The 2014  Carmel River Watershed Plan was adopted from the Morro Bay CCMP and State Coastal Conservancy plan.

Later that year the CRWC, in collaboration with the Planning and Conservation League Foundation (PCLF), published a Supplemental Action Plan specifically addressing the plans for the removal of the San Clemente Dam. The original Assessment and Action Plan identified the San Clemente Dam as a major impediment to fish passage for the South Central Coast Steelhead and a major blockage to transport of sediment and the cobble that the steelhead depend on for healthy spawning grounds. This plan became the environmental basis that supported the fundraising and project development for the dam removal.