Wednesday November 1, 2023
KRCA —
The Nimbus Fish Hatchery is delaying the annual opening of its salmon ladder.
The ladder was scheduled to open during a Halloween event on Tuesday. Early November is typically when adult salmon return from the Pacific to spawn, and the ladder provides a safe path for salmon to navigate to their spawning grounds.
On Monday, operators at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery published a post on their Facebook page announcing a postponement of the opening, citing a “water management issue.”
Water flows into the Lower American River after being released from Folsom Lake. Those releases are managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
USBR confirmed to KCRA 3 on Monday that operators are currently working to correct for anomalously low oxygen levels in the river system. Those low oxygen levels would likely be hazardous for fish in the ladder system, but USBR confirmed that levels were not low enough to threaten salmon that were already in the Lower American River.