Rail Dump Gulch Fish Passage and Habitat Improvement Design Project

This project will identify constraints and design options to improve fish passage, restore off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile Coho Salmon and other salmonids, and provide high flow refugia for juvenile and adult salmonids in Rail Dump Gulch.The project work tasks will include biological, geomorphic, and hydrological characterization of the project area and an evaluation of the risks and potential impacts associated with different design options. Designs will be developed in coordination with the Project Team, composed of Trout Unlimited (TU), CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Pacific Watershed Associates (PWA), CA State Parks, and potentially local tribes. The 100% engineered design plans will include channel improvements, stream crossing upgrading, and instream and floodplain habitat design features. The designs will provide all information necessary for implementation and permitting.

The expected benefits include design plans to remediate and restore a tidal marsh tributary impacted by historical timber harvest practices and to restore off-channel salmonid rearing and refuge habitat within an estuary ecotone. The design will provide sustainable year round access to restored habitats for rearing salmonids by remediating a temporal barrier and failing culvert. This project will lead to the expansion and diversification of rearing and refuge habitats within Lower Big River.