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July 23, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Fish ladder project gets new funding: Plan would not require blasting in Bidwell Park
Chico Enterprise
By LAURA URSENY - Staff Writer
A new injection of money is moving a repair project on the Iron Canyon Fish Ladder in upper
And, in a reversal of an earlier position, blasting can be avoided in the canyon created by Big Chico Creek.
Built in the late 1950s, the fish ladder's ability to move fish in the creek has diminished, both because of the degradation of the structure, helped along by falling basalt boulders, and the structure's poor performance during dry years, actually stranding fish in the pools.
At a meeting Tuesday night, Susan Strachan, environmental projects manager for
Strachan, who also works with the university's Research Foundation, announced the foundation and Big Chico Creek Watershed Alliance have received a $220,068 grant from U.S. Fish and Wildlife for the preliminary work. That includes conducting environmental review, obtaining environmental permits from a variety of agencies, and locating grant funding for the actual work, which is estimated to cost about $1.8 million and take about three months. The repaired ladder's life should be about 50 years.
Strachan said there are several public and private foundations that might provide grants for improving fisheries.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife has said the value of spring-run salmon in Big Chico Creek makes the ladder's repair a priority.
Last year some of the
But the project consultants now say only one rock section, rather than several, needs to be removed so it won't topple onto the repaired ladder. The removal can be done by an excavator and equipment, Strachan said.
The project calls for scraping a road over an existing track and setting up a 400-foot by 100-foot staging area west of Parking Lot P for trucks for hauling supplies; concrete pads for trailers, a generator and water tanks and one or two cranes that would get workers and supplies to the water-level site.
A construction elevator or hoist to access the creek from the canyon top would also have to be installed, as well as a work platform at creek level. The creek would have to be diverted away from the ladder, too.
A host of permits are required from agencies such as Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, state Water Resources Control Board, Reclamation Board and state Fish and Game.
The
Strachan said further public input on the project is possible when environmental documents come out in early August. A tour of the site is planned on Aug. 23. Individuals should meet at Parking Lot P at 8 a.m., and be prepared for a rigorous hike.#
http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_9965825?source=rv
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