Winter-Run Chinook Detected In McCloud River In Milestone Moment 100 Years In The Making

As the above California Department of Fish and Wildlife Facebook post shows, winter-run Chinook salmon wee spotted in Northern California’s McCloud River for the first time in a century.

KRCR ABC TV in Redding has some additional details:

On July 15, a female salmon was observed guarding her nest near Ash Camp, with several males nearby competing to spawn.

The agency reported that the return of the salmon marks a significant milestone in a multi-agency effort to restore the endangered species to their native habitat above Shasta Dam. The observed salmon most likely came from a project started in 2022, CDFW officials said, with help from the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The project included incubating Chinook salmon eggs in the cool, clean waters of the McCloud. Some of the juvenile salmon born there are caught and moved to the Sacramento River so they can continue migrating to the Pacific Ocean, the agency said. Others move into Shasta Lake and spend time there before returning to the McCloud.