Fighting for Salmon. Delivering Results.

Every river mile, hatchery reform, and policy win matters. The Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) works year-round to restore salmon runs, improve hatchery survival, and protect the rivers and oceans that sustain California’s fishing families.

Here’s how we’ve made a lasting impact, and what we’re still fighting for.

1. Protecting Salmon Flows and Habitat

Keeping Rivers Alive.
Since 2010, GSSA has led the charge to protect the Sacramento, Feather, and other vital salmon rivers from destructive water projects and unsustainable pumping.

  • Stopped harmful projects: With key victories between 2017 and 2022, GSSA helped defeat proposals to raise Shasta Dam and successfully pressured the Sites Reservoir project to scale back, protecting critical spawning and rearing habitat.
  • Defended salmon in court: Legal victories from 2019 through 2022 helped block excessive Delta pumping and harmful federal water diversion rules.
  • Restored natural habitat: Several habitat restoration wins between 2018 and 2022 helped GSSA restore side channels and floodplains along the Feather and Sacramento Rivers, creating miles of new rearing areas for young salmon.
  • Secured restoration funding: A series of advocacy wins between 2017 and 2020 helped steer $20 million in federal funds toward salmon habitat recovery projects across the Central Valley.

Impact: More clean, cold water in our rivers — and more places for baby salmon to grow strong before heading to the ocean.

2. Strengthening Hatchery Success

Smart Hatcheries. Stronger Salmon.
GSSA has transformed how California manages its hatchery fish — from where they’re released to how success is measured.

  • Smarter releases: GSSA’s sustained hatchery advocacy from 2020 until today has persuaded CDFW to truck hatchery fish during drought years and move release sites farther west in the Bay, doubling survival rates.
  • Innovative Coleman Hatchery pilot: This multi-year pilot project ran from 2019 through 2022. Completing a multi-year project, trucking salmon 75 miles downstream to safer release sites. Acoustic tagging proved a huge survival boost.
  • Scaling up success: A direct follow-on to GSSA’s successful Coleman Hatchery pilot, this project, which has been running since spring 2022, is a partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to release 2 million additional Coleman Hatchery fry annually, with parent-based tagging (PBT) DNA tagging to track results.
  • Better infrastructure: Between 2019 and 2021, GSSA secured state funding for new tanker trucks to increase release flexibility and survival during drought conditions.

Impact: Millions more hatchery salmon survive their journey from river to ocean.

3. Advancing Salmon Science & Accountability

Turning Policy into Progress.
Through persistence and partnerships, GSSA has helped state and federal agencies fix long-standing problems that kill salmon before they ever reach the ocean.

  • Feather River hot-water problem (2018–present): GSSA identified the long-standing hot-water problem with the Thermalito Afterbay along the Feather River, which kills tens of thousands of salmon each year, and helped bring agencies together to find a solution. We’ve made progress, securing agreement among state and federal stakeholders on the best technical fix, but work remains to resolve the issue.
  • Fair funding: Between 2019 and 2021, GSSA successfully negotiated a new cost-sharing agreement that made the CA Dept. of Water Resources pay its fair share of Feather River Hatchery operations, relieving CDFW of an unfair financial burden and strengthening hatchery support for salmon recovery.
  • Scientific tracking: Between 2019 and 2024, GSSA championed the use of acoustic and DNA tagging to track salmon survival and improve accountability across state and federal hatchery programs, ensuring management decisions are driven by science, not speculation.

Impact: Real science guiding better management — not politics or guesswork.

4. Amplifying Salmon’s Voice

Educating, Advocating, Inspiring.
GSSA ensures salmon and fishermen are heard in every debate that affects our rivers.

  • Public awareness: In 2021 and 2022, GSSA produced radio and media campaigns exposing the impacts of San Francisco’s Tuolumne River water diversions and Delta pumping — raising public awareness and pressure to protect salmon and river health.
  • Legislative action: Between 2017 and 2022, GSSA collaborated with state leaders and environmental allies to strengthen salmon protections and overturn harmful federal water rules — restoring stronger, science-based safeguards for California’s rivers.
  • Community connection: In 2022, GSSA hosted youth fishing trips with the Richmond and San Mateo Police Activities Leagues and the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, giving kids their first experience on the water.

Impact: Thousands of Californians are better informed about the crisis — and part of the solution.

5. Defending Salmon Year After Year

Even as droughts intensify and water politics grow tougher, GSSA continues to:

  • Protect winter and spring river flows vital to salmon survival.
  • Challenge harmful water diversion plans in state and federal court.
  • Advocate for balanced water management rooted in science.
  • Restore the connection between rivers, fish, and the communities that depend on them.

Because a future with salmon is a future worth fighting for.

Join the Fight for California Salmon

Your support makes this work possible, from courtroom victories to hatchery innovations. Become a Member or Donate today.

Our Accomplishments Over the Years

Every season brings new challenges for California’s salmon, and new victories for those working to protect them. From court wins and habitat restoration to smarter hatchery practices and community outreach, GSSA’s work has delivered lasting impact for salmon, rivers, and fishing families.

Click below to explore our accomplishments year by year.

2022 – 2024 Accomplishments → (Click to view)
  • GSSA and allies’ legal efforts succeeded in getting the Biden Administration to withdraw harmful water operation rules for the federal Central Valley Project, which the Trump Administration issued. This will reduce harmful water diversions.  
  • CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife will copy this fry release program in 2023.
  • Radio ads produced and paid for by GSSA have highlighted SF’s hardline stance against sharing water with the environment in the Tuolumne River, the SFPUC’s water source.
  • GSSA and allies remain in court challenging State rules currently allowing unsustainably high levels of Delta water exports.
  • GSSA succeeded in convincing CDFW to truck all hatchery fish in the drought conditions of 2021 and 2022.  Survival benefits will be very significant as a result.
  • GSSA succeeded in convincing CDFW to use release sites further west in the Bay for hatchery releases, a move that will double survival compared to prior bay release sites.
  • GSSA played a key role in overcoming federal opposition to increased releases in 2021 and 2022 at Ft Baker in Sausalito, one of the highest survival spots for trucked fish.
  • Forged a partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to produce and release an additional two million fry from the Coleman Hatchery starting in the spring of 2022, and include parent-based DNA tagging to assess success. This program will repeat in 2023 and 2024.
  • Completed a three-year pilot project trucking Coleman Hatchery salmon (the largest but worst-performing hatchery) 75 miles downstream to a safe release site to boost survival. Acoustic tags showed a huge survival advantage for the trucked fish.
  • Played a key role in getting federal funds reinstated for side channel rearing habitat restoration in the Sacramento Basin. This resulted in miles of additional side channel habitat being restored.
  • Moved the state to finally work on a major hot water problem in the Feather River that’s killing salmon after 14 years of delay. (This could spare 30,000 Feather River hatchery fish from culling and open an additional 15 miles of spawning and rearing habitat).
  • Played a key role in deleting a funding burden on the CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife by getting the CA Dept. of Water Resources to pick up a bigger, fairer share of hatchery costs at Feather River Hatchery.
  • Lead a successful effort to protect Sacramento River winter and spring flows by stopping the raising of Shasta Dam.
  • Played a central role in restoring a major Feather River floodplain that will provide prime salmon rearing habitat.
  • Succeeded in getting the Sites Reservoir and dam project scaled back after publicizing the destruction it would do to salmon.  
  • GSSA continues to ensure a voice for salmon in the press and public debate and to educate fishermen.
  • Worked with the Richmond and San Mateo Police Activities Leagues and the Salesian Boys and Girls Club to host four kids’ fishing trips with the Roger Thomas grant this season.
2020 – 2021 Accomplishments → (Click to view)
  • GSSA succeeded in convincing CDFW to truck all of its hatchery fish in the drought conditions of spring 2021.  Survival benefits will be very significant as a result.
  • GSSA succeeded in convincing CDFW to use release sites further west in the Bay for hatchery releases, offering massive increases in survival over prior bay release sites. 
  • Succeeded in year two of a pilot project, trucking Coleman Hatchery salmon (the largest but worst-performing hatchery) 75 miles downstream to a safe release site to boost survival. Acoustic tags showed a huge survival advantage for trucked fish. 
  • Got the state to fund two new tanker trucks to increase the survival of hatchery salmon by varying release site timing and location.  This has proven especially valuable in moving millions of drought-threatened fish in 2021.
  • Played a key role in getting federal funds reinstated for side channel rearing habitat restoration in 2020 in the Sacramento Basin. This resulted in miles of side channel habitat being restored.
  • Helped win approval from the federal government for increased releases in 2021 at Ft Baker in Sausalito, one of the highest survival spots for trucked fish.
  • Got the state to finally start fixing a major hot water problem in the Feather River that’s killing salmon after 14 years of delay. (This could spare 30,000 Feather River hatchery fish from culling and open an additional 15 miles of spawning and rearing habitat).
  • GSSA and allies won a court order in the spring of 2020 to block increased pumping from the Delta and other actions harmful to salmon by the federal government.  
  • Played a key role in deleting a funding burden on the CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife by getting the CA Dept of Water Resources to pick up a bigger share of hatchery costs at Feather River Hatchery. 
  • Lead the successful effort to protect Sacramento River winter flows by stopping the raising of Shasta Dam.
  • Played a central role in restoring a major Feather River floodplain that will provide prime salmon rearing habitat.
  • GSSA action helped steer $20 million in federal salmon restoration funds to projects aimed primarily at habitat restoration for Central Valley salmon runs. 
  • GSSA continues to ensure a voice for salmon in the press and public debate and to educate fishermen.  
  • With GSSA’s urging, California sued the federal government to reverse the giant boost in Delta water pumping plans, harmful to salmon and other wildlife
2019 – 2020 Accomplishments → (Click to view)
  • Lead the successful effort to protect Sacramento River winter flows by stopping the raising of Shasta Dam.
  • In court now to stop an overly-aggressive federal water diversion and pumping plan in the Central Valley that is killing salmon and other wildlife.
  • Got the biggest salmon hatchery in the state to experimentally truck its fish to a release site to double the survival of the fish.
  • Convinced the state to agree to nearly double the number of fish released near the ocean, significantly boosting survival.
  • Got the state to finally start fixing a major hot water problem in the Feather River that’s killing salmon after 14 years of delay. (This could spare 30,000 Feather River hatchery fish from culling).
  • Played a key role in deleting a funding burden on the CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife by getting the CA Dept of Water Resources to pick up a bigger share of hatchery costs at Feather River Hatchery. 
  • Played a key role in getting federal funding directed to eradicating major predator problems for salmon in the Sacramento Basin.
  • Lead the successful effort to protect Sacramento River winter flows by stopping the raising of Shasta Dam.
  • GSSA and allies are leading legal challenges to block increased pumping from the Delta and other actions harmful to salmon by the federal government. 
  • Launched a pilot project trucking Coleman Hatchery salmon (the most significant but worst performing hatchery) 75 miles downstream to a safe release site to boost survival.
  • Won court case to stop construction of two gigantic Delta diversion intakes and tunnels to siphon off Sacramento River water needed by salmon. 
  • Won effort with allies to stop the raising of Shasta Dam, which would rob water needed by salmon and deny the Sacramento River much-needed, periodic flushing flows.
  • Won state support for a major Feather River floodplain restoration; work is currently being completed.
  • Continued to elevate scientific findings of harm to salmon if the Sites Reservoir and dams are built as proposed initially, without salmon protections built in.  
  • GSSA action helped steer $20 million in federal salmon restoration funds to projects aimed primarily at habitat restoration for Central Valley salmon runs. 
  • GSSA continues to ensure a voice for salmon in the press and public debate and to educate fishermen. 
  • With major GSSA involvement, the state legislature passed a bill (ultimately vetoed) that called for the retention of salmon protections that existed before the Trump administration.
  • With GSSA’s urging, California refused to go along with the federal Delta water pumping plans in the fall that would harm the Delta’s aquatic food production.
  • Took many kids, women anglers, state agency workers, and conservation NGO staffers salmon fishing this past season to experience for themselves what it’s all about.
2017 – 2018 Accomplishments → (Click to view)
  • After GGSA’s urging, the State agreed in April 2018 to pulse flow on the Feather River to help baby spring-run salmon make their way to the ocean.
  • The proposal to raise Shasta Dam, which would rob more water needed by salmon, was stopped in Congress after GGSA action.
  • GGSA and others file suit to stop proposal to build two gigantic Delta diversion intakes and tunnels to siphon off Sacramento River water needed by salmon.
  • GGSA mounts a public education effort spotlighting harm to salmon if the Sites Reservoir and dams are built as currently proposed in the Sacramento Valley.
  • GGSA gets state legislators to successfully push the CA Dept. of Water Resources to drop opposition and support restoration of a key piece of salmon rearing habitat in the Feather River.
  • GGSA action helps steer $20 million in federal salmon restoration funds to projects aimed primarily at habitat restoration for Central Valley salmon runs.
  • GGSA and allies win state approval for new flood control strategy that reduces flood threats while creating more salmon habitat.
  • GGSA is part of a successful effort to block increased pumping from the Delta by the federal government.
  • GGSA successfully prods State to advance work to open Yolo Bypass, one of the last great places in the Central Valley for salmon rearing.
  • GGSA played a key role in winning passage of the State Legislature resolution, making salmon restoration a high priority for all state agencies.
  • GGSA continues to ensure a voice for salmon in the press and public debate.
  • Californians experienced a 2017 fishing season, primarily because of GGSA-inspired increased trucking of hatchery fish during the height of the 2015 drought.
  • GGSA led the successful effort to get the CA Dept. of Water Resources to pay for tagging Feather River hatchery salmon.