Santa Cruz County Participation in FishNet 4C
Shared by Public Works staff members
L to R: Matthew Johnston, Connie Silva, & Carolyn Banti
Working over a three year period as active members of the FishNet 4C
Operations Subcommittee, Connie, Matt, and Carolyn developed road
maintenance guidelines for local application which were approved by the
Board of Supervisors in November 2004. Guidelines for Protecting Aquatic Habitat and Salmon
Fisheries for County Road Maintenance (Dec 2004).
Santa Cruz Wins 2nd Place at 2003 EarthVision Environmental Film
Festival
Public works employees did not suspect that the county documentary on
stream restoration would win awards, but it has! The film and a two day
workshop were part of the grant that funded the Zayante Creek streambank
restoration project. The film is one of three films made by Public Works
about stream restoration.
Click here to view film footage of the following:
Our Streams, Our Roads, Our Future - ZAYANTE CREEK Streambank
Stabilization Project
The Return Home - Queseria Creek Restoration Project- (A fish passage
project)
PUBLIC WORKS for the GOOD of ALL!
FISHNET IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR PROTECTING SALMON AND AQUATIC HABITAT IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
The Santa Cruz Policy Summary, excerpted from the FishNet report Effects of Land Use Policies and Management Practices on Anadromous Salmon and Their Habitats (UC Berkeley, 2001), has guided Santa Cruz County in developing a FishNet Implementation Plan (2001). The implementation plan identifies the County’s highest priority actions for protecting and restoring salmon habitat. An update and extension of the plan, Santa Cruz County FishNet Implementation Plan Update 2004, was approved by the Board of Supervisors in a commitment to continue county efforts for protecting salmon habitat.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY STREAM CARE GUIDE AND SALMON MAP
A Santa Cruz County Stream Care Guide has been sent to residents living adjacent to critical streams throughout the county. Chockfull of information on best practices for protecting aquatic habitat, this guide helps landowners do their best to protect important salmon and steelhead habitat.
Kristen Kittleson, Fisheries Resource Planner, worked with CDFG and local fishery biologists to produce a GIS map showing the current Distribution of Steelhead and Coho Salmon in Santa Cruz County.
SANTA CRUZ TACKLES FISH PASSAGE BARRIERS
To kick-start their fisheries restoration efforts, Santa Cruz County commissioned an inventory of all the county road stream crossings. The final report on this inventory provides a prioritized list and project specific recommendations for restoring fish passage.
After reviewing results from the fish passage report, Santa Cruz County staff began tackling the big job of fixing county structures to improve upstream migration for coho salmon and steelhead trout. Completed projects include a culvert replacement on Bonny Doon Road, modifications to a culvert in the Upper San Lorenzo River and a complete culvert replacement on Queseria Creek in the Scott’s Creek watershed- an important coho salmon stream.
ARCHED CULVERT ON QUESARIA CREEK
See Queseria Arch before and after
photos
ZAYANTE CREEK BIOENGINEERED WILLOW WALL; AN EDUCATIONAL RESTORATION PROJECT
Learning bioengineering techniques first hand, County roads crews
rotated in daily during construction of a large bioengineered streambank
repair. Layered terraces with willow stakes makes a “brush mattress”
wall, that eventually sprouts roots and holds tightly to the road bank.
As willows and other plants fill in, the stream returns to natural
habitat, providing shade and shelter for fish.
View
Zayante Creek project installation
ROAD RESTORATION- A PRIORITY FOR SAN LORENZO VALLEY
Sediment from roads getting into creeks is a big issue for Santa Cruz County, in particular in the San Lorenzo River and Soquel watersheds. Road assessments have been completed in both of these watersheds and will help to identify where the county and private landowners should focus their restoration efforts. Workshops on how to best maintain private roads are often sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Resource Conservation District.
Partnerships have formed between local, state, and federal governments,
the Resource Conservation District, non-profit organizations, and
private landowners in a five year plan to implement high priority
projects in seven key watersheds throughout Santa Cruz County. The plan-
IWRP- has received broad support from agencies and local government and
is lauded for its comprehensive approach to watershed restoration. An
initial grant from the State Coastal Conservancy of $4.5 million will
focus on designing and permitting over 100 high priority restoration
projects. For details: IWRP at a Glance
(pdf)
Contact Us
Supervisor Mark Stone; 5th District
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
(831) 454-2200
(831) 454-3262
Other Helpful Links
NOAA—National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Region
http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/
California Dept. of Fish and Game
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/
California Resources Agency
http://resources.ca.gov/
Cal Fish—California Cooperative Fish and Habitat Data Program
http://www.calfish.org/
State Coastal Conservancy
http://www.coastalconservancy.ca.gov/
State Water Resources Control Board / Regional Boards
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/regions.html
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