Watch new drone footage of the Upper River Bend Phase 1 project completed in fall 2023, our 13th project in a series with the Water Forum, that supports salmonid habitat enhancement on the Lower American River. cbec’s holistic designs incorporated and reused on-site materials to create in-river habitat. Crews excavated, washed, and sorted existing alluvial deposits within the project area, then strategically placed the optimum sized gravel for salmon and steelhead spawning into the flowing river. This project also involved the construction of a side channel that provides much needed off-channel rearing habitat. Large wood structures were also installed to provide flow complexity, velocity refuge, and predator protection for juvenile salmonids. The wood structures consist of buried logs fastened to entire almond trees with intact root wads. Learn more at the project page.