Harry Morse with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says the recent rains came at an opportune time.
"The winter-run salmon smolts -the young fish, are going out right now and this high water event is a very good thing," says Morse. "It helps push them down into the Delta and get em moving out through the system in a timely manner."
Many of the winter-run juveniles will begin their journey on the Sacramento River at the base of the Keswick Dam near Redding.
As the young fish begin their journey, John McManus with the Golden Gate Salmon Association hopes the Bureau of Reclamation keeps the
Delta Cross Channelnear Walnut Grove closed and that pumping is kept to a minimum.
"We have no quarrel with supplying water for human health and human safety of course. We just hope that if there is pumping that exceeds that level, it be reduced or eliminated at the critical period of time."
Biologists have been monitoring the migration, but have not collected enough information to say if the drought has affected the fish.
Morse with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says the fall-run Chinook are still feeding.
"Our fall fish spawned in the hatcheries and the natural gravel -they're in the incubation process now. And those fish won't be ready to go out until usually about April."
The Pacific Fisheries Management Council is expected to issue its forecasts on Thursday for the Salmon returning this year from the ocean.
July 23, 2018Two nights of aerial spraying to reduce the number of mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus are scheduled to begin Monday in parts of Elk Grove, the Pocket Neighborhood and neighborhoods south of Fruitridge Road.
.jpg "Tahoe Environmental Research Center boat captain Brant Allen lowers a Secchi disk from the research vessel into Lake Tahoe. The disk has been used for more than 50 years to measure water clarity at the lake.")
June 13, 2018If you spent time on the water at Lake Tahoe last year and thought it looked a lot cloudier, you're right. UC Davis researchers say extreme weather — drought followed by heavy rains — caused clarity in 2017 to drop to its lowest recorded level.
.jpg "A million fall run Chinook salmon smolts, who were raised at the Feather River Hatchery, are released from large tanks down a long pipe on a dock and out into the Sacramento River.")
May 3, 2018The fish took a ride in a large truck on Wednesday morning and are now headed down the river on a journey to the ocean.
March 8, 2018Using this new approach to calculate the snow’s water content also means improved forecasts for farms and cities, and even positive benefits for renewable-energy production. The program soon could go statewide — if it gets funded.
March 5, 2018(AP) — Monday's snow survey found a "much rosier" picture than before last week's heavy winter storm, but still less than half the usual snow for this point in the season.
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