I'm posting the following message on behalf of Chuck Hammerstad:
Last year I learned from talking with Tim Frahm, Trout Unlimited Restoration Ecologist, that the century old dam on Little Arthur Creek which is a tributary of the Uvas Creek/Pajaro River watershed with a historic population of steelhead. For over 100 years, this dam blocked the migration of adult steelhead to the upper reaches of this small stream with perennial cold water flow for rearing steelhead juveniles. Little Arthur Creek is one of the best tributaries for spawning and rearing in the watershed.
Of special interest to me was the history of this long process of get the dam removed and Flycasters action taken in an attempt to provide fish passage. In the 1980's, a group of conservation minded members of Flycasters got funding and approval to install an Alaskan Steep Pass metal fish ladder. in the video, you can see the ladder which appears to be a channel in the concrete below the dam, concrete poured in the creek channel to stabilized the ladder in place. It did provide passage during proper flow condition but was eventually damage by large wood debris. It took a long time to convince the property owner to agree to have the dam taken out at no cost to the owner. I worked on the installation of this fishway in my early years as a member of Flycasters.
Here is a recent Trout Unlimited produced video about the removal of the dam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDzvw1JnhPQ
Tim Frahm, was the project manager and you will learn about the cooperative effort of many partners working together to accomplish this long overdue dam removal. Some of the key members of the group were Joel Casagrande, NOAA fisheries biologist; Jon Jankovitz, a fisheries biologist working for Valley Water as the Environmental Service Manager; Jennifer Codianne, Valley Water; Amah Mutsun tribal members; Valley Water received praise for the work of the organization and the work of Jon Jankovitz.
Thanks for taking the time to view the video - I think your learn the importance of removing old dams for improved fish passage.
Frank Eldredge for Chuck Hammerstad