Human intervention continues to play a major role in protecting the salmon run in the lower American River --which initially harmed it through the construction of upstream dams -- and these projects are a good example of that.
An excerpt from the story from the Bee.
“Two projects are under way this month to improve fish spawning in the American River.
“Salmon and steelhead need fine gravel sediment to create nests, or "redds," for their eggs. The projects will create more spawning habitat by adding and moving gravel at key locations.
“The first project began Monday at Sailor Bar Recreation Area near Fair Oaks and continues through Oct. 6. Over a five-year period, the work will add 75,000 cubic yards of gravel at seven locations on the river.
“Funded largely by federal water contractors, the work aims to atone for the effect of upstream dams, which block natural gravel movement downstream.
“The second project begins next week to improve access to a side channel for spawning steelhead. The site downstream of Sunrise Boulevard contains 9 percent of all steelhead spawning habitat in the river but dries out at flows less than 3,500 cubic feet per second, often killing millions of steelhead eggs.”
