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Evaluating the Success of Spawning Habitat Enhancement on the Merced River, Robinson Reach
Large-scale river restoration projects are presently underway in California on three different rivers, the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers in the San Joaquin River drainage, and Clear Creek in the upper Sacramento River drainage. These projects, funded in large part by CALFED, are to restore channel and floodplain function under the present constraints of encroachment and flow regulation, and to increase populations of endangered and threatened fish, specifically Chinook salmon, by increasing spawning and rearing habitats. To assess the use of new spawning habitat constructed as part of the Merced River Salmon Habitat Enhancement Project (MRSHEP), a three-year monitoring plan is proposed. We will determine the location and number of redds in the Robinson Reach and to assess the quality of spawning habitat based on level of use within the Robinson Reach. Four different variants of design were distributed among twelve riffles built on the Robinson Reach and this study will help elucidate those constructed features of a riffle that increases the number of redds that are excavated
within a newly constructed spawning riffle.
The goal of this study is to assess the use of spawning habitat within the Robinson Reach of the Merced River Salmon Habitat Enhancement Project (MRSHEP). The objectives are to determine the location and number of redds in the Robinson Reach and to assess the quality of spawning habitat based on level of use. The study is designed to assess and determine the following: • location and number of redds in the Robinson Reach • suitability of spawning habitat based on level of use • features of a riffle that increases the number of redds that are excavated within a newly constructed spawning riffle. This study will create a knowledge base that can be used to improve the design features of future phases of MRSHEP and that can be applied to other restoration efforts on rivers of similar scale and fluvial character. The scope of this study is limited to determining the utilization of created riffles by spawning adults within the restored project area as compared to unaltered adjacent areas. It will not address long term or river wide population changes and causes, though information gathered in this study could add some understanding to the causes of these changes.
river restoration project, floodplain, salmon habitat enhancement, spawning riffle, spawning habitat, geomorphic function,
January 31, 2002 10:00 PM
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Robinson Reach
Merced River
Merced County