Another week, another post on how scientists and fisheries managers measure steelhead escapement. Last week, we described redd counts and why they are an important tool. This week, we review snorkel surveys. Snorkel surveys entail divers swimming in the river and visually counting adult steelhead. Like redd counts, snorkel surveys do not cover an entire river, but rather break …
We Are Wild Steelheaders
Wild Steelheaders United is announcing our “We are Wild Steelheaders Month,” a celebration of wild steelhead across their native range in the Western U.S. For the next month we will be posting videos of anglers up and down the West Coast, discussing why wild steelhead matter to them. Anglers of all persuasions support better management of wild steelhead stocks. But to reach …
How many steelhead can you fit into a school?
It depends on how old and big they are. Over the past year we have talked extensively about the value of life history diversity in steelhead, and in particular, that a broader range in spawn timing – which results in a broader range of emergence for juveniles – can help ameliorate density-related impacts by spreading steelhead of various ages …
California water supply takes hit from marijuana
Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife By Brian Johnson, Curtis Knight and Mike Sweeney Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle California, the nation’s top agricultural producer, also is the source of up to 70 percent of the marijuana consumed in the United States. The marijuana industry is largely unregulated and there are few protections to ensure illegal water …
The Russian River, Drought, Fish and Wine
By Sam Davidson It’s tough times in California right now, water-wise. The Golden State is more like the Vermilion State – that being the color of extreme (or even exceptional) drought conditions in much of the state, in maps such as this. California’s salmon, steelhead, and trout are suffering as much or more than any other aquatic species in the current …