In early February 2013, while driving across the new Highway 44\/299 Bridge, I looked downstream and could readily see what had happened — Painter\u2019s Riffle had been hydraulically disconnected from the river.\u00a0 I drove to the site (a City of Redding municipal park) to take some photographs and measurements.\u00a0\u00a0 That night, I wrote a Proposal<\/a> to restore the site to its original ecological function and presented the concept to the City of Redding, obtaining its support.\u00a0 However, when I met with DFW representatives (including a \u201cHabitat Restoration Coordinator\u201d) to garner the agency\u2019s support, you would have thought I\u2019d wacked a hornet\u2019s nest!\u00a0 My read on the less-than-enthusiastic response was that any \u201coutsider\u201d involvement and alternative scientific perspectives in their internal plans for salmon restoration were unwelcomed.\u00a0 This was revealed months after my original Painter\u2019s Riffle proposal when a radically different proposal for the site surfaced and was sanctioned by the fish agencies.\u00a0 They recommended slicing a 10-foot wide trench through the same side channel and only allowing it to function at flows above 10,000 cfs, instead of my submittal which recommended the channel perform at 3,250 cfs, or the minimum reservoir releases.\u00a0 In my written response<\/a> to the agencies\u2019 proposal, I explained that winter-run Chinook salmon redds would become stranded and eggs would perish in the side channel if the fish spawned during normal flows above 10,000 cfs (among many other problems).\u00a0 After many months of valuable time lost, logical minds prevailed and the agencies\u2019 proposal was quietly removed from consideration.<\/p>\n To gain momentum, the project needed an advocate and was proposed to the Golden Gate Salmon Association’s (GGSA Interview<\/a>) Task Force which includes the three fish agencies:\u00a0 DFW, USFWS, & the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).\u00a0 DFW & NMFS representatives were contemplatively silent, but a USFWS representative asserted he had already looked at the site and the gravels appeared to be too large for suitable salmon spawning (paradoxically, in direct conflict with DFW\u2019s in-river project gravel requirements).\u00a0 The effort was rapidly dying on the vine and, without badly-needed support, GGSA was forced to put the proposal on the back burner.<\/p>\n Trying a different venue, the project was presented to northern California water districts.\u00a0 Surprisingly, the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID), located nearly 100 river miles downstream of Painter’s Riffle said they would champion the cause (aka, do the on-the-ground work).\u00a0 At this point, with the winds shifting once again in the salmon\u2019s favor, GGSA went to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and requested their staff to take the task on as part of GGSA’s Salmon Plan<\/a>.\u00a0 They were successful.\u00a0 Although it was still 2013, the reality of the extensive regulatory permitting hurdles forced USBR staff to eventually concede that it would be impossible to implement the project until the following year, even though low river flows (Shasta Reservoir releases) due to the severe drought would have provided perfect conditions for construction.\u00a0 Regrettably, the salmon would have to wait until the fall of 2014.<\/p>\n As anticipated from long-range weather forecasts, the heavy rains never arrived during the winter of 2013-2014, but the meetings, conference calls, and draft environmental documents on the proposed Painter’s Riffle project came on like a deluge.\u00a0 The scales were now tipping against restoration.\u00a0 In fact, except for GCID, USBR, and GGSA, it seemed no fish entity would formally support the project.\u00a0 For example, the USFWS suggested “pre-project monitoring” be conducted at the sealed-off side channel before any gravel was moved, perhaps for many years.\u00a0 Undefined “concerns” were voiced about effects on threatened and endangered fish, but without remedial recommendations and recognition of the benefits.\u00a0\u00a0 With this much resistance, it seemed as though we were proposing to build a new waste-water treatment plant on the river that would spew raw sewage into the middle of prime salmon habitats.\u00a0 The quagmires of state and federal bureaucracies were sucking the enthusiasm for the restoration effort down into the black hole of oblivion.\u00a0 Nevertheless, after numerous speed bumps in the process and a seemingly endless series of meetings and conference calls, the log jam broke and key pragmatic agency individuals came on board with the project.<\/p>\n Now, at this late date, with renewed zeal, a Herculean effort was set in motion by USBR and GCID staff who worked overtime to update and finalize the numerous regulatory permits to implement the project in the fall of 2014.\u00a0 But wait, not so fast!\u00a0 This simple project almost came to a screeching halt when Endangered Species Act restrictions nearly imposed insurmountable obstacles to conduct the in-river work.\u00a0 At the 11th<\/sup> hour, several knowledgeable, rational DFW biologists stepped up to the plate and delivered on all fronts with support, cooperation, and assistance resulting in NMFS allowing the work to proceed.<\/p>\n Once NMFS gave its blessing, the field implementation to restore Painter’s Riffle went into overdrive because of advanced planning and the due diligence of highly experienced GCID heavy equipment operators.\u00a0 Two massive front-end loaders, a D-6 cat bulldozer, and an excavator simultaneously went into close-quarter action.\u00a0 Their execution was well choreographed with all four earth-moving machines weaving up and down and across Painter\u2019s Riffle.\u00a0 Each operator knew the movements of others through radio communication, hand signals, or most often, years of experience in skilled operation of the machines.\u00a0 It was mesmerizing to watch the quick transformation of the river channel:\u00a0 Video of Equipment in Action<\/a><\/p>\n With everything going smoothly and swiftly, Mother Nature had another plan.\u00a0 One of the largest storms to hit northern California in years (ironically, in a fourth-consecutive drought year) slammed into the area during the two weeks of construction.\u00a0 With heavy rains and winds pummeling the equipment crew, they relentlessly proceeded nonstop during permitted hours.\u00a0 And, to be sure, this was no ordinary storm.\u00a0 The so-called “Atmospheric River” or “Pineapple Express” parked itself on top of Redding for an extended period and localized flooding was reported everywhere.\u00a0 Caltrans even made an emergency stop at the job site to clear plugged culverts spewing heavy rain runoff in the municipal park.\u00a0 Although Shasta Reservoir was extremely low due to the three prior years of drought, the downstream re-regulating Keswick Dam suddenly had to increase water releases due to localized flooding concerns in the vicinity of the dam.\u00a0 River flows at the construction site increased dramatically, jeopardizing the work in progress … but the crew diligently kept on working and completed the project ahead of schedule and below budget.<\/p>\n Ultimately, all involved agencies, groups, and individuals praised the project and the unprecedented collaboration.\u00a0 The finished product is anticipated to benefit the Sacramento River\u2019s four runs of Chinook salmon and steelhead. \u00a0As a result, new salmon restoration projects are planned for implementation this and next year \u2026 using more-active stakeholder involvement and \u201coutsiders\u201d perspectives.\u00a0 Perhaps there is hope for salmon after all: \u00a0Video of Completed Project<\/a><\/p>\n The completed Painter\u2019s Riffle Project.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nearly everyone supports the concept of restoring salmon and their habitats within the existing geographic range of the Central Valley.\u00a0 But why is it so difficult to implement relatively low-cost, simple actions that would unquestionably benefit salmon?\u00a0 The following is … Continue reading ![\"The](\"http:\/\/calsport.org\/fisheriesblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Dave1.png\")
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