by JD on January 26, 2009
There hasn’t been a salmon or steelhead spotted in the upper Auburn Ravine since 1853 but that may soon change. This scenic little stream located just east of Sacramento, drains the western flanks of the Sierra Foothills and eventually makes its way, via irrigation canals, to the Sacramento River.
While the Ravine was probably never a prolific producer of anadramous fish, it certainly had its moments but now the fish are all gone. Of course, the decline can be blamed on all the usual suspects — habitat loss, human encroachment, water diversions and dams.
The latter is a subject that Jack Sanchez of Save Auburn Ravine Salmon & Steelhead (SARSAS) feels strongly about and is working hard to fix.
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by JD on January 10, 2009
You all know I’m really into river restoration, so I thought you might enjoy seeing these shots of a newly-constructed fish ladder on the Saybach River in Rhineland-Pfalz, Germany. The Saybach is tributary to the Rhine River and before the rock weirs were put in place, there was a 7-foot waterfall that blocked the upstream migration of salmon and brown trout. Sweet restoration work and some pretty dam cool looking countryside too, eh?
Our friend and European correspondent Franklin Moquette, who’s a biologist in the Netherlands sent in these photos…
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by JD on November 18, 2008
In a move that will greatly benefit salmon and steelhead populations — and the people who depend on them — Pacificorp announced this week that it will remove 4 dams from the Klamath River, which will open up more than 300 miles of spawning habitat!
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by JD on October 17, 2008
Beleaguered American River salmon and steelhead will have some nice new spawning beds to work with this fall and winter thanks to a new riffle built near Sailor Bar. The restoration work was a joint effort between The Bureau of Reclamation, The Water Forum and the County of Sacramento, installed fresh spawning riffles in the river near Sailor Bar back in October. The work was completed last week and is the first of several such projects slated for the river.
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