Page 5 - 2015 Annual Project Review

NORTH COAST REGIONAL GOAL
To recover and protect threatened salmon and steelhead populations and their habitats through the implementation of species recovery plans and proof-of-concept projects, and by advocating for science-based approaches and policy reform.
KEYSTONE INITIATIVE
Eel River Recovery
Coho Populations Once 100,000, Now 1,000.
At over 3,600 sq. miles, the Eel River watershed is the third largest in California. While the majority of the watershed is privately owned and managed for timber production, cattle and dairy ranching, the area also includes several state parks, wilderness areas, and national forests.
Historically, the Eel River was a major salmon and steelhead producer with runs in wet periods estimated to annually average over a million adults (~800,000 chinook, ~100,000 coho, ~150,000 steelhead).
Today, nearly all the mainstem and large tributaries in the Eel River Basin have been listed as “impaired” under the Federal EPA’s Clean Water Act, primarily due to excessive sediment, habitat degradation and increased water temperatures. As a result, salmon and steelhead populations have been severely depressed
over many decades: fall run chinook and steelhead runs fluctuate between 1,000 and 10,000 adults; coho likely number less than 2,000 adults annually.
The ongoing 4-year drought in northern California, combined with rapidly expanding water diversions for marijuana cultivation, is having devastating effects on spring and summer streamflows. These conditions are likely causing extirpation of local salmon and steelhead populations as entire watersheds are running dry.
Eel River Forum
LONG-TERM GOAL
Achieve consensus among a coalition of agency, tribal, and conservation partners regarding priority recovery actions and policy reform needed to recover salmonid populations in the Eel River basin.
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Coordinated quarterly meetings with 22 stakeholder organizations focused on key priority issues.
• Continued developing the Eel River Action Plan to identify priority recovery actions for immediate funding and implementation.
WHAT WE WILL ACHIEVE IN 2015-16
• Complete the Eel River Action Plan.
• Begin developing “Local Implementation Plan” for the South Fork
Eel River watershed.
Eel River Estuary Preserve
LONG-TERM GOAL
Restore critical habitat zones within the Eel River estuary to increase ecological resiliency to buffer sea level rise, restore and improve fish access to high quality habitats, and build on the success of The Wildlands Conservancy’s Eel River Preserve.
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Developed four alternative restoration designs for the Preserve. • Began the EIR and engineering design phases of project
development.
WHAT WE WILL ACHIEVE IN 2015-16
• Complete the engineering designs and regulatory compliance for the preferred project design.
• Secure funding for large-scale restoration implementation.
5