Salmon Swim Far Upstream In East Bay Creek For The First Time In Decades: 'Incredibly Gratifying'

FREMONT, CA — Salmon are beginning to travel far upstream the Alameda Creek for the first time in more than 70 years, a nonprofit said.

A major gas pipeline owned by PG&E in the Sunol Valley upstream, near the I-680 overpass, was preventing salmon from going upstream in the area for decades. The pipeline had been covered in a protective layer of concrete, known as an erosion control mat, which stuck out of the creek, according to CalTrout, a nonprofit and one of the largest freshwater conservation organizations in the state.

But through decades of advocacy work from nonprofits and the help of PG&E, the pipeline was lowered and moved downstream, CalTrout officials said.

The pipeline being moved removed the last unnatural barrier in the area and connected more than 20 miles of stream, CalTrout officials said in a statement Monday.

"We're so excited to play a part in the historic return of steelhead trout and Chinook salmon to Sunol Valley," PG&E Vice President of Gas Construction Kevin Armato said in a statement Monday. "We’re looking forward to seeing these fish and other species thrive for generations to come.”

Flows were high enough in the winter to allow fish to pass through. But California's inconsistent winters saw droughts and deluges that impacted fishing traveling through the area, according to CalTrout.

Last week, CalTrout biologists observed Chinook salmon traveling upstream in the area for the first time since the 1950s, the nonprofit said.

“We just wrapped up construction, and the fish are already finding their way home," Claire Buchanan, CalTrout Central California regional director, said in a statement Monday. "It’s incredibly gratifying to see these incredible species reclaim crucial habitat that they have been locked out of for decades."

Alameda Creek flows 40 miles from Packard Ridge, a remote area in the Diablo Range east of San Jose, to Fremont, where the lower 12 miles of the creek are enclosed by a flood control channel that leads to the San Francisco Bay, CalTrout officials said. It also passes through Dublin, Livermore and other East Bay cities.

CalTrout officials say the entire watershed was inaccessible to most fish that like salmon, return from saltwater to freshwater to spawn, until recently.

Fish ladders constructed in the last few years have helped the salmon migrate to the lower creek into Niles Canyon and upper Alameda Creek, where they hadn't been seen in over 50 years, according to CalTrout.

Jeff Miller, director of the Alameda Creek Alliance, a non-profit that advocates for the restoration of native wildlife and ecosystems at the watershed, said the return of the salmon "heralds hope for more healthy ecosystems," a nonprofit director said.

“We’re seeing results from two decades of restoration projects and we hope Alameda Creek will have an outsized impact on the recovery of steelhead trout in the region," Miller said. "It’s profoundly gratifying to see watershed residents and local water agencies taking pride in bringing back native fish and wildlife.”