18 REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF FISH COMMISSIONERS. 



constructed of rock and cement, is 12 to 18 feet wide, with a fall of one 

 foot in seven, and permits the passage of fish from the pool at the base 

 of the dam up into the canal near the head-gates. To this point the 

 ladder is satisfactory, but the question has been raised regarding the 

 ability of fish to pass the head-gates as they are now operated, owing to 

 the outpouring volume of water. It was our intention to test this point 

 by the use of nets above the head-gates, but no opportunity was had 

 this past season, as there was no apparent run of shad or other migra- 

 tory fish below the dam. The ladder has not been accepted by your 

 Commission, and will not be until all doubt of its working has been 

 removed. 



A reliable correspondent at Auburn reports the presence of shad in 

 the American River below that point and above the Folsom dam. 



A passageway for fish has been cut in the rock on the east side of the 

 dam in the American River near Folsom, owned by the American River 

 Ditch and Milling Company, which removes all doubt of fish being able 

 to pass this obstruction. 



The construction of a fish-ladder upon the dam in the Tuolumne 

 River, above La Grange, is delayed, owing to the fact that it is the joint 

 property of the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, which are now 

 prevented from any proceedings by an injunction pending a decision 

 from the United States Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality 

 of the Wright Irrigation Law. 



The engineering difficulties in constructing a fish-ladder upon this 

 dam are great. The top of the dam is 98 feet above the bed of the 

 river, and the conformation of the banks will make the construction and 

 maintenance of a fishway a difficult and expensive undertaking. The 

 run of migratory fishes at this point is not large. The number of sal- 

 mon that enter this' stream to spawn is small, and after its waters are 

 taken out for irrigating purposes, will probably decrease. We are of 

 the opinion that the construction of a ladder upon this dam is not war- 

 ranted, and would be of little or no benefit to the people or the fish. 



The dam in the Klamath River at Pokegama, in Siskiyou County, has 

 been the source of much trouble and damage to the tributary streams 

 above that point. The ladder built in 1894 was washed out during 

 the high water in the spring of 1895, but was replaced in the fall of that 

 year. It was again carried away in January, 1896, and now different 

 plans have been furnished for its reconstruction. Owing to the loss of 

 this ladder we were prevented from taking the usual number of rainbow 

 trout eggs at the Shovel Creek station. 



It is to be regretted that the law does not permit the Board to cause 

 many of the old ladders upon the dams in the Truckee River to be re- 

 placed, as many of them are small and badly located upon the dams; but. 



