(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESTON BROWN, DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED CONSERVATION FOR SALMON PROTECTION AND WATERSHED NETWORK (SPAWN), SAYING:
"We've seen fish in places that they haven't been for almost 25 years.''
California salmon have reclaimed old spawning grounds
after heavy rains soaked California in late 2021
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESTON BROWN, DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED CONSERVATION FOR SALMON PROTECTION AND WATERSHED NETWORK (SPAWN), SAYING:
"And I think that that's definitely a sign of the winter that we've had so far: great rain, long duration storms that have allowed fish to pass through culverts that are also hard to get through, and they can get up into those tributaries."
California received more precipitation from October to December 2021
than in the previous 12 months
Source: National Weather Service
Experts say the state needs several wet years in a row to replenish reservoirs
In the meantime, the fish are benefiting
and laying eggs in nests where babies will hatch
They will then swim out to the ocean as adults later returning to the same area to spawn
(SOUNDBITE) (English) TODD STEINER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TURTLE ISLAND RESTORATION NETWORK, SAYING:
"If we give the fish a fighting chance at survival, they will come back and they're, this endangered population can recover."
