… Through its Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) program, among other initiatives, California is restoring habitat in the Yolo and Sutter Bypasses. These are engineered floodplains built in historical flood basins, and their first job is flood control: when the Sacramento River runs high, the bypasses take the water that would otherwise reach Sacramento and the towns around it. But they can do two things at once. The same shallow, slow, seasonally flooded ground that protects cities turns out to be excellent rearing habitat, giving juvenile Chinook salmon room to feed and grow before they head out to sea. However, that comes with a question the program is required to answer: As floodwater recedes, could young salmon get left behind in isolated pools?

Other salmon news:

• Active NorCal (Redding, Calif.): A federal judge just sided with Shasta Dam over the salmon again