Partners: South Yuba River Citizens League, cbec eco engineering, Cramer Fish Sciences, Hansen Brothers Enterprises
Funders: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Board, and Yuba Water Agency
Background: The Rose Bar project site is located 2 river miles below Englebright dam on land recently acquired by the Yuba Water Agency. The purpose of this project is to create and enhance two spawning riffles for Chinook salmon and steelhead. Englebright Dam prevents gravels from moving downstream from upper portions of the watershed. In the Goldfields, the piles of hydraulic mining debris provide the gravel sizes necessary for spawning. However, because Rose Bar is so close to Englebright Dam which traps downstream movement of gravel, as the Yuba River erodes spawning gravel, there is no source of gravel to replace it. We designed these riffles to remain stable up to approximately 70,000 cfs and take advantage of gravel injected higher up by the Army Corps of Engineers. The main objective of this project is to add spawning sized gravels to the riverbed from locally sourced material. We will be sourcing the necessary gravel from hydraulic mine tailings in the uplands above the project and at the same time stabilizing the hillslope which will decrease the amount of mercury delivered to the Yuba River during rain events. The total area of the project is about 43 acres with about 5 acres of new spawning habitat.
The primary objectives of the Proposed Project are:
1) Increase the amount of high-quality spawning habitat by modifying hydraulic (i.e., depth and velocity) and substrate conditions to within the ranges preferred by Chinook salmon and steelhead during typical spawning periods.
2) Create a design that mimics natural morphological features (e.g., riffle, pool) that would not erode significantly through typical non-flood control related operations.
3) Reduce bank erosion in the gully that may be contributing mercury contaminated soil to the Yuba River.
SYRCL and CFS team conducting redd surveys at Rose Bar control site Winter 2021
Photo of the site from 1921. You can see the mining in action and the pattern the dredger leaves behind.
Map of Rose Bar Project Site
Pre and Post Project photos
Redds observed in Project Footprint in September, November, and December of 2024
On October 2, 2024, Travis Beckt, Ecohydrologist Technician II for cbec eco engineering, took this drone footage of even more spawning salmon using the project area to build redds. Monthly post-project redd surveys began promptly…
On October 2, 2024, Travis Beckt, Ecohydrologist Technician II for cbec eco engineering, took this drone footage of even more spawning salmon using the project area to build redds. Monthly post-project redd surveys began promptly after in-water work concluded in September and continued through December 2024. In total, 283 unique redds were observed in the restoration site.
Danielle Conway, SYRCL’s Fisheries Restoration Program Manager, began post-project monitoring at our Rose Bar project. Two weeks after completing this restoration project we see the first of what we hope will be many…
Danielle Conway, SYRCL’s Fisheries Restoration Program Manager, began post-project monitoring at our Rose Bar project. Two weeks after completing this restoration project we see the first of what we hope will be many Chinook utilizing the new spawning habitat. Four redds total and pairs on all. Two at the head of riffle 1 and 2 in the backwater infill area.
On August 30th, we completed the in-water construction phase of the Rose Bar project. This project enhanced two spawning riffles in the lower Yuba River with appropriately sized spawning gravel. These…
On August 30th, we completed the in-water construction phase of the Rose Bar project. This project enhanced two spawning riffles in the lower Yuba River with appropriately sized spawning gravel. These riffles are in one of the last locations where salmon spawning can occur before Englebright Dam and the end of the anadromous reach of river. This project took a lot of coordinated effort, and we’re thrilled with the result and can’t wait to see salmon spawning here in the next couple weeks.
On Monday July 15th, the Rose Bar spawning habitat project began in water work, placing spawning gravel in the Yuba River at Rose Bar. Two spawning benches will be built made up of sorted gravel and cobble from…
On Monday July 15th, the Rose Bar spawning habitat project began in water work, placing spawning gravel in the Yuba River at Rose Bar. Two spawning benches will be built made up of sorted gravel and cobble from on-site, and anchored in place with larger rock.
The allowable in water work window lasts from July 15th through August 31st. However, contractor estimates suggest they will be done before the end of August. While the in water work is occurring SYRCL staff are on site all day, monitoring water quality closely and keeping a close eye out for salmon to ensure regulatory standards and fish safety are upheld.
On Friday, November 10, 2023, nearly 25 folks showed up to help us plant around 500 oaks and foothill pines at our Upper Rose Bar Restoration…
On Friday, November 10, 2023, nearly 25 folks showed up to help us plant around 500 oaks and foothill pines at our Upper Rose Bar Restoration Project.
This project is all about improving nearby spawning habitat for salmon and steelhead trout and stabilizing the eroding banks of historic mining tailings. By planting trees on the eroding slopes, our volunteers are helping to improve riverbank stability and water quality. Plus, growing trees sequester carbon.
Accomplishments: access road was finished, all building materials to complete phase two are stockpiled, site was…
Accomplishments: access road was finished, all building materials to complete phase two are stockpiled, site was stabilized for winter, all equipment demobilized.
Hansen Brother’s aggregate processing plant is sorting approximately 2,100 tons of material per day. As of 8/23, about 20,000 tons of spawning gravel has been stockpiled for riffle augmentation next…
Hansen Brother’s aggregate processing plant is sorting approximately 2,100 tons of material per day. As of 8/23, about 20,000 tons of spawning gravel has been stockpiled for riffle augmentation next summer.
Construction officially kicked off on July 24th and things have been moving non stop since. This year, we will only be constructing the access road, sorting the material generated from grading and…
Construction officially kicked off on July 24th and things have been moving non stop since. This year, we will only be constructing the access road, sorting the material generated from grading and stockpiling the spawning gravel, and planting.
All in water work will happen in 2024.
We had to pivot last minute and break up project implementation into 2 phases because the permitted in water work window is so narrow due to spawning in the upper reaches where the project is located, and we got a late start due to funding not being available as soon as expected .
SYRCL is also conducting weekly mercury sediment sampling to make sure we can properly manage any contaminated soils that are being moved around by construction activity.
In 2016, SYRCL, with the support from Sierra Streams Institute, prepared a Feasibility and Alternative Report assessing the on-site gravel suitability and available spawning habitat…
In 2016, SYRCL, with the support from Sierra Streams Institute, prepared a Feasibility and Alternative Report assessing the on-site gravel suitability and available spawning habitat for a proposed restoration project at this location.
