Dutch Bill Creek Streamflow Improvement Plan

Based in OAEC’s home watershed, the Dutch Bill Creek Streamflow Improvement Plan (SIP) was prepared by the Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership as part of the Russian River Coho Keystone Initiative.  Brock Dolman of the OAEC WATER Institute has been an integral part of organizing and spearheading this partnership since the beginning (for an in-depth history lesson of community-based watershed restoration in Dutch Bill Creek, see photos in the timeline section.) The purpose of the Keystone is to restore a viable, self-sustaining population of coho salmon in the Russian River watershed which dropped to extinction levels within the last decade. The Partnership applies a systematic, watershed-scale approach that brings together landowner interests, streamflow and fish monitoring, technical, planning and financial assistance, and water rights and permitting expertise to modify water use and management to improve instream flow.

This SIP is a roadmap for prioritizing and implementing streamflow improvement projects with multiple public benefits and a diversity of approaches within OAEC’s home watershed of Dutch Bill Creek. The aim is to (1) restore a more natural flow regime; (2) increase the viability of juvenile coho and numbers of returning adult coho; and (3) increase water supply reliability for water users. The SIP is intended to build on the foundational and ongoing restoration work of so many in the Dutch Bill Creek watershed, including OAEC’s WATER Institute, and it is intended to be a living document.