California has faced drought, heavy water draws for agriculture, and development in and around some of its most important salmon and trout streams. Despite these impacts, there are still salmon strongholds out there. Some of our state’s great salmon and steelhead rivers still look how they did before the Gold Rush. Protecting the most productive river ecosystems remaining in California must be a priority. These strongholds, among others, have the capacity to support diversity and abundance because they retain high quality habitat and are not heavily influenced by hatcheries, supporting the persistence of wild fish.
Check out this video on California Strongholds and find out what we’re doing to restore and protect the region’s last great rivers — places like the Smith, Eel, Mattole, Klamath, and the middle Sacramento.
This film was produced by Wild Salmon Center in partnership with California Trout and Keith Brauneis Productions, with support from the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas.