Sacramento River Monitoring and Restoration of Juvenile Habitat

A project to improve juvenile fish habitat on the mainstem of the Sacramento River in Shasta and Tehama Counties has been in development for a few years. The dynamic river system has been monitored and mapped with the goal of protecting the early life history of threatened and endangered salmonids from flow fluctuations. The mainstem Sacramento River from River Mile 230 to 300 is impacted by dam operations as part of the USBR Central Valley Project. At this time, partnerships are being built to start to work on the next phases of the project. These partnerships involve many landowners who each own a small section of this 70 mile section of river. Monitoring will continue and sites with willing landowners will be designed to have a downward slope so that juvenile fish will be able to swim out with the outgoing flowing water. Steps to comply with the necessary environmental compliance regulations will also be undertaken. Funds for this project are expected to be available within the next few months. In the future, additional funds for implementation at additional sites may also become available (approx. $300,000 per year for the next 2 years). Additional incremental funding may be provided for restoration of juvenile habitat which will include the tasks of planning, environmental compliance, design, project management and construction. Juvenile salmonid habitat along the mainstem Sacramento River is a high priority for the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program (CFDA 15.648).