Neighbors on the Yuba Break Ground on Salmon Habitat Restoration
A downstream neighbor of ours is rebuilding fish habitat on the lower Yuba River. It is the kind of hands-on river work we watch closely from the American River canyons.
American River Canyon Alliance
Good river work is contagious. A short drive north of our own canyons, crews have started rebuilding habitat on the lower Yuba River, and the effort is worth a look.
The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) reports that construction has begun on the Upper Long Bar Habitat Restoration Project. The site sits on private property in Yuba County along the lower Yuba River, roughly one mile below the Highway 20 bridge on the north side.
Projects like this rarely happen alone. SYRCL lists a deep bench of partners on the work. Cramer Fish Sciences and Verdantas Eco Engineering bring the science and design. Silica Resources Inc. and Anderson Dragline Inc. bring the heavy equipment and earthmoving that reshaping a river reach demands. Yuba Water Agency rounds out the local partnership. Funding support comes from the Wildlife Conservation Board.
We pay attention to this for a simple reason. The Yuba and the American are cousins in the same Sierra foothill country. What restores fish habitat on one river often points to what could work on another. Reconnecting floodplains, rebuilding gravel, and giving young fish room to grow are goals we share here in the American River canyons.
For the full details on the project, its partners, and its goals, read SYRCL's own announcement at yubariver.org. We will keep watching how it unfolds.