As part of NOAA’s agency-wide Habitat Blueprint effort, they have chosen the Russian River Valley watershed in California as their first Habitat Focus Area. Habitat Focus Areas are places where they can pool resources and expertise to maximize the conservation of important habitat.
The river was once a premiere recreational fishing destination. In many places, however, fish like endangered coho and Chinook salmon and threatened steelhead trout have been blocked from spawning habitat. The portions of the river that are available to them are badly degraded, and coho salmon are virtually extinct from the river.
Another challenge facing the Russian River is the heavy demand for and competing uses of water. Agriculture, including vineyards, needs the water for farming. But, when farmers pull water from streams to water their crops, the streams dry up, stranding and killing fish. Balancing the needs of both farmers and fish is possible, but requires good science and innovative management.
The river also floods the Valley frequently, which affects communities and businesses along the river. This is difficult to address because steep hills and numerous canyons make it difficult to accurately predict of rainfall.
To address the issues the Russian River watershed is facing, we plan to:
We are developing an implementation plan for the Russian River and have already begun several projects that are expected to yield results in three to five years. Two restoration projects already underway arehttp://www.habitat.noaa.gov/images_template/link.gif); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;”>opening coho salmon breeding grounds and http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/images_template/link.gif); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;”>turning gravel pits into habitat for salmon.
Check back with our http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/images_template/link.gif); background-repeat: repeat no-repeat;”>Habitat Blueprint page as other Habitat Focus Areas are chosen and these initiatives develop.
