FEATHER RIVER PARKWAY PROJECT
City of Yuba City
EN2/SEA has supported the City of Yuba City (City) over the past 10 years completing environmental analyses, environmental documentation and permits, and agency consultations for construction of the Feather River Parkway Project (formerly Willow Island Project) (Project). In two phases, the Project has implemented recreational improvements and converted the Willow Island area into a river front park. The City received funding for the Project from the State of California Resources Agency, through the Proposition 50 California River Parkways Grant Program/Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002.
Phase I of the Project area encompassed approximately 65 acres and created approximately 2.6 miles of public pedestrian and cycling trails, public parking, a pavilion, picnic areas, field sport areas, boardwalk, and beach landing. The pedestrian and cycling trails, board walk, and pavilion provide recreational opportunities in a park setting while incorporating educational exhibits and interpretive displays to educate park users on the ecological significance of the environment that surrounds them. The pedestrian and cycling trails connected with the existing levee top bike trail, which provided a direct link to downtown Yuba City and the remaining Feather River Parkway. EN2/SEA also worked with the City to design public educational displays and interpretive signage to describe the setting of the viewable habitat (i.e., habitat function, wildlife species, fisheries, the restoration process, regional and state history, the river’s significance to the California State Water Project, and its functionality).
Phase II of the Project expanded and improved the river front created in 2012 (during Phase I) and encompassed approximately 84 acres north of the existing river front park and created 2.6 miles of new public trails. The Project improvements included additional pedestrian and cycling trails, picnic areas, building an elevated structure overlooking the Feather River, and improving access to a pond in the completed Phase I area. The Project enhanced and restored approximately two acres of wetlands and enhanced and preserved 10 acres of riparian woodlands. Similar to Phase I, Phase II of the Project included interpretive signage that describes the habitat setting of the Project, including the habitat function, wildlife species, fisheries, the restoration process, the role of the Feather River in the State history, the river’s significance to the California State Water Project, and its functionality.
For both phases of the project, EN2/SEA prepared the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declarations (IS/MNDs) and regulatory agency permit applications including Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 Nationwide Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQB), California Fish and Game Section 1602 Notification of Streambed Alteration from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and Encroachment Permit from the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB). EN2/SEA also conducted pre-, during, and post-construction field surveys and prepared reports summarizing compliance with permit conditions for protection of riparian and riverine habitat, Elderberry Shrub, Western Pond Turtle, Ferris’ Milk Vetch, and avian species.