Butte Creek's Incredible Wild Spring Run Salmon....The Last, Best Run of Wild Salmon in California

Friends of Butte Creek featured on front page of the San Francisco Chronicle!

The Monday, May 26, 2008 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle featured the article Salmon resurgence in Butte County. Here's a snippet:

The number of spawning fish returning from the ocean to Butte Creek increased 10 percent from 2006 to 2007, Harthorn said. By the look of things, he said, even more fish are returning this year.

But the most dramatic resurgence occurred over the past 10 years, when an average of almost 10,000 salmon a year swam back up the creek, according to Harthorn, who co-founded Friends of Butte Creek in 1999 after years battling farming interests and Pacific Gas and Electric over its DeSabla-Centerville plant.

Read the entire article here, and view an image of the front page here.

Butte Creek supports the largest run of Wild, Naturally Spawned Spring Run Chinook Salmon in California

Over $30,000,000 (see Restoration Handout) has been spent on improved fish passage in the lower watershed. Much of the best salmon habitat is blocked by Centerville Head Dam and still has reduced flows (71% to 82% reduction in summer) and increased water temperature below the dam. By all measureswild Butte Creek Spring Run have recovered, averaging over 10,000 salmon per year for the last twelve years (see Spring Run Populations), while hatchery Fall Run stocks have collapsed. Tagged stray Butte Creek Spring Run have shown up in Battle Creek, Clear Creek, and the Feather River Hatchery. Steelhead trout are not doing so well. (see fish report) Their habitat is greatly reduced by hydroelectric operations. Other forest and aquatic creatures have also benefited including Bald Eagles like the one in the photo, seen last May.

Check out the Butte Creek Mapping Site

mapCheck out the interactive watershed map of Butte Creek, provided by River Network and IMRivers. You can view the major features of the creek, including bridges, dams, flumes and trails. View the map here.

Butte Creek Salmon Cam

Watch a 60 second clip (8.6 mb)of the first exclusive underwater video of Butte Creek's 2004 spring run salmon. You can order the complete DVD with music at SalmonCam.org. Every sale from the website contributes $5 to the Friends of Butte Creek and $5 to the Salmonid Restoration Federation.

Friends of Butte Creek T-shirts and hats

Friends of Butte Creek T-shirts and hats featuring this beautiful Lenn Goldmann print are now available. You can buy them directly for $20 at Metagraphics, 194 East 6th St. in Chico or send us an email to friends@buttecreek.org.

Fish crossing website

Check out the Forest Service fish crossing website with great information on fish passage! Great videos, software and more.

Join Friends of Butte Creek!

Latest News

California Sportfishing Alliance, Friends of Butte Creek, and American Whitewater File Final Comments and Recommendations to FERC for DeSabla Centerville

Read More!

How cool is that! Three degrees to be exact!

New temperature models show huge benefit to Spring Run Salmon by flow and operation improvements on DeSabla-Centerville Hydro Project. See the data and the highlights.

New Friends of Butte Creek Brochure and Spring Newsletter!

2nd Annual Patagonia Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival on Tour a Success!

wseffFriends of Butte Creek hosted the Patagonia Wild and Scenic Film Festival in the Butte Creek Watershed on April 19, 2008. Everyone enjoyed the best environmental films from the South Yuba River Citizen's League annual film festival. Major supporters include Patagonia, U.S. Forest Service, Shasta-Trinity Forest, Pacific Gas and Electric, and the Resource Renewal Institute. Send us an email and we'll send a notice next year.

salmonHere's a 4/23 shot of the surge of "springers" that have entered Butte Creek this year. A week later, 5/1, there are lots more! Looks like another good run! NO FISHING!salmon hole

 

 

 

The Salmoncam is coming! Final connections are in process. View a couple of previews of the salmoncam from June 6, 2008.

Enjoy the closeup view of the fish spawning last fall from the salmoncam observation platform. It runs 9 1/2 minutes.

 

 

finFin comes to Butte Creek. Read the press advisory and the road show blog. Chico, Durham and Butte Creek made the highlights!

New PG&E DeSabla-Centerville Relicensing documents are online

Several new documents are now online: DeSabla Centerville Economics, Habitat Suitability Workshop, Salmon Steelhead Habitat Study, and Water Temperature Model. (09/07/07)

Updated Spring Run Population Numbers

The spreadsheet with estimates for the population of Butte Creek Spring Run Chinook Salmon Population, from 1954 through 2005, is now online. Included is a timeline of restoration efforts which have contributed to the recovery. (04/23/07)

More news...



Upcoming Events

Salmon tours are coming to Butte Creek. Various options are available for individuals and groups. Contact friends@buttecreek.org for more information.

 

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