Projects
Taking Action
In December 2023, the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts (MID and TID) and the San Francisco Pacific Utilities Commission (SFPUC) launched a collaborative, holistic habitat restoration program for the lower Tuolumne River to improve the health and long-term recovery of the fishery.
This self-funded, $80 million collaboration exemplifies the power of public-private partnerships in making critical, lasting improvements to ecosystem and community health along California waterways, like the Tuolumne River.
Lower Tuolumne River Restoration
The Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts (MID and TID) and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) have teamed up to design and implement a collaborative, holistic habitat restoration program along the lower Tuolumne River to improve the health and long-term recovery of the fishery and local communities it serves. MID, TID and the SFPUC are self-funding the $80 million program.
The joint effort demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships in making critical, lasting improvements to ecosystem and community health along California waterways like the Tuolumne River. The agencies recently chose River Partners, to lead planning and restoration efforts for the multi-year effort.
River Partners will design a series of restoration projects along the lower Tuolumne River and its floodplain from Don Pedro Reservoir downstream to the San Joaquin River that will improve conditions for salmon and other native aquatic species. By 2030, project partners aim to develop 77 acres of suitable salmon rearing and floodplain habitat and add approximately 100,000 tons of gravel in specific river reaches for optimal salmon spawning and rearing.
River Partners will lead a multi-disciplinary team of biologists, ecologists and other technical experts, including in the restoration planning and design needed to implement the comprehensive program.
Hear from the stakeholders on the Tuolumne River about the power of partnership
Tuolumne River Mainstem Restoration Upstream of Old La Grange Bridge
The Tuolumne River Mainstem Channel Restoration Upstream of Old La Grange Bridge Project (OLGB Project) is located within in the Lower Tuolumne River, upstream of the Old La Grange Bridge, near the town of La Grange, California.
The overarching goal of the OLGB Project was to provide spawning and in-channel habitat that improved the productivity of fall-run Chinook Salmon and O. mykiss (rainbow trout). Additional goals of the project include providing gravel for replenishment of downstream riffles as gravel is naturally transported downstream over time.
Clean, washed gravel was added to the Lower Tuolumne River in the form of riffles and gravel bars. In addition to creation of spawning habitat, large wood features and boulder clusters were added to increase in-channel habitat complexity and diversity, improving habitat for juvenile salmon and trout.