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Opinion
The Yuba River has a unique stature in regional efforts to save salmon from further slips toward rarity and extinction. Among all rivers within the Central Valley basin, the Yuba River hosts a population of Chinook salmon with the best characteristics of strength, and the best opportunities for enhancement.
Central Valley Chinook were phenomenally abundant despite being at the southern edge of their range. Prior to 1850, one to 2 million salmon returned to the rivers of the Central Valley each year.
Virtually every river not isolated by natural barrier falls would have been stinking with salmon carcasses in the fall season, and salmon were immeas- urably important for Califor-nia's wildlife and native people.
Central Valley salmon were decimated by a one-two punch: Hydraulic mining and the first industrial canning operations of the West. It is a testament to the resiliency of salmon that they were not forever lost from the Yuba River where mining activities were particularly intense and Daguerre Point Dam (c. 1910) operated for 25 years without any fish ladder.
Yuba River salmon not only persist today, but the annual run of 6,000 to 30,000 Fall-run Chinook is the largest wild population anywhere in the Central Valley. The salmon population of every other large river has been altered by hatchery operations that put pro- duction goals over the preservation of genetic diversity. The network of salmon hatcheries in the Central Valley has attempted to mitigate for the impacts of dams, diversions and habitat degradation. While these hatcheries have sometimes managed to produce a fishery as large as one-third historic abundance, they have certainly reduced the fitness and resiliency of Central Valley salmon, overall. Recent studies indicate that hatchery fish may now comprise 90 percent of the total salmon population.
The wildness of Yuba River salmon is not merely a subjective or aesthetic quality, it is the assemblage of genetic traits which enable the population to persist and expand, if given the opportunity. To be more specific, let's consider Spring-run Chinook, which are officially threatened with extinction in the Central Valley. Over 90 percent of the historic spawning habitat for Spring-run salmon has been blocked by dams.
Spring-run Chinook salmon are different from Fall-run Chinook because they've spawned for thousands of years in habitats upstream of where Fall-run salmon spawn. In snowmelt rivers, like the three forks of the Yuba, spring-run salmon ascended falls and rapids during the high flows of the snowmelt period, held in cold pools until early Fall, then spawned in the same season as Fall-run, yet up to 5,000 feet higher in elevation.
The Yuba River Spring-run was thought to be extinct, but recent monitoring has revealed a very small self-sustaining population. Restricted to the lower Yuba River below Englebright Dam, Yuba Spring-run Chinook are suffering introgression (mixed breed- ing) with Fall-run Chinook and strays from the Feather River Hatchery.
The Yuba River is one of only four remaining populations of Spring-run Chinook salmon in the Central Valley, and the one with the highest risk of extinction. Fishery scientists have learned that only 10 percent mixing of a hatchery stock with a wild stock can lead to lost genetic integrity over a few decades. We are only now beginning to assess the impacts of the Feather River Hatchery on the wild Yuba population. Regardless of the forthcoming results, many biologists concur that the single best action to recover Spring-run in the Central Valley would be to provide Yuba River Chinook with access to some of their historic habitats upstream.
The Upper Yuba River Studies Program has produced reports indicating that partially restored flow below hydro projects could provide enough habitat for viable salmon and steelhead populations above Englebright. The National Marine Fisheries Service has contracted an engineering firm to develop fish passage alternatives. The relicensing of all major hydroelectric facilities in the basin will occur in 2013 and 2016. Native Americans have resurrected their ancient Calling Back the Salmon ceremony and gathered with many friends on the Yuba River to prepare the way.
We just might be acting fast enough, and thoughtfully enough, to benefit from the wildness that remains in Yuba River salmon. For more information and references, see saveyubasalmon.org.
Gary Reedy, fisheries biologist, South Yuba River Citizens League.
Central Valley Chinook were phenomenally abundant despite being at the southern edge of their range. Prior to 1850, one to 2 million salmon returned to the rivers of the Central Valley each year.
Virtually every river not isolated by natural barrier falls would have been stinking with salmon carcasses in the fall season, and salmon were immeas- urably important for Califor-nia's wildlife and native people.
Central Valley salmon were decimated by a one-two punch: Hydraulic mining and the first industrial canning operations of the West. It is a testament to the resiliency of salmon that they were not forever lost from the Yuba River where mining activities were particularly intense and Daguerre Point Dam (c. 1910) operated for 25 years without any fish ladder.
Yuba River salmon not only persist today, but the annual run of 6,000 to 30,000 Fall-run Chinook is the largest wild population anywhere in the Central Valley. The salmon population of every other large river has been altered by hatchery operations that put pro- duction goals over the preservation of genetic diversity. The network of salmon hatcheries in the Central Valley has attempted to mitigate for the impacts of dams, diversions and habitat degradation. While these hatcheries have sometimes managed to produce a fishery as large as one-third historic abundance, they have certainly reduced the fitness and resiliency of Central Valley salmon, overall. Recent studies indicate that hatchery fish may now comprise 90 percent of the total salmon population.
The wildness of Yuba River salmon is not merely a subjective or aesthetic quality, it is the assemblage of genetic traits which enable the population to persist and expand, if given the opportunity. To be more specific, let's consider Spring-run Chinook, which are officially threatened with extinction in the Central Valley. Over 90 percent of the historic spawning habitat for Spring-run salmon has been blocked by dams.
Spring-run Chinook salmon are different from Fall-run Chinook because they've spawned for thousands of years in habitats upstream of where Fall-run salmon spawn. In snowmelt rivers, like the three forks of the Yuba, spring-run salmon ascended falls and rapids during the high flows of the snowmelt period, held in cold pools until early Fall, then spawned in the same season as Fall-run, yet up to 5,000 feet higher in elevation.
The Yuba River Spring-run was thought to be extinct, but recent monitoring has revealed a very small self-sustaining population. Restricted to the lower Yuba River below Englebright Dam, Yuba Spring-run Chinook are suffering introgression (mixed breed- ing) with Fall-run Chinook and strays from the Feather River Hatchery.
The Yuba River is one of only four remaining populations of Spring-run Chinook salmon in the Central Valley, and the one with the highest risk of extinction. Fishery scientists have learned that only 10 percent mixing of a hatchery stock with a wild stock can lead to lost genetic integrity over a few decades. We are only now beginning to assess the impacts of the Feather River Hatchery on the wild Yuba population. Regardless of the forthcoming results, many biologists concur that the single best action to recover Spring-run in the Central Valley would be to provide Yuba River Chinook with access to some of their historic habitats upstream.
The Upper Yuba River Studies Program has produced reports indicating that partially restored flow below hydro projects could provide enough habitat for viable salmon and steelhead populations above Englebright. The National Marine Fisheries Service has contracted an engineering firm to develop fish passage alternatives. The relicensing of all major hydroelectric facilities in the basin will occur in 2013 and 2016. Native Americans have resurrected their ancient Calling Back the Salmon ceremony and gathered with many friends on the Yuba River to prepare the way.
We just might be acting fast enough, and thoughtfully enough, to benefit from the wildness that remains in Yuba River salmon. For more information and references, see saveyubasalmon.org.
Gary Reedy, fisheries biologist, South Yuba River Citizens League.
