Woodman Creek, located five miles north of Dos Rios, is a tributary of the Eel River which is one of California’s most significant salmon and steelhead strongholds. CalTrout is overseeing a major project to restore fish passage to Woodman Creek where salmon have not found their way into its watershed for over a century.
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad was constructed in 1914 through the Eel River Canyon which permanently blocked the migration pathway for salmon and steelhead into Woodman Creek. Now, a century after it was built, this story takes a turn in favor of fish restoration. The Woodman Creek Fish Passage Project will remove over a mile of rusted steel rail which will open access to high-quality steelhead and salmon habitat.
Whether they travel long distances or stay closer to home, all fish need to move. Opening this fish passage at Woodman Creek will connect waterways leading to successful fish migration.”
The historic railroad line was built through an area known to have high geological and tectonic activity including gigantic ‘deep-seated landslides’ slumping into the Eel River, catastrophic earthquakes, and powerful floods which often ravaged through the canyon. The 1997 flood caused a bedrock cliff to shear off next to Woodman, where a portion of the tunnel collapsed into the river thus ending any prospect of railroad service ever returning to this line.
As mentioned in the Eureka Times Standard, “railroad workers at the time filled in about 500 feet of the creek and blasted a large hole in the bedrock in order to complete a bridge. These changes altered the mouth of the creek so that fish would now have to leap 12 feet vertically to access the creek, which essentially cut off access to most fish.”
The 2017 State of the Salmonids II: Fish in Hot Water report states that 74% of CA’s native salmon, steelhead and trout species are likely to be extinct in 100 years. With major dams listed as a top human-caused threat to salmon and steelhead resilience, CalTrout is dedicated to reconnecting habitat and giving the fish access to diverse habitat by removing barriers and obsolete dams. CalTrout is currently engaged in several projects with the goal of dam removal including the Klamath Dams and Potter Valley Project in the north and Matilija Dam in the south.”
The Woodman Creek Fish Passage Project has taken the better part of seven years for CalTrout and numerous partners to plan and prepare for. This project, which is led by our North Coast Regional Director Darren Mierau, will support quality local jobs while providing significant ecological benefits to the region.
Highlights include:
The project is on track to be completed by early September this year. Check back later to hear more updates on the fish passage restoration and habitat creation at Woodman Creek.
Project update 7/26/18: they’ve completed the excavation and reconstruction of 200 ft of the mouth of Woodman Creek, and on Tuesday we removed fish (only three juvenile steelhead), hundreds of Foothill Yellow Legged Frogs (now a candidate species for state listing), and two Western Pond Turtles, so the Woodman Creek channel can be dewatered for construction.
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Thank you for your interest in Big Chico Creek and the Iron Canyon Fish Passage Project! We looking forward to sharing project updates, news, and stories with you from the Big Chico Creek watershed as they develop.
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Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.
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