Salmon Refugia Project – “Rockwads” by Sacramento River Settlement Contractors Jul 18, 2025 In 2023, the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors took an innovative approach to improving the survival of young salmon and trout. The placement of 20 ‘rockwads’ – structures made of almond and manzanita trees and large boulders – into the Sacramento River will create critical rearing habitat. The ‘rockwads’ were distributed over a five-acre area. Led by the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, Reclamation District 108, the Sacramento Valley Ecological Restoration Foundation and funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, these structures are intended to help provide juvenile salmon and trout refuge against larger predators, while enticing them to stay in colder waters longer. This can increase their odds of healthy maturation for their journey to the Pacific Ocean. This project builds upon a pilot project that was constructed in 2017 that placed 25 shelter structures in the same area of the river.
