Project overview
Lower Feather River RST - Below Star Bend
Beginning January 2022, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will operate a new rotary screw trap (RST) monitoring station on the lower Feather River near Star Bend Park and Boat Ramp (RM 17). The program will operate two side-by-side 8-foot diameter RSTs to collect data on emigrating juvenile salmonids in the lower Feather River. Data from this monitoring will be used to inform the development of a juvenile production estimate (JPE) for spring-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River Watershed as required by Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2019-006-00 issued by CDFW to California Department of Water Resources (DWR) for the long-term operation of the State Water Project.
Objectives
The objectives of the lower Feather River RST monitoring program are to:
- Estimate the number of juvenile spring-run emigrating from the Feather River to the Sacramento River and thence the Delta for use in the development of a JPE for spring-run chinook salmon in the Sacramento River watershed.
- Estimate the number of other juvenile salmonids emigrating (i.e., fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead) emigrating from the Feather River to the Sacramento River.
- Monitor, record, and compare movements of emigrating salmonids in varying environmental conditions.
- Provide data on juvenile salmonids emigrating towards the Delta to inform resource and water agency managers regarding real-time water operations decisions.
The expanded juvenile monitoring effort in the Feather River will help resource agency and water managers identify the total number of salmon emigrating from the Feather River watershed and contributing to the spring-run Chinook salmon population entering the Delta.
Project Location
The new lower Feather River RST monitoring station is located on the lower Feather River at RM 17, approximately 2,000 feet downstream from the Star Bend boat launch.
Lower Feather River RST Location Map