Salmon Return to the North Yuba River in Landmark California Reintroduction Effort

For the first time in nearly a century, spring-run Chinook salmon are once again returning to the cold, clear waters of the North Yuba River.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and its partners have begun a second year of salmon reintroduction efforts in the Sierra County watershed, part of an ambitious plan to restore the threatened species to its historic spawning grounds.

Roughly 350,000 fertilized salmon eggs collected from the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville will be hydraulically injected into the North Yuba River’s gravel beds next month — the same technique that successfully hatched young salmon there last fall.

That first round of reintroduction planted about 300,000 eggs along a 12-mile stretch of river east of Downieville, with juvenile salmon later confirmed through snorkel surveys and trap collections.

The project reached another milestone this spring when 42 adult Chinook salmon from the Feather River were released into the North Yuba — marking the first time adult spring-run salmon have been reintroduced above a rim dam in California. Biologists have since tracked the fish moving through the river system and expect them to spawn naturally this fall — a sight not seen in generations.

“The return of adult salmon to the North Yuba River is an exciting milestone,” said CDFW biologist Michelle Forsha. “Our goal is to reestablish a self-sustaining population in this watershed.”

The project is part of California’s broader salmon recovery strategy, aimed at restoring access to cold-water habitats blocked by dams for nearly 100 years.