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San Francisco Bay Delta

Upper York Creek Dam Removal, Fish Passage, and Ecosystem Restoration

This project will remove an earthen dam and restore the channel cross-section on .23 miles of Upper York Creek in the upper Napa River watershed in 2016.  Further, this project will open access to 1.5 miles of steelhead spawning and rearing habitat. Implementation of the project will be the culmination of 15 years of cooperative planning with resource agencies to remove an obsolete dam that is a complete barrier to fish passage and to restore aquatic habitat in the upstream degraded reservoir.  Reconnecting Upper York Creek with the Napa River will help restore natural hydrologic functioning of the watershed including sediment and woody debris transport.

Project Facts

Recipient: City of St. Helena
Funding: $987,876 (Nonfederal match: $987,876), FFY: 2014
Project Period: December 2014- March 2019

Environmental Results Summary: Upper York Creek Dam Removal, Fish Passage, and Ecosystem Restoration 

OUTPUTS (Activities, efforts, and/or work product during project period)

OUTCOMES (Environmental results)

SHORT-TERM
(1-5 yrs)

LONG-TERM
(5-20+yrs)

Remove invasive riparian vegetation and revegetate with native plants

Reconstruct channel to consist of 475 foot long cascade reach and 710 feet of adjacent floodplain

Restore 2 acres of riparian forest

Restore unimpaired access to 1.5 miles of high quality gravel and cobble dominated stream habitat

Restore access to 63% of the watershed's sediment source area, primarily course bedload, which is better for fish habitat

Restore the 0.23 miles of in-stream habitat for salmonids

Sequester 276 metric tons CO2 equivalent

Full List of Project Summaries