Counties Collaborate
North Coast counties, remembering the economic and social turmoil that followed the spotted owl listing in 1990 and nervous about their vulnerability to lawsuits, moved first. Shortly after the North Coast ESA listing in 1997, Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, Siskiyou, and Mendocino Counties agreed to work together on watershed-wide strategies to help save the fish. That same year, they created the Five Counties Salmonid Conservation Program (5C) to focus on county land-use policies, general plans, and roads projects that would provide immediate benefits to salmon. In the past 12 years these counties have removed or modified 53 barriers--about 45 percent of their high-priority sites--opening up 130 miles of stream. Morrison Gulch was one of the first four projects completed.

“The 5C program largely pioneered the field of fish passage improvement in California, particularly in coastal watersheds and on county roads,” said Michael Bowen, the Coastal Conservancy’s North Coast project manager.

In 1998, Bay Area and Central Coast county supervisors established FishNet 4C in response to federal listings of their own coho and steelhead runs. Bringing together Sonoma, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties, and part of southern Mendocino County, FishNet 4C has to date helped remove 58 barriers, opening 162 miles of stream.

In 2002, federal, state, and local watershed restoration partners in Santa Cruz County, including the Coastal Conservancy, established the Integrated Watershed Restoration Program (IWRP) to help prioritize restoration projects and provide funding and technical advice for project designs. In addition, the group helps coordinate permits and approvals, and negotiates with public and private landholders. Since then projects have moved more swiftly, allowing 67 fish barriers to be removed in Santa Cruz County, with 14 more projects ready for construction. IWRP is helping to coordinate projects in San Mateo and Monterey Counties as well.

All along the North and Central Coasts, the counties and IWRP have been doing more than remove fish barriers. They have worked to reduce runoff from roads into streams and wetlands, to restore marsh habitat, and have trained county road crews in fish-friendly construction and maintenance practices. “We have people on our road crews now who are red-legged frog experts,” said Kallie Kull, senior planner for Marin County Department of Public Works’ Fish Passage Program.

The Coastal Conservancy has been a key source of assistance in all these coastal areas, funding not only construction but also project design and permitting, which other agencies and organizations typically have been reluctant to do. The Conservancy also compiled the first comprehensive inventory of passage barriers along the coast, a key step in helping counties determine which should be fixed first.

“The counties love these programs now,” said Weseloh, “because they have so many benefits.” When stream flow is restored for salmon, counties also save money on road maintenance and flood control. The projects also bring some jobs and new business opportunities to rural areas. “There are tremendous benefits, a lot of them things you don’t see,” said Mark Lancaster, program director of 5C. “And at an average [cost] of $110,000 per mile of habitat restored, it’s some of the cheapest habitat restoration out there.”

Private landowners have been increasingly interested in participating. “The demand far exceeds the resources we have,” said Karen Christensen, executive director of Santa Cruz’s Resource Conservation District and a founder of IWRP. “People see fish in the streams on their land and get excited,” said Weseloh. “They want to know if they can get help fixing their driveway culvert.” Part of what gets people so excited is that “It’s instant gratification. Whenever you remove a barrier, you generally see fish upstream in the first season.”