Tuesday May 21, 2024
FOX 40 —
For the first time in 80 years, a Northern California river welcomed an endangered species of salmon to its waters.
Currently, spring-run and winter-run Chinook Salmon are listed at the state and federal level as “threatened” and “endangered,” which means they are considered at critical risk of extinction. Since the 1940s, the winter-run Chinook salmon have been blocked from accessing the McCloud River area in California because of the Shasta and Keswick dams.
Because of the restriction, the California Department of Water Resources, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association Fisheries Service said they partnered together to “save the salmon” and help the fish mitigate to areas of the McCloud River.