This project installed a dedicated lamprey passage tube at the hatchery diversion structure on Rowdy Creek — a tributary to the Smith River in Del Norte County — which had functioned as a complete barrier to Pacific lamprey at low flows. A video monitoring system was also installed to document passage events, and public educational signage developed for the hatchery visitor area. The passage facility opened an estimated 11.4 miles of upstream habitat and addresses a culturally significant species for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, who have traditionally harvested lamprey from the Smith River.
Location: Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery, 140 Rowdy Creek Rd, Smith River, CA, Del Norte County. Rowdy Creek is one of the five main tributaries of the Smith River, California’s only undammed major river system, which flows into the Pacific Ocean just four miles south of the California-Oregon border.
Historical Fish Presence: Rowdy Creek supports Chinook salmon, Southern Oregon–Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho salmon (federally threatened), steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, and Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus). Numerous studies have documented the presence of Chinook salmon, steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, Pacific lamprey, and other aquatic species in Rowdy and Dominie Creeks. Pacific lamprey hold deep cultural and subsistence significance for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, whose members have harvested lamprey from the Smith River since time immemorial, though no formal monitoring program for the species currently exists in the watershed.
Project Lead: Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (Fisheries Program)
Project Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Damon Goodman (design, installation, technical support); Western Fishes – Stewart Reid (design and installation)
CFPF Funding: $19,500
Project Description: The hatchery diversion structure on Rowdy Creek functioned as a complete barrier to Pacific lamprey at low flows and a significant barrier at all but the highest water levels, when some lamprey could use lateral routes along the concrete wall. The project installed a lamprey passage tube at the hatchery diversion to provide a dedicated upstream migration route for Pacific lamprey, along with a video monitoring system to document lamprey passage events. An educational outreach display and signage were also developed for the hatchery’s public visitor area, where school groups and tourists regularly tour the facility. The passage facility opened an estimated 11.4 miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat. The project is identified as a priority in the USFWS Regional Implementation Plan for Pacific Lamprey Conservation and the SONCC Coho Salmon Recovery Plan.
Expected Completion: December 2024
Project Effectiveness: As of the April 2021 progress report, video monitoring had been in operation since installation, but no lamprey had yet been recorded using the passage. USFWS staff noted that the lamprey migration had been delayed and slow that season.
Lamprey Passage Design for Priority Obstacles in the Sacramento Basin
This basin-wide research, prioritization, and design project improved tools and data for Pacific lamprey recovery across the Sacramento River system. Work included extending the state’s Pacific lamprey distribution GIS layer to include third-order streams in the Sacramento Basin, refining a standardized field barrier assessment form, using FishPass software to prioritize barriers, and developing passage modification designs for three high-priority sites. The Sacramento Basin has been severely impacted by impassable dams limiting lamprey to roughly half their historical range, and this project advances the integration of lamprey needs into California’s broader fish passage planning framework.
Project Name: Lamprey Passage Design for Priority Obstacles in the Sacramento Basin
Location: Sacramento River Basin, California. The project area encompasses the Sacramento River and its tributaries across the Central Valley and surrounding mountain ranges, draining into San Francisco Bay. This is a basin-wide assessment and design effort covered multiple sub-watersheds.
Historical Fish Presence: Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) historically occurred throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin River system. Current distribution of Pacific lamprey in California is approximately half of its historical range statewide, with barriers to migration representing a primary threat to the species. The Sacramento Basin has been particularly affected by large impassable dams and water infrastructure that block lamprey access to vast areas of historical spawning and rearing habitat. Multiple sub-watersheds in the Sacramento Basin are ranked as critically imperiled or imperiled for lamprey under the USFWS Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative assessment framework.
Project Lead: Western Fishes (Stewart Reid, Principal Investigator)
Project Partners: U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission; California Fish Passage Forum (Science and Data Committee)
CFPF Funding: $21,000.00
Project Description: This was a basin-wide research, prioritization, and design project with four objectives. First, the project assessed and refined a standardized “First Pass” lamprey passage evaluation form for field application. Second, it extended the existing fourth-order Pacific lamprey distribution GIS layer in the California BIOS system to include third-order streams in the Sacramento Basin, improving the resolution of known historical and current lamprey distribution data available to land managers. Third, it used FishPass software to systematically prioritize Sacramento Basin barriers for lamprey passage improvement. Fourth, based on the prioritization results, the project developed lamprey-specific passage modification designs for three high-priority barrier sites identified through the field surveys and stakeholder coordination process.
Expected Completion: December 2021
Project Effectiveness: The project built directly on prior statewide lamprey distribution and passage work by Reid and Goodman and represents a critical step toward incorporating lamprey needs into the broader fish passage planning framework in the Sacramento Basin.