30 



DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



Fish Rescue 



The effect of large multiple purpose dams on princi- 

 pal river systems is reflected in the department's fish 

 rescue operations. Each year, more runoff water is 

 brought under control. The overflow areas in the 

 central vallev are reduced, and less fish rescue work 

 becomes necessar\-. 



Warniwater fish rescue operations centered mainly 

 in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley areas, while 

 salmon and steelhead salvage work was carried on 

 mainly in the north coast sections of the State. The 

 latter takes place during periods of low water on 

 coastal streams, when steelhead and salmon fingeriings 

 are trapped in pools or lagoons. Nearly 1,500,000 fin- 

 geriings were saved and transplanted during the p^t 

 two years. 



A tabulation of the fish rescued is found in Tables 

 16 and 17, Appendix. 



STREAM AND LAKE IMPROVEMENT 



Restoration and improvement of environment is in- 

 creasing rapidly in importance as a fish management 

 tool in California. There is growing emphasis on 

 stream and lake improvement of many sorts, aimed 

 at producing more fish as well as putting more of those 

 already present into the creel. Increased emphasis also 

 is being given to improvement of warmwater lakes 

 by introducing new species of game or forage fish. 



Major objectives of the department's stream and 

 lake improvement program are: 



1. To remove barriers to the migration of fishes, so 

 that the adults may reach suitable spawning areas 

 and the young may pass downstream. 



2. To increase stream flows to aid fish migration, 

 and to keep streams from drying up. 



'^'''S 



3. To improve the habitat in existing lakes and 

 streams and to create new waters where it is eco- 

 nomically feasible to do so. 



4. To increase and improve spawning grounds. 



5. To control undesirable species by chemical treat- 

 ment of lakes and streams. 



6. To improve forage conditions for sport fishes. 



7. To provide increased utilization of the resource 

 when it is safe to do so. 



During the biennium the scope of this work was 

 carried out by the five regions and was materially in- 

 creased by financial assistance from Wildlife Conserva- 

 tion Board funds, Federal Aid Project F-4-D, and 

 county fine moneys. 



Barrier Removal 



Major work on north coast stream clearance during 

 the biennium was accomplished through the use of 

 Federal Aid in Fish Restoration funds (D-J Project 

 F-4-D). Slides and waterfalls forming barriers were 

 removed or altered in eleven streams from Monterey 

 County northward, allowing easier passage of steel- 

 head and salmon into 1 30 miles of stream. 



Removal of a barrier on Mill Creek, Tehama 

 County, made some 35 miles of stream more readily 

 accessible to salmon and steelhead. 



Log jams were removed from nine streams utilized 

 by anadromous fish. The majority of these were in the 

 north-coastal area where log jams are generally con- 

 ceived as a by-product of logging activities. Benefits 

 derived by their removal are often transitory in na- 

 ture, being reaggravated by the next period of high or 

 abnormally high waters. 



With the advent of enlightened watershed manage- 

 ment, the rate of development of log jams should de- 

 crease. All log jams removed by the department were 

 those where the determination of the party responsible 

 could not be ascertained. Most of this work was ac- 

 complished by Federal Aid crews. 



Minor log and debris removal was also done on var- 

 ious lakes to insure access of fish to and from spawning 

 tributaries. 



An abandoned mining dam was removed on Cecil 

 Creek, Siskiyou County, to allow passage of anadro- 

 mous fish. Beaver dams on several streams were re- 

 moved to prevent flooding and to allow spawning 

 migrations of trout to pass. In most instances the game 

 manager live-trapped the beavers and transplanted 

 them to more suitable areas. 



Stream Flow Maintenance Dams 



The department's stream flow maintenance dam 

 construction program designed to improve natural 

 trout habitat, has been continued under the auspices of 



tog raft used in chemical treatment of Tamarack Lake, Mono Couniy. 

 Materials at hand often are used in back country activities. 



