Merced River Ranch Floodplain Restoration Project

Merced River Ranch Floodplain Restoration Project

The objectives of the proposed project are to restore (i.e. rehabilitate and enhance) channel, floodplain and riparian ecosystem processes and critical habitats for juvenile and adult Chinook salmon and steelhead at the MRR, in coordination with local communities and stakeholders, and to promote the recovery of healthy and diverse Chinook salmon and steelhead populations in the Merced River. This project is a collaborative effort by CDFG, AFRP, and Cramer Fish Sciences (CFS), building on the work of Stillwater Sciences and others, as well as long-term coordination with the local community (Stillwater Sciences 2006). The proposed spawning gravel replenishment and floodplain rehabilitation activities will increase available and usable spawning areas for salmonids by providing spawning gravels within the appropriate size range; increase use of spawning habitat (Merz and Setka 2004); improve gravel permeability and intergravel water quality (Merz et al 2004); and, decrease redd superimposition.

Merced

California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 10 (DOT), California Highway Patrol, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Fresno Region 5 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, Resources Agency, California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), Department of Water Resources

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), Department of Water Resources

habitat restoration

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, greenhouse gases