Salmon Spawning Adventures

Date: November 30, 2017
Contact: Rick Hiser, [phone]

Free, afternoon outings will run on Sunday Dec 3^rd and 10th from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Outings will go whenever weather/water/fish conditions allow. Space is limited. Call and register at 707-465-6191.
 

Participants will carpool in their personal vehicles on gravel roads to select viewing locations. Expect to drive a short distance on gravel roads. Walking short distances over uneven ground may be required. Wet weather gear and sturdy hiking shoes are recommended. Polarized glasses and binoculars are suggested (but not required) for best viewing of fish. The program will be cancelled if it rains, or if water clarity is otherwise altered.

The Mill Creek Watershed, a tributary of the Smith River, is regarded as one of California’s most ecologically significant areas and a top productive stream for Coho Salmon. Each winter these extraordinary native fish return to the streams of their birth to pass their complex evolutionary lives on to the next generation.  For more than thirty years, California State Parks, the National Park Service, and their partners have been working together on several watershed restoration projects in northern California. As freshwater and estuarine habitat conditions improve and return to natural conditions, more salmon are able to return to the streams of their birth and reproduce.

Salmon are anadromous, meaning they return from the sea to breed. The adult salmon lay their eggs in the gravel and die shortly after spawning. The decomposing adult carcasses provide essential food and nutrients for numerous stream creatures, thereby benefitting the young salmon rearing in the stream. Sediment and water quality, clarity, and temperature—as well as absence of manmade barriers—in these natal streams largely determine the success of salmon reproduction.

For over 100 years, overharvesting, dam construction, habitat destruction from logging, farming, and development, and water pollution from a variety of sources have all contributed to the dramatic decline of salmon populations throughout the Pacific Northwest.

But, there is hope. As people work together to restore the streams, rivers and estuaries, the salmon return. Take advantage of this opportunity to see the salmon, in all their silver beauty and determination, complete their ageless journey. 

Participation is limited and pre-registration is required.

This program is FREE !

Call

707-465-6191