A Unusual Salmon Habitat Project Is Coming to the Sacramento River Near Redding This Week

A coalition of farmers, scientists, and government agencies is dropping dozens of tree and boulder structures into the Sacramento River near Redding to give young salmon and trout a fighting chance.

The project, led by the Sacramento Valley Ecological Restoration Foundation (SAVER) and funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will install more than two dozen “rockwads” in the river between April 27 and May 3. Construction will take place near the Redding Rodeo Grounds, north of the Sundial Bridge, and will be visible from the bridge and portions of the Sacramento River Trail. The Turtle Bay Boat Launch will have limited hours during that period, open only from sunrise to 9 a.m. daily.

Each rockwad is built from trees sourced at a Woodland almond farm and five-ton boulders from a North State quarry. Once placed, the structures sink to the riverbed, staying deep enough to avoid interfering with boats. The goal is to replicate the kind of woody debris that historically collected in the upper Sacramento River, giving juvenile fish places to hide from predators, feed, and stay in colder water longer before their migration to the Pacific Ocean.

The Sacramento River is the only river in the world that supports four runs of Chinook salmon, and this project is one of several regional efforts aimed at keeping it that way. An earlier phase of the project already placed 45 similar structures near the South Bonnyview Bridge area.

The longer juvenile fish can safely remain in cold, protected water, the better their odds of surviving the journey downstream.