These Chinook almost went extinct during California’s drought. Can this $100 million plan save them?
BY RYAN SABALOW
rsabalow@sacbee.com March 08, 2018 03:08 PM
Updated March 08, 2018 05:32 PM
During the worst of California’s five-year drought, thousands of eggs and newly spawned salmon baked to death along a short stretch of the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam.
The winter-run Chinook, already hanging by a thread, nearly went extinct.
Hoping to avoid a repeat of that dire scenario, fisheries officials announced Thursday the launch of a plan — nearly 20 years and $100 million in the making — they say would expand the spawning range of the fish to include a cold-water stream called Battle Creek. The idea is that the stream could keep the fragile winter-run alive as California’s rivers get hotter because of a warming climate.
The stakes are high and go well beyond the fate of the fish. Concerns about this run of salmon have a major impact on how water is distributed to farms and cities across California.
