Salmonid Restoration Federation
Deep Roots — Celebrating 40 Years of Watershed Restoration
April 25 - 28, 2023
Fortuna, California

Please May I Get Upstream? Reintroducing Extirpated Salmon Runs Upstream of Dams

28 April 2023
9:00am - 12:15pm
Session Coordinators:
Eric Ginney, ESA
Randy Beckwith, DWR
Mike Belchik, Yurok Tribe
 
Climate change, aging water infrastructure, outdated water management schemes, successive years of drought, and increasing demand for water resources have precipitated strong declines in salmonid populations throughout California. Compounding this, longitudinal and lateral disconnections from historical spawning and rearing habitat has triggered a loss of salmonid life history diversity, making species less resilient to change. As a result, reintroductions of salmonids to historical habitat upstream of dams has occurred or is proposed as a recovery strategy.
 
While dam removal may be a viable option in some watersheds, for the large, Central Valley “rim dams” such as Oroville and Shasta dams, removal is not presently contemplated. Rather, trap and haul projects and technologies are being considered and piloted upstream of these large dams and reservoirs. Novel methods are being proposed to enable key runs of salmonids to complete their life history and this session seeks abstracts that describe critical efforts now underway, as well as abstracts that examine the methods, science, and policy implications of salmonid reintroductions to historical habitat.
 
Yes You May: Fighting Extinction in the Central Valley with Salmon Reintroductions,
Brian Ellrott, NOAA Fisheries, West Coast Region, California Central Valley Office

Winnemem Wintu Tribe Perspectives on Co-Stewardship of the McCloud River Nur,
Honorable Chief Sisk, Winnemem Wintu Tribe
 
Considerations for Assisted and Non-Assisted Passage at Large Dams,
Jon Mann, PE, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
 
Pilot Efforts Supporting Reintroduction: The Juvenile Salmonid Collection System, 
Randy Beckwith, DWR, and Matthew Silva, ESA
 
Winter-Run Chinook Salmon Swim the McCloud River for First Time Since Construction of Shasta Dam: Drought Action Returns Endangered Salmon to Their Historical Habitat,
Matthew R. Johnson, CDFW
 
A Release Study Assessing the Survival of Juvenile Spring-Run Chinook Salmon in the Upper Klamath River Basin to Inform Reintroduction,
Rachelle Tallman, UC Davis
 
Klamath Basin Fisheries Collaborative: Data Integration for Monitoring Dam Removal, Project Effectiveness Monitoring, and Species Management,
Betsy Stapleton, Scott River Watershed Council