Construction and development activities frequently impact aquatic habitats, which often result in effects to biological productivity and ecosystem health.  Remediating damage from engineered projects requires more than traditional engineering approaches. Our Team uses multi-disciplinary skills to solve real world fisheries problems.  We currently focus most of our effort on habitat protection for Pacific salmon and sturgeon species currently listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In general, we concentrate on restoring safe, timely, and effective fish passage via estuaries and inland watersheds through design and implementation of fish passage facilities.  In addition, we work to limit fresh water diversions so they do not adversely impact the quantity and quality of habitats upon which sustainable fish populations depend.

Our Team plays a leadership role in the California Fish Screening Program.  Hydraulically-engineered, positive barrier fish screens prevent entrainment of large numbers of small fish into agricultural, municipal, and industrial water diversions.  In California, there are more than 4,000 documented unscreened water diversions.  Since 1989, we have been involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of screening projects for many of the largest water diversions throughout the state.

In recent years, we expanded our fish passage efforts into the hydropower relicensing arena, where dozens of hydropower facilities require relicensing under the Federal Power Act (FPA). Hydropower dams impede fish passage and result in other adverse impacts to fish habitat.  We use our expertise and FPA authorities to condition new hydropower licenses so that fish passage is restored and habitat damage is minimized.  This involves the design and construction of upstream and downstream fish passage facilities, modification of flows, and other habitat restoration measures prescribed to support the biological requirements of fish and ecosystem resilience.

We have identified significant fish passage problems connected with California’s road networks where they intersect with stream crossings, and we are working with our public and private partners to fix these problems.  In past decades, thousands of culverts and other instream structures were built to convey stream flows beneath streets and highways, or around urban developments.  Existing culverts and other instream structures can present barriers to anadromous fish migration and preclude successful spawning and rearing.  Our stream crossing program works to identify, assess, and correct these problems by replacing obsolete stream crossings with new “fish friendly” structures.