Trout Creek Open for Steelhead

August 17, 2009 | Dams & Dam Removal, Restoring Rivers

Last month I blogged about the start of dam removal on Hemlock Dam and stream restoration on Trout Creek, a tributary to the Wind River in Washington .  This week, the exciting news is that the dam removal is complete, and the stream channel has been restored and resdesigned to emulate a natural and historic stream channel.  The river is set to function as a river again!  And it appears the steelhead are very pleased.  The same day the creek had more water added to it to help it recover, an adult steelhead zipped upstream past the previous dammed site. Obviouly the steelhead know that Trout Creek is open for business. The newly restored river channel also offers a diversity of opportunities for community recereation and enjoyment, including some swimming holes and riverside access.

This project was the first dam removal on Pacific Northwest Forest Service lands and has proved to be a great success.  American Rivers was able to contribute funds to this project through our Community Based Restoration Partnership program with NOAA which provides stream barrier removal grants to communities.

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