Aside from use for navigation, recreation and municipal and industrial water supply for the city of Fort Bragg, the river provides groundwater recharge and wildlife habitat including cold freshwater habitat for fish migration and spawning. Three anadromous fish species inhabit the Noyo River: steelhead ("Oncorhynchus mykiss irideus"), coho salmon ("Oncorhynchus kisutch"), and chinook salmon ("Oncorhynchus tshawytscha"), which are all listed under the Endangered Species Act. Steelhead and chinook are listed as threatened (2011), and coho listed as endangered (2011). Non-salmonid species in the watershed include the three-spined stickleback ("Gasterosteus aculeatus"), Pacific lamprey ("Lampetra tridentata"), and sculpin ("Cottus spp.").