Sonoma County Regional Parks has received a $1.5 million state grant to restore wetlands, streams and fish habitat at Mark West Creek Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, county officials announced.
The funding from the California Wildlife Conservation Board will support a three-year project aimed at improving habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout in a key tributary of the Russian River watershed, according to a news release.
Regional Parks is partnering with the Sonoma Resource Conservation District and Trout Unlimited on the work, which is expected to begin later this year.
The project includes installing structures that mimic beaver dams, placing large logs in streams, restoring side channels and wetlands, and modifying or removing concrete dams that block fish passage, county officials said.
County officials also said the restoration is designed to improve water quality, restore natural stream functions, and reopen several miles of creek habitat for native salmon and steelhead.
Mark West Creek, east of Santa Rosa, is one of the few streams in the Russian River watershed that continues flowing through the dry summer months, but declining water levels and channel changes have threatened fish habitat, according to county officials.