Monday December 18, 2023
Mendofever —
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) today announced the selection of 26 projects that will receive a collective $14 million to protect, restore and enhance the freshwater habitats of salmon and steelhead in northern California.
Trout Unlimited, Inc. was awarded more than $2 million for the Duffy Gulch Fish Passage Improvement Project in Mendocino County. This project will remove a railroad stream crossing along the Mendocino Railway and restore fish access to nearly three miles of high-quality spawning and rearing habitat in Duffy Gulch, a tributary to the Noyo River. The new crossing will be a 45-foot diameter steel arch that will allow fish passage and is capable of handling a 100-year flood event.
All projects were awarded through CDFW’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program (FRGP). FRGP was first established in 1981 and since 2000, has included funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund. The fund was created by Congress to reverse the declines of Pacific salmon and steelhead throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. This award also includes funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to help support the recovery, conservation, and resilience of Pacific salmon and steelhead.