Defishing report: contractor removed about 4,000 aquatic organisms from 250-foot Garlock Road reach

County Engineer Susan Eugenas told commissioners that consultants who isolated a 250-foot reach of stream for a Garlock Road culvert replacement removed about 4,000 aquatic organisms during the required defishing. Eugenas provided a species breakdown from the consultant’s report: more than 2,000 lamprey (1–6 inches), 345 juvenile coho salmon (about 2–3 inches), 10 juvenile Chinook salmon (about 3 inches), and 40 cutthroat trout (3–8 inches). "I was actually quite surprised on the number of aquatic organisms that were removed," Eugenas said. Why it matters: The counts indicate the presence of target salmonid species in the project reach, which staff said has implications for permitting, timing windows and design. Eugenas said the county has two additional projects planned on Delameter Creek to improve upstream passage. Monitoring and effectiveness: Commissioners asked whether projects are later monitored to confirm fish increases. Staff said fish-recovery funding prioritizes removal of blockages based on a percentage-blockage metric and typically does not fund long-term post-project fish counts; anecdotal observations from a prior Eric Creek project reported salmon seen above a removed 100% blockage but formal monitoring was not described. No formal vote or change in project scope was recorded at the meeting.