Politics & Government

Fish Passage Project Afloat

Lansdale fish passage will get $500,000 worth of improvements.

A long-awaited project to aid spawning fish is finally weaving its way towards completion following approval by the San Anselmo Town Council this past Tuesday.

The Lansdale Fish Passage Project, as it is known, was approved for grant funding from the state in the amount of $567,592. The council approved on Tuesday the agreement with the State of California and designated a representative to work with the California Department of Fish and Game. Per the grant agreement, the town is responsible for $37,805 in in-kind matching contributions. But, as Sandy Guldman, of the Friends of Corte Madera Creek, explained, most of that in-kind contribution is in an administrative fee the town will waive to oversee the project. The county has also contributed around $15,000 to the project.

“We finally got funding on the fifth proposal I wrote,” said Guldman.

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Right now, the creek at Lansdale Station runs through a long pair of box culverts upstream, 160 feet long, and then a giant arch culvert at Lansdale Station Park as it runs under the street.

The problem for fish, said Guldman, is that that long culvert has a flat, concrete bottom. Unless the water conditions are just right, fish aren’t able to swim the entire length at one time. But, because the bottom is flat and smooth, they have nowhere they can stop and rest along the way.

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“They get tired before they can get through it,” said Guldman.

In addition, at the downstream end, there is an apron that drops four feet. There are very few fish that can make that four-foot jump, she said.

The project will create angled pools within the culvert for spawning fish heading upstream to stop and rest. Because these pools are far enough inside, said Guldman, there is no upstream effect on raised water levels. There will also be a slot cut in the four-foot apron drop and stepped pools will be put in to allow the fish to make the jump in segments. 

There will also be a rock-lined pool at the downstream end to allow fish to gather thier strength before heading upstream to the best spawning grounds. And a new retaining wall will be put in to hold up the parking structure on Center Boulevard.

Despite all the hard work to get the project to completion, Guldman said, “it’s not ideal.” Ideally, when doing fish passage projects, you would take out culverts and put in a single-span bridge, but because of the age and type of these culverts, it simply wasn’t an option.

With dwindling salmon numbers in recent years, efforts are being made to decrease the obstacles for spawning fish. Councilmember Kay Coleman said she remembered when there used to be steelhead in the creek behind her house.

“This will really provide some impetus for other fish passage projects,” said Guldman.

The Lansdale culverts are the third obstacle fish hit on their way to upper San Anselmo Creek, after the concrete channel near College of Marin and the Saunders Avenue bridge – which are both on a list of future project goals. In fact, said Guldman, $26,000 was left over from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which the Friends of Corte Madera Creek hoped to roll-over to do the seismic analysis of the Saunders project.

 

 

 


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