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A collaborative partnership formed to protect and revitalize anadromous fish populations in California by promoting collaboration among public and private sectors for fish passage improvement projects and programs

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Category: Barrier Removal

  • Dutch Bill Creek Market Street Weir Repair Fish Passage Improvement Project

    This project will design and permit repairs to a failed weir at the site of the original 2009 Dutch Bill Creek Barrier Elimination Project near Camp Meeker, restoring fish passage for endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout to upstream spawning and rearing habitat in this Russian River tributary in Sonoma County.

  • Adobe Creek Barrier Assessment, Design and Permitting

    This project will fund preliminary engineering design, surveying, and permitting to replace a failed 1929 box-culvert bridge, fish ladder, and degraded rock weirs at the Old Adobe Road crossing of Adobe Creek with a new clear-span bridge, restoring passage for federally threatened Central California Coast steelhead in the Petaluma River watershed, Sonoma County.

  • Wildcat Creek Fish Passage & Community Engagement Project (Phase 3)

    This project is retrofitting a chronically clogged fish ladder and sediment basin on lower Wildcat Creek in unincorporated North Richmond and the cities of Richmond and San Pablo, Contra Costa County, to restore passage for threatened Central California Coast steelhead. The broader effort also adds mini-parks, a community trail, K-12 education, citizen-science water quality monitoring, green-jobs workforce training, and creek cleanups benefiting this disadvantaged urban watershed.

  • Jenny Creek Man-made Barrier Removal

    This project removed an abandoned man-made concrete barrier on Jenny Creek, the largest tributary in the Klamath River’s hydroelectric reach in Siskiyou County, timed to coincide with the removal of Iron Gate Dam in 2024, to restore access for Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey to 1.9 miles of previously blocked habitat.

  • North Fork Ryan Fish Passage Design Project

    This project produced engineering designs to replace a blown-out culvert and rock weir barrier on North Fork Ryan Creek — a tributary to Outlet Creek and the Eel River — near Willits in Mendocino County, to restore fish passage for Coho salmon and steelhead trout at all life stages.

  • Mid-Klamath Tributary Fish Passage Improvement Project

    This ongoing annual project deploys field crews equipped with hand tools to assess and manually treat seasonal low-flow barriers on 30 to 40 tributaries of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers in Siskiyou and Humboldt counties, opening access to approximately 40 miles of cold-water refugia and spawning habitat each summer and fall for Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead.

  • Little Case Creek Fish Passage Project

    This project replaced two culverted road crossings on Little Case Creek — a tributary of Tenmile Creek in Laytonville, Mendocino County — with bridges to open up to one mile of upstream spawning and rearing habitat for endangered Central California Coast coho salmon and steelhead. Forum funding covered the permitting, cultural and biological surveys, and project oversight needed to advance the project to construction, which was funded separately through the CDFW Fisheries Restoration Grant Program.

  • Wildcat Creek Fish Passage & Community Engagement Project (Phase 2)

    This project advanced design and community engagement for the replacement of a failing fish ladder on lower Wildcat Creek in unincorporated North Richmond, Contra Costa County — the most downstream of three significant barriers to Central California Coast steelhead migration on the creek. Phase 2 supported an ecological engineering assessment of existing design drawings and extensive community outreach, including K-12 education programming and tribal consultation, with the ultimate goal of restoring access to 1.125 miles of spawning and rearing habitat and reconnecting the watershed to San Pablo Bay.

  • Lower Stotenburg Creek Fish Passage Project

    This project removed all fish passage barriers along the downstream-most 0.6 miles of Stotenburg Creek, a small tributary of the Smith River on the coastal plain of Del Norte County, by upgrading or removing four stream crossings and adding habitat complexity features. The work benefited threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon, Central Valley steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, Chinook salmon, and Pacific lamprey by opening critical non-natal winter rearing habitat and reconnecting the creek to the mainstem Smith River.

  • Hosie Low Water Road Crossing Fish Passage Project

    This project replaced a low-water road crossing on Mormon Slough with fish-passable box culverts to improve migration conditions for federally threatened California Central Valley steelhead and fall-run Chinook salmon. Located approximately 13 miles upstream of the Calaveras River’s confluence with the San Joaquin River in San Joaquin County, the project removed one of the worst-ranked passage barriers in the lower Calaveras watershed, reducing flow velocities at the crossing and significantly expanding the window of passable conditions for both adult and juvenile salmonids.

  • Wildcat Creek Fish Passage and Community Engagement Project (Phase 1)

    This project conducted an ecological engineering assessment of an existing, chronically clogged fish ladder on Wildcat Creek in the unincorporated North Richmond community of Contra Costa County, developed final design plans for a replacement fish passage facility to improve steelhead access to 1.1 miles of upstream habitat in a creek flowing from the Berkeley hills to San Pablo Bay, and engaged the surrounding disadvantaged community through K-12 educational programming, a children’s book, and community meetings. This is a multi-phase project, with the Forum supporting Phases 1,2 and 3. Location: Wildcat Creek at the Lower Wildcat Creek Flood Control Channel, in…

  • Ross Valley Sanitary District Shady Lane Abandoned Sewer and Barrier Removal Project

    This project removed a concrete-encased abandoned sewer line from the bed of Ross Creek in San Anselmo, Marin County, that had been acting as a 3.5-foot weir and barrier to juvenile steelhead and smolts, restoring natural channel grade and opening 8,000 linear feet of upstream spawning and rearing habitat in a tributary to Corte Madera Creek.

  • Mid Klamath Creek Mouth Enhancement Project

    This project annually assessed and manually improved fish passage at the mouths of up to 41 cold water tributaries along a roughly 75-mile stretch of the mid-Klamath River between Weitchpec in Humboldt County and Cottonwood Creek in Siskiyou County, enhancing thermal refugia access for coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead during critical low-flow summer and fall migration periods. Location: Mainstem Klamath River tributaries from Weitchpec, Humboldt County (river mile ~143) upstream to Cottonwood Creek, Siskiyou County — a reach spanning portions of Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties on and adjacent to the Klamath National Forest. Work focused on the first 1,000…

  • West Tule Creek Diversion Fish Passage Project

    This project developed engineering designs for a fish-passable irrigation diversion and fish screen on West Tule Creek, a tributary to Hayfork Creek in Trinity County, to restore 1.5 miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat for Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey, while also improving instream flows through water transaction and irrigation efficiency upgrades on the Evans Ranch.

  • Strawberry Creek at Clam Beach Fish Passage Project

    This project retrofitted a concrete flood conveyance channel adjacent to the Highway 101 culvert on Strawberry Creek near McKinleyville in Humboldt County by installing 13 angled concrete baffles to create a functional fishway, restoring 5 miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat for steelhead, coho salmon, coastal cutthroat trout, and lamprey species.

  • Santa Margarita River Fish Passage and Bridge Replacement

    This project replaced a low-flow river crossing at Sandia Creek Drive — the last remaining fish passage barrier on the mainstem Santa Margarita River — with a full-span bridge to restore migration access for endangered Southern California steelhead, opening 12 miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat approximately two miles north of Fallbrook in San Diego County.

  • Montague-Grenada Weir Retrofit & Barrier Removal

    This project modified the Montague-Grenada Weir — a concrete flow measurement structure on the mainstem Shasta River in Siskiyou County that functioned as a near year-round fish passage barrier — by raising the low-flow sill to eliminate the hydraulic drop while preserving the structure’s water measurement function. The modification improves passage for all life stages of Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey at river mile 14.6 on one of California’s historically most productive salmon rivers, a tributary to the Klamath River.

  • 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.

  • 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 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.

  • Neefus Gulch Wood and Fish Passage at Appian Way

    This project developed engineering plans for replacing a failing road crossing on Neefus Gulch — a tributary to the North Fork Navarro River in Mendocino County — with a stream simulation arch culvert, and for installing 14 large wood structures to arrest an active knickpoint in a severely incised 1,600-foot channel reach. The designs were part of a broader restoration effort that also removed an upstream earthen dam. Subsequent monitoring documented 10 coho salmon redds and two steelhead redds, including in reaches where salmon had not spawned for over 70 years.

  • Davy Brown and Munch Creek Fish Passage Engineering Project

    This project completed final engineering designs for the removal of three concrete low-water crossings on Davy Brown and Munch Creeks, tributaries to Manzana Creek within Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County. One Munch Creek crossing will be removed and channel restored; two Davy Brown crossings will be replaced with stream-spanning bridges. The work will open approximately 3.1 miles of additional habitat in the Sisquoc River watershed — a Core 1 recovery priority — for federally endangered Southern California steelhead.

  • Cooper Mill Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project Designs

    This project funded site characterization and engineering design work for two legacy fish passage barriers on lower Cooper Mill Creek, a tributary to Yager Creek within the Van Duzen River basin in Humboldt County — a boulder step-weir complex at the creek mouth and a concrete sill approximately 0.5 miles upstream. Hydraulic modeling confirmed both structures block adult and juvenile salmonids at most flows. The designs will support future physical removal of barriers to coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead in a historically productive watershed.

  • Upper Green Valley Creek Fish Passage Project

    This project replaced a severely undersized, failing private road culvert on Upper Green Valley Creek — a Russian River tributary in Sonoma County — with a 15-foot bottomless arch culvert and a 157-foot step-pool roughened channel with boulder weirs for grade control. The culvert had blocked coho access under all flow conditions. The project opened 0.9 miles of spawning and rearing habitat, and post-construction surveys detected 136 steelhead young-of-year upstream of the site, benefiting federally endangered Central California Coast coho salmon and threatened steelhead.

  • Pennington Creek Steelhead Barrier Removal Project

    This project removed a 1920s-era concrete diversion weir and ineffective fish ladder on Pennington Creek at the Rancho El Chorro Outdoor School in San Luis Obispo County, replacing approximately 160 linear feet of channel with engineered step pools. A new fish screen was installed at the diversion intake with a minimum bypass flow protective of steelhead critical habitat. The project opened 2.3 miles of perennial upstream habitat to federally threatened South-Central California Coast steelhead, with juveniles observed using the restored channel just six days after construction ended.

  • Benbow Dam Removal Project

    This project fully removed the Benbow Dam from the South Fork of the Eel River at Benbow Lake State Recreation Area, approximately two miles south of Garberville in Humboldt County. Originally built in the 1930s for power generation, the dam had become a safety hazard blocking upstream migration. Removal spanned two construction seasons (2016–2017) and included bank regrading and riparian revegetation. It was the second-largest dam removal in California history at the time, opening 100 miles of South Fork Eel River habitat to coho salmon, Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey.

  • Manly Gulch Coho Access and Habitat Restoration Project

    This project replaced a failing road-stream crossing on Camp Road in Manly Gulch — a tributary to the Little North Fork of the Big River flowing through Mendocino Woodlands State Park in Mendocino County — with a 30-foot span timber bridge and realigned approximately 600 feet of channel. Log steps, pools, boulder weirs, rootwads, and a backwater alcove were installed to improve habitat. The project opened approximately 4,000 feet of upstream habitat for federally endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead, species for which Manly Gulch is designated critical habitat.

  • Central California Traction Railroad Bridge Fish Passage Improvement Project

    This project improved fish passage at the Central California Traction Railroad Crossing on the Stockton Diverting Canal, within the lower Calaveras River system near Stockton in San Joaquin County. A second flume, notches, and a downstream roughened rock ramp were installed to provide passage at flows between 30 and 1,000 cfs. The project opened approximately 13.4 miles of stream to fall-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead — a core recovery population in the Southern Sierra and San Joaquin watershed.

  • Memorial County Park Fish Passage Barriers Remediation Project

    This project removed two fish passage barriers from Pescadero Creek at Memorial County Park near Loma Mar in San Mateo County — a remnant dam and a concrete vehicle ford — replacing them with a restored natural creek bed and v-notched weirs with arched culverts allowing passage across a wider range of flows. The project opened 62.3 miles of unimpeded spawning and rearing habitat, a high-priority recovery action for nearly extirpated Central California Coast coho salmon and steelhead trout.

  • Sharber-Peckham Fish Passage Project

    This project replaced a failing undersized corrugated metal pipe culvert on Galaxy Drive, which had blocked Sharber-Peckham Creek — a Trinity River tributary near Salyer in Trinity County — for at least 20 years. The barrier was replaced with a 12-by-14-foot embedded multi-plate ellipse culvert designed to pass 100-year flows while maintaining a natural streambed. Sharber-Peckham Creek is the greatest single producer of coho salmon between the Hoopa reservation and the North Fork Trinity River, and post-project monitoring found 740 juvenile coho rearing upstream within one year.

  • Pinole Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project

    This project improved fish passage through the nearly 400-foot Caltrans I-80 double-bay box culvert on Pinole Creek in the City of Pinole, Contra Costa County. Construction added concrete notch baffles, training walls, a terminal rock pool, and a rocked downstream chute, opening nearly 7 miles of documented spawning and rearing habitat. The project benefits a federally threatened steelhead population recognized as one of very few viable runs within the San Francisco Bay Area.

  • Kelly Gulch Fish Passage Project

    This project replaced an undersized culvert on Forest Service Road 40N39 on Kelly Gulch, a tributary to the North Fork Salmon River within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, with a bottomless arch culvert allowing natural passage of aquatic organisms, water, sediment, and debris. The culvert was one of the only remaining barriers to anadromous fish on the Klamath National Forest Transportation System, benefiting SONCC coho salmon, steelhead trout, and potentially Pacific lamprey.

  • Dinner Creek Fish Passage Barrier Removal Project

    This project removed three undersized culverts on Dinner Creek at Briceland Thorne Road in Humboldt County — including a complete barrier to all life stages — and supplemented emergency replacement work with habitat improvements including river-run gravels, roughened channel work, and instream fish structures. Located in the South Fork Eel River watershed, the project opened 1.8 miles of spawning and rearing habitat and included riparian revegetation, benefiting coho salmon and steelhead.

  • Carpinteria Creek Fish Passage Project

    This project removed the last major migration barrier in the Carpinteria Creek watershed — an undersized bridge and 100 feet of concrete-lined channel with drop structures — replacing it with a clear-span bridge and a restored natural stream channel incorporating rock and large wood structure. Located in coastal Santa Barbara County, the project opened at least 1.27 miles of historic spawning habitat on the mainstem Carpinteria Creek for the first time in decades, benefiting federally endangered Southern California steelhead. Location: Carpinteria Creek is located in coastal Santa Barbara County, approximately 10 miles southeast of the City of Santa Barbara. It…

  • Branciforte Creek Dam Removal

    This project removed the 8-foot Cahill Dam, built in 1931, from Branciforte Creek — the last tributary of the San Lorenzo River before it reaches the Pacific Ocean in Santa Cruz County. The dam had blocked migration and buried natural spawning substrate under 250 feet of sediment. Following removal, nearly three miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat were opened and natural sediment transport restored, benefiting Central California Coast steelhead and providing a high-priority reintroduction corridor for coho salmon.

  • Grape Creek Streamflow Restoration — Water and Wine Program

    This project addressed critically low dry-season flows in Grape Creek, a tributary to Dry Creek in the Russian River watershed of Sonoma County, by working with vineyard landowners to install off-stream ponds fed by groundwater and winter rainfall. This eliminated in-stream diversions that had historically reduced flows during salmon and steelhead migration periods. Additional work included fish passage barrier removal and streambank restoration, benefiting federally endangered Central California Coast coho salmon and federally threatened CCC steelhead.

  • Conner Creek Migration Barrier Removal Project

    This project addresses two fish passage barriers on Conner Creek, a tributary to the Trinity River below Lewiston Dam. The Trinity River is a major tributary to the Klamath River. The project sites — Conner Creek Road (Crossing #1) and Red Hill Road (Crossing #2) — are located approximately 8 miles west of Weaverville in Trinity County, California.