FROM FIRE TO FLOOD. Days after the Camp fire was officailly contained, flash flooding pounded the foothils and lower canyon. Check Facebook for photos.

Butte Creek is open for residents and landowners. Butte County Health has asked the public to follow these health guidleines when re-entering fire damaged areas. Click here

Butte Creek Canyon Landowners: The Butte County Resource Conservation District is compiling a database for mapping of restoration work. Landowners can send their property information and give permission for crews to perform erosion protection work free of charge. Visit their website at www.bcrcd.org Send in your information as soon as possible.

You can follow the restoration efforts on Facebook at Save Butte Creek Salmon: Stop the Runoff

SAVING THE SALMON

Efforts are underway to massively cover the burned areas and bulldozer trails with erosion control materials in Butte Creek. If you live in an affected area of Butte Creek please follow our Facebook page as we will be organizing volunteers to help. It will be an on going job. Straw wattle directions. Marin County wattle directions. Sonoma Ecology Center Fire Recovery document. Forest Network guide

 

CAMP FIRE DEVASTATES PARADISE, CONCOW AND BUTTE CREEK more info, pictures and videos as we have time and accurate information. Watch this video from Thursday when the fire first started.

Completely inappropriate creek bank work begins in Butte Creek. See the photos.

A "Groundswell" of change is coming this fall and the Wild and Scenic Film Festival On Tour highlighted that enthusiasm. Friends of Butte Creek partnered with Sierra Nevada Brewery and sold out the Big Room. The Silent Auction was the best ever and the films were very well received by all.

Thanks for all the support from SYRCL, Sierra Nevada Brewery, Klean Kanteen, the volunteers and you!

View Films

As salmon prepare for spawning on Butte Creek, Governor Brown is in a position to sign AB 2528 that will help protect Butte Creek and other salmon strongholds. Click here to go to the CalTrout Action Alert and click here to watch the Wild Salmon Center video on Salmon Strongholds.

Butte Creek Spring Run Salmon are back home. View the recent video. More to come!

The Butte Creek Canyon Overlay was passed by the Butte County Board of Supervisors

Canyon groups have contributed to developing an overlay for Butte Creek Canyon which will help protect the water, wildlife and the beauty of this incredible scenic wonder. You can browse the County website on the Overlay by clicking here. Information workshops were held on June 30, and October 27, 2016 and January 26 and April 27, 2017 in Oroville. The revised overlay has been approved by the Planning Commission. February 27, 2018 the proposed Overlay was presented to the County Supervisors for approval to include this as part of the General Plan, a process that was started eight years ago. The Supervisors approved the Overlay on April 24th.

2018 Salmon are not yet spawning but you can watch the action from 2017 here! Day 1 and 2.

 

Breaking News

California Department of Fish and Wildlife proposes a minimum instream flow of 120 cfs below Durham Mutual Dam for safe passage for salmon and steelhead. Currently there is no minimum flow and almost every years dozens, and in some cases hundreds of spring run salmon have died before spawning below this dam on their migration to upper Butte Creek. The unusually hard and resistent Lahar rock formation has limited channels with sufficient width and depth for safe passage for the salmon, especially at low water. Water diverters may have to limit their diversions until all fish have moved upstream. The list of priority streams, the Butte Creek flow study and plan, and the Public Resources Code are available at these links.

Priority Streams; Butte Creek Flow Study; Public Resources Code

Above: Durham Mutual Dam and the downstream rock formation

Breaking News: PG&E wants to cut and run on the DeSabla-Centerville hydroelectric project, read the article.

PG&E has decided to withdraw their application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the continued operation of the DeSabla-Centerville Hydroelectric Project. Essentially they are nullyfying 12 years of work by agencies, NGO's and their own staff, not to mention millions of dollars, and they have put the project on the market. Read the press release. If a buyer is not found PG&E could be forced to decommission the whole project. Meanwhile the deadbeat Centerville Head Dam will continue to block fish passage for no reason.

Salmoncam is out of commission again.

Enjoy this video of the 2017 run.

 

 

10th Annual Wild and Scenic Film Festival another success!

Thanks to all who made this another great Film event at the Sierra Nevada Brewery Big Room and the Pageant Theater

Complete Film Program is available here.

Friends of Butte Creek celebrated TEN YEARS of Wild and Scenic Films in Chico

Thanks to the Friends of Butte Creek sponsors! Sierra Nevada Brewery, Klean Kanteen, Sacramento River Preservation Trust, Rail Riders, Sacramento River Eco Tours, Nature Conservancy, FishBio, Cal Trout, Pure Skin, River Valley Enterprises, Greg and Marji Thomas Will, Lisa Thompson and all the national sponsors, volunteers and silent auction donors. Special thanks to Jim Monaco for all the beautiful Butte Creek salmon clay tiles. They are treasured by many!

 

 

Spring Run Chinook Salmon Symposium
July 26-28, 2016
Chico, CA

Salmonid Restoration Federation and Friends of Butte Creek brought back this Symposium focused on Spring Run Chinook Salmon. The first day was updates and research presentations followed by two days of tours of Butte, Mill, Deer, Clear Creeks.

Click here for more information.

Bears in Butte Creek

Bears appear to have taken a serious toll on the few salmon that made it up to spawn in 2015. Low water and lots of hungry bears made it easy pickings for the bears. Check out the great shots from Suji Roland of a spawning salmon snatched from her redd by the mama bear. Her two cubs were waiting on shore for lunch. We will be creating a wildlife page to share all the great pictures that Friends have been taking. Enjoy this visit on the creek and the photo of our Bear Gardener...

 

The HD camera is offline. The spring run salmon are home.  YOU CAN SPAWNSOR THE LIVE CAMERA FEED.Your name, your business or your dedication will be featured on the salmoncam web page.

Please contact us to find out how you can help keep the beauty of Butte Creek live on the internet and share with your friends this beautiful place we live! Thanks to Michael Smith for this incredible photo taken May 7.

 

Butte Creek Spring Run Salmon Run Counts

Spawn 2018- Snorkel 2118

Spawn 2017 - Snorkel 980, Carcass 500

Spawn 2016 - Snorkel 4,450, Carcass 5,317

Spawn 2015 - Vaki camera est. 1,939, Snorkel 1,081, Carcass 413

Spawn 2014 - 4,894

Spawn 2013 - 15,866

Spawn 2012 - 17,000

Spawn 2011 - 4,500

Spawn 2010 - 1,979

The 2014 Spring Run Salmon are back. Low water may have triggered an early return. And then came the rain! The creek is in remarkably good condition with good flows for the juveniles heading to the ocean and adults returning home to entertain the creatures of the Canyon. Otters are happy and enjoying wild salmon sashimi regularly. View the Salmoncam and check out the action. Sponsors needed!

2012 Fish Spawned in Record Numbers!

We had a spectacular run with a final estimate at just under 17,000 salmon. This is in the top 4 years of recent records. Spawning began earlier than usual. Contact us for a 2013 Spring Run Salmon Tour. More videos including underwater action are located on the video page.