Volunteer Work On Alameda Creek Will Allow Migrating Salmon And Steelhead To Enter

Here’s more from California Trout:

Alameda Creek is the largest watershed in the Bay Area, and for the first time in over 50 years salmon and steelhead will be able to access the watershed.

To better understand how fish populations utilize and move through the newly connected Alameda Creek watershed, we need to watch them, which is why we are working with partners to launch a volunteer monitoring program. 

Previously, fish had limited access to Alameda Creek, but soon they will be able to migrate above the downstream BART weir in Fremont to spawn. Migration is made possible by a fully-operational fish ladder at the weir and additional fish ladders at three upstream dams on Alameda Creek. This incredible opportunity for salmonids to migrate throughout Alameda Creek is the product of decades of hard work to improve fish passage by the Alameda County Water District and Flood Control District, Alameda Creek Alliance (ACA), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), and CalTrout.

CalTrout Bay Area Senior Project Manager Claire Buchanan shared a few words about her experience this past weekend:

“The amazing turn out on Sunday only added to my excitement for this monumental moment for Chinook salmon and steelhead in Alameda Creek. With some good storms, this Fall and Winter could be the first time in decades that locals in the Alameda Creek watershed will have spawning salmon and steelhead in their own backyards. The level of interest and support for conserving salmonids in the Bay Area that our members showed by coming out to this training gives me hope that the momentum established by the agencies and NGO’s will continue to grow with added public interest, education, and support.”