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REDDING, CA — Efforts to provide spawning habitat for  endangered winter-run Chinook salmon in the upper reaches of the Sacramento River, continue with the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation placing over 20,000 tons of spawning gravel downstream of the Keswick Dam in Redding.

“This gravel is critical for all four runs of Chinook salmon that utilize the Sacramento River,” said Matt Johnson, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Environmental Scientist. “Water flows will push the gravel  downstream over time, providing spawning habitat in a vital stretch of river these fish depend on. We want to ensure these fish have the greatest chance to reproduce and it is projects like this allow us to increase the odds of success.”

This gravel augmentation project will add to the more than 50,000 tons of rock placed in the upper reaches of the Sacramento River since 2022.

“When multiple public and private agencies come together, we can have a positive impact on our native fish species,” said Roger Cornwell, Sacramento River Settlement Contractors Board President. “The gravel project is one of two-dozen habitat improvement efforts undertaken by landowners and public agencies to help provide a working river system that benefits fish, wildlife and people the year round.”

The Sacramento River is the only river in the world that has four runs of Chinook Salmon, or “king” salmon, due to its diverse ecosystem that features near year-round cold water due to snow melt, food supply, water velocity, water depth and riverbed gravel. When one or all of these are drastically altered, fish populations are impacted.

The gravel project at Keswick Dam is part of a larger watershed-wide rehabilitation and restoration program implemented by the Sacramento River Settlement Contractors, which is funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. .Additional partners involved in the Keswick gravel injection project includes the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sutter Mutual Water Company, Reclamation District 108, and the City of Redding.