A large piece of wood lying across local river or stream may seem ripe for the taking as free firewood or building material, but removing it could cause problems at both ecological and economic levels.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries biologist Dan Free of Arcata said it is a common occurrence for people to take wood from local rivers without realizing that it provides important habitat for local wildlife.

“I understand that a lot of people don’t put the two and two together,” Free said. “You see a nice piece of dry wood to access on the river bar. That is removing a valuable piece of future habitat for fish in doing that.

“We all know that we have declining salmon populations here and a lot of people like to fish,” Free continued. “They might not be aware of what they’re doing when they do that.”

This past rainy season has resulted in high flows, which has caused a large amount of this woody debris to enter local rivers and streams, especially compared to these past few years of drought, Free said.

Free said these fallen trees and logs provide salmon, turtles, birds and other wildlife an array of benefits including safe habitat, shade and breeding grounds.

Wood can also help scour the bottom of rivers and streams, creating deep, cold holding pools which are valuable to both migrating spawning salmon as well as young salmon. In drought years, these deep pools are critical for the survival and success of salmon, Free said.

Removing this wood can also result in a state fine if taking the wood causes harm to fish and fish habitat, according to California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Andrew Hughan.

Free said that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been put into river and stream restoration projects, which include artificially and naturally replenishing rivers with wood. But to his frustration, Free said that has not stopped some wood poachers.

“We’ve actually had people illegally harvest wood from restoration projects that have been completed,” Free said. “We take the time and the money to go out there and put wood back into the stream and folks illegally go out there and cut that wood out and destroy our efforts.

“It’s a really big deal in northern California and what people don’t realize is these things, as I spoke of before, not only do they provide habitat during good times, but they also help buffer the habitat during both droughts and flood,” he continued.

Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504.