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.
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)
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Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.