Creating a Comprehensive Dam Dataset for Assessing Anadromous Fish Passage in California;Technical memo

摘要

The listing of many West Coast salmon and steelhead runs as threatened or endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has focused attention on barriers to anadromous fish migration between stream and ocean habitats. Dams are one the most significant and widespread barriers to fish passage. Having accurate information on dam locations and characteristics is critical to determining what areas of potential salmon or steelhead habitat have been blocked or restricted. In order to assess which streams are reachable as fish habitat, we needed a dataset that synthesized the various dam datasets and located dams accurately relative to the 1:100K geographic coverage of streams and rivers derived from the National Hydrographic Dataset (NHD) (USGS 2003) and edited by the California Department of Fish and Game and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (CDFG/PSMFC) (Christy and Haney 2003). The goal of this project was to produce a synthesized, useable geographic dam dataset in a timely manner, balancing automated processes with more time-intensive manual checks. As a final product, we aimed to produce a clean geographic coverage in which dam locations were aligned properly relative to the 1:100K hydrology, such that available and blocked anadromous fish habitat could then be accurately assessed.