Annual Request for Proposals for restoration funding is opening June 15th

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Logo of the California Fish Passage Forum

The Forum is 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.

The M-G weir repair project on the Shasta River, Siskiyou County, CA

Forum Funded Restoration Projects

Home » Funded Projects

Since 2012, The Forum has helped support projects across California, from research, assessment, implementation and monitoring of fish passage improvement and habitat enhancement, collectively representing a significant investment in the recovery of anadromous fish populations statewide. Explore projects by year funded, county, major river system, or by the lead partner.

Project Stats

70+ Barrier removals

Culvert replacements, dam removals,  technical fishway installations, and channel augmentations.

69 habitat enhancements 

Improvements to floodplain and channel complexity,  large woody debris installation, and native plantings. 

295 miles conserved

Riparian acres improved, reconnected, or conserved.

3,026 people engaged

Program mangers, funders, engineers, scientists, restoration practitioners, and community members engaged.

2,249 organizations engaged

Funding agencies, permitting agencies, restoration conservation districts, and nonprofits engaged.

Big River Calaveras River California State Parks Conner Creek Contra Costa County Contra Costa RCD Del Norte County Eel River Eel River Watershed Improvement Group Five Counties Salmonid Conservation Program Gold Ridge RCD Humboldt County Humboldt County Department of Public Works Humboldt County RCD Jenny Creek Klamath River Mendocino County Merced County Mid Klamath Watershed Council Mormon Slough NOAA Fisheries Outlet Creek Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Pescadero Creek Russian River San Joaquin County San Joaquin River San Mateo RCD Santa Barbara County Siskiyou County Smith River Sonoma County South Coast Habitat Restoration Stockton East Water District Stotenburg Creek The Watershed Project Trinity County Trinity River Trout Unlimited USDA Forest Service US Fish and Wildlife Service Van Duzen River Weaver Creek Wildcat Creek Yager Creek

  • Lamprey Passage at Rowdy Creek

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    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…

  • Iron Horse Vineyards Dam Removal Project

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    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. Location: Lower Green Valley Creek, on…

  • Neefus Gulch Wood and Fish Passage at Appian Way

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    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. Location: Neefus Gulch is a 1.4-square-mile tributary to the…

  • Mid Klamath Fish Passage Improvement Project

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    This ongoing annual project deploys trained crews each summer to assess and manually treat fish passage barriers at the mouths of up to 72 priority tributaries to the Klamath, Salmon, and Lower Scott Rivers across Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties. Barriers including debris jams, boulder cascades, and perched alluvial deltas are modified using hand tools to create step-pool fishways, and brush bundles installed to enhance thermal refugia. The project benefits coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead, with over 80% of treated sites showing documented increases in salmonid presence post-treatment by 2022. Project Name: Mid Klamath Fish Passage Improvement Project Location: Tributaries…

  • Davy Brown and Munch Creek Fish Passage Engineering Project

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    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. Location: Davy Brown and Munch Creeks are tributaries to Manzana Creek, which is the largest tributary to the Sisquoc…

  • Cooper Mill Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project Designs

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    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. Location: Cooper Mill Creek is a 3.9-square-mile sub-watershed of Yager Creek, located approximately 2.5 miles…