Dam removal continues on the Trabuco District
Release Date: Jan 12, 2018
U.S. Forest Service
Cleveland National Forest
10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, #200
San Diego, CA 92127-2107
Web: www.fs.usda.gov/cleveland
Twitter: @Cleveland_NF
News Release
Media Contact: Olivia Walker
858-674-2984 or 858-735-6868
owalker@fs.fed.us
Dam removal continues on the Trabuco District
San Diego, CA. (January 12, 2017) - The Cleveland National Forest will be continuing dam removal January through March in an effort to improve stream habitat and aquatic organism passage. This will include fifteen to twenty-five dams in San Juan, Trabuco, Holy Jim, and Silverado Creeks.
The dams, which were built by Orange County between 1940 and 1970, do not provide for flood control and present a barrier to movement by native fish and other aquatic organisms. A total of eighteen dams have been removed from Silverado, Holy Jim, and Trabuco Creeks in recent projects, with twenty nine others having failed and washed out during rainstorms. An additional sixty-three dams are planned for removal within the next few years. Methods for removal will include excavators, hand crews, and blasting.
Removing barriers is a key component in restoring stream health and function. The project is part of a priority national initiative for federal and state agencies, including the US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Highway Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Park Service, the California Coastal Conservancy, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The ability to move up and down stream is essential for aquatic species to complete their life cycles and maintain viable populations.
To date, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Marine Corps, Orange County Parks, and Caltrans have funded or contributed to the Trabuco dam removal project. For more information on this project, please see our 2017 Annual Report.
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