Restore spawning and rearing habitat in a reach of french creek that has been degraded by past activities including road and bridge construction, mining, agriculture, and levee construction for…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife (CFDA 15.631) program, awarded a $101,458.50 Cooperative Agreement to the Scott River Watershed Council to restore spawning and rearing habitat for coho salmon in a degraded reach of French Creek in Etna, California. The project will construct three engineered log jams and add 55 cubic yards of spawning gravel to enhance spawning and create rearing habitat for the endangered species. Native willows will also be planted to promote a healthy riparian corridor. This project supports the Department of the Interior's priorities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission to conserve and restore fish and wildlife habitats. The award period runs from July 1, 2024 through September 30, 2027.

Restore spawning and rearing habitat in a reach of french creek that has been degraded by past activities including road and bridge construction, mining, agriculture, and levee construction for flood control. These activities have artificially straightened and confined portions of the creek and created a channel corridor with relatively uniform gradients, a substrate of large cobbles embedded with sand and fine sediments, an absence of large wood, and little habitat diversity. To restore habitat for coho salmon, this project will construct three engineered log jams and load up to 55 cubic yards of spawning sized gravel throughout an approximately 150 foot reach of french creek immediately upstream of the phase I project. The gravel will enhance spawning habitat in the short term while engineered log jams will sort existing gravels and increase spawning habitat over time. The log jams will also create rearing habitat for coho salmon by creating scour pools and slow water habitat. Native willow species will also be planted in and around the log jams to promote the development of a healthy riparian corridor.