A major boost for Northern California’s struggling Chinook salmon population is underway on Battle Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River. Earlier this month, biologists from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery released approximately 263,000 juvenile late-fall Chinook salmon, with an additional 75,000 released last week. The timing couldn’t be better. A series of winter storms is pushing higher flows through the watershed, giving the young fish a better shot at making it safely down the Sacramento River system and out to the Pacific Ocean.

Other salmon news:

• KGW8 (Klamath Falls, Ore.): Klamath basin irrigation managers say return of salmon has brought new challenges
• Action News Now (Chico, Calif.): Salmon flourish in the Klamath River after dam removal
• California Department of Fish and Wildlife: News release: ‘Salmon everywhere’ one year after Klamath Dam removal