Salmon returning to Bay Area creek for first time in 70 years could be sign of environmental renewal to come

SUNOL For the first time in years adult Chinook salmon have been spotted swimming the vertical feet needed to return to Alameda Creek in lower Niles Canyon and it could be a turning point in the decades-long effort to restore the East Bay s watersheds Chinook salmon along with the endangered steelhead trout are considered indicator species for the context suggesting that other animals such as otters eagles beavers and bears may also return to the Sunol Valley region which increases the diversity and resiliency of its food web a term for interconnected food chains Since the beginning of November contributors from the nonprofit group Alameda Creek Alliance which has worked to remove dams and install fish ladders since have recorded nearly a dozen specimens of Chinook Salmon These sightings come just weeks after PG E and the nonprofit CalTrout finished a million project to remove a gas pipeline that was the last barrier impeding fish migration upstream The latest salmon run came shortly after an atmospheric river and environmentalists are excited for what the wet season has in store Fish ladder along the Alameda Creek on Wednesday Nov in Fremont Calif The fish passage was completed in and provides watershed access that had been totally obstructed by the BART weir Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group It s just the beginning of this whole migration season so I can t wait to see what else comes up through our project site mentioned Claire Buchanan Bay Area regional director of CalTrout The first intrusion into the Chinook salmon s migration began in with the construction of the Calaveras Reservoir near Mt Hamilton in Santa Clara County This would be the first of three major dams that basically cut ocean-run fish from the entire watershed reported Jeff Miller executive director of Alameda Creek Alliance Related Articles New research Moss Landing battery fire dumped pounds of toxic metals into wildlife-rich marshes Jumping close encounter humpbacks thrilling passengers on the sea Huge bear takes up residence in crawl space under California man s home Coyote that bit two children near California mall euthanized Wetland project nears completion wildlife trails bridges As human progress expanded along lower Alameda Creek in Fremont the Army Corps of Engineers constructed or as Miller disclosed straightjacketed the lower creek with flood control channels According to CalTrout Chinook salmon haven t been recorded in the Alameda Creek watershed since the s I tell people Salmon are the soul of our rivers Urban streams kind of lost their soul after so various human impacts disclosed Miller Without access to spawning grounds the Chinook salmon native to Alameda Creek have all been lost So where did this latest salmon run originate Historically there were Chinook and Steelhead trout that reproduced and would go back to their natal spawning grounds Buchanan reported But in this situation Alameda Creek has been offline for so long and fish haven t had access so a lot of the Chinook that we ll see are preponderance likely from hatcheries Hatchery-raised salmon do not have an attachment to any spawning grounds and have not imprinted on a particular watershed as wild salmon do Miller explained When those hatchlings are issued into San Pablo Bay or further up the Sacramento Delta they are effectively orphans seeking a watershed to adopt as their own These hatchery-grown salmon have migrated up watersheds across the Bay Area but had avoided Alameda Creek until now Fish ladder along the Alameda Creek on Wednesday Nov in Fremont Calif The fish passage was completed in and provides watershed access that had been totally obstructed by the BART weir Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Nathan Stram a technician with Cramer Fish Sciences looks over footage from a camera that was monitoring a fish ladder along the Alameda Creek on Wednesday Nov in Fremont Calif The fish passage was completed in and provides watershed access that had been totally obstructed by the BART weir Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group A chinook salmon is spotted at the Niles Staging Area at the BART Weir shortly after the last rain fall in November in Alameda Creek in Fremont For the first time in years adult Chinook salmon have been documented swimming the -vertical-feet needed to return to Alameda Creek in lower Niles Canyon Photo by David Young Alameda Creek Alliance Water Supply and Planning Manager Thomas Niesar looks out over a rubber dam along the Alameda Creek on Wednesday Nov in Fremont Calif Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Fish ladder along the Alameda Creek on Wednesday Nov in Fremont Calif The fish passage was completed in and provides watershed access that had been totally obstructed by the BART weir Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Expand The reintroduction of Chinook salmon to Alameda Creek is an especially hopeful sign for broader environmental restoration reported Miller As salmon die after spawning their decaying bodies provide nutrients to the water ecosystem and strengthen the existing food web Already endangered species such as steelhead trout California tiger salamanders and northwestern pond turtles have been observed around Alameda Creek Chinook salmon are bringing their carcasses or providing food for everything from bald eagles to river otters I mean we re due to get black bears back in the Bay Miller noted And then our resident bald eagle pair nesting down in lower Alameda Creek came up to the fish ladder and we ve seen them take both dead carcasses of Chinook and live ones A chinook salmon is spotted at the Niles Staging Area shortly after the last rain fall in November in Alameda Creek in Fremont For the first time in years adult Chinook salmon have been documented swimming the -vertical-feet needed to return to Alameda Creek in lower Niles Canyon Photo by Dan Sarka Alameda Creek Alliance For Miller it s the culmination of more than years of activism and advocacy for a fish with one of the the bulk miraculous migrations in the animal kingdom He reflected on the world of conservation saying Our losses are permanent and our wins are usually temporary but the collaborative effort to bring salmon back to Alameda Creek is a reminder that major victories for restoration are practicable This run of salmon is just exhilarating Miller reported People get really excited when they see these fish It connects them to the creek and helps them get the bigger picture of the ecology of the stream how everything is connected