Rowdy and Dominie Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project

PCSRF funding will be used by the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (TDN) Fisheries

Program to implement the Rowdy Creek and Dominie Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project

(Project) in order to restore passage to fish and other aquatic species on Rowdy and Dominie

Creeks. There are five objectives of the Project:

1. Remove the existing Hatchery concrete weir and picket fence on Rowdy Creek and

reconstruct the concrete apron and picket fence to provide volitional fish passage when

the Hatchery is not collecting fish over the range of fish passage design flows while

meeting regulatory criteria.

2. Improve the Hatchery fish trapping facility on Rowdy Creek to minimize delay and

handling of fish not to be collected by the Hatchery.

3. Construct a new Hatchery water diversion structure on Rowdy Creek that meets

regulatory criteria, and allows the maximum water right diversion of six cubic feet per

second (cfs).

4. Improve Dominie Creek at the Rowdy Creek confluence to provide volitional fish

passage over the range of fish passage design flows while meeting regulatory criteria.

5. Remove the existing Hatchery infrastructure on Dominie Creek below the Hatchery

access road bridge to improve fish passage conditions while protecting the bridge

structure.

Rowdy and Dominie Creeks (in addition to the Smith River) have been

documented to support Endangered Species Act listed Coho Salmon and California Department

of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Species of Special Concern Pacific lamprey, Chinook Salmon,

Coastal Cutthroat Trout, in addition to steelhead, Rainbow Trout and many other aquatic species

(Garwood and Larson 2014, NOAA 2014, SRAC 2002, Scriven 2001). Pacific lamprey have not

been documented in Rowdy Creek during monitoring efforts conducted from 2011-2016 which is

thought to be due to the Hatchery infrastructure (Walkley and Garwood 2017). Implementation

of the Project would restore volitional passage for adult and juvenile salmonids to historical

habitat upstream of the Hatchery amounting to 1.6 miles of stream channel on Dominie Creek

(Lang 2005) and 11.5 miles of stream channel on Rowdy Creek (Garwood and Larson 2014).

The Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery (Hatchery) weir across Rowdy Creek is one of the most

substantial anadromous fish barriers remaining in coastal California outside of major dams

(Parish and Garwood 2016). Barrier removal on Rowdy Creek is recommended in the Recovery

Strategy for Coho Salmon (CDFG 2004) and the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast

(SONCC) Coho Salmon Recovery Plan (NOAA 2014). The weir on Rowdy Creek is also listed

on the CDFWs 2018, 2019, and 2021 Fish Passage Priorities Lists. In addition to Coho Salmon,

this Project would improve spawning and rearing opportunities for wild Chinook Salmon,

steelhead, Cutthroat Trout, and Pacific lamprey, as well as Chinook Salmon and steelhead

Hatchery strays, which has the potential to increase salmonid populations in the Smith River

Basin.