Roy’s Pools Fish Passage and Floodplain Restoration Project

The “Roy’s Pools Fish Passage and Floodplain Restoration Project” removed the highest priority fish barrier in central California, creating and restoring approximately five acres of creek habitat with the construction of 0.25-mile long floodplain corridors along the former San Geronimo golf course property in San Geronimo, California.

The project is a collaborative effort between several local, state, and national agencies that provided year-round access to critical habitat for endangered salmon; created valuable floodplain corridors for terrestrial wildlife movement; greatly increased the amount of trees for nesting birds; and replaced a failing pedestrian bridge with a new prefabricated bridge, linking trails and providing fish viewing over a wider, more complex and stable creek channel.

This project was funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Restoration Center, and Turtle Island Restoration Network. Project engineering and design was done by Environmental Science Associates, and project construction was done by Hanford ARC and SPAWN. Revegetation, site maintenance, and restoration monitoring is ongoing by SPAWN.

Project Impact

5

Acres of creekside habitat restored

850

Native trees planted

1,320

Feet of floodplain constructed

Project Background

In 1999, NOAA Fisheries developed designs for a series of pools composed of metal sheet piles, concrete and large boulders to help get fish over the former Roy’s Dam. This effort resulted in the Roy’s Pools structure we know today. Although the conversion of Roy’s Dam to Roy’s Pools helped in getting adult fish over the dam, the Pools became traps for young fish. Stagnant water in the pools created breeding sites for mosquitoes and a home for invasive bullfrogs. In addition, the pools cut off access for young fish moving upstream and downstream of the site.

A coho salmon jumps through Roy’s Pools right after it was constructed. | Photo by Reuven Walder

The Roy’s Pools design ultimately leaked and didn’t hold water. | Photo by SPAWN

In a collaborative effort beginning in 2012 with the Lee Family, the previous owners of the former San Geronimo golf course, SPAWN secured grant funds to design a functional restoration of the creek channel through the Roy’s Pools reach, where a natural channel would replace the metal and concrete structures.

In 2012, SPAWN began the design process and hosted community meetings where neighbors gave input on the project and toured the site with the engineering team. Although this is a creek channel restoration project at the former golf course property, this project is not a Trust for Public Land project and is not related to the visioning process that the Trust for Public Land and Trout Unlimited are currently conducting. This project was developed several years prior to the Trust for Public Land taking ownership of the property.

From Roy’s Dam to Roy’s Riffles

Removing the Top-Priority Barrier

for Central California Coho Salmon

Read the Article

Project Timeline

Restoration activities will occur August-October 2020, with the potential to extend into 2021. The revegetation and tree planting will begin following construction in late 2020 and will extend for 4-5 years following restoration.