CA Sea Grant Russian River Salmon & Steelhead Monitoring Program

05/04/2023

Revamped but still relevant, our California Sea Grant program continues working with partners to contribute scientific information to help inform salmon recovery strategies.

Recent articles co-authored with Rausser College of Natural Resources - UC Berkeley researchers outline findings and implications of two studies. One documents the effects of climate-induced changes on outmigration patterns of - SF Chronicle story at https://bit.ly/Drought_Smolts. The second highlights the role of genetic rescue in preventing salmon extinction - https://bit.ly/GeneticRescue.

These resources add to a growing body of knowledge aimed at supporting improved understanding and innovations in resource management.


NOAA Fisheries Service

05/03/2023

This study used data from our program and the Russian River conservation hatchery to evaluate a compelling question...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMEDIA CONTACT: Clare Leschin-Hoar, [email protected] 1, 2023

04/07/2023

The only constant is change… and we’re definitely feeling it. The core salmon and steelhead monitoring activities in the Russian River basin are being transitioned to our close partners at Sonoma Water for now. Most of our team has moved on to exciting, related positions, but our director will remain closely involved in local salmonid recovery as a researcher and technical advisor.

When this program began nearly two decades ago, coho salmon were on the brink of extirpation from the basin. Today—thanks to the conservation hatchery, intensive efforts to improve habitat and restore ecosystem processes, and robust public support—adult coho are returning to the watershed by the hundreds each winter. While we still have a long way to go, we are encouraged by signs of hope such as the record numbers of juvenile coho seen last summer, and even more so by the growing solidarity behind the push to recover imperiled Central California Coast salmon and steelhead. The fact that our salmon still have a fighting chance here at the southern end of their native range is a testament to the tremendous, coordinated efforts of a broad diversity of people working to achieve positive change for our natural and human communities. We are grateful for the enduring support of our community and wish you health and abundance as we continue to work together towards a brighter future!

03/24/2023

California Sea Grant and Sonoma Water's annual Community Update is now online! Check it out for details on record wild coho salmon counts in the lower Russian River watershed and other highlights from the past year, as well as important updates about the future of our program https://bit.ly/2022_CommunityUpdate

12/13/2022

Did you know that over 130 species across the Pacific Northwest depend on the marine nutrients that anadromous salmon provide? When coho salmon return from the ocean, spawn and die, the nutrients from their carcasses provide invaluable contributions to a rich food web and to overall ecosystem health, making them a keystone species.

North American river otters, Pacific lamprey and Western pond turtles are just a few of the diverse and important species that benefit directly and indirectly from Russian River salmon and steelhead throughout their life cycles. It’s always a treat to encounter some of these native organisms when we’re out walking creeks!

11/04/2022

A bit ironic that most of this story was filmed on one of the wettest stream reaches we sampled this summer, thanks to many years of collaborative streamflow enhancement work with local landowners by Gold Ridge RCD, Trout Unlimited California, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Camp Meeker Recreation & Park District and other partners. It's still an important reminder that our native salmon and steelhead are living on the razor's edge when it comes to having enough streamflow for rearing fish to survive over the dry summer months, as you can clearly see by the conditions in lower Dutch Bill Creek.

As Northern California finds itself between two desperately needed rounds of rain, compounding years of drought have taken a toll across the state and particularly on our watersheds.

10/07/2022

The 2022 snorkel counts are in! Adult experienced excellent spawning conditions during their 2021/22 return and we saw record numbers of naturally-spawned coho young-of-the-year (yoy). In the 41 streams we surveyed with Sonoma Water, expanded counts of coho yoy were over 50,000!! By contrast, expanded counts of yoy, whose parents experienced historically dry conditions during their spring spawning window, were under 10,000. This outcome emphasizes the important role of suitable winter and spring streamflows in sustaining our sensitive, keystone salmonids.

09/22/2022

PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) technology is the cornerstone of our monitoring efforts. At dozens of sites in the lower watershed, PIT antennas span the streambed and detect tagged and steelhead as they swim by. Here, Logen Flem, our seasonal field technician, is downloading one of the readers on Dutch Bill Creek.

This technology allows us to track individual fish and collect information on their life histories, survival and movement. It’s also an important tool for estimating adult returns and population trends over time.

Even with the recent rainstorm, more than half of our monitoring sites are dry. We’ll be waiting for more rain to rewet those sites and, if the early rain persists, soon enough we’ll be detecting the first returning adults!

09/02/2022

Here in the Russian River basin, many streams will go partially or completely dry over the summer. This has huge impacts on rearing salmon and steelhead, so our current fieldwork is focused on documenting the extent of stream drying, along with water quality where water remains. Keep your eyes out for members of our team, including our new intern Elise, mapping stream channel conditions all over the watershed for the next couple of months.

We’ll compare these maps to those from our snorkel surveys to see how many of the fish we counted are in habitat that remained wet, went dry, or became disconnected. Stay tuned for updates!

08/12/2022

Our Watershed Stewards Program members are diving into new adventures! Dustin will be monitoring salmon and steelhead in Russian River streams in his new position with Sonoma Water, while Sam will be helping California Department of Fish and Wildlife to re-introduce winter-run Chinook to the Mc Cloud River using remote site incubators. We’re sad to see them go, but wishing them the best as they continue to dedicate their passion, skills and insights to salmon recovery efforts!

07/15/2022

Annual abundance of salmonid young-of-the-year generally reflects adult returns over the previous winter. The extreme rain patterns in the Russian River watershed and surrounding area in 2021/22—from October’s record-breaking atmospheric river event to the driest January-April on record—were at least partially responsible for big differences in spawning success for coho and steelhead. Coho, who were able to access virtually all the high quality spawning habitat during their peak migration window of December-January, were seen in relatively high numbers. By contrast, low streamflow characterized most of the peak steelhead run in January-April, limiting access to many stream reaches and drying some habitat. Very little steelhead spawning activity was observed as compared to previous years. So far, this summer’s ongoing snorkel survey counts mirror that story, but stay tuned for the end-of-season update.

07/08/2022

One of the most important aspects of salmonid monitoring is differentiating between species at every life stage. During our summer snorkeling surveys, we must accurately identify and young-of-the-year (fry) to get abundance estimates in Russian River streams. Do you know which is which? These are the easiest ways to tell them apart.