Salmon Population Increases in Northern California Creek

The increase is a ray of hope for the California salmon population.

(L–R) UC Davis lead author Lauren Hitt, junior specialist Jordan Colby, and coauthor Mackenzie Miner prepare to search for chinook salmon in Lower Putah Creek by canoe. Dennis Cocherell, UC Davis

A recent UC Davis study has revealed that chinook salmon are completing their life cycle in Putah Creek despite the overall decline in the fish’s population on the West Coast.

“Salmon have always been very important to indigenous cultures in our state and all along the West Coast, and just the people that grew up in California. ... A lot of people grow up watching the salmon spawn or going to the hatcheries,” Andrew Rypel, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences and professor at UC Davis, told The Epoch Times.