Merced Irrigation District continues support of salmon restoration along Merced River

The Merced Irrigation District continues efforts to support the restoration of salmon habitat along the Merced River.

In the coming months, biologists will study a new stretch of salmon along the river, focusing on spawning and rearing. They’ll use surveys to study the use of the new stretch of river and the developing juvenile salmon that may rear there, according to an MID news release.

“MID is proud of the work we’re doing, and that’s especially true of our efforts to protect and support migrating salmon on the Merced River,” said MID General Manager John Sweigard in the release.

Between the early to mid 1900s, large dredging machines were placed in the middle of the Merced River between the Crocker Huffman Diversion Dam and Snelling, resulting in salmon spawning and rearing habitat being pulled up from the river. This spread for miles on either side of the river.

While there is a steady flow of water coming downstream, sections of the river lack natural floodplain and habitat needed by salmon and other natural flora and fauna.

In an effort to address the lack of a natural floodplain and suitable habitats for these species, MID completed the Instream and Off Channel Habitat Restoration Project last fall.

The project consisted of “re-grading and enhancing more than 7 acres of riparian and upland habitat along the Merced River. It also involved the enhancement of approximately 1.7 acres of salmonid spawning habitat; 3.9 acres of seasonally inundated juvenile rearing habitat; and approximately 13 acres of the Merced River channel,” the release said.

The project cost $2.27 million and funding came from MID, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“We saw salmon building nests and spawning in the restored section of the river channel only a few weeks after completion,” said Joe Merz, principal scientist with Cramer Fish Sciences, which oversaw the restoration work.

“This project has tremendous opportunity to support salmon production on the Merced River.”

Aside from the completion of the project in the fall, 1,400 feet of river above Henderson Park was also approved for restoration funding by the California Department of Water Resources.

This means that half of the river stretch between Crocker Huffman Dam and Snelling will see the restoration of salmon habitats.

This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.