To facilitate effective local actions that will maintain and improve our region’s water quality and riparian habitat, provide increased assistance and education for local government and the private sector, and encourage cooperation and coordination between all levels of regulatory responsibility for fishery restoration.
FishNet 4C Roads Manual
Online Roads Manual Training
FishNet 4C has developed training modules on the most commonly used Best Management Practices (BMPs) from our Roads Manual. These modules can be downloaded to your computer as Power Point files, and cover a variety of roads maintenance topics:
- Road Drainage
- Culverts
- Erosion Control
- Sediment Management
- Water Management
- Streambank Protection
The training presentations also include an overview of fisheries and water quality, and the permits that might be necessary to implement roads maintenance projects. The last module challenges the participant to address specific road maintenance situations using the BMPs from the Roads Manual. Links to other useful information are found throughout the training modules. Click here to get started now!
An important focus of the FishNet 4C Program is county maintenance practices. The methods that county staff uses to manage and maintain county facilities such as roads can have a huge impact on water quality and fish habitat.
In 2001, FishNet 4C completed a study, or “environmental report card”, called the Effects of County Land Use Policies and Management Practices on Anadromous Salmonids and Their Habitats (Harris, 2001). This report highly recommended that our counties develop written guidelines for public works, parks and open space departments, on how to best protect the aquatic environment while conducting their daily work on our roads and drainage systems.
FishNet members formed an Operations and Maintenance Committee, and through this committee, with much dedication and effort from our members, developed the County Road Maintenance Guidelines for Protecting Aquatic Habitat and Salmon Fisheries (December 2004). The completion of the Roads Manual was just the first step. Each County’s Board of Supervisors also adopted or directed the use of the guidelines, and each year the FishNet 4C Program sponsors training workshops for County roads crews and managers on the best management practices (BMPs) contained in the Manual.
What’s in the FishNet Roads Manual?
The key focus of the manual is on implementing BMPs related to protecting water quality, aquatic habitat and salmonid fisheries. The guidelines outlined in the manual address most routine and emergency road related maintenance activities undertaken by County Departments of Public Works, Parks, and Open Space Districts, and they also address common facilities such as spoils storage sites and maintenance yards. The guidelines apply only to in-house county activities related to county facilities, not to private development.
Overall, the manual addresses issues related to routine maintenance, but also includes information on more project related activities such as road redesign, culvert replacement, and streambank stabilization projects. A key component of the Roads Manual is the BMP Toolbox located in Appendix A (pdf), which lists BMPs by project type. This section has also been made into a field reference that maintenance crews can carry in their vehicles for easy access during field work.
FishNet 4C Training Program
The FishNet program is committed to training our public works, parks and open space staff on best management practices (BMPs) related to protecting our streams and fisheries. This includes annual training on the BMPs in our Roads Manual, as well as other topics that protect fish habitat and water quality.
Often our training sessions are often conducted in partnership with other groups and agencies. Some of the training workshops our county staff have attended include:
- Fish Passage Engineering and Design
- Streambank Restoration
- Erosion Control & Sediment Management – Protecting Water Quality
- Road Assessment
Road crew members get a close-up look at the latest in erosion control and sediment management products, with a vendor on hand to answer questions at the Fall 2007 Roads Manual training.
San Mateo roads staff work together on a group exercise, using BMPs to meet a road maintenance challenge.
Public works crews get on-the-job
training during a streambank
stabilization project in Santa Cruz. Crews
rotated in each day for
five days to give exposure to new techniques to
many employees.
Web Site by Nu-Designs