Little Butano Creek Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement Project
The Little Butano Creek Fish Passage and Habitat Enhancement Project will remediate a long-standing fish passage barrier and improve stream and wetland habitat within the Pescadero-Butano Watershed. This effort builds on decades of investment in the watershed to restore passage, reconnect floodplains and lagoons, and enhance stream flows.
The project addresses an existing migration barrier formed by historic realignment and straightening of the creek, which caused severe incision over time. By adjusting the creek grade below the bedrock chute barrier, we are restoring fish passage and enhancing 3.1 acres of habitat. Project elements include the installation of large wood structures, creation of pools, rewatering of previously disconnected floodplains, and targeted habitat improvements at two confluence zones.
These actions are already reshaping the creek and will continue to expand aquatic habitat, create shelter and refuge for fish, and restore passage to upstream habitat. Looking ahead, the project will also reduce erosion and incision while increasing sediment retention, ultimately strengthening the ecological resilience of the creek and the broader watershed.
Project Highlights:
Restoration of fish passage by modifying the grade below the bedrock chute and realigning the channel to allow fish migration above the barrier.
Enhance habitat complexity by installing several woody debris structures to increase shelter, store sediment, and provide aquatic cover.
Create low-flow pools that provide resting areas and drought refuge for fish.
Reconnect floodplains by backwatering two existing floodplain
terraces.Restore a historic meander and confluence zone that will improve habitat where a tributary drains into Little Butano