Wednesday August 6, 2025
KRCR —
Concrete weirs built in the 1950s in Big Chico Creek are obstructing Chinook salmon and steelhead trout from reaching upstream spawning habitats, according to biologists. The Chico State Ecological Reserve, in collaboration with the Mechoopda Tribe and the City of Chico, is working on the Iron Canyon Fish Corridor Restoration Project, led by California Trout, to address this issue.
Danielle Feulner from the Chico State Ecological Reserve explained the current challenges faced by the fish.
We’re finding that the steelhead and the salmon can get all the way up to Salmon Hole and then they’re blocked there. And so the issues there is that downstream from Salmon Hole, there’s none of those cool deep waters. Where the salmon can actually survive over summer,” Feulner said.
The project aims to remove the outdated fish ladder and replace it with a sustainable solution. “Instead of building one in the place that needs to be maintained constantly, creating a natural fish passage with a tiered rock structure from rocks that are right in the Creek there to basically build a fish passage or a pseudo like fish ladder,” Feulner said. This will result in natural resting pools using existing boulders that fish can navigate across varying flows.
California Trout completed a similar fish passage project in 2021 at Eagle Canyon in Battle Creek. Feulner emphasized the educational opportunities that will arise once the project is completed and salmon return to the area. “In our in the past 10 years, you know, we haven’t been able to bring kids out to Big Chico Creek to see the salmon. And so that will be a really valuable thing too. Once we get more in this area that our whole community can take more pride into this,” Feulner said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that the project is funded with over $3 million. Currently in the designing and permitting stages, construction is expected to begin in the coming months, with completion estimated for 2027.