Protect people and pets from diseases caused by fecal coliform in the water. (Fecal coliform is bacteria from feces of warm blooded animals such as humans and other mammals.)
Provide juvenile salmon and trout with:
Places to hide and side channels – refuge from predators and during winter high flows. This includes overhanging vegetation, tree roots, and fallen trees along the banks.
Cold and clean water – our native fish depend on it. Warm stream temperatures, particularly where shade is absent, and even low levels of dissolved copper and dissolved zinc are lethal to juvenile fish. Warm water can also delay the upstream migration of returning adult salmon and compromise spawning success.
Aquatic and streamside insects – essential fish food source from the stream bottom and overhanging vegetation.