BABBITT TO HELP BREACH MARIN COUNTY DAM
TO RESTORE HISTORIC COHO SALMON RUN
Lagunitas Creek Watershed Once Held Largest Cohos in California

As recently as the 1950's watershed held 5,000 cohos, that number down to about 500 which still represents 10% of all coho salmon in California

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt will be in Marin County Saturday, October 10, wielding a jackhammer to breach a dam as part of an effort by Trout Unlimited and federal and state partners to restore the Lagunitas Creek watershed and coho salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act.

"The Lagunitas Creek watershed used to be a nationally-renowned fishery, famous for having produced the state record Coho Salmon, " Babbitt said. "Now only about 500 cohos remain. Breaching Roy's Dam along San Geronimo Creek will be an important step toward restoring this watershed and its threatened salmon."

Babbitt will visit Geronimo Creek, a major tributary of the Lagunitas Creek near Woodacre, CA, joining Trout Unlimited, the National Park Service and the California State Park Service in breaching Roy's Dam. The removal of the dam is part of a larger project to restore coho salmon and steelhead trout to the Lagunitas Creek watershed, the largest watershed in Marin County, which is estimated to provide habitat for fully 10% of the remaining California coho salmon, and also for a significant population of steelhead trout.

"There are more than 75,000 dams in the nation, most built long ago, many clearly obsolete," Babbitt said. "Roy's Dam, for example, was built in the early 1920's. The role of many of these structures needs to be reassessed, especially those that have an obvious and adverse effect on our rivers and threatened and endangered species."

Babbitt will be at Roy's Dam on San Geronimo Creek at San Geronimo Golf Course beginning at 11:00 a.m. on October 10, helping volunteers with stream-side restoration work. At 11:30, Babbitt and others will discuss the watershed restoration project. At Noon, Babbitt will officially begin the demolition of Roy's Dam by wielding a jackhammer against the dam. All events are open to the media and public. Babbitt will be available for additional media interview after the event. To reach San Geronimo Golf Course from San Francisco, take 101 North across Golden Gate Bridge then take Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Northwest to San Geronimo Golf Course.

--DOI--

  U.S. Department of the Interior