Deer Creek Restoration III

Restoration Stories


In January 2020, Trout Unlimited finished the Deer Creek Irrigation District Fish Passage Improvement Project, which included constructing a roughened rock ramp at the Deer Creek Irrigation District’s diversion dam, re-profiling a portion of the diversion ditch to eliminate the need to install seasonal flashboards, and installing a new fish screen. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and US Fish and Wildlife Service together provided $3 million, plus contributed thousands of additional personnel hours to support the design, permitting, implementation, and monitoring of the project. The project eliminates a 100+-year-old migration barrier for Spring-run Chinook and Central Valley steelhead. Project partners include the Deer Creek Irrigation District, California Department of Water Resources, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Bureau of Reclamation. Learn more here, here, and here. © Tricia Bratcher, CDFW