Habitat Restoration: Reconnecting Salmon to the Rivers That Sustain Them
Rebuilding the Places Salmon Need to Survive
Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) advocates for practical, science-driven restoration projects that rebuild spawning and rearing habitat for California’s salmon.
Through strong partnerships with agencies, conservation groups, and local communities, we focus on restoring side channels, floodplains, and river margins, the natural nurseries young salmon depend on to feed, grow, and find shelter.
Restoring What’s Left, and Making It Work Better
More than 80% of California’s historic salmon habitat lies trapped behind dams. But below those barriers, there’s still enormous potential.
GSSA’s Salmon Rebuilding Plan prioritizes restoring side channels and river edges throughout the Central Valley. These slow-moving, shaded areas once teemed with insects and vegetation, perfect for young salmon. By recreating them, we restore the vital conditions that support feeding, growth, and survival.
“You can’t rebuild salmon runs without rebuilding their home.”
— Golden State Salmon Association
Why Floodplains and Side Channels Matter
Floodplains and side channels act like natural salmon nurseries. When rivers spill into these connected areas, baby salmon gain access to abundant food and safe water.
Studies show that well-fed, fast-growing juveniles survive at much higher rates than those confined to deep, fast main channels. Reconnecting rivers to their floodplains is one of the simplest, most effective ways to improve salmon survival.
Where Restoration Can Have the Greatest Impact
Aerial surveys and fieldwork reveal dozens of opportunities across the Central Valley to bring back lost salmon habitat, often by simply re-grading old channels or removing gravel plugs.
Here are a few key focus areas identified in GSSA’s plan:
Upper Sacramento, Feather, American, and Yuba Rivers
Many side channels can be reopened with minimal excavation, improving both rearing and spawning conditions.
Sutter Bypass
Already a functional floodplain supporting salmon from Butte Creek and parts of the Sacramento and Feather Rivers. With modest improvements, it could also support runs from the Yuba.
Yolo Bypass
The largest and most promising rearing area in the Central Valley. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has called for lowering barriers to reconnect it to the Sacramento River, a recommendation GSSA strongly supports. Opening this floodplain provides salmon with rich feeding grounds and a safer migration route that avoids the deadly Delta pumps.
Looking Forward
Every restored channel, floodplain, and bypass moves us closer to self-sustaining salmon runs. GSSA is committed to restoration that works with natural processes, helping rivers function as living systems again, for salmon, for people, and for the health of California’s waters.
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