Bear River Restoration Objectives

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Bear River Restoration

Last revised: 11/15/01

Bear River Restoration Project Description

By Jim Coleman

The project is a multi-year effort by the Granite Bay Flycasters (GBF) to restore a 1200' meadow section of the Bear River. This section of the river has limited fish habitat, primarily due to local erosion of stream banks caused by years of cattle grazing in the surrounding meadow, the resulting silt load choking out stream-bed vegetation and insect life, and a near total absence of streamside vegetation to provide a protective canopy.

GBF proposed this restoration project in 1992 to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the landowner, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), to secure their permission and assistance, both as a necessary prerequisite to begin work and also to ensure ongoing access to professional expertise throughout the life of the project. After several years of discussion and negotiation, the project was approved and initial on-site work by GBF began in the fall of 1994.

The entire project has been designed by Richard Flint, Watershed Resources Development Specialist, California Department of Fish and Game. A copy of the detailed plan is available on request, which provides both an assessment of the pre-project site conditions along with recommendations for in-stream changes to create habitat necessary for the development of a healthy fish population.

The project is located at 4500' elevation and due to the usual snowpack and wet nature of the surrounding meadow, is accessible by vehicle for work purposes for only 5-6 months each year. The fishery is primarily brown trout and has been self-sustaining for many years; stocking is neither planned nor necessary. Fish are typically in the 6" - 12" range with fish up to 18" occasionally caught. While much of the stream bed is wide and shallow, the stream has several runs and large holes 4' - 6' deep, which provide trout with needed escape and protection. Adult browns have been observed spawning in some of the areas where streambed improvements were just completed. Visual results seen from just the first few years of habitat improvement work have been very encouraging and already indicate a significant increase in the number of juvenile fish.

The plan's restoration goals are to add brush sediment traps and log constrictors to define a new, narrow channel within the existing channel, to redirect low flows to sweep the bottom clear of silt, and to add cover for fish shelter and insect production. Over time, these traps will collect sediment to reestablish the stream banks and overall, rebuild the present stream bottom into a new flood plain through which will flow a narrow, deep, and well-shaded stream.

The photos below show part of the process of rebuilding the stream bank.

Stakes are driven into the river bed, then logs are floated into place between the stakes and the bank.

The logs are lashed together and to the stakes with steel cable.

The space between the logs and the bank is filled in with brush, branches and small trees, then this is also lashed down with cable to hold it in place. During high water periods, silt collects in the brush traps, preventing it from being deposited along the main channel.

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	Bear River Restoration Last revised: 11/15/01
Bear River Restoration Project Description By Jim Coleman The project is a multi-year effort by the Granite Bay Flycasters (GBF) to restore a 1200' meadow section of the Bear River. This section of the river has limited fish habitat, primarily due to local erosion of stream banks caused by years of cattle grazing in the surrounding meadow, the resulting silt load choking out stream-bed vegetation and insect life, and a near total absence of streamside vegetation to provide a protective canopy. GBF proposed this restoration project in 1992 to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the landowner, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), to secure their permission and assistance, both as a necessary prerequisite to begin work and also to ensure ongoing access to professional expertise throughout the life of the project. After several years of discussion and negotiation, the project was approved and initial on-site work by GBF began in the fall of 1994. The entire project has been designed by Richard Flint, Watershed Resources Development Specialist, California Department of Fish and Game. A copy of the detailed plan is available on request, which provides both an assessment of the pre-project site conditions along with recommendations for in-stream changes to create habitat necessary for the development of a healthy fish population. The project is located at 4500' elevation and due to the usual snowpack and wet nature of the surrounding meadow, is accessible by vehicle for work purposes for only 5-6 months each year. The fishery is primarily brown trout and has been self-sustaining for many years; stocking is neither planned nor necessary. Fish are typically in the 6" - 12" range with fish up to 18" occasionally caught. While much of the stream bed is wide and shallow, the stream has several runs and large holes 4' - 6' deep, which provide trout with needed escape and protection. Adult browns have been observed spawning in some of the areas where streambed improvements were just completed. Visual results seen from just the first few years of habitat improvement work have been very encouraging and already indicate a significant increase in the number of juvenile fish. The plan's restoration goals are to add brush sediment traps and log constrictors to define a new, narrow channel within the existing channel, to redirect low flows to sweep the bottom clear of silt, and to add cover for fish shelter and insect production. Over time, these traps will collect sediment to reestablish the stream banks and overall, rebuild the present stream bottom into a new flood plain through which will flow a narrow, deep, and well-shaded stream. The photos below show part of the process of rebuilding the stream bank.
	Stakes are driven into the river bed, then logs are floated into place between the stakes and the bank.
	The logs are lashed together and to the stakes with steel cable.
	The space between the logs and the bank is filled in with brush, branches and small trees, then this is also lashed down with cable to hold it in place. During high water periods, silt collects in the brush traps, preventing it from being deposited along the main channel.