Mill and Deer Creeks: Truly Outstanding Rivers Brimming with Life At Risk
In 1992, the U.S. Forest Service recommended National Wild and Scenic River protection for 32 miles of Mill Creek and 38 miles of Deer Creek due to their rare free-flowing character and outstandingly remarkable scenery, fish, wildlife, and cultural values.
Threatened spring chinook salmon and winter steelhead migrate all the way from the Pacific Ocean, up the Sacramento River, to hold in deep pools and eventually spawn in the headwaters of these creeks. The stream canyons provide nesting and foraging habitat for raptors, including Peregrin falcon and golden eagle. Old Growth forests in the canyons sustain California spotted owl, American goshawk, and Pacific fisher. Both streams are on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Yana-Yahi Peoples, and their most famous member, Ishi (immortalized in Theodora Kroeber’s book Ishi: In Two Worlds). Volcanic cliffs loom over the canyons, providing raptor habitat and a scenic backdrop for a wild landscape treasured by hikers, backpackers, campers, horseback riders, anglers, and hunters.
In 1996, scientists assessed 100 watersheds in the Sierra Nevada and found that Mill and Deer Creeks possessed the highest biotic integrity of all watersheds in the mountain range, because they are still dominated by native aquatic species (native fish and amphibians), contain a wide variety of habitats, are undammed, and possess extensive roadless lands.
Proposed Project Fails to Analyze Potential Impacts on Recommended Wild and Scenic Rivers
Despite all these values, Forest Service has proposed a project that threatens Mill and Deer Creeks. The West Lassen Headwaters Project proposes extensive forest thinning, fuels management, and herbicide spraying on 101,449 acres of the Lassen Forest, about half of which were not burned in the fires. Overall, the project proposes 60,557 acres of mechanical logging treatments using heavy equipment, 6,806 acres of less intrusive hand treatments, 1,521 acres of aspen and meadow restoration, 37,693 acres of prescribed fire, and 9,421 acres of post-treatment herbicide application.
In this proposal, not only did the Forest Service fail to assess potential project impacts on Mill and Deer Creeks, but their project environmental analysis doesn’t even mention the fact that the USFS previously recommended the streams for Wild and Scenic River protection.
The West Lassen Project could harm the proposed Mill and Deer Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers in several ways. Mechanical treatments are planned in the Mill Creek Wild and Scenic River corridor (extending ¼ mile on each side of the river), which could lead to erosion and sedimentation, reduction in water quality, and degradation of fish habitat. Coupled with run-off from herbicide spraying, the threatened salmon and steelhead that migrate up and spawn in the creeks could be harmed.
The proposed project lacks the crucial goal of restoring what was formerly some of the largest old growth forests in the region found along Mill and Deer Creeks. One of the primary goals should be to restore these fire damaged old growth forests to ensure long term viability of habitat for species that are dependent on old growth habitat, such as spotted owl. The extensive mechanical treatments could also degrade the outstanding scenery of the stream canyon and disturb cultural sites.
Although Deer Creek largely avoided the destructive fires, the Forest Service is planning to establish a fuel break in the river canyon. The Forest Service plans to remove up to 90% of the tree canopy along this fuel break, which would degrade the scenic views from Highway 32 and increase the chance of erosion and sedimentation into the creek’s threatened salmon and steelhead habitat. The project also includes extensive mechanical and hand thinning and fuels treatments in three tributaries of Deer Creek.
Urge the Forest Service to Protect the Mill and Deer Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers!
The public comment deadline is Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2025. Take action using the button below, or send your own email your comment to comments-pacificsouthwest-lassen-almanor@usda.gov and be sure to type “West Lassen Headwaters Project” in the subject line of your email. You may also mail a printed copy of your letter to the address in the sample email/letter, but it must be postmarked by Sep. 30.
