"With the information we have accumulated, we can now move forward with a comprehensive plan to open up important spawning and rearing habitat for salmon," said Reuven Walder, SPAWN watershed biologist, and primary author of the report. "These areas of our creeks have been blocked for decades by culverts, small dams, and other structures."

Thirteen creeks in the San Geronimo Valley were surveyed and 31 culverts, 12 dams, and 10 miscellaneous structures were identified for removal, according to Walder. The thirteen tributaries include Willis Evans Canyon, Deer Camp Canyon, Cremery, Larsen, Blueline, Arroyo, Barranca, El Cerrito, Montezuma, Sintura and Barnabe creeks.

The San Geronimo Valley suffers from the burgeoning demands on water and land that other communities throughout California encounter as a result of increasing urbanization. The valley now has 330 residents on 1500 parcels of land, including 200 located rights along the creeks.

The Lagunitas Creek Watershed is one of the most important remaining habitats for threatened coho salmon and is considered one of the most robust in the state. Yet even here, coho have been reduced from an estimated 6000 in the 1940's to a mere 500 - a decline of 90%. This greatly reduced run represents approximately 10% of California's remaining coho salmon.

In the 1940s, the California coho salmon population was estimated between 50,000-125,000 spawning fish per year. Today, the population has dwindled to around 6,000. Coho have more stringent habitat requirements than the more widespread and abundant chinook salmon, since juveniles need to rear in cool, shaded water for at least a year before migrating to sea. Coho are now listed as "threatened" under California law and "endangered" under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Walder had no current estimate for the adult steelhead population, other than saying they have a "significance" presence in the creek, due to the difficulty of counting them during their brief migration.

The study prioritized which barriers are blocking the most habitat and estimated the cost of repair, so conservationists can use the limited resources that may become available as effectively as possible to get the "most bang for the buck," added Walder.

The repairs recommended in the study range greatly in the projected cost. Simpler repairs, such as creating a route for juvenile fish to get downstream, could cost under $15,000. Other more complex projects, such as removing culverts and replacing with fish-friendly structures, would cost up to $500,000 each. Because of the complexity and varied nature of the projects recommended, Waller didn't have an overall price tag on the repairs.

"If we can muster the resources and political support to repair or replace all these migration barriers, we can open up more than 4.5 miles of habitat that have been completely or partially lost to the fish," commented Todd Steiner, director of SPAWN and one of the authors of the report. "This will go along way toward restoring these fish that have been assaulted by loss of habitat, reduction of water, pollution, logging and development pressures."

Walder and Steiner are counting on the strong support of local citizens and landowners to convince state and local politicians to push for the needed funds. "We plan to go after a wide variety of sources for funds, including CalTrans, Marin County and private homeowners," Walder stated.

Marin Municipal Water District customers shouldn't worry about decreasing drinking water supplies, since the report does not address removing large water supply dams, such as Peter's Dam on Lagunitas Creek creating Kent Lake and Seeger on Nicasio Creek creating Nicasio Reservoir. The report recommends the removal of small dams and culverts that either no longer serve any functional purpose or can be replaced with fish friendly technology.

"Some of these barriers are small dams that were built decades ago, when the area was largely rural. They were probably used to water livestock, and serve no purpose today," said Walder. "Other barriers, such as culverts that allow the creeks to flow under roads, can easily be replaced by newer designs that allow fish passage."

In a complementary effort, Marin County is conducting a similar study of culvert crossings in additional watersheds of Lagunitas Creek.

The efforts of SPAWN, a non-profit organization that is working to protect and restore the salmon and steelhead of Marin County, should be supported by every angler interested in the recovery of the once abundant coho salmon and steelhead of Lagunitas. The complete study can be obtained by downloading it from SPAWN's website, www.spawnusa.org, or by emailing a request to spawn@spawnusa.org. For more information, call (415) 488-0370 x102 or fax (415) 488-0372.