Tuesday November 26, 2024
Action News Now —
For the first time in over 60 years, a threatened species of salmon returned to the Upper Klamath River Basin.
Officials with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife say seven Coho salmon entered the CDFW’s new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County on November 13.
According to the CDFW, this is the first returns of the threatened Coho salmon return to the Upper Klamath River Basin following the historic dam removal projects that were completed last month. Officials say that it has been since the construction of the former Iron Gate Dam in the early 1960’s when Coho salmon were last documented occupying their historic habitat in the upper watershed.
“To see Coho successfully returning this quickly to this new habitat post-dam removal is exciting,” said Eric Jones, one of the Senior Environmental Scientists who helps oversee the CDFW’s north state fish hatchery operations. “We’ve already seen the Chinook make it back and now we’re seeing the Coho make it back.”