Regarding the success of river dwelling creatures, it is believed in the scientific community that a river cannot have too much woody debris. For many reasons the lower Carmel River is not a river with much woody debris.
In 2006 CRSA completed a Large Woody Debris Phase I project in the south arm of the Carmel River Lagoon and expects to complete a Phase II project in the river/lagoon transition zone in 2016.
We envision a Phase III Woody Debris project upstream where the river runs all year. Phase III would be a Small Woody Debris project. We would use small wood in lieu of large wood because if any wood breaks free, small wood will pass under any bridge and not cause flooding or bridge removal.
We are just starting the thought process on this project and have not settled on a location or time yet, but it is a necessary project and if CRSA does not do it, no one probably will.