On Monday July 15th, the Rose Bar spawning habitat project began in water work, placing spawning gravel in the Yuba River at Rose Bar. The new spawning riffles will be built made up of sorted gravel and cobble from on-site, which will be anchored in place with larger rock. We will also be lowering the floodplain adjacent to the spawning riffles for rearing habitat.
The allowable in water work window lasts from July 15th through August 31st. However, contractor estimates suggest work will be done on this project before the end of August. While the in water work is occurring, SYRCL staff are on site all day, monitoring water quality closely and keeping a close eye out for salmon to ensure regulatory standards and fish safety are upheld.
As with all in water restoration projects, construction can be messy due to sediment being disrupted by the work being done. It’s possible that people enjoying the Yuba River downstream of the project will notice that the river isn’t quite as clear as it usually is this time of year. This is a normal by-product of in water work. SYRCL is on site measuring water turbidity to ensure that fish have clear water available at the project site, and they will modify construction if conditions warrant.
The Rose Bar project site is located two river miles below Englebright dam on land recently acquired by the Yuba Water agency. The purpose of this project is to create and enhance two spawning riffles for Chinook salmon and steelhead. Englebright Dam prevents gravels from moving downstream from upper portions of the watershed. In the Goldfields, the piles of hydraulic mining debris provide the gravel sizes necessary for spawning. In the winter, the river naturally erodes spawning gravel. However, because Rose Bar is so close to Englebright Dam , there is no source of gravel to replace it.
The main objective of this habitat project is to add spawning sized gravels to the riverbed from locally sourced material. Project partners will be sourcing the necessary gravel from hydraulic mine tailings in the uplands above the project. At the same time, they are stabilizing the hillslope which will decrease the amount of mercury delivered to the Yuba River during rain events. The total area of the project is about 43 acres with about 5 acres of new spawning habitat.
This project is made possible by generous grants from the Wildlife Conservation Board and Yuba Water Agency.
For more information and additional photos, check out:
https://yubariver.org/projects/upper-rose-bar-enhancement-project
About SYRCL: The South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) is the leading voice for the protection and restoration of the Yuba River watershed. Founded in 1983 through a rural, grassroots campaign to defend the South Yuba River from proposed hydropower dams, SYRCL has developed into a vibrant community organization with more than 3,500 members and volunteers. To learn more, visit www.yubariver.org.