Restoration Projects Statewide Order Draft Program Environmental Impact Report

The Wilson Landing Side Channel Restoration Project, managed by the California Department of Water Resources, focuses on restoring reliable and frequent seasonal rearing habitat for juvenile salmon within Butte and Glenn Counties. The project involves excavating and reconnecting a side channel to the mainstem Sacramento River, featuring a single large channel with an upstream inlet and multiple outlets. This design allows the channel to maintain a flow of approximately 4,000 cubic feet per second during low-flow months from October through December, while enabling water to spread onto the adjacent floodplain during higher flow periods between December and February. Under solicitation number 5A11CR00060, the project has achieved compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act as confirmed by a Notice of Determination issued on October 14, 2026, by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Coordination for the effort involves key personnel including Senior Environmental Scientist Lynn Coster and River Partners President Julie Rentner. The initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance aquatic ecosystems and support salmon populations through strategic hydrological restoration in California.