of 75 condominiums was approved for the site by the Butte County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. The project was stopped by concerned local citizens with a successful ballot initiative that overturned the Butte County decision. The flood of 1986, which caused more than $13 million damage in Butte County, washed out the two bridge crossings on Butte Creek and helped start the preservation sequence of events. The bridges connected to the haul road that went from the gravel mining sites to Baldwin Construction's plant. Soon after the historic flood, the mining company sold its properties, with some parcels being bought by the California Department of Fish and Game, and one parcel (the Honey Run unit) being bought by John McAmis. McAmis contracted for a subdivision of single family homes, which was voted down by the Planning Commission, but a subsequent development plan was submitted and approved. After construction began on the property, local concerns were again raised which eventually led to McAmis willingly selling the property to Chico State University, Research Foundation. In 1998, CSU, Chico Research Foundation bought the parcel from McAmis with support from CSU's Office of Watershed Projects, and funds from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Board, CALFED and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Butte Creek House Ecological Reserve The Butte Creek House Ecological Reserve is located at the headwaters of Butte Creek. It is of wetland meadow and forest near the base of Snow Mountain. The site was purchased in 1986 to preserve and restore the area as a part of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project 803, the De Sable-Centerville Hydroelectric Project. This reserve is located near montane chaparral, a type of plant community that includes greenleaf and pinemat manzanitas (Arctostaphylos patula, A. nevadensis), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata) and bush chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens) that grow at elevations from up to . Forested areas include pure stands of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) and red fir (Abies magnifica). Restoration The restoration efforts of the Butte Creek watershed by environmental groups, together with private landowners and state and federal agencies is showing results. "The restoration there I think has clearly had a measurable response," said Rob Titus, a senior Department of Fish and Game environmental scientist. The fish count of Chinook salmon in 1987 was 14. The number counted in 1998 was 20,000. During the period 1994 through 1997, several agricultural structures