October 26 & 27 Open House At Shasta Big Springs Ranch Offers Great Viewing
Despite a year of good returns, California’s salmon populations remain in peril, so a little good news about habitat is sorely needed.
Which is why we’re highlighting The Nature Conservancy’s Big Spring Ranch Open House (October 26 & 27) in Siskiyou County (about 25 miles north of Mt. Shasta).
TNC bought a private ranch whose stream and riverbanks had been decimated by poor ranching practices and turned “a mere 60 feet salmon habitat in 2008” into “more than 10 miles today.”
Partnerships with CalTrout, California DFG, US Fish and Wildlife, Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District and NOAA helped turn warm, muddy water — which supported few fish — into defined, weedy watercourses flowing with pure, cold, clear spring water.
For a fishermen who remembers what the ranch used to look like, last year’s Open House was astonishing. Salmon ran up and down the weedbeds like kids at a preschool, and the viewing (from two bridges and a spawning hotspot) was breathtaking.
If you find yourself in that area on October 26 or 27, give it a visit.
The Details
Friday, October 26, 2012
1:00 p.m. — 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
10:00 a.m — 3:00 p.m.
Shasta Big Springs Ranch
North of Mt. Shasta and Weed, 4 miles east of I-5 on East Louie Road
(Parking near Louie Road Bridge over the Shasta River)
(click here for Google Maps)
