Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program (SMP)

Work plan requests for the 2023 Fall Maintenance Season are currently being accepted.  The deadline to participate in the 2023 Fall Work Season is May 1st. Appointments for fall work will be conducted via phone call or Zoom video conferencing. Please call or email the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County to make an appointment.

Ready to submit a work plan request?

 Or, are you a landowner or lessee with questions about participating?

Please contact the RCD of Monterey County at:
Brandt Bates, Stream Maintenance Program Coordinator
brandt.bates@rcdmonterey.org
(831) 238-4063

Overview

Monterey County Water Resources Agency, (MCWRA), Resource Conservation District of Monterey County (RCDMC), and the Salinas River Stream Maintenance Program River Management Unit Association have developed a Stream Maintenance Program (SMP). The SMP is a coordinated approach to vegetation and sediment management that is conducted voluntarily by individual property owners, growers, and municipalities (Participants) along the main stem of the Salinas River (River miles 2 to 94) and three select tributaries: Gonzales Slough, Bryant Canyon Channel, and San Lorenzo Creek. The SMP is a collaborative and science-based approach that allows participants to manage vegetation and sediment in specific Maintenance Areas along the river to maximize flood flow capacity, minimize bank erosion and minimize environmental effects. The SMP helps to protect against flooding during and after moderate storm events while enhancing habitat value. 

The Salinas River mainstream and the tributaries are collectively referred to as the Program Area.  The Program Area is further broken down into seven River Management Units (RMUs).  Designated Maintenance Areas within each RMU have been identified and permitted based on available data such as topography, flood flows and vegetation communities. Participants can work only in the designated Maintenance Areas. Please see the map below for the specific locations of the 129 Maintenance Areas.  

In order to participate in the SMP, landowners, growers or municipalities should contact Brandt Bates, Program Coordinator at the RCD of Monterey County at 831-238-4063 or brand.bates@rcdmonterey.org.

Maintenance Area Locator Map

Click on the map below

Implementation

The SMP has been ongoing since 2016 over the Program Area. The MCWRA is the lead public agency and holds the Army Corps of Engineers Regional General Permit and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Water Quality Certification.  The RCDMC holds the Routine Maintenance Agreement from California Department of Fish & Wildlife.  These agencies oversee the SMP and administer the SMP according to the conditions in the state and federal permits.  The implementation of the SMP occurs through landowner and lessee participation in the Salinas River RMU Association, Inc. a non-profit entity.  Together these organizations have brought participants together to work successfully under the SMP.

 In any given year, river conditions and participation may change and a flexible process has been implemented based on annual work plans. These work plans outline proposed work for the Spring and Fall work seasons and must be approved prior to commencement of work.  The Spring work season begins June 1 and continues to August 31 and allows Arundo herbicide treatment. The Fall work season begins September 1 and continues to November 15 and allows vegetation maintenance, sediment removal and grading, and Arundo removal in the permitted Maintenance Areas. Each year, applications are solicited through an online form with a March 1^st and April 30^th deadline respectively, for the two work seasons. 

 In order to participate, work must be proposed only in permitted Maintenance Areas and Participants must be a member of the RMU Association of landowners and lessees in order to have full coverage of all necessary permits and associated reporting.  Once work plans are submitted by a landowner or lessee the RMU Association will assist landowners in completing the work plans as requested and submitting the materials to MCWRA and RCDMC. MCWRA and RCDMC then submit an Annual Work Plan for permitting agency approvals before work can begin in the river. No work can commence without notification by MCWRA and RCDMC.

Pages Under Salinas River Maintenance Program (SMP)

• Documents

• Maps

• Link to RCDMC SMP webpage