New Endangered Russian River Salmon 'Nursery' to Open at Lake Sonoma

 Congressman Mike Thompson and other key federal, state and local officials will open a new $4 million building north of Healdsburg housing an innovative program to help bring coho salmon back to the Russian River watershed.

Thompson and the other leaders will be present as area media get a sneak peak Wednesday of the Milt Brandt Visitor Center, which is not yet open to the public. It was not immediately clear when the new facility would be available to the general public.

Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the 25,000-square-foot facility at the base of Warm Springs Dam will help sustain and improve the multi-agency Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program.

The coho broodstock building is one of several ARRA-funded improvements constructed at Lake Sonoma. In total, more than $13 million was spent at the hatchery and visitor center facilities, on dam safety improvements and on a variety  of other projects at Lake Sonoma.

 The broodstock program was created in 2001, when coho in the Russian River were teetering on the brink of extinction. Remaining Russian River coho were captured by California Department of Fish and Game biologists and brought to the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery at Lake Sonoma, where they were spawned based on a genetic matrix developed to mimics natural spawning.

This initial effort to save the last remaining Russian River coho led to the formation of a multi-agency broodstock program. Partnership agencies include the U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers, National Marine Fishery Service, California Department of Fish and Game, University Cooperative Extension, and Sonoma County Water Agency.

 Unlike traditional hatcheries, the broodstock program releases young coho into their historic spawning grounds where, as adults, they return to spawn. The goal of the program is to recover the self-sustaining wild population.

 In 2004, more than 6,000 young coho raised from the program were released into three tributaries of the Russian River. The program is currently releasing 172,000 juvenile coho annually into 19 tributaries of the Russian River.

In winter 2011-2012, 185 adult coho released as juveniles were counted migrating upstream in the Russian River. Other adult coho were found in tributaries. Until now, the program has been located in outdoor in net-covered tanks that have been exposed to the elements and predators.

The new building provides necessary light and air, while providing better protection to the tanks and provide for a higher degree of quality control and fish health. The new structure is also designed to allow for expansion of the broodstock program.