Symposium Summary: Implementation of the San Joaquin River Settlement Agreement to Restore Chinook Salmon to the San Joaquin River, California

The session highlighted ongoing efforts and challenges faced by the San Joaquin River Restoration Program, a multi-agency, large scale, long-term restoration project in California to restore Chinook Salmon and other native fishes to the San Joaquin River and improve water delivery while reducing or avoiding impacts to water availability. Since the completion of Friant Dam and subsequent water diversions, sections of the San Joaquin River have been dry in all but the wettest years. There have been setbacks in the implementation of the restoration program, including seepage though and under levees, land subsidence, environmental compliance (permitting), design of fish passage structures, and limited funding availability. Due to these challenges, the timelines originally set forth in 2006 have been pushed back. But progress has been made and data informing future actions has been gathered. Models have been developed to predict water temperatures and availability in various water years to better manage limited water supplies, and separate models predict habitat needs of Chinook Salmon at various life stages and locations in the river. Additionally, Chinook Salmon have been reintroduced and successful spawning has been documented. Continuing studies will identify factors that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement restoration goals.   — Jerrad Goodell, USFWS, [email protected] Read the symposium abstracts here.