Salinas River Lagoon Fisherie Enhancement Project

Salinas River Lagoon Fisherie Enhancement Project

The Old Salinas River Channel (OSRC) connects the Salinas River Lagoon to Moss Landing Harbor/Tembladero Slough. The Salinas River Lagoon serves as a migration route for south-central California coast steelhead, a federally threatened species, moving between the ocean and non-tidal spawning areas upstream. the Lagoon may also serve as rearing habitat for juvenile steelhead. The MCWRA owns and operates an existing slide gate at the mouth of the OSRC to regulate Lagoon water levels for flood protection purposes. The slide gate is generally closed in the winter months when the river is open to the ocean (no sandbar) and may be open when the sandbar is in place during the summer, fall, or spring months. When the slide gate is open, steelhead may be entrained into the OSRC (drawn into the water diversion by hydraulic forces). The OSRC is a highly modified channel that is considered to be unsuitable as fish habitat. To protect steelheads and other fish from entrainment into the OSRC, MCWRA proposes to install fish screens at the existing slide gate, which will be maintained as part of the project. the fish screen desing will meet fingerling criteria as required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The proposed project would enahnce the Salinas River Lagoon while allowing an outlet for flood management, and decrease debris loading in the approach channel. The proposed project also includes modifying and stabilizing the peninsula located west of the approach channel to the more favorable pre-existing conditions, which would better protect the integrity of the existing slide gate, proposed fish screens, and approach channel.

Monterey

California Coastal Commission (CCC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Transportation, District 5 (DOT), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Department of Water Resources, Resources Agency, Resources, Recycling and Recovery, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance, California State Lands Commission (SLC)

California State Lands Commission (SLC)

Other (fish screen facility)

Site Plan

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Coastal Zone, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Noise, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian