On June 16, The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service announced 11 projects totaling $6 million to be awarded as part of three Klamath Basin Salmon Restoration grant programs and 4 of the 11 aforementioned projects will be administered in the Trinity River watershed. The 4 projects selected will improve aquatic habitat by reducing fine sediment delivery, improving fish passage, and pursuing increases to tributary flows in the dry season in tributaries of the Trinity River. We congratulate the grantees and are excited to see the outcome of each project. Please read below to learn about each grantee, proposal and award amounts. To find the full Klamath 2023 Grant Slate from the NFWF website, please click here.
Deadwood Creek Sediment Reduction Project (CA)
Grantee: Northwest California Resource Conservation &
Development Council
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $98,900
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,800
Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . $104,700
Prevent sediment delivery to Deadwood Creek, a major
tributary to the Trinity River, to improve anadromous
salmonid habitat. The project will remove legacy mine tailings from Mill Gulch, decommission Thorne Gulch Road, install and enhance 12 rolling or critical dips, remove abandoned vehicles and debris from stream channels and floodplains, install a gate to prevent further damage and build stream enhancement features in Thorne Gulch.
Photo: Deadwood Creek after the Carr Fire in 2018. (TRRP)
Douglas City Community Services District Feasibility
Study for Fish Habitat Improvement in Trinity River
Tributaries (CA)
Grantee: Watershed Research and Training Center
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $78,800
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,600
Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $84,400
Assess the economic feasibility of creating and maintaining a community services district (CSD) to provide a stable water supply to residents in rural Douglas City (Trinity County, California) to leave water instream for improved habitat connectivity for steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon in Browns and Reading creeks, tributaries to the Trinity River. The project would assist in determining if a CSD is an economically viable option to achieve environmental and community benefits under an increasingly dry climate.
Map provided by Watershed Research and Training Center.
East Weaver Creek Dam Removal and Intake Relocation
Phase II (CA)
Grantee: Northwest California Resource Conservation &
Development Council
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120,600
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $0
Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $120,600
Remove a complete barrier to aquatic species including the threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon and restore fish passage to approximately 2.5 miles of cold-water habitat. The project will enable upstream fish migration for all life stages of all fish species in East Weaver Creek, tributary to the Trinity River.
Photo of the East Weaver Creek Dam provided by Northwest California Resource Conservation &
Development Council.
Indian Creek Fish Passage Barrier Removal Feasibility
Project (CA)
Grantee: Yurok Tribe
Grant Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $184,800
Matching Funds:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $11,000
Total Project Amount:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $195,800
Evaluate conditions that create a barrier to anadromous
fish passage throughout a reach of Indian Creek, a tributary to the Trinity River, with a constriction point in the Indian Creek valley. The project will create a shovel-ready project to remove a significant barrier to fish passage and reopen 7.5 miles of stream and 85 acres of habitat suitable for threatened Southern Oregon/Northern California coast coho salmon, among other aquatic species.
Photo of the Indian Creek restoration area provided by the Yurok Tribe.