Migratory salmon soon will have one less hazard to face thanks to the Wallace Weir Fish Rescue project, which will help prevent adult Sacramento River salmon from swimming into a drainage ditch that leads deep into farm fields where spawning is hopeless.

By building a permanent barrier across the Knights Landing Ridge Cut, the agencies will be able to better control farm drainage releases to avoid attracting salmon.

A new fish collection facility adjacent to the weir will allow the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to more effectively capture stray salmon and return them to the river to spawn.

Fritz Durst, board president of Reclamation District 108, told the gathered crowd, “We, as farmers, like to get stuff done” and he praised the “fix-it versus fight attitude in the Sacramento Valley.”

Continued Durst, “We are fortunate to have a group of doers here.”

When Assemblyman Bill Dodd of the 4th District took the podium, he also praised the progress on the project, noting, “I constantly hear from constituents who worry about fish and who worry about water.” But the balance isn’t easy, he said.

And Lewis Bair, general manager for Reclamation District 108, echoed both Durst and Dodd: “There is growing hope in our community that hard work and strong partnerships will bring sustainability to both California’s fish and farms.”

Bair complimented the landowners who’ve allowed the construction crews to “mess up their back yards,” and all the cooperative agencies who’ve been “partners in trying to make California a better place.”

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