Russian River
Coho Water Resources
Partnership

Dutch Bill Creek | Grape Creek | Green Valley Creek | Mark West Creek | Mill Creek

Dutch Bill Creek Map of the Dutch Bill Creek watershed             - click to enlarge images-     Dutch Bill Creek Streamflow Gauge Data For more information, see Dutch Bill Creek on the Gold Ridge RCD website. Dutch Bill Creek, a tributary to the Russian River, originates near the town of Occidental in west Sonoma County. The creek flows northwest along Bohemian Highway and drains into the Russian River near the town of Monte Rio. Historically, Dutch Bill was home to viable populations of coho salmon and steelhead. Coho populations have diminished significantly, and the last remaining wild juvenile coho were observed during the summer of 2006. Since then, Dutch Bill is included in the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program and is stocked with juvenile coho each year. The Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon (CDFG, 2004) identified the Guerneville hydrologic subarea (HSA) as having the highest ranking (level 5) for restoration and management potential in the California Central Coast (CCC) Coho evolutionary significant unit (ESU), and the stream was identified as a "core" area for coho recovery in the NMFS Coho Recovery Plan. Because of Dutch Bill Creek's importance to coho and steelhead populations in the Russian River, a number of organizations have implemented habitat enhancement projects for salmonids in this key tributary. In 2002, California's Department of Fish and Game (DFG) collected 75 wild juvenile coho for the Coho Captive Broodstock Program. In the fall of 2006, 4,000 juvenile coho, bred through this program, were released into Dutch Bill Creek. They continue to be released each fall. 4179 Piedmont Ave., Suite 325, Oakland, CA 94611 | Email: info@cohopartnership.org | (510) 420-4565, ext. 107 Images are made available for personal use only and may not be copied, reproduced, or used in any way. © 2009-2011 Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership