Restoring watershed connectivity.
Construction of the Derby Dam Farmers Screen will restore watershed connectivity and support fish movement along the Truckee River, promoting both the recovery of the federally threatened Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT) as well as fishing and recreation opportunities in Nevada.
Sparks, NV
Bureau of Reclamation, Farmers Conservation Alliance
McMillen Jacobs Associates
Granite Construction
Fall 2020
Almost 50 years after the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout was listed under the Endangered Species Act, a fish-friendly infrastructure project at Derby Dam will help decades-long efforts to bring back the legendary fish.
Fish passage at Derby Dam has been a priority conservation project for LCT recovery for more than two decades. In 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Reclamation designed and completed a fish bypass around Derby Dam. Since then, the two agencies have been working to implement the protection portion of the Derby passage improvements. Reclamation selected the horizontal fish screen technology and entered into a cooperative agreement with Farmers Conservation Alliance for the design, construction, and commissioning of the screen. Construction of the Derby Dam Farmers Screen (DDFS) Project began in October 2019 and will be complete in Fall 2020.
“This day is 100 years in the making. It’s a milestone for the history of reclamation. It’s about the balance we can find when we are willing to reinvest in our infrastructure…we’ve very proud of what everyone is working on.”
– LISTEN to BRENDA BURMAN
Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner, from the groundbreaking ceremony
One of the first Reclamation projects in the West.
The construction of the Derby Dam, completed in 1905, was the first project of the newly formed U.S. Reclamation Service (now Bureau of Reclamation) organized under the Reclamation Act of 1902. Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (LCT) in the Truckee Basin were once so numerous that a robust commercial fishery existed. After the completion of the Derby Dam in 1905, LCT lost access to their spawning habitat which eventually lead to their extirpation in the Truckee Basin.
A continued focus on collaboration.
The partnerships behind the Derby Project are the foundation for its collaborative approach. Innovative solutions have already helped to reduce risk, optimize schedules, adhere to timelines, cost-effectively manage the project budget, and create cutting edge solutions. One example of this includes Early Contractor Involvement with construction partner Granite, who was selected during the design phase of the project. Using this approach for the project has had value engineering benefits and strengthened the collaborative dynamic of the project between all partners.
Recovering a species.
In the 1970s an out-of-basin population was discovered on the border of Utah and Nevada in the Pilot Peak Mountains. Taxonomists at the time thought that it originated from the original Pyramid Lake population that was native to the Truckee Basin. Beginning in 1995, the Lahontan National Fish Hatchery Complex (LNFHC) developed a conservation broodstock intended for use in the recovery efforts in the Truckee Basin system. Remarkably, Pilot Peak LCT were observed spawning in 2014, the first time natural reproduction of LCT has been documented in over 80 years.
“The fish screen that we are groundbreaking for today is innovative. It will protect the wild spawn trout in the truckee allowing them to move from derby dam to spawning habitat and back to pyramid lake each season. Naturally sustaining the lake population for the first time in 100 years.”
– LISTEN to Jody Holzworth
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from the groundbreaking ceremony
Solutions that are cost-effective and efficient
How the Farmers Screen™ works.
The Farmers Screen™, provided exclusively by Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA), is a horizontal flat-plate screen upon which National Marine Fisheries Services established its horizontal fish screen criteria for the protection of anadromous salmonids.
The horizontally oriented fish screen is unique in this it will work with the diverted flow of water rather than against it, providing consistent fish protection by allowing fish and debris to move above and over the surface of the screen material.
“The fish screen that we are groundbreaking for today is innovative. It will protect the wild spawn trout in the truckee allowing them to move from derby dam to spawning habitat and back to pyramid lake each season. Naturally sustaining the lake population for the first time in 100 years.”
– LISTEN to Jody Holzworth
Deputy Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from the groundbreaking ceremony
Updates from the field.
Communicating the context and importance of the Derby Dam Fish Screen was a critical piece of the project puzzle, informing stakeholders and partners on progress and impact. To this end, FCA produced a series of short videos documenting the process, science, and technical approach, as well as profiling partners and suppliers.
Technology that’s making a difference.
The completion of the Derby Dam Fish Screen will result in noticeable benefits not only for the Lahontan Cutthroat Trout but also for the Bureau of Reclamation:
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DECREASED O&M COST -
FISH SAFETY ASSURED
(NMFS APPROVED) -
WIDE RANGE OF FLOW RATE (40-600 CFS) -
37 MILES FISH HABITAT REOPENED
In the News
All the way to Tahoe, a legendary fish may return to its historic spawning run
The $31 million dollar project is being funded by the Bureau of Reclamation and built by Oregon based Farmers Conservation Alliance, which has built a number of these screens elsewhere. This one will be the largest anywhere and considering its mission perhaps the most significant, helping to restore a lost fishery while making the dam more reliable for the Truckee Irrigation District and its farmers as well.
