Monday June 1, 2026
Marin Independent Journal —
Another segment of Lagunitas Creek will get work this summer to restore spawning habitat for endangered fish.
The Marin Municipal Water District has hired Hanford Applied Restoration and Conservation to do the work from August through the fall. The $1.13 million contract approved Tuesday includes a 15% contingency for unforeseen expenses.
The project is called “phase 1c.” It’s a single site near the Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area that was initially supposed to be completed as part of the construction package last fall.
“This is the final site of phase one, which will bring our total number of sites to eight,” said Jonathan Koehler, fisheries program manager at the Marin Municipal Water District. “This reach has historically been one of the highest spawning density reaches for coho, and so it’s exciting that we’ve hopefully really improved conditions in that section of the creek that the fish want to use the most.”
Marin County has the largest population of wild endangered coho salmon from Monterey Bay to the Mendocino County-Sonoma County line. Coho populations dwindled during the 20th century because dam construction blocked miles of former spawning grounds and tributaries.