California bets Millions that its salmon can survive climate

Sacramento, California – California spent the past week making some of its most aggressive moves yet to pull the state’s collapsing salmon populations back from the brink. In a rapid-fire stretch of announcements, the Newsom administration approved seven major restoration projects in the Central Valley, marked dramatic progress on the newly freed Klamath River, and cut the ribbon on a massive new fish passageway along the Sacramento River.

For a species woven into the history, economy, and identity of the West Coast, the momentum is a rare bright spot. Years of drought, hotter rivers, erratic storms, and human-made barriers have pushed California’s salmon to crisis levels. Commercial salmon fishing has been shut down for three straight seasons. Recreational fishing only reopened this year on a limited basis.

The administration says that’s why it launched the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future nearly two years ago—and now, they argue, the work is paying off. A recent progress report shows nearly 70 percent of its 71 action items underway and more than a quarter completed.

Tribal Affairs Secretary Christina Snider-Ashtari said the uptick is more than ecological. For tribes who depend on salmon for food, ceremony, and identity, recovery is a cultural restoration. “The return of salmon also means the return of traditions, lifeways, and well-being,” she said.

Last week’s approvals by the Wildlife Conservation Board represent more than $70 million in early action under the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program—one of the largest statewide pushes ever undertaken to reconnect rivers, rebuild floodplains, and reengineer water infrastructure. Among the projects: reshaping a mile of the Feather River to restore historic floodplain, consolidating unscreened diversions on the Sacramento River that kill juvenile salmon, and securing new spawning habitat along Battle Creek.

On the Klamath River, the changes are even more dramatic. Just a year after four hydroelectric dams were torn out, scientists say salmon are returning to places they haven’t been seen in more than a century. “There are salmon everywhere,” said Michael Harris of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, calling the speed of recolonization “remarkable.” Counts in Oregon tributaries have climbed, and surveys are recording new nests throughout the basin.

Meanwhile, California celebrated the launch of the Big Notch Project at the Fremont Weir in Yolo County—one of the largest salmon-rearing floodplain projects in state history. The new gates will divert high river flows into the Yolo Bypass, creating a food-rich floodplain for juvenile salmon that mimics the natural conditions the species evolved to rely on. Built with tens of millions of dollars and years of scientific input, the project is engineered to balance habitat needs with farming, recreation, and flood protection.

None of this guarantees a full rebound—salmon still face a hotter, more volatile climate and long-standing water conflicts. But after years of grim reports, California officials say the arc has finally started to bend toward recovery. For the communities and tribes who have watched salmon dwindle, even a small resurgence is a signal that the work, and the wait, may finally be paying off.