2026 Spring-Run Chinook Symposium Agenda
Wednesday, July 22
6pm - Welcome Dinner at Forks of Salmon Elementary School
Thursday, July 23
8-9am - Registration and Continental Breakfast
9am - Opening Remarks
9:30am - Spring Chinook Conservation Genetics Presentations & Panel Discussion
- Klamath Spring Salmon: ITEK Has Been Telling Us which Salmon is Fatter Since Time Immemorial, Brook Thompson, Interim Executive Director, Save California Salmon, and PhD Candidate, UC Santa Cruz
- What Spring Chinook Need Most: An Evolutionary Reason to Exist, Tasha Thompson, PhD, Wild Salmon Center
- Spring-run Chinook (ishyâat) in the Salmon River: A Tale of Two Forks, Amy Fingerle, PhD Program, UC Berkeley
- Genetic Analysis Reveals Climate Exposure and Conservation Opportunities for a Vulnerable Life History in the North Umpqua River, Michael Miller, PhD, Geneticist Consultant
11:30am - Recovery Strategies for Spring-run Chinook
-
The SPRING Team: A Forum for Shared Learning on Spring Chinook Repopulation and Recovery, Shari Anderson, Lazuli Ecological Services and Craig Tucker, Suits & Signs
-
Introduction to SHaRP - Salmonid Habitat Restoration Prioritization, Christopher O’Keefe and Kurt Bainbridge, CDFW
-
CDFW Spring Chinook Recovery Actions and Updates, Crystal Robinson, CDFW
12:30pm - Lunch
1:30pm - Spring Chinook Repopulation and Restoration Efforts
-
Ecosystem Response to the Removal of the Elwha River Dams, George Pess, PhD, George Pess Consulting, LLC
-
Structure and Habitat Diversity - Floodplain Restoration on the Salmon River, Karuna Greenberg, Salmon River Restoration Council
-
Remote Site Incubators in the South Fork Trinity, Joshua Smith and Allison Cofield, Watershed Research and Training Center; and Emmanuel Cyr, Yurok Tribe
-
Bringing the Springers Home: Active Reintroduction Efforts in the Klamath River Headwaters, Jordan Ortega, The Klamath Tribes Ambodat Department and Michael Belchik, Yurok Tribe
3:30pm - Firelighter Roundtable with local experts:
-
Will Harling, Mid-Klamath Watershed Council
-
Josh Smith, Watershed Research and Training Center
-
Karuk Tribe, Firelighter, TBA
-
Bona Fries, Fire, Fuels and Forestry Program Manager, Salmon River Restoration Council
4:30pm - Closing Remarks
6:00pm - Dinner
Friday, July 24
8 - 9am - Continental Breakfast and pack lunch for tours
9am - 5pm - Concurrent Field Tours
-
Salmon River Floodplain and Fisheries Restoration Tour with Kim Deniz and Karuna Greenberg, Salmon River Restoration Council
-
High Mountain Meadows Restoration Tour with Jay Jackson, Salmon River Restoration Council
-
Salmon River Snorkel and Float with Sam Stroich, Salmon River Restoration Council