SYRCL has been working alongside its partners for a decade to restore the lower Yuba River by creating spawning and rearing habitat for the threatened Chinook salmon. Our newest project is planned for a stretch of the lower Yuba called Rose Bar. We are inviting the public to join us for a tour of the project area on Friday, December 3rd.
The storm that swept through Nevada County between the 23rd and 25th of October dropped between seven and twelve inches of much needed precipitation. This rainfall has led to, among other things, increased flows in the Yuba River.
We sat down with one of our SYRCL scientists to learn more about how this rain event interacted with the Hallwood Side Channel and Floodplain Restoration Project, a restoration effort that SYRCL has been working on and committed to for the past five years.
We are well into another year of a drought here in Nevada County and the threatened Chinook salmon are in danger. This piece explores the current state of affairs as well as the consequences of inaction.
Seven years ago, SYRCL began the first project in the Lower Yuba River to restore salmon habitat.
In 2011 and 2012 SYRCL planted nearly 6,500 willow and cottonwood cuttings across 5 acres to improve the floodplain habitat that fish use during high flow periods as refuge from swift moving water in the main river channel.
One goal of this project was to increase riparian vegetation which would provide improved fish habitat through the increase in shading, cover, food availability, and creating geomorphic and hydraulic complexity on the floodplain.
We have fielded a lot of questions in the past few weeks about water temperatures in the South Yuba. Are they higher than normal?
With more than 1.2 million cubic yards of goldrush-era mining sediment removed, historic floodplain habitat has been exposed for Chinook salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon. Today, miles of seasonal and perennial side channel habitats were carefully engineered to provide additional rearing habitat for native salmonids like Chinook salmon. Details
SYRCL and Friends of the River recently sent a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service to compel the agency to craft a watershed-wide solution to save the threatened species native to the Yuba Watershed, including Spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and green sturgeon. The letter demands a new biological opinion, presenting compelling evidence that harm caused by the Corps’ dams, compounded by increased harm from climate change, is responsible for the dramatic decrease in Yuba River fish populations. Details
Aaron Zettler-Mann recently stepped into the role of Watershed Science Director, taking the helm of our science department and its many projects throughout the watershed. Learn more about Aaron and if you see him around town, please offer him a warm welcome (from a safe distance). Details
Check out our new trailer and then join us on seven virtual adventures, and explore a different ecological, cultural, or historical aspect of the fall Chinook salmon run, right in the backyard of our own Yuba River. Details
The Yuba River watershed has unique regulations that vary throughout the year and through different stretches and tributaries. Read on for a summary of regulations. Details
