… Suzanne Rhoades and Cleo Woelfle-Hazard were monitoring salmon at two field sites hundreds of miles apart: the South Fork of the Eel River running through Humboldt and Mendocino counties and the Salmon Creek Watershed in western Sonoma County. But they realized steelhead trout and coho salmon, whose populations have been in decline, were noticeably absent from both watersheds. … The mystery prompted a near-decade-long study that was published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, revealing the impact of one “severely dry” California winter that dramatically altered the ranges of three native species, and in some cases, caused them to completely vanish from the watersheds where they once thrived. But it also demonstrated the resilience of coho and chinook salmon and steelhead trout, paving the way for how the fish can be better protected in the years to come. 

Other salmon news:

• Active NorCal: Opinion: California salmon don’t need a celebration
• The Conversation: Drug pollution in water is making salmon take more risks – new research
• The New York Times: A sign your fish might be on drugs: risky behavior