More than two dozen fish and waterfowl projects in the California Central Valley will receive funding this year as mitigation for the effects of the Central Valley Water Project.
Cesar Blanco is the implementation chief for the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. He says many of the projects are geared toward improving salmon habitats, " They need habitat- not only adult spawning habitat but they need juvenile-rearing habitat. In terms of flow, they need flow at specific times. The flow needs to be appropriate temperature because Salmon are a cold water species."
The projects are in various stages of completion.
Mill Creek is fed by runoff from Mount Lassen and feeds the Sacramento River. The Mill Creek Fish Passage project is in the early stages. It will allow salmon to return to 44 miles of spawning grounds.
A fish passage project on the Sacramento River near Red Bluff is close to completion.
Blanco says a Trinity River project is one of many that focus in part on the amount of water available for fish, " It's flow limited. So there are measures to increase flows at critical periods for various runs on the river there. They are doing flood plain restoration, gravel enhancement."