Restoration Under Suboptimal Conditions: Examples from Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Projects in the California Central Valley

Within highly regulated and urbanized anadromous streams, full restoration is not feasible.  This is particularly true in the face of droughts and shifting precipitation regimes.  Therefore, enhancement of strategic ecological processes within the context of keystone species such as Pacific salmonids may be a viable option for long-term benefits to remaining resources. In this presentation, we will discuss a framework for planning channel and floodplain restoration for two sympatric salmonid species and present examples of developing project designs under regulated flows.  Response of target species and physical habitat associated with restoration actions from three California Central Valley projects will be presented.