Thousands of boulders have been placed in the Kings River downstream from Pine Flat Dam. The concept behind boulder placement projects is to enhance habitat by altering stream flow velocity, thus creating velocity refuge for fishes, scour areas of deeper water upstream of boulders, and recruitment of spawning gravel downstream of boulders.
The boulders, acquired from a quarry, are placed using heavy equipment when flows are low during the fall and winter. Boulders have been placed in groups of 4-6 clusters near the riverbank, at the high water mark, and at mid-channel to enhance the available habitat for all life stages of trout (hatched fry, juveniles and adult trout).