River Health, Water, Fish, and Daguerre Point Dam

Back in late 2022, the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) and the University of California, Santa Cruz put out a survey in hopes of getting community input on issues surrounding river health, fisheries, and fish passage at Daguerre Point Dam on the lower Yuba River.

Trevor Kumec, a graduate student from UC Santa Cruz, partnered with SYRCL to develop a community-centered approach to restoration at Daguerre Point. Together, they created a brief, anonymous survey to ask community-members about their perspectives on river health, water, fish, and other related topics.   

The results of this survey are now in and will provide essential context for future public meetings and will help shape the course of restoration over the coming years. You can view the results at the end of this article.

First off, we would like to thank everyone who participated in our survey. The responses we got were incredibly helpful in improving our understanding of community values around the Lower Yuba, Daguerre Point Dam, and local fisheries issues.   

As you may have heard, on May 16th, Governor Newsom, along with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Yuba Water Agency, announced plans to build an engineered fishway around Daguerre Point Dam and reintroduce spring-run Chinook salmon above New Bullards Bar. Neither Trevor nor the South Yuba River Citizens League were involved in the planning of these projects. We are happy to see progress on these important issues, and we look forward to truly collaborating with the agencies on these projects in the future. 

We believe that the voices of the community are incredibly important, and SYRCL will continue to be involved in creating volitional fish passage at Daguerre Point Dam and advocating on behalf of the community. The responses we received from the survey tell us what matters to you. Those responses will be taken to heart and help guide how we move forward.