August 7, 2011
Restoring Fish Passage in Willow Creek - Steelhead and Coho saved!
Stewards is proud to report that our Willow Creek 2nd Bridge Fish Passage Construction Project has begun! Due to the amount of rain we received this year, the creek needed to be dewatered in the construction area. The dewatering process began on July 27th and turned out to be quite exciting for all the participants. The project is being managed by our construction contractor Prunuske Chatham Inc. (PCI). Volunteers and Staff from Stewards, State Parks, PCI, NOAA Restoration Center, Point Reyes Bird Observatory-Straw and the Sonoma County Water Agency worked together to rescue fish for two days. The team used backpack electrofishers and large and small seines to capture the fish. They were transported upstream into suitable habitat. The total reach was about 400'. The exciting news is that 60 anadromous fish were captured including 40 steehead and 20 coho!! Other fish relocated included 115 prickly sculpin, 691 threespine stickleback, 1 giant tiger salamander larva and 1 red-legged frog tadpole.
The project will continue through September and includes the installation of a 43' pre-fab bridge that will provide fish passage in the area of 2nd bridge on Willow Creek Road. Current funders include the Department of Fish and Game, NOAA Restoration Center Open Rivers Initiative and a pass through grant provided by Trout Unlimited from the Sonoma County Water Agency. Willow Creek Road past the Willow Creek Environmental Campground is closed to all but authorized vehicles during construction. I will keep you posted on progress.
