California Coast & Ocean

Access for Fish and People
The Camp Meeker Dam on Dutch Bill Creek in western Sonoma County was built in the 1950s to create a seasonal swimming hole and beach area, but now the dam is identified as one of the worst barriers to fish passage in the Russian River watershed. Another is a culvert at Market Street in nearby Occidental.

With funding approved by the Conservancy, the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District and the Camp Meeker Recreation and Park District will remove the dam and reconfigure the culvert to restore free passage for salmon and steelhead. In place of the dam, a prefabricated 80-foot steel pedestrian bridge will be installed, improving public access across the creek. As part of this project, stream banks will be stabilized and revegetated, and a more natural meander and grade change will be created. These improvements will help return the natural transport of gravel from upstream and provide better fish habitat.

The Conservancy's contribution of $494,500 in Proposition 50 funds to the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District will be matched by money from Sonoma County and several state and federal agencies. The project will restore fish passage to 3.4 miles of Dutch Bill Creek, one of only five remaining streams in the Russian River system where wild juvenile coho salmon are known to be present in each year of the species' three-year reproductive cycle.

Humboldt County Trails
The City of Arcata is about to begin planning, engineering, and other preliminary work for 3.8 miles of California Coastal Trail that will run from the north end of Arcata through the city and a mile south, to Bracut Marsh. Much of the trail will be built within the right-of-way of the North Coast Rail Authority. The City will work closely with the Authority, and with the nonprofit Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA), which works to coordinate trail-building efforts in Humboldt County. The City expects to begin construction in 2010, as soon as the final design and environmental review are completed. The Conservancy has been involved with trail building around Humboldt Bay for 30 years, and has approved $1.065 million in Proposition 40 funds for this Coastal Trail project.

The Conservancy also granted $900,000 in Proposition 40 funds to RCAA toward the completion of Phase I of the Humboldt County Coastal Trail Implementation Program, which aims to complete the California Coastal Trail along the entire Humboldt County Coast.