chico University Foundation from 1995 to 1999 and created and managed the Watershed Program in the Department of Geography. He wrote grants for nearly $2 million dollars in projects, including the Existing Conditions Report, Watershed Management Strategy, Upper Watershed Roads Survey, Fluvial Geomorphology, several education programs for K-12 school kids, and four grants specifically designed to acquire the 93 acre CSU Chico Ecological Reserve on Butte Creek from a private landowner.

Allen served on the boards of directors of the Northern California Regional Land Trust, 4 years, California Watershed Network, 4 years, and the Salmonid Restoration Federation, 10 years.

Allen founded and ran two separate NGO’s, The Butte Creek Watershed Conservancy and Friends of Butte Creek (FBC). He has served as Executive Director of FBC for 20 years. The primary focus of FBC has been to raise awareness of the value and importance of the SRCS on Butte Creek and has led numerous field visits for school children, residents and guests of the Butte Creek Canyon area, and virtually every agency involved in salmon protection and restoration. As Executive Director Allen has served on the committee for the relicensing of the DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project on Butte Creek from 2002 -2009 and most recently founded the Centerville Schoolhouse Working Group to address the potential sale or decommissioning of the Hydroelectric project.

FBC has been fundraising from private donations for 20 years and is finally in a position where we expected to hire staff to help work on various outreach, planning and implementation projects. FBC sponsors an annual Film Festival which attracts 300+ “Friends” every year. FBC has over 1200 followers on Facebook and Constant Contact. FBC is the only local watershed group dedicated to Butte Creek.

Butte Creek Existing Conditions Report - http://www.buttecreek.org/nodes/resources/ecr.htm

Watershed Management Strategy - http://www.buttecreek.org/documents/ButteCreekWatershedMgmtStrategy.pdf

Fluvial Geomorphology Report - http://www.buttecreek.org/documents/GM_master.pdf