It's Time to Welcome Salmon Back to Putah Creek

Nov 30, 2016 at 4:00pm

Putah Creek Council

Central Valley fall-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) migrate upstream as adults from July through December and spawn from early October through late December. Because the Los Rios check dam is not removed until November 15, the Chinook salmon in Putah Creek don't start moving up the creek until mid-November. Most of the salmon observed in Putah Creek are hatchery strays, but there may be a small (and hopefully increasing) number of wild Putah Creek salmon returning each year. Because the overall population of wild fish is getting smaller and hatchery fish interbreed with them, Central Valley fall-run Chinook salmon are a Species of Concern under the federal Endangered Species Act.

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