[4] Presently, the slough is isolated from the river at all but high water events and it is fed by rainwater and runoff; Pala Road routinely floods during most of the winter and spring.

[4] The silt was drag line dredged in 1985 and cattle were excluded from the stream bed and fringing verge by 2002 after which adult coastal cutthroat trout were found in the slough.

[4] By 2007 crews from the California Conservation Corps had planted more than 1,000 Sitka spruce and red alders as well as 500 willow sprigs and 3,000 feet (910 m) of exclusion fencing.

[4] Other native animals seen at the slough include the northern red-legged frog, great egret and black-crowned night heron.

[6] Invasive reed canary grass surrounds the slough, floats in it as mats, but rarely occurs below the 4.8 feet (1.5 m) mark which is dominated by native yellow pond-lily[4] because flooding the canary grass 24 inches (61 cm) during the June growing season prevents growth and establishment.