Monday October 21, 2024
Sierra Sun Times —
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is excited to announce that adult fall-run Chinook salmon have begun occupying and spawning in newly accessible habitat behind the former dam locations on the Klamath River. These are the first observations of anadromous fish returning to California tributaries upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam since 1961.
On Oct. 15, spawning fall-run Chinook salmon were observed in Jenny Creek, a Klamath River tributary 4.3 river miles upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam location, the southernmost barrier of four dams removed from the Klamath River . Additionally, adult fall-run Chinook are starting to return to CDFW’s newly rebuilt Fall Creek Fish Hatchery on Fall Creek, a formerly inaccessible tributary about 7.5 miles upstream of the old Iron Gate Dam.
In addition to returning fall-run Chinook, an adult Pacific lamprey was observed swimming through CDFW’s fish counting station in Jenny Creek on Oct. 1.
These observations come shortly after volitional fish passage was restored Sept. 26 when the last fish barrier on the Klamath River in California was removed and the coffer dam was breached at Iron Gate Dam.
One of the major goals of the Klamath River dam removal project is to reestablish viable, wild, self-sustaining populations of anadromous fish species for conservation, ecological benefits and to enhance Tribal, commercial and recreational fisheries.