The proposed project is rehabilitation of a 250 feet stretch of chautauqua creek, a tributary of lake erie, in the town of westfield on town-owned, publicly accessible property to enhance the…

The proposed project is rehabilitation of a 250 feet stretch of chautauqua creek, a tributary of lake erie, in the town of westfield on town-owned, publicly accessible property to enhance the aquatic habitat of the creek, protect the public trail at the top of the bank, and reduce sediment migration into the lake. Chautauqua creek flows northerly for over 15 miles before entering lake erie near westfield. Each october through april, the creek offers one of the top lake erie steelhead runs in western new york. The lower section has long been a steelhead hot spot. Completed in 2012, a fish passage project at the westfield water works DAM now provides steelhead access to an additional 10 miles of stream, winding through a deep, forested gorge. The lowest section of creek also receives runs of lake erie brown trout in the fall and smallmouth bass in the spring. Chautauqua creek is listed by the new york state department of environmental conservation as a prime trout stream with thousands of people fishing this stream for steelhead trout for eight to ten months of the year. The stream is also a known location for the endangered eastern sand darter. People interested in fishing used to access the stream by a trail from a nearby parking location. Hazardous bank undercutting along the northern end of the stream has reduced access by the public trail that runs along the top of the bank. The proposed activity will restore approximately 250 feet of unstable bank using natural restoration techniques and materials. Design ideas for the restoration include peak stone TOE protection system to RE-establish the edge of the stream channel integrating rock vanes or bendway weirs into the TOE protection to align the stream thalweg away from the bank RE-establish instant shade by installing a buffer of native plants RE-establish a floodplain bench to dissipate storm flow energy install cover stones to provide fish habitat and RE-establish the walking trail for fishing access.