Salt Creek Spawning Gravel Habitat Infusion by Sacramento River Settlement Contractors Jul 18, 2025 In Fall of 2023, more than 21,000 tons of gravel were placed into the Sacramento River to provide spawning habitat for salmon and trout in the upper reaches of the river and its tributaries to improve conditions at key riffles. Spanning approximately 200 feet by 80 feet, the new gravel aims to replenish supply in an important historic spawning location near Salt Creek – about a mile south of Keswick Dam. This effort was a multi-agency collaboration, led by the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors and Reclamation District 108, and funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Salt Creek Gravel Project is part of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and follows a comprehensive effort to recover all four runs of Chinook salmon in the Sacramento Valley Watershed. The project is also part of the Sacramento Valley Salmon Recovery Program, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Recovery Plan, the California Resources Agency’s Salmon Resiliency Strategy and the early implementation of the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program.
