Blog: Can we save the San Joaquin’s salmon?
The intensive engineering of the river exacted a huge toll on its native ecosystems. No species suffered more than the Chinook salmon, whose epic migration from the Pacific Ocean to its spawning grounds in the High Sierra was cut short by numerous choke points, not the least of which was Friant’s impenetrable barrier of concrete. … Rife with compromises, [a 1988] settlement mandated that a mere half of the San Joaquin’s original flow be restored. The river’s many dams would remain, but alternative passages would be built and new spawning areas added in the lower river.
Related articles:
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: News release - Federal agencies announce schedule for Clear Creek emergency pulse flow for spring-run Chinook salmon
- Los Angeles Times: Trout rescue operation ignites water war in Pasadena
- Congressional Research Service: Drought in the Klamath River Basin
- CalTrout News: Challenges in the Klamath Basin