Cache Slough Mitigation Bank

The Cache Slough Mitigation Bank is a 350-acre property located within the Cache Slough Complex in the southernmost reach of the Yolo Bypass, at the confluence of Cache Slough, Sacramento River, and Steamboat Slough. The project is expected to restore approximately 212 acres of tidal freshwater wetland and 104 acres of floodplain riparian habitat, providing important habitat for native fish and wildlife while improving ecological connectivity throughout the Delta.

Site History

Historically, the Cache Slough Mitigation Bank site supported tidal marsh and floodplain habitats connected to the Sacramento River and Cache Slough. Beginning in the early to mid-1900s, levee construction, drainage improvements, land leveling, and agricultural conversion altered the site's natural hydrology and transformed it for farming and grazing uses. More recently, portions of the property have been managed as irrigated pasture and waterfowl habitat, but the site's landscape and elevations remain well suited for wetland restoration.

Restoration Approach

WES will restore the site's historic tidal influence by reconnecting it to Cache Slough and the Sacramento River and re-establishing tidal freshwater wetlands, providing habitat and food web support for species including the Delta smelt, California Central Valley steelhead, Chinook salmon, and giant garter snake. Restoration activities will include constructing a tidal connection beneath State Route 84, removing existing water-control infrastructure, and creating a network of tidal channels, freshwater marsh, and floodplain riparian habitat.