This project will take advantage of a valuable opportunity to partner with a private landowner to address all stream crossings that are barriers to fish passage on their property, while also…

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service awarded Smith River Alliance Inc. a $348,199 cooperative agreement under the National Fish Passage program to replace an undersized culvert barrier with a fish-passable structure on a tributary to Morrison Creek in northern California. The culvert replacement will improve access to 1.1 miles of habitat and support the National Fish Passage program's goal of reconnecting habitat fragmented by barriers. Specifically, Smith River Alliance will replace a 3-foot corrugated metal pipe culvert that is 20 feet long and set at an inverse slope of 1.1, with an aluminum box culvert measuring 12.5 feet wide by 7.4 feet tall by 22.5 feet long. Additionally, they will place four large woody structures with rootwads around the new crossing to stabilize banks and provide habitat enhancement. The agreement was awarded on July 10, 2023 and work is expected to be completed by July 9, 2028.

This project will take advantage of a valuable opportunity to partner with a private landowner to address all stream crossings that are barriers to fish passage on their property, while also increasing channel and bank stability and habitat complexity. These actions will increase the quality and quantity of accessible productive coastal rearing habitat in the smith river plain. The two crossings are located on a tributary to morrison creek, rawson creek. With matching funds one of the crossings was remediated in 2022. The overall goal of the nfpp funds is to remove the second undersized culvert, that is a partial barrier to fish passage, and replace IT with an appropriately sized culvert that allow passage at all migration flows as well as allow for conveyance of debris and water during 100-year storms. Replacing the upstream culvert will improve access to 1.1 miles of habitat by replacing a 3-foot CMP culvert, 20 feet in length and set at an inverse slope of 1.1 with an aluminum box culvert that is 12.5 wide by 7.4 tall and 22.5 long. A total of four large wood pieces with rootwads will be placed at the crossing, two upstream of the crossing and two downstream of the crossing, to stabilize the bank and provide habitat enhancement features.