The mature riparian forest was cut down and replaced by orchards and vineyards. The river channel was narrowed and straightened and its flow velocities greatly increased. Industrial gravel mining, particularly in the Middle Reach of the river, has removed millions of tons of material from both the active channel and the floodplain terrace. The river's present sediment transport processes will not be able to replace this loss in the near future. Further complicating any attempt to restore the Russian River are the presence of nine very large and deep gravel extraction pits along the river's edge in the Middle Reach.
Unconsolidated alluvium separates the deep pits from the river channel.
This separator averages 50 to 100 feet in width and is made of the sediments that the river has been moving through the river system for many thousands of years. The pits pose a hazard in which the river channel will over time meander and migrate into these deep holes and cause massive channel downcutting and bank erosion. When this event occurs it would significantly affect agricultural land, riparian forest and river habitats and likely cause a permanent loss of aquifer storage and water supply. The cumulative effect of these developments on the Russian River has been a change to a highly incised, downcutting river channel where riparian forest is confined to a narrow strip of the river's bed and banks. The floodplain which once supported the mature forest is now 20 to 25 feet above the active channel and is isolated from summer water levels.