ANNOUNCEMENTS

anticipated road closure schedule

Road Fully Closed and impassable UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Please note: The road closure notice and current status apply to all through traffic, including pedestrians, bicycles, off-road vehicles, motor vehicles, and any other means of travel. No through access is permitted until the closure is lifted. These restrictions are in place to ensure the safety of both construction workers and the community.

project details

CULVERTS: TU will replace 2 culverts along Docker Hill Rd that are undersized and failing. The culverts will be upgraded to larger culverts to improve flow capacity, prevent flooding, and release cobbles and gravels beneficial for fish spawning in the North Fork (NF) Albion River that are currently trapped behind the culverts. Docker Hill Rd will be temporarily closed for 4 days to replace the culverts. Please see detour map below and plan to use this alternate route when the road is closed.

anticipated road closure schedule: 4 Days in August (Exact dates TBA)

RESTORATION: The goal of the project is to restore coho salmon and steelhead habitat in the NF Albion River by installing large wood structures throughout the first 1.25 miles of the NF Albion River. The large wood structures will catch and sort cobbles and gravels necessary for salmon and trout to spawn, create pools and slow the water for fish to rest, and provide cover from predators. Heavy equipment will use Docker Hill Rd to access the project site, but the road will NOT be closed for this portion of the project.

anticipated STart of restoration Construction: Monday, July 20th (Estimated to last 4-5 weeks)

detour map

OTHER NEWS

California water rights guide

A new guide produced by Trout Unlimited is intended to improve public awareness of how water can legally be taken from streams in California – or left in-stream to provide more water for fish, wildlife, and recreation. A Guide to California Water Rights for Small Water Users is a first-of-its-kind handbook that helps small water users answer a basic question: Do I have a water right covering my existing or proposed water use, and if not, do I need to obtain one from the Water Board?

Funding provided by the State of California Wildlife Conservation Board and The Nature Conservancy

Download a copy here.  

manly gulch fish passage improvement

Included in the National Fish Habitat Partnership’s 2018 Waters to Watch List

Manly Gulch is a tributary to the Little North Fork of the Big River in Mendocino County. In the 1930’s, a WPA project completely blocked fish passage for steelhead and coho salmon. In 2017, Trout Unlimited’s North Coast Coho Project restored access by restoring and realigning 600 feet of the stream and reconnecting it to the Little North Fork. This improved flow and improved sediment conditions, as well as providing off-channel high flow refugia for juvenile salmonids during high flow conditions. benefiting The project included the creation of a 70-foot long backwater alcove and 530 feet of channel with gravel riffles, pools and large wood cover structure. In addition a new bridge was built over Manly Gulch where it crosses State Park Road.

The project also provided off-channel high-flow refugia for juvenile salmonids during elevated flows in the Little North Fork of the Big River. And it provided access for both juvenile and adult steelhead and coho to more than 4,000 feet of spawning and rearing habitat in the upper reaches of this stream.