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Making way for salmon; Fish passage barriers removed from streams

Posted by: Maven on December 30, 2009 at 8:29 am

streamFrom California Coast & Ocean Magazine:

“In 2001, a small miracle occurred in a stream south of the city of Arcata: the salmon came back. Lots of them. The stream, called Morrison Gulch, flows into Jacoby Creek, which empties into Humboldt Bay. Biologists knew it had once been spawning ground for salmon, because for several years they had counted hundreds trying to make their way upstream to mate–600 in one winter alone. But an old culvert under Quarry Road blocked the way; not one fish could make the jump into it from the pool below. Faced with such a barrier, some fish will try to find other places to spawn; others will die of exhaustion from their futile attempt to reach historic spawning grounds.

Then, in August 2001, the County replaced the Quarry Road culvert with a wider one and regraded the stream above and below to raise the channel, allowing the fish to move freely through the new culvert. With the barrier gone, the salmon moved right back into the stream. That winter, biologists counted 70 coho returning to spawn, and the following winter they observed 238 adults and 116 redds (spawning nests). … “

Read more from California Coast & Ocean Magazine by clicking here.

Picture of Muir Woods Creek by flickr photographer Kamasawa (Creative Commons).

December 30, 2009 · Filed Under Northern California

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