Dry Creek Restoration Project gets underway with Aug. 16 ceremony at Gallo Site

San Francisco District
Published Aug. 10, 2022
Updated: Aug. 10, 2022

GEYSERVILLE, Calif. – Please join the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District (USACE), Sonoma Water and key local partners as they commemorate the start of construction for the Dry Creek Ecosystem Restoration Phase 1 Project.

The project aims to restore habitat for threatened and endangered salmon along 2.5 miles of Dry Creek. USACE and Sonoma Water have been working collaboratively with the National Marine Fisheries Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to improve habitat along six miles of Dry Creek, per the 2008 Russian River Biological Opinion. To date, more than three miles of habitat projects have been completed – led primarily by Sonoma Water. The next phases of the project are estimated to cost $44.7 million and are being led by USACE, with Sonoma Water providing a 35 percent cost share.  Project construction will occur in three phases along different portions of the stream between 
2022-2025.

WHAT:    Dry Creek Ecosystem Restoration Phase 1 Project Kick-Off Ceremony
WHEN:    Tuesday, Aug. 16, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Program starts 11 a.m.)
WHERE:   Upper Dry Creek (Reach 13 & 14) Construction Staging Area on Gallo and Foley Family Wines 
Property
CLOTHING: Casual. Please note this is an active construction site, so personal protective equipment 
(PPE) is required including safety vest, hard hat and closed-toe boots.

Event speakers will include Lt. Col. Kevin Arnett, USACE San Francisco District Commander, Grant Davis, Sonoma Water General Manager, invited James Gore, Sonoma Water Director/Chair Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, landowner representatives and others. Following the ceremony and a group photo, media are invited to tour the project site and talk with members of the Corps/Sonoma Water team.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

On May 31, 2022, USACE awarded an $8,487,500 contract to McCullough Construction, Inc., for the Dry Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project near Healdsburg in Sonoma County. This award is for Phase I construction. The total Dry Creek project is a joint partnership between non-Federal sponsor Sonoma Water and the San Francisco District to restore approximately 46 acres of habitat along six miles of Dry Creek for coho salmon and steelhead trout. The habitat restoration features planned for the project include construction of stream side channels, riffles, backwaters and alcoves to slow the speed of the water and create refuge for young fish. The features will be constructed using natural materials such as logs and rocks. Bank stabilization measures will prevent or reduce erosion and provide vegetation cover and shade. Phase I will restore over 10 acres of habitat during the summers of 2022 and 2023. Previous work on the 14-mile Dry Creek includes a smaller pilot restoration project completed by USACE under the Continuing Authorities Program and one mile of ecosystem restoration completed by Sonoma Water.  Phases II and III will be constructed in future years.

DIRECTIONS TO THE CEREMONY

The ceremony will take place at the USACE Dry Creek Ecosystem Restoration Phase 1 Project Site. For parking, please use the first vineyard road after the driveway labeled 9045 Dry Creek Road (towards Lake Sonoma) and keep speeds 5 to 10 mph (no dust). If you are headed toward Lake Sonoma, it is the third vineyard road on your left after the main entrance to Ferrari-Carano Winery.
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