Friday August 19, 2022
KCRA —
If you find yourself along the Lower American River Parkway, specifically near the Lower Sailor Bar and the Nimbus Basin, you’ll notice plenty of construction crews and piles of gravel.
The Water Forum is currently working to create a habitat for native chinook salmon and steelhead trout as they prepare to return to the region for their annual migration.
The organization started projects like this in 2008, and enhances the habitats nearly every year. The projects are necessary to enhance fish spawning beds and improve the habitat for juvenile fish-rearing.
Thousands of tons of gravel are sorted and specially selected for the habitat, with the goal of it being the right size for both fish to be able to move around with their tails.
Crews from the Sacramento Department of Utility perform the groundwork six days a week, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
It started at the beginning of August and will wrap up by the end of September, just in time for the species to call the Lower American River home.