Nine miles of wild fish habitat on a South Fork Eel River tributary, blocked for more than 60 years, is now accessible once again thanks to a fish passage restoration project recently completed by California Trout, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and partners. Cedar Creek provides a significant portion of the cold water that flows into the Eel River’s South Fork in the summer. With the removal of an 8-foot-high dam on the creek, migratory Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey will have improved access to the creek during all their life stages. In fact, on Dec. 7, CalTrout staff observed adult Chinook salmon already spawning above the former dam’s location. These fish likely would not have been able to make it past the dam if it were still in place, given this fall’s low water levels. “The initiation and completion of this project is a testament to CDFW’s engineering and fisheries staff and their commitment to restoring California’s natural resources while creating long-lasting partnerships with private landowners such as the Yangshe Gomde Buddhist Retreat Center and restoration groups such as CalTrout,” said Scott Monday, Environmental Scientist with CDFW’s North Coast Watershed Improvement Center in Fortuna who has worked
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(VIDEO) Removal of Obsolete Concrete Dam on South Fork Eel Tributary Opens Nine Miles …
