Rocky Gulch. (Photo: Paula Golightly, USFWS)

By Erica Szlosek, External Affairs

The Coastal Program at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office recently provided funding and technical assistance to restore fish passage and water flow to a tributary stream of Humboldt Bay named Rocky Gulch. McBain and Trush, a local natural resource organization, worked with the landowner to develop the project and  the Service's Coastal Program, California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and other partners provided funds and technical assistance to implement the project.

The goal was to restore fish access to more than a mile of stream for coho salmon (Onchorynchus kisutch) and steelhead(Onchorynchus mykiss).  This was done by: replacing the tidegate to allow fish passage;  reshaping the channel and restoring portions of the floodplain; setting back and rehabilitating the dikes to better contain winter floods and protect the grazed pasture from flooding; restoring riparian and conifer vegetation on the newly created floodplain and; placing cattle fencing along the stream channel. 

Coho salmon and steelhead are federally listed species, and coho is also state listed as well.  Coho salmon had not been documented in Rocky Gulch for nearly 50 years but within 12 months of the project’s completion, coho salmon were found in Rocky Gulch.

Another part of the project was to determine if the federally endangered tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi) existed in the area.  The Endangered Species Program provided staff time to sample the stream for the species prior to project implementation and none were present, but in March 2007, Coastal Program and Endangered Species Program staff sampled the creek with CDFG and tidewater gobies were found.   The restoration of fish passage and tidal influence improved habitat for the species.

The landowners have told us they take great pride in the project.  Service and CDFG  staff monitor fish use, check in with the landowners regularly, and ensure that the native plants established are doing well.  Project partners and the landowners received awards from the Service for their work on the project in May 2007.