Field Tour Coordinator: 
Tommy Williams, PhD, NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center

 

Tour Leaders: 
Brian Cluer, NMFS West Coast Region California Coastal Office
Amy East, USGS Pacific Coastal Marine Science Center
Christy Fischer, Santa Lucia Conservancy
Tim Frahm, Trout Unlimited
Rafael Payan, Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District

 

The focus of this field tour is on stream processes in the context of large-scale restoration – dam

removal and floodplain restoration – with in-the-field examples from areas downstream of the

former San Clemente Dam and reconnection of floodplain at the site of a former golf course.

The removal of San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River in 2015 was the third-tallest dam

removed intentionally thus far globally. The morning will be spent with researchers from NMFS

and USGS discussing stream channel response and sediment movement following dam removal

and high flow events.

 

Moving downstream from the former dam location, the afternoon will be spent with staff from

NMFS, USGS, Trout Unlimited, Santa Lucia Conservancy, and Monterey Peninsula Regional

Park District in the lower portion of the Carmel River watershed where the Rancho Cañada Golf

Course is being removed and habitat restoration efforts are underway.