Department of Fish and Wildlife Releases Progress Report for the California Salmon Strategy

By Todd Manley, Director of Government Relations at NCWA

In late March, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released a Progress Report for the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future: Restoring Aquatic Ecosystems in the Age of Climate Change. The progress report comes a little over a year after the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future (Salmon Strategy) was first released. In that time, the progress report states, “Across the six key priorities outlined in the Salmon Strategy, roughly 67% of the action items are currently underway, or the action’s goal has been partially met, but efforts continue to advance the action item. Another 26% have already been fully completed. Only an estimated 7% of action items are in the planning phase.”

The six key priorities identified in the Salmon Strategy are:

Remove Barriers and Modernize Infrastructure for Salmon Migration;
Restore and Expand Habitat for Salmon Spawning and Rearing;
Protect Water Flows and Water Quality in Key Rivers at the Right Times to Support Salmon;
Modernize Salmon Hatcheries;
Transform Technology and Management Systems for Climate Adaptability; and,
Strengthen Partnerships.

In the Sacramento Valley, considerable progress has been made to complete action items that support the key priorities. Work underway or completed in the region that is highlighted in the report, includes:

Rendering of the planned Yuba River natural fishway, a channel that will allow fish to reach healthy habitat.

The Yuba River natural fishway and reintroduction programs;
Spring-run Chinook reintroduction in the North Fork Feather River and North Fork Yuba River;
Reintroduction evaluations in other rivers, including the Feather and American Rivers;
Modernization of the Sunset Pumps on the Feather River to enhance fish passage;
Tisdale Weir fish passage project;
Use Cutting the Green Tape permitting actions to expedite salmon restoration actions;
Sacramento river spawning and rearing habitat projects;
Floodplain Forward efforts including increasing floodplain habitat;
Collaborative work to improve passage on Butte Creek;
Work on the Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers and Landscapes;
Modernize Shasta Reservoir management for water quality and temperature;
Implement BIOps for the state and federal projects;
Hatchery actions to increase fall-run Chinook production;
More flexible hatchery fish actions to enhance survival;
Construction or reconstruction of five new state-of-the-art hatcheries;
Additional hatchery production improvements;
Improve temperature modeling below reservoirs, including Shasta; and,
Strengthen partnerships, including the Sacramento Valley Salmon Recovery Program.

Collectively, these efforts contribute to the recovery planning efforts in a Holistic Approach to Healthy Rivers and Landscapes in the Sacramento Valley. Projects are being implemented to benefit all freshwater life-cycle stages for all four runs of Chinook salmon in the region. The projects also contribute to early implementation of the Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers and Landscapes and the Sacramento Valley Salmon Recovery Program.