CGB Region officials ready to break ground
Federal and state agencies broke ground last week on a project that will become the single largest floodplain salmon rearing habitat restoration in California history. Reclamation and the state’s Department of Water Resources are partnering on the “Big Notch Project,” a 30,000-acre floodplain habitat restoration and fish passage project in the Yolo Bypass, just west of Sacramento.
When the project is finished late next year, the gated passage, or notch, will be opened when the Sacramento River is high enough to flow into the Yolo Bypass floodplain. Juvenile salmon will be able to feed in a food-rich area for a longer time, allowing them to grow more rapidly in size, improving their chances of survival as they travel to the Pacific Ocean. Adult salmon and sturgeon will benefit from improvements that will reduce stranding and migratory delays due to passage barriers.
“Big Notch is a pivotal project for ongoing operations of the water projects that are critical to the State,” said Ernest Conant, Reclamation’s California-Great Basin Regional Director.
Ian Smith, fish biologist with Reclamation's Bay-Delta Office, said the project will allow fish to access more than 16,000 acres of habitat that otherwise would be disconnected. "This habitat will be food-rich, allowing juvenile salmon to grow bigger, faster," he said. "The increased size will help these fish avoid predation from other fishes and animals as they make their way to the San Francisco Bay, and ultimately the Pacific Ocean."
