Salmon Return to Klamath While Oregon Plans Additional Reintroduction Efforts

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has documented the first returns of threatened coho salmon to the upper Klamath River Basin in more than 60 years, while Oregon agencies prepare for additional reintroduction efforts upstream.

On Nov. 13, seven coho salmon entered CDFW’s new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County, located approximately 7.5 miles upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam location. Five of these fish were natural origin, while two were identified as hatchery origin by their missing adipose fins.

Of the seven coho salmon that entered the Fall Creek Fish Hatchery last week, four were male and three were female. Two had missing adipose fins, identifying them as being of hatchery origin. The other five were natural origin fish as all hatchery raised coho salmon in the Klamath Basin have their adipose fins removed for identification prior to release. 

While natural recolonization progresses in California, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and The Klamath Tribes are evaluating plans to actively reintroduce spring-run Chinook salmon to historic spawning and over-summering habitats in Oregon. These fish historically migrated through the hydroelectric reach to spawn in tributaries of Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon.

ODFW and the Klamath Tribes, along with their collaborators, are currently conducting studies in the upper Klamath Basin using juvenile Trinity River Hatchery spring-run Chinook that were hatched and reared at ODFW’s Klamath Fish Hatchery. These studies will help identify specific locations where reintroduction would be expected to be successful.

Spring-run Chinook salmon have been extirpated from the upper Klamath Basin for over a century due to the dams. The only remaining populations in the Klamath Basin are believed to occur in the Trinity and Salmon rivers, over 100 miles downstream of the former Iron Gate Dam.

Any reintroduction effort by ODFW and The Klamath Tribes would be coordinated with NOAA Fisheries, CDFW and others. Trinity River Hatchery spring-run Chinook salmon have been identified as the most feasible source stock for reintroduction to help maintain genetic integrity.

Meanwhile, natural recolonization continues in the California section. A video fish counting weir on Jenny Creek has recorded 310 adult Chinook salmon and one Pacific lamprey entering the tributary. CDFW’s new $35 million Fall Creek Fish Hatchery has spawned 100 fish and collected 277,393 eggs in its first year of operation.

“To see coho successfully returning this quickly to this new habitat post-dam removal is exciting,” said Eric Jones, a Senior Environmental Scientist who oversees CDFW’s north state hatchery operations. “We’ve already seen the Chinook make it back and now we’re seeing the coho make it back.”

Multiple state and federal agencies, Tribes and non-governmental organizations are monitoring salmon throughout the 420 miles of newly accessible habitat following dam removal. CDFW field crews are surveying regularly for salmon nests, or redds, and post-spawned adults in newly accessible tributaries within the former reservoir footprints.

SOURCES: CDFW NEWS, California Natural Resources Agency