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Dry Creek Salmon Count by Bill Templin, Board Member, Once again, a good volunteer turnout of over 30 people participated in walking 16 reaches of Dry Creek and it's tributaries including Secret Ravine, Miner's Ravine, Antelope Creek, Linda Creek, and Cirby Creek. The intrepid volunteers were documenting the number of live salmon, carcasses and redds in the salmon's spawning beds in the stream gravels. Volunteers included individuals and groups such as the Granite Bay Flycasters as well as federal, state, and local governments. According to Gregg Bates, Watershed Coordinator and Dry Creek Conservancy's Conservator, "These are the lowest numbers in the 10 years that we have been doing the count. Numbers are apparently low all along the coast and may be related to ocean currents." The total number of live fish counted dropped again this year to 21, as compared with 127 in 2005 and 390 in 2004. The first year that I participated in this count (2004) we counted 68 live fish in the same quarter-mile reach of Dry Creek where we counted 15 last year and only 6 this year! Declines also have been observed in the number of carcasses and redds counted, with totals dropping from 87 carcasses in 2004 to only 20 in 2006, and redds dropping from 84 in 2004 to 43 in 2006. More information about the Dry Creek Conservancy, its salmon surveys, and other activities can be attained by visiting their website and reading their quarterly newsletter at the Dry Creek Conservancy
Sacramento Urban Creeks Council |
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