North Coast
Rugged headwaters to fog-draped estuaries — and California’s best chance at salmon recovery.
From the redwood-fringed Smith River near the Oregon border to the working-landscape Russian River, the North Coast holds some of the state’s most productive salmon and steelhead habitat. Soon, it will be home to California’s longest free-flowing river: the Eel.
8
Active projects
6
Recently completed projects
2
Dams coming out on the Eel River
800+
Community members at the inaugural Eel River Expo
NORTH COAST PROJECTS
Restoration, from headwaters to
estuary.
Filter projects
14 projects
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Eel River Forum
Read more →: Eel River ForumA 22-organization coalition is committed to the holistic restoration of the Eel River.
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Eel River Dam Removal
Read more →: Eel River Dam RemovalRemoving two century-old dams to reconnect salmon and steelhead to nearly 300 miles of the Eel River’s cold-water…
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Eel River Watershed Restoration & Conservation Program
Read more →: Eel River Watershed Restoration & Conservation Program950-acre estuary restoration + the upcoming removal of Scott and Cape Horn dams.
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Cannibal Island, Eel River Estuary Restoration Project
Read more →: Cannibal Island, Eel River Estuary Restoration ProjectRestoring 950 acres of tidal marsh at the Eel River’s mouth to revive salmon habitat and buffer nearby…
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Elk River Recovery Program
Read more →: Elk River Recovery ProgramRestoring the Elk River’s watershed and estuary to revive salmon habitat, filter water naturally, and buffer nearby communities…
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South Fork Eel River Science & Monitoring Program
Read more →: South Fork Eel River Science & Monitoring ProgramMonitoring juvenile salmon and steelhead on the South Fork Eel River to understand what’s working, and studying an…
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Cedar Creek Barrier Removal
Read more →: Cedar Creek Barrier RemovalRemoved a defunct 60-year-old dam on Cedar Creek reopening nine miles of habitat and cold-water refuge for salmon…
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Cochran Creek Fish Passage and Channel Restoration
Read more →: Cochran Creek Fish Passage and Channel RestorationReplaced a century-old tidegate near Humboldt Bay reopened Cochran Creek’s estuary to coho salmon and steelhead — and…
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Woodman Creek Project
Read more →: Woodman Creek ProjectRemoved a century-old railroad barrier on Woodman Creek reopens up to 14 miles of habitat for steelhead, Chinook,…
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Redwood Creek Estuary Restoration
Read more →: Redwood Creek Estuary RestorationReconnecting Redwood Creek’s estuary to the sediment and floodplain processes it lost to a 1968 flood control project,…
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Prairie Creek Floodplain Restoration
Read more →: Prairie Creek Floodplain RestorationRestored 125 acres of floodplain habitat at Prairie Creek to give salmon and steelhead their last rearing grounds…
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Bull Creek, Hamilton Reach Restoration Project
Read more →: Bull Creek, Hamilton Reach Restoration ProjectRebuilt lost pools, side channels, and shade along Bull Creek in Humboldt Redwoods State Park to give coho…
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Cedar Creek and Elder Creek Legal Protection
Read more →: Cedar Creek and Elder Creek Legal ProtectionSeeking the Clean Water Act’s strongest protection for Cedar and Elder Creeks, cold-water refuges steelhead need to survive…
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Baduwa’t Estuary Restoration
Read more →: Baduwa’t Estuary RestorationReconnected the lower Baduwa’t to more than four acres of floodplain to improve key salmonid habitat.
FEATURED WATERSHEDS
Three key watersheds, one regional approach.
Eel River Watershed
The Eel River supports one of California’s largest wild salmon and steelhead runs, and the world’s largest surviving stands of ancient redwoods.
Elk River Watershed
The Elk River drains a 58.3-square-mile watershed in Humboldt County, flowing out of steep, redwood-forested slopes before reaching Humboldt Bay just south of Eureka.
Redwood Creek Watershed
A narrow, steep, undammed watershed flowing through Redwood National Park and Yurok Tribe ancestral territory to the Pacific — one of California’s rare, free-flowing streams.
Native Salmonids
Explore the North Coast’s native fish.
From salmon and steelhead to coastal cutthroat trout, California’s native fish are essential to healthy rivers and thriving ecosystems.
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California Coastal Chinook Salmon
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Central California Coast Coho Salmon
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Chum Salmon
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Coastal Cutthroat Trout
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Coastal Rainbow Trout
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Klamath Mountains Province Summer Steelhead
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Klamath Mountains Province Winter Steelhead
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Northern California Summer Steelhead
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Northern California Winter Steelhead
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Pink Salmon
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Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Chinook Salmon
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Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho Salmon
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Upper Klamath-Trinity Rivers Spring-Run Chinook Salmon
Why this region
California’s stronghold for salmon, steelhead, and coastal trout.
California’s North Coast is a stronghold for Pacific salmon — and the most ecologically productive corner of the state for salmon, steelhead, and trout. Cool fog, dense forest, deep-cut canyons, and a chain of coastal rivers fed by winter rains and summer base-flows have sustained Chinook, coho, steelhead, and coastal cutthroat trout for millennia.
That productivity has come under enormous pressure. A century of logging, road-building, water diversion, and dam construction has fragmented habitat, warmed streams, and severed migration corridors. But the North Coast also has California’s best opportunities to recover those losses — vast public lands, strong Tribal stewardship, the upcoming Eel River dam removal, and 22 partners working side-by-side in the Eel River Forum alone. CalTrout’s regional team works watershed-by-watershed to make every recovery dollar go further.
FEATURED project
EEL RIVER WATERSHED restoration PROGRAM
A free-flowing Eel River, and a holistic approach to restoring the watershed from source to sea.
The Eel River epitomizes everything about salmon in California. Spanning five northern counties and 3,684 square miles, the Eel is the state’s third-largest watershed — and the restoration potential is tremendous.
The upcoming removal of Scott and Cape Horn dams, part of the PG&E-owned Potter Valley Project, will reconnect native salmon and steelhead with nearly 300 miles of pristine cold-water habitat — making the Eel California’s longest free-flowing river. The Eel once supported annual runs of up to a million salmon and steelhead.
CalTrout’s science-based Eel River Watershed Restoration and Conservation Program — built in partnership with the 22 public agencies, tribes, and conservation organizations of the Eel River Forum — is the blueprint for the transformation.
CALTROUT IN ACTION
Stories from the field.
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CalTrout’s Outreach and Community Action Paddling Tour of the Eel River Estuary
Read more →: CalTrout’s Outreach and Community Action Paddling Tour of the Eel River Estuary -
Woodman Creek Fish Passage Project Update (In Pictures and Video!)
Read more →: Woodman Creek Fish Passage Project Update (In Pictures and Video!) -
Breaking Ground on Woodman Creek Fish Passage Project
Read more →: Breaking Ground on Woodman Creek Fish Passage Project
Support Caltrout
We can’t take California for granted.
At California Trout, our goal is to restore vibrance and abundance to California’s freshwater ecosystems, and to keep them that way for years to come. With the help of many local and national partners, we are building a future where wild fish and clean water remain a defining part of California.