Chinook salmon in hot water
Once abundant, Chinook have been devastated by habitat loss, water diversions from the rivers where they spawn and drought. They are trending toward extinction. And while recovery is a possibility, it will be an upstream push. The salmon need improved spawning grounds and more floodplain nursery habitat.They also need more cold water. And in 2023 and 2024, both exceptionally wet years, they got it—until, that is, they didn’t. Water temperatures in the middle Sacramento River soared to lethal levels this spring, exceeding basic environmental objectives and threatening salmon born last summer and fall. With no agency taking firm ownership of the problem, the mishap raises the question of who’s at the wheel in managing the state’s reservoirs and rivers for fish and who’s to be held accountable if salmon disappear.