LEARN ABOUT OUR RIVERS

Save California Salmon's focus is mainly on Northern California Rivers, but we recognize that the water cycle and water laws are all interconnected. Below is information on some of our focus rivers which include:

The Scott River
The Shasta River
The Smith River
The Eel River
The Klamath River
The Trinity River
The Salmon River
The Sacramento River

THE SCOTT & SHASTA RIVER

The Scott and Shasta Rivers, along with many creeks in the mid-Klamath region, provide critical habitat for Coho salmon, Spring and Fall Chinook salmon, multiple runs of steelhead, Pacific lamprey (eels), and sturgeon. These rivers offer some of the best Coho salmon habitat in the entire Klamath Basin. However, both the Scott and Shasta Rivers face significant challenges. In the summer and fall months, they are largely dewatered due to alfalfa farming and cattle grazing. The Shasta River is also heavily impacted by several dams, the largest being Dwinnell Dam. Despite these pressures, efforts are underway to remove smaller dams and restore flows to both rivers. This region is largely within Karuk ancestral territory, and the Karuk Tribe is leading vital river and forest restoration efforts.

The Scott River is a 60-mile-long tributary of the Klamath River located in Siskiyou County. It is a groundwater-dependent watershed and holds deep cultural and ecological importance. The Quartz Valley Rancheria, along with the Karuk, Shasta, and Yurok peoples, have long relied on a healthy Scott River for sustenance and ceremony. This includes traditional relationships with Chinook salmon, federally threatened Coho salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey.

Historically, the Scott River has supported thriving salmon populations due to its clear water, abundant spawning beds, and absence of main-stem dams. However, since the Gold Rush era, the river has undergone dramatic transformation. Today, it faces numerous challenges including water diversions, diking, deforestation, and recurring droughts. Of all these issues, the lack of water in the river and its tributaries is perhaps the greatest threat to fish populations, making it difficult for salmon to successfully spawn and rear.

The Shasta River is also a tributary of the Klamath River, stretching about 58 miles and draining the Shasta Valley on the west and north sides of Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range. Its confluence with the Klamath River is just past the town of Yreka, in the territory of the Shasta people. Primarily spring-fed from Mount Shasta, the Shasta River’s nutrient-rich waters once made it one of the most productive salmon streams in the region. Historically, more than 80,000 Chinook salmon returned to the Shasta River annually, making it the second most productive tributary to the Klamath after the Trinity River. Today, however, irrigation dams and tailwater runoff from agricultural fields degrade water temperature, quality, and flow. These impacts have caused Chinook returns to fall to less than 10% of historic numbers, and Coho salmon in the Shasta are now on the verge of extirpation. The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board staff are currently recommending the adoption of General Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) for Commercial Agricultural Operations in the Scott and Shasta River watersheds. Together, these watersheds contain over 640,000 acres of agricultural land.

THE SMITH RIVER

The Smith River in Northern California is the state’s wildest river and the only completely undammed watershed in California. It should be a refuge for salmon, yet unregulated Easter lily farming is poisoning the Smith River estuary and harming protected salmon species. Pesticide use is also impacting the health of the Smith River community, which has the highest mortality rates from heart disease, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease in the state. Smith River Easter lily bulbs are sold nationwide as part of Easter celebrations, and we ask the public to boycott non-organic Easter lilies until their chemical pollution is meaningfully regulated.

The Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation has lived along the Nii~-li~ (Smith River) since time immemorial, with village sites once thriving in places like Gasquet, Big Flat, Hiouchi, and near the river’s mouth. The river remains a sacred and vital place for ceremony, vision quests, and the gathering of traditional foods, medicinal plants, basket-weaving materials, and firewood. It is also home to Lhuk (salmon), a keystone species essential to the ecosystem and the Tolowa way of life. Flowing through serpentine soils high in magnesium and iron, the Smith River carries little sediment and stays clear- ideal conditions for fish that depend on clean water to spawn. The Tolowa even named its flow Hiouchi (O-Yu-cIT), meaning “important” or “beautiful water.”

The Smith River flows from the Klamath Mountains into the Pacific Ocean in Del Norte County, with no dams or diversions along its course. It should support thriving salmon populations, but anadromous fish (especially Coho salmon) are in serious decline. Just upriver from the estuary, four families grow 90% of the nation’s Easter lily bulbs. These farms apply large amounts of pesticide (such as copper, imidacloprid, and permethrin) often during the rainy season, when runoff is high. Numerous studies have shown that these chemicals harm both fish and people.

The Smith River is a core watershed for Coho salmon, which are listed as “threatened” under both state and federal Endangered Species Acts. Coho spend about 18 months of their life in freshwater, making them especially vulnerable to degraded river and estuarine habitats. In 2010 alone, Easter lily farms applied 28,000 pounds of copper hydroxide and 2,544 pounds of copper sulfate- both highly toxic to aquatic life. The EPA warns that copper-based fungicides do not break down in the environment and accumulate in sediments with repeated use. According to a study published in Environmental Science and Technology, dissolved copper levels as low as 2 parts per billion can impair the sensory systems of juvenile Coho salmon, affecting their ability to find food and avoid predators.

The impacts on people are just as alarming. Pesticide exposure happens through airborne spray, contaminated domestic wells, recreation, and the harvesting of traditional foods. These exposures are linked to high cancer rates in the Smith River community. One local elementary school is located just 100 feet from fields where pesticides are applied. In 2001, a farmer was photographed spraying copper hydroxide and chlorothalonil (a known carcinogen banned in the EU, UK, and Switzerlan) while a 30-mph wind carried the chemicals directly toward the school.

Unpermitted and dangerous pollution levels from lily bulb farms have been documented since the 1980s, in violation of the Clean Water Act, but little action has been taken. Although the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board created a voluntary management plan in recent years, it lacked enforceable standards. Now, after 40 years of pollution, the Board is moving forward with a Waste Discharge Requirement (WDR)- a pollution control plan. But for this to matter, the plan must be strong enough to protect fish, people, and the river itself. To take action, we urge the public to stay informed and participate in upcoming Water Board meetings regarding the Smith River WDR and to boycott Easter lily bulbs unless they are organically grown.

THE EEL RIVER

The Eel River is the third largest salmon-bearing river in California and once supported up to 800,000 salmon annually. These salmon sustained commercial fishing and were central to the traditional lifeways of the Wiyot, Round Valley, Bear River, Sherwood Valley, and other Tribes. Today, fish numbers are down to just about 1% of historical levels, and subsistence, commercial, and sport fishing opportunities have been severely restricted. The Eel River watershed spans five counties and supports rich biodiversity. Historically, it was home to at least five distinct runs of anadromous salmonids- fall-run Chinook salmon, coho salmon, winter and summer steelhead, and coastal cutthroat trout. The Round Valley Indian Tribes, the Wiyot Tribe, and others have long relied on the river for cultural practices and food. But as colonization advanced, the river's abundance was exploited. By 1854, a commercial salmon fishery had developed, followed by canneries. The river became a vital economic engine for North Coast communities and continued to provide fishing opportunities for decades.

In the early 1900s, the Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project was established, constructing Scott Dam in Lake County and Cape Horn Dam in Mendocino County. These dams created Lake Pillsbury and the Van Arsdale Reservoir, and diverted Eel River water to a powerhouse in Potter Valley. In 1930, PG&E acquired the project and operated the powerhouse until 2021, when equipment failure halted electricity generation. Still, PG&E has continued diverting Eel River water to satisfy flow requirements and water contracts in the Russian River watershed. These diversions, and the dams that enable them, have had lasting consequences. Scott Dam is an impassable barrier for salmon and steelhead, cutting off access to hundreds of miles of high-quality habitat. With no fish ladder, the dam blocks vital migration paths. Dams degrade salmon habitat by interrupting sediment flow, generating toxic conditions like methylmercury buildup, and warming river temperatures to deadly levels. The American Rivers organization named the Eel one of the ten Most Endangered Rivers in 2023. Once one of the most productive ecosystems on the Pacific Coast, the Eel River now struggles with severely impaired salmonid populations. Cannery records show that historic Chinook runs of 100,000–800,000 fish per year fell to 50,000–100,000 by the mid-20th century, with even further declines since.

Conflicts over water use have grown. The Eel River sustains fish, wildlife, food systems, and recreation, while out-of-basin demands (especially in the Russian River watershed) have diverted water from the river for decades. In March 2023, PG&E disclosed that Scott Dam is at greater risk of seismic damage than previously understood. The company has since begun planning for decommissioning the Potter Valley Project, including removing both dams. This process will restore the river's natural flow and re-open historic habitat to migrating fish.

On January 31, 2025, PG&E released a draft plan that includes a proposal to construct a New Eel-Russian Facility (NERF) using a portion of PG&E’s lands and infrastructure. Since mid-2023, Humboldt County and other stakeholders from the Eel and Russian River Basins have been negotiating a Water Diversion Agreement to determine how water might continue to be diverted while protecting the Eel River and its fisheries. As of February 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been approved by various local Boards and the Round Valley Indian Tribes, with a full agreement expected for review by July 29, 2025. Parties involved include Sonoma Water, Mendocino Inland Water and Power Commission, Round Valley Indian Tribes, California Trout, Trout Unlimited, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Humboldt County has maintained that Eel River water should remain within the watershed but is participating in negotiations if the agreement can advance ecological restoration and fish recovery.

Support for this process has been growing. Eel River locals, fishers, Tribes, counties, and Russian River advocates are coming together to remove the dams and seek water solutions that protect ecosystems. The New Eel-Russian Facility will base water diversions on the best available science, with the goal of aligning with fish recovery goals and broader ecosystem health. It also represents a step toward restorative justice for the Round Valley Indian Tribes and other communities affected by decades of harmful water diversions. The new agreement could foster stronger relationships between the Eel and Russian River regions and create a durable foundation for regional collaboration. Scott Dam blocks access to an estimated 55–89 miles of habitat for Chinook salmon and 198–288 miles for steelhead. It is an aging structure with no spillway, posing safety risks and contributing to toxic algae, warm water, and poor water quality. Cape Horn Dam, which diverts large volumes of water to the Russian River, is also part of the Potter Valley Project and contributes to ecological strain. While the dams are not the only threat to salmon in the Eel River, their removal would be a critical step toward restoring the fishery and helping salmon and trout withstand the growing impacts of climate change.

THE KLAMATH RIVER

The Klamath River may offer the best opportunity for watershed-wide restoration of any major watershed in the lower 48 states. It flows 257 miles from the wetlands near Klamath Falls, Oregon, through the Cascade Range and Klamath Mountains, and into the Pacific Ocean south of Crescent City, California. It has no major cities along its course and is currently undergoing the largest dam removal and salmon restoration project in U.S. history. Four dams—J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate—built between 1908 and 1962, have been removed, returning the river to its natural path.

The Klamath watershed is home to California’s largest salmon-dependent tribes, the Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa Valley Tribes and the Klamath Tribes of Oregon, who have been without salmon for nearly a century. All have been active leaders in dam removal, restoration, and the fight for tribal water rights.

The Klamath is often described as an “upside down” river. It begins in high desert wetlands fed by the Sycan, Williamson, and Wood Rivers. Water quality improves as it moves downstream through mountainous terrain. However, the Lost River is artificially transferred into the Klamath via a manmade drain at Tule Lake Refuge to support commercial agriculture, contributing to water quality issues. The Klamath wetlands also contain the nation’s oldest National Wildlife Refuges and support the highest number of migrating birds on the Pacific flyway south of Alaska. Unfortunately, many of these refuges are drained, diked, and farmed, and agricultural runoff pollutes the river.

Below Upper Klamath Lake, the river is joined by major tributaries, including the Shasta, Scott, Salmon, and Trinity Rivers. While the Scott and Shasta Rivers contain some of the best remaining salmon habitat in the basin, they are heavily diverted for alfalfa production in the Scott Valley.

The struggle over Klamath River flows has been one of the most contentious water battles in the West. In 2002, a decision by the George W. Bush administration to allocate more water to Upper Klamath Basin farmers triggered the death of over 65,000 adult salmon- one of the largest fish kills in U.S. history. The aftermath included historically low salmon returns, commercial fishing shutdowns in Oregon and California, and devastating impacts on tribal subsistence fishing for the Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa Valley Tribes. Years of subsequent juvenile fish kills followed. That catastrophic event helped push long-overdue legal and political shifts. In Oregon, the Klamath Tribes were confirmed as the senior water rights holders in the region. While California tribes’ water rights remain unquantified, a recent court ruling has led to higher spring flows from the Klamath Project to reduce juvenile fish deaths.

For nearly 100 years, the dams had blocked salmon and steelhead from reaching over 400 miles of habitat, disrupted Indigenous culture, and harmed water quality. After more than two decades of litigation, organizing, and persistence from tribes, conservationists, and commercial fisheries groups, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a dam removal plan in late 2022. On August 28, 2024, the final structures at Iron Gate and Copco No. 1 dam sites were removed.

The restoration of the Klamath River is now well underway. The Yurok Tribe is leading the massive effort to revegetate the former reservoirs, collecting seeds and replanting 2,200 acres with native species. The project will benefit salmon, improve water quality, and restore ecological and cultural health to the entire Klamath Basin. In recognition of this historic achievement, American Rivers named the Klamath River the 2024 River of the Year.

THE TRINITY RIVER

The Trinity River, the largest tributary to the Klamath River and the last major river to join it, is also California’s only out-of-basin river diverted into the Sacramento River system. This diversion, part of the Central Valley Project (CVP), poses an ongoing threat to the Trinity River’s ecological and cultural integrity. Historically protected by federal law and tribal agreements, the Trinity’s flows are increasingly under pressure from state and federal water planning processes that treat the river primarily as a water supply source rather than a vital and unique ecosystem. Plans for a new Biological Opinion for the CVP, combined with proposals like the Sites Reservoir and massive Delta tunnels, further threaten the Trinity's flows, water quality, and temperature (conditions critical for salmon survival.)

The Trinity River’s diversion to the Sacramento River was made possible by the construction of two dams in the mid-1900s. Although these projects were legally bound to protect fish and local water rights, more than 80% of the river’s water was soon diverted to the Westlands Water District. In 1999, the Department of Interior and the Hoopa Valley Tribe signed the Trinity River Record of Decision (ROD), which allocated 49% of river water to ecosystem restoration. In 2001, the catastrophic Klamath River fish kill highlighted the need for stronger protections, and in 2014 the Lower Klamath Long-Term Plan was approved to use Trinity River water to prevent further disasters. Despite these efforts, protections for Trinity reservoir storage and state-recognized tribal water rights have remained inadequate. During the recent drought, Trump-era Biological Opinions failed to safeguard Trinity flows or temperatures, causing salmon mortality and impacting tribal food security and cultural practices. Today, the Hoopa and Yurok Tribes continue to face some of the lowest salmon returns in history, as well as toxic algae blooms that further harm traditional use of the river. Some of the new alternatives being considered in the current Biological Opinion process could weaken the existing ROD instead of strengthening protections.

The Trinity River is central to the cultural survival of the Hoopa and Yurok peoples, who have long relied on it for food, ceremony, and connection to place. California’s water rights laws, many of which remain unchanged from their racist origins, often exclude Tribes from protection. This systemic exclusion allows upstream water users (particularly agriculture and timber operations) to drain rivers like the Trinity while Tribes suffer fish kills, landslides, and degraded ecosystems. Federal trusteeship is supposed to defend Tribal water rights, but California asserts that Tribes lack recognized rights because the state never ratified treaties- a position that contradicts federal law but continues to go unchallenged. The Trinity River ROD is one of the few legal victories securing tribal water protections, but it is outdated and now under threat from new water plans and climate impacts.

Climate change is compounding the damage. Shrinking snowpacks and intensifying wildfires have disrupted flows and worsened water quality in the Trinity River. As the Sacramento River and Bay-Delta region struggle with the impacts of climate change, additional pressure is placed on the Trinity as a backup water source- often without regard to ecological limits or tribal rights.

The Trinity River is not only crucial for salmon in its own watershed but plays a key role in sustaining Klamath River salmon populations, particularly during the ongoing dam removal and restoration efforts. Yet in state and federal water planning, the Trinity is treated as a secondary consideration within the Sacramento River system. Key environmental plans (including the Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan and Biological Opinions for the CVP and State Water Project) are over two decades old and fail to account for the Trinity’s needs. The preferred alternative in the Bay-Delta Plan, known as the Voluntary Agreements or Healthy Rivers and Landscapes, would increase diversions from the Trinity to the Sacramento River while offering little or no protection in return. With no guaranteed cold water carryover storage, temperature protections, or flow minimums, Trinity Lake could again be drawn down to crisis levels during drought, repeating the devastating salmon kills of 2002 and undermining hard-fought restoration progress in the Klamath Basin.

The Bureau of Reclamation, NOAA Fisheries, and the Sites Reservoir Authority are moving forward with major planning decisions, including the new Central Valley Coordinated Operating Agreement Biological Opinion. The public must demand that the Trinity River be given its own Biological Assessment and Opinion and that the Sites Reservoir Final Environmental Impact Report explicitly protects Trinity water and storage levels. Protections promised in Water Quality Orders from 1989 and 1990 have yet to be fulfilled, and the Trinity River remains excluded from many planning processes that determine its fate.

Public involvement is essential. We urge everyone to sign the petition, submit comments on the Central Valley Water Plan, and speak at upcoming State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) hearings. We must make clear to the SWRCB, the Governor, the California EPA, and agencies like the Department of Fish and Wildlife that diverting more Trinity water without guaranteed protections is unacceptable. If these agencies continue to fail in their duty, the Tribes and their traditional fisheries will suffer yet another devastating loss. The promise of the Klamath River dam removal effort depends on protecting the Trinity River now- its flows, its fish, and the communities that have stewarded it since time immemorial.

THE SALMON RIVER

The Salmon River is the last stronghold besides the South Fork Trinity River for the imperiled Spring Chinook salmon. The Spring Chinook used to thrive in the millions in the Upper Klamath Basin above the Klamath River dams but now number in the hundreds. Unlike other rivers, the Klamath River’s Spring Chinook salmon are not regulated as a separate species and therefore can be fished or killed even when fishing is shut down or curtailed for fall run Chinook salmon, which are not endangered. The Karuk Tribe is currently petitioning for listing of the Spring Chinook salmon as not only a separate species, but also a engaged species. 2017 was the worst Fall Chinook salmon run returns in history. This is largely due to fish diseases that kill juvenile salmon in low water years. Dam removal and higher spring flows could largely prevent these fish disease.

THE SACRAMENTO RIVER

The Sacramento River is the second largest river on the West Coast and a major source of water for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay, which together form the nation’s largest estuary. This river system provides drinking water for over 25 million people and is home to endangered species like the Delta smelt and winter-run Chinook salmon, both of which face serious risk of extinction. Historically, the Sacramento River has been the most reliable source of salmon for California’s commercial and recreational fisheries. However, increased water diversions, prolonged drought, and pollution from commercial farming have drastically reduced salmon populations in recent years. Over the last twenty years, roughly 80% of the commercial salmon fishing fleet has been lost.

Large dams and diversions on the Sacramento and its tributaries have blocked the majority of habitat for ESA-listed winter and spring-run salmon. Tribes such as the Pit River and Winnemem Wintu have not been able to harvest salmon since the completion of Shasta Dam, which also flooded much of the Winnemem Wintu’s ancestral land and sacred sites. These tribes are now leading efforts to reintroduce salmon and improve fish passage at Shasta Dam, while actively opposing the dam’s proposed raising and the construction of new dams like the Sites Reservoir.

Among the Sacramento River’s main tributaries are the Pit, McCloud, Feather, Yuba, American, and Battle Creeks, each heavily impacted by dams that block fish migration. The Feather River, the Sacramento’s principal tributary, stretches just over 210 miles from its most distant Sierra Nevada headwaters, with a 73-mile main stem feeding into Lake Oroville. This river has historically supported species like Chinook salmon, steelhead, catfish, shad, and bass, and is popular for recreational fishing and boating. The Upper Feather River Watershed is the ancestral home of the Mountain Maidu and holds cultural significance for the Washoe, Northern Paiute, and Nisenan Tribes. Unfortunately, the Gold Rush and construction of the Oroville Dam drowned villages, ceremonial grounds, and burial sites, forcibly displacing families with minimal compensation. Tribal water rights were ignored, and thousands of ancestral remains and sacred items were stolen, many of which remain unrecovered. Today, much of the Feather River’s water is diverted to support irrigation for agriculture, further stressing the river’s health and fish populations.

Battle Creek is another important tributary originating near Mount Lassen. It offers ideal habitat for many anadromous and freshwater fish species but has been inaccessible to migrating salmon and steelhead for decades due to eight dams constructed as part of the Battle Creek Hydroelectric Project. This project was initially built to supply power for mineral extraction and smeltery operations in Shasta County and is now owned by PG&E, which plans to surrender its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license by 2026 due to aging infrastructure. The decommissioning process presents a critical opportunity to restore historic habitats, although the full extent of infrastructure removal is still under discussion. Tribal stewards, including the Wintu Tribe of Redding Rancheria and the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, continue the Yana Tribe’s legacy of connection to Battle Creek and advocate for ecological recovery.

The hydropower project has severely impacted salmon and steelhead by blocking access to prime spawning habitat. Restoration efforts, initiated in 1999, have focused on removing diversion dams, improving fish passage, and modifying infrastructure. A significant milestone in this process is the planned removal of the Inskip Diversion Dam on South Fork Battle Creek, about eight miles upstream from its confluence with the main stem. Removing this and other dam structures is key to restoring salmon populations to their historic levels, benefiting both the ecosystem and local Tribes.

Efforts to protect and restore the Feather River watershed are also growing. The Redbud Resource Group leads the Feather River Advocacy Project, which builds Tribal capacity to steward land and water through cultural revitalization, water policy education, and land-based learning. This work empowers Tribal members to protect the river by combining cultural, historical, political, and scientific perspectives.

Major state-led efforts are underway to restore flows and protect habitat in the upper Sacramento River basin. However, these efforts face challenges from new dam proposals, pipelines, and diversions, alongside policy rollbacks aiming to maximize water deliveries for agriculture and urban use, threatening fish recovery on the Sacramento River.