Category Archives: News from Other Watersheds

News from other watersheds.

Fish, News from Other Watersheds, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

California’s Salmon Strategy: Progress and Promise

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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has released an important progress report on the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future, outlining the state’s ongoing efforts to restore and protect salmon populations across California’s waterways.

A Critical Time for Salmon

Salmon populations are facing immense challenges due to climate change, drought, habitat loss, and human-made disruptions. Healthy salmon runs are vital not only for California’s ecosystems but also for the fishing industry, recreational economies, and the cultural traditions of Native American tribes. The 2024 Salmon Strategy laid out a bold plan to restore and rebuild salmon populations, and this latest progress report highlights the measurable steps being taken to achieve these goals.

Progress at a Glance

The report provides an update on 71 action items designed to improve salmon migration, enhance spawning and hatchery operations, expand habitat restoration, and secure reliable water flows. Encouragingly:

  • 67% of projects are actively in development
  • 26% of action items have already been completed
  • Only 7% remain in early planning stages

This demonstrates a strong commitment by state agencies, tribal partners, and environmental groups to ensuring salmon populations remain resilient for generations to come.

Key Accomplishments in Salmon Conservation

Several major milestones have been reached over the past year, making significant strides in salmon recovery:

  • Removing Outdated Dams – The removal of the Klamath River dams has restored natural river flow and allowed fall-run Chinook salmon to return to long-lost spawning grounds.
  • Improving Salmon Migration – The Big Notch Project in Yolo County, spearheaded by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), is helping salmon navigate key migratory routes, improving their access to critical habitat.
  • Building Healthy Habitats – The Salmon Habitat Restoration Prioritization Initiative (SHaRP) has received over $30 million in funding for habitat restoration projects, including floodplain improvements, riparian restoration, and spawning habitat enhancements. Projects like Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration are already adding thousands of acres of beneficial salmon habitat.
  • Ensuring Healthy Water Flows – Scientists are developing new models to establish minimum flow requirements for the Scott and Shasta Rivers, setting a precedent for similar protections across the state.
  • Innovative Salmon Tracking – The implementation of Parental-Based Tagging uses DNA technology to more accurately track and monitor salmon populations, ensuring better management and conservation strategies.

The Road Ahead

“California salmon are vital to our environment, economy, and heritage,” said California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “While we’ve made significant progress, there is still much work ahead to secure thriving salmon populations.”

The commitment to restoring salmon runs remains stronger than ever. With continued collaboration, investment, and scientific innovation, California is proving that a hotter, drier future does not have to mean a future without salmon.

Get Involved!
Protecting salmon requires community action and advocacy. Whether it’s supporting local restoration projects, engaging in conservation efforts, or staying informed, every effort helps ensure that salmon populations continue to recover and thrive.

Together, we can ensure a future where salmon remain a vital part of California’s waterways.

Download Report >>

Fish, News from Other Watersheds, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Fish On Rice: Good For Salmon Population

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In the Sacramento Valley, an innovative collaboration between rice farmers and environmental scientists is transforming post-harvest rice fields into vital habitats for juvenile salmon. By intentionally flooding these fields during the off-season, they mimic natural floodplains, fostering the growth of nutrient-rich organisms essential for young salmon.

This approach, exemplified by initiatives like the Nigiri Project, involves submerging harvested rice fields to create a nurturing environment for juvenile salmon. Studies have shown that salmon reared in these managed floodplains exhibit accelerated growth rates compared to those in the river’s main channels.

The success of these projects highlights the potential of integrating agricultural practices with ecological restoration efforts. By leveraging existing farmland infrastructure, stakeholders aim to enhance salmon habitats without significantly disrupting rice production. This symbiotic relationship not only supports the recovery of endangered fish species but also contributes to the overall health of the riverine ecosystem.

As these collaborative efforts continue to evolve, they offer a scalable model for reconciling agricultural land use with wildlife conservation, providing hope for the revitalization of salmon runs in California’s waterways.

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Bike Trail, Events, Fish, News from Other Watersheds, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Nimbus Hatchery Fish Ladder to Open Oct. 9

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The Nimbus Hatchery Fish Ladder on the American River will open on Monday, Oct. 9 at 10:45 a.m. The ladder is opening unusually early in the season to accommodate the arrival of returning adult fall-run Chinook salmon that hatched in the Coleman National Fish Hatchery (CNFH) in Battle Creek in 2014. Eggs from fall-run Chinook salmon that stray to Nimbus Hatchery will be returned to CNFH to ensure a healthy population of these fish for commercial, recreational and ecological purposes.

“These fish were born at the height of the drought in 2014,” said Jay Rowan, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) North Central Region Senior Environmental Scientist. “They were trucked to the Delta as fry and released near Rio Vista and the San Pablo Bay as part of a massive effort to improve their chances for survival in a year of poor river conditions.”

Returning now as adults, many of these salmon will stray into the American River and not return to their home waters to spawn. The lack of returning fish will make it extremely difficult for the CNFH to reach their goal of producing 12 million fall-run Chinook salmon this fall to release in the waters below Lake Shasta.

CDFW is partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), with the support of the Bureau of Reclamation, to collect eggs at Nimbus Fish Hatchery to assist CNFH in meeting its production goals and maintaining a stable salmon population on Battle Creek and the upper Sacramento River.

When the salmon reach Nimbus Hatchery, staff will separate out the fish that have had their adipose fin removed, indicating that they carry a tiny coded wire tag that records their hatchery of origin. Fish identified as being of CNFH origin will be spawned with one another, and their fertilized eggs returned to CNFH. Fish that have not had their adipose fin removed will be spawned and their eggs held until it is determined if they will be needed to meet CNFH production goals.  Fish that are not yet ready to spawn will have a colored tag attached to their dorsal fin and will be returned to the American River, where they will be available to anglers until they either spawn naturally or climb the ladder again and are spawned at the hatchery to meet the Nimbus Fish Hatchery egg collection goals. While anglers are able to catch and keep fish marked with these tags, the tags have no monetary value and do not need to be returned to CDFW.

From >>> cdfgnews.wordpress.com

Boating, Fish, History, News from Other Watersheds, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Snow survey reveals CA water content at 185% of average

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The Sierra snowpack survey conducted Wednesday revealed that the northern Sierra water content is well above average for this time of the year and bodes well for runoff later in the year.

Numbers manually taken by water officials at the Phillips Station in El Dorado County revealed 43.4 inches of water content, which is 179 percent of the long-term average for March 1, and a snow-depth of 112.7 inches.

The water content did not break the record of 56.4 inches for that station, but Frank Gehrke, of the California Department of Water Resources, said it is “a pretty phenomenal snowpack.”

“It bodes very well for runoff much longer than we have had in the past four or five years,” Gehrke said. “It’s a very, very good indicator of good surface water supplies as we head into spring and summer.

As of March 1:

  • The northern Sierra is 159 percent of average.
  • The central Sierra is 190 percent of average.
  • The southern Sierra is 201 percent of average.

The central and southern regions are tracking “very close” to 1983, which is when the maximum snowpack was recorded statewide.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Fish, History, News from Other Watersheds, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

California high court upholds ban on dredges to extract gold

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California’s ban on the use of suction dredges to extract gold from rivers is legal and not overridden by a 19th century federal law that allows mining on federal land, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The court’s unanimous decision was a victory for environmentalists and a blow to miners, who argued that the ban essentially stopped gold mining because doing it by hand is labor intensive and makes the enterprise unprofitable.

Environmentalists say suction dredge mining risks killing fish and stirring up toxic mercury.

The high court’s ruling came in an appeal of a criminal case in which miner Brandon Rinehart was convicted of a misdemeanor for suction dredge mining without a permit in 2012 and sentenced to three years of probation.

Associate Justice Kathryn Werdegar, writing for the court, said the federal Mining Law of 1872 did not guarantee a right to mine free from regulation.

Instead, its goal was to protect miners’ property rights involving the federal land to which they laid claim, she said.

“The mining laws were neither a guarantee that mining would prove feasible nor a grant of immunity against local regulation, but simply an assurance that the ultimate original landowner, the United States, would not interfere by asserting its own property rights,” she wrote.

Rinehart’s attorney, James Buchal, said the high court showed a “casual disregard” for federal law.

He said Rinehart would likely ask the court to review its ruling or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Suction dredges are powerful underwater vacuums that suck up rocks, gravel and sand from riverbeds to filter out gold.

More at USNews.com >>>

News from Other Watersheds, safety, Video, Water

Gold Miners Rescued via Helicopter near Lake Tahoe

Two gold miners were rescued via helicopter from the rugged wilderness near Lake Tahoe Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Three friends had gone panning for gold Tuesday in the Sawtooth Ridge area, near the north fork of the American River, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said. One man returned to camp early, leaving the other two at the river.

The next day, investigators say the man was unable to contact his friends, Denny McCloud and Denny Jr.

More at Fox40.com >>>

History, News from Other Watersheds

Cave Valley near Auburn drawing climbers 7 days a week

Surf Tower, Tilting Vertex and Wreckage Wall may sound like roller coaster rides at a favorite amusement park, but these routes along the limestone cliffs at Cave Valley climbing area provide a different kind of adrenaline rush for local enthusiasts.

Cave Valley reopened to allow daily access to climbers last year, but a few climbing routes are off-limits this summer as the California Department of Parks and Recreation works to protect a nearby aerie, or nest, of peregrine falcons. The partial closure is an experiment to strike a balance between providing recreational activities to the rock climbing community and fostering local wildlife.

“It’s exciting and interesting that they were able to find a compromise between industry, recreation and the environment,” said Eric Peach, board member of Protect American River Canyons.

Jason Flesher, Sierra marketing manager for REI, an outdoor company that contracts with the Parks Department to teach classes in the canyon, said the partial closure has disrupted only one of REI’s classes so far. That class was moved to another location and subsequently was rained out.

“We were worried the whole area would be closed,” Flesher said “We’re glad it’s only a partial closure. REI is also interested in (protecting) the environment.”

The closure doesn’t seem to have slowed down activity in that area of the canyon. It was 90 degrees on a recent Sunday, but the quarry was full of climbers, coiled ropes and clinking carabiners. One experienced climber scaling the cliff face that day was Gordon Ainsleigh, founder of the Western States Endurance Run. Ainsleigh rides his bike from the trailhead to the climbing site a couple of times a week in preparation for a Yosemite climb later this summer.

“The falcons are usually noisy in the morning,” Ainsleigh said. “That’s when they’re hungry.”

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Bike Trail, News from Other Watersheds, Rafting, safety, Wildlife

Risk rises for Lyme disease in summer

As the weather warms, many look to plan fun outdoor activities, but increased time outside also increases the risk for encounters with ticks, which can be carriers of Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, known as deer ticks, frequently encountered in tall grasses and wooded areas.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 300,000 infections occur each year, of which only 30,000 are reported to CDC by state health departments.

Lyme is a bacterial illness that is spread by tick bites. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system, officials said.

There are several tactics that can prevent tick bites and reduce the risk of tick borne disease, according to the CDC.

More at FolsomTelegraph.com >>>