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Category: 2019

  • Upper Noyo River Fish Passage Improvement and Sediment Reduction Project

    This project replaced a failing, undersized 9-foot culvert on the Mendocino Railway (Skunk Train) line with a 50-foot span corrugated steel arch structure to restore fish passage and eliminate a total barrier to migrating salmonids on the upper Noyo River in Mendocino County, California. In addition to opening 0.5 miles of steelhead and Coho salmon rearing habitat, the project prevented an estimated 8,400 cubic yards of sediment from being released into the Noyo River headwaters, protecting aquatic resources along approximately 3 miles of downstream habitat.

  • Seiad Creek Off-Channel Connection / Fish Passage Enhancement Project

    This project restored connectivity between Seiad Creek and three previously constructed off-channel ponds — Alexander, Stender, and Durazo — in Siskiyou County, California, a tributary system of the Klamath River. By removing sediment blockages and installing wood and rock structures to redirect flow, the project improved access to 19,000 square feet of critical off-channel rearing habitat for ESA-threatened Klamath River Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead, where off-channel winter habitat is a documented limiting factor in salmonid recovery.

  • M1-Road Fish Passage Improvement Project

    This project replaced an undersized, deteriorating corrugated metal culvert on the M-1 Road with a full-sized 96-inch diameter culvert to restore fish passage on No-Name Gulch, a tributary to Big River in Mendocino County, California. The old culvert was a partial barrier to migrating salmonids on a stream identified by NOAA as historically productive habitat. The replacement opens 0.21 miles of spawning and rearing habitat in a high-priority recovery watershed for Central California Coast Coho salmon, North Coast steelhead, and Chinook salmon.

  • 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.

  • Lamprey Passage at Rowdy Creek

    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.

  • Iron Horse Vineyards Dam Removal Project

    This project removed an obsolete flashboard dam on lower Green Valley Creek at the Iron Horse Vineyards property in Sonoma County — the second of two remnant dams identified as the primary fish passage barriers in the lower creek. Approximately 35 cubic yards of concrete were excavated, banks regraded, large wood habitat structures installed, and willows planted. Removal opened 35 miles of upstream aquatic habitat, benefiting federally endangered Central California Coast coho salmon and threatened steelhead in a watershed that harbored the last documented wild Russian River coho prior to captive broodstock recovery efforts.

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