Winter-Run Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout Received Habitat Boost with Gravel Project by Reclamation District 108 Feb 14, 2023 Spanning nearly three acres underneath the Market Street Bridge in Redding, a coalition of local, state and federal partners have come together to provide a much-needed spawning site for endangered Winter-run Chinook salmon and Steelhead trout. “If we want to boost population numbers for the Winter-run Chinook salmon, we need to provide habitat during critical moments of their lifecycle. The Market Street Gravel Project aims to provide support during a critical time when salmon are seeking safe and accessible spawning sites,” said Roger Cornwell, Reclamation District No. 108 Board President. “This collaborative effort is a testament of the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors’ innovation and dedication to the health and betterment of our watershed.” The spawning habitat has been reduced over time in this important river section due to water flows pushing the gravel downstream. The latest effort helps replace the lost spawning beds, while providing habitat the fish are historically familiar with in the river. Crews spent two weeks at the site to replenish the gravel beds first created at Market Street in 2018. This is just one of several innovative interagency projects planned in the Sacramento River in early 2023 to aid the Winter-run salmon and is part of a continuing effort to help meet requirements under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, which was created to restore and replenish spawning gravel and rearing habitat for salmonid species. The current effort was led by the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors and Reclamation District No. 108 with funding by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and US Fish and Wildlife Service. Reclamation Fisheries Biologist John Hannon, who oversees these projects, said, “By the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors working collaboratively with local, state and federal agencies and organizations, it enables the efficient completion of these and other upcoming projects that no single organization could complete alone. These efforts provide hope that we will see a rebound in the number of salmon returning to spawn each year in Northern California.” Additional partners include California Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Army Corps of Engineers, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, and National Marine Fisheries Service. Sacramento River Settlement Contract Members involved in the project include RD 108, Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District, Basin Irrigation and Drainage Authority, City of Redding, Reclamation District 787, Princeton-Codora-Glenn Irrigation District, and Provident Irrigation District. The Market Street Gravel Project is part of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and also follows a comprehensive effort to recover all four runs of Chinook salmon in the Sacramento Valley Watershed as 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 Voluntary Agreements/Healthy Rivers California action plan.
