This project is being performed as a requirement of a Biological Opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is proposing to continue a gravel augmentation project which involves placement of a heterogeneous mix of gravel and cobble into the lower Yuba River channel below Englebright Dam.

The purpose of gravel augmentation is to place suitable-sized spawning gravel within the upper Narrows reach for rehabilitating associated geomorphic processes and aquatic habitat in the Englebright Dam reach of the Lower Yuba River. Implementation of a long-term augmentation program will serve to improve the overall ecological functionality of the channel. The project will provide gravel and cobble suitable for anadromous salmonid adult spawning, embryo incubation, and survival to emergence in a key area in the lower Yuba River designated as critical habitat for the Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon and the Central Valley steelhead. The project area is located on the lower Yuba River downstream of Englebright Dam (Yuba River mile 23.9), Yuba County, California (Plate 1). Gravel augmentation will be confined to the river channel located between Englebright Dam and the junction with Deer Creek. This reach is called the Englebright Dam Reach and it is located in the steep canyon off Highway 20, about 23 miles east of Marysville, California.