The first salmon to use the new fish ladder arrives at Coleman National Fish Hatchery. (photo: Bureau of Reclamation)

Erica Szlosek, External Affairs

The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have just completed a fish ladder project at the Coleman National Fish Hatchery in Anderson, Calif. This ladder has been built to improve fish passage on Battle Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River. It assists the salmon and steelhead passage upstream while allowing the hatchery to continue to collect spawning fall-run Chinook salmon in sufficient numbers to perpetuate the runs at the hatchery.

The new fish ladder is about 10 times larger than the previous fish ladder and will help improve managers’ ability to separate spawning populations of Central Valley spring- and fall-run Chinook salmon. Spring-run Chinook are threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The ladder should contribute to the success of the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project, which is working to improve fish passage and habitat in the upstream reaches of Battle Creek.

The ladder was opened for the first time on Sept 30 for about 40 minutes and during that time 50 to 100 fish entered. Now the ladder is open 8 am to 3 pm each day.

Visitors to Coleman National Fish Hatchery at the annual Return of the Salmon Festival on Oct. 18 will be able to see the new ladder and observe fish in the creek, the hatchery’s holding ponds and in some parts of the new ladder.