Take a right at the gravel bar 

Ask anyone outside the Sonoma Valley for directions to Stuart Creek and they’re likely to shrug and send you on your way. Yet, the most remarkable event has occurred here that will drop a pin on a map of projects aiming to boost biodiversity: creek restoration completed over the past decade combined with a record-breaking atmospheric river appear to have provided the right conditions for a parade of Chinook salmon to find their way to spawning grounds in this tributary of Sonoma Creek – for the first time in more than two decades.  

The creek, once a major rearing ground for Chinook and coho salmon and steelhead trout (now federally listed as threatened), had become too degraded for returning adult fish and none had been seen since the early 2000s.  

The first sightings of Chinook, a.k.a. king salmon, were made on Friday, November 29 by Brianne Carlson, whose partner Chris Carlson is the Sonoma Valley stewardship program manager at Sonoma Land Trust. The couple live with their two young sons on Sonoma Land Trust’s Glen Oaks Ranch Preserve. Carlson was on a morning walk alone and as she got closer to the creek, she heard a loud splash. “I thought I must have spooked an animal crossing. But as I got closer, I had the surprise of my life,” she said. “I was well aware how special these fish are and how long it had been since they’d been seen.”   

Carlson isn’t the only eagle eye. Chinook have been observed throughout the Sonoma Creek watershed this fall, including as far upstream as Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. But finding them in Stuart Creek was extra cause for celebration. “This moment is what conservation is all about,” Chris Carlson said. 

“Every fish was amazing! I couldn’t get enough!” 

Hearing about the sightings, Audubon Canyon Ranch resource ecologist Jennifer Potts explored upstream of Glen Oaks Ranch, where the creek flows through the Bouverie Preserve, hoping to make her own sightings. If successful, this would mark the first time fish of this size have been recorded in Stuart Creek during her fifteen years at the Preserve. “I spent hours on the creek today and every fish was amazing,” Potts reported after observing more than a dozen 26”-38” salmon on Glen Oaks Ranch and four more upstream on Bouverie Preserve. “I couldn’t get enough!”

Were these wild or hatchery-raised fish?

In a phone call with Potts, Derek Acomb, a senior environmental science and coho salmon recovery coordinator at California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) says it is likely that some of these are Bay-released hatchery fish, noting that hatchery fish can be identified by their missing adipose fin (a small fleshy fin near the tail fin).  

An unofficial headcount by a CDFW biologist within a hundred yards of the lower stretch of the creek tallied about fifty adult fish, of which sixty percent were wild. 

Seeking freshwater spawning grounds after 2-3 years in the open ocean, these Chinook may have found their way to Sonoma Creek by chance. Nevertheless, if they successfully reproduce in Stuart Creek, Acomb believes we can expect salmon returns every 3-5 years, assuming appropriate rainfall patterns.

Stream channel restoration deemed successful 

In 2014, Sonoma Land Trust removed three human-constructed barriers on the lower reaches of Stuart Creek and restored a 900-foot stream channel along  Stuart Creek Run. 

Joe Plaugher, prescribed fire program manager at Sonoma Land Trust, has been monitoring the creek for returning salmon for several years, focusing on a stretch of restored sites that straddle both sides of Sonoma Highway 12. He’s spotted a hopeful number of juvenile rainbow trout over the years, yet to date, no adult steelhead have been observed returning to the site. Adding to Carlson’s find, Plaugher saw about a dozen good-sized Chinook making their way up Stuart Creek east of the highway at Glen Oaks dam, which was breached in 2014 to provide access.  

“It appears to be a big Chinook run in the region, but there were good runs in the past few years with none in Stuart Creek. Somehow this year they took a right turn and seem to be enjoying the conditions,” he shared. “Their presence upstream beyond the restored areas is proof the restoration project was successful.”  

Efforts are underway to remove the last dam on Bouverie Preserve 

The final barrier to unimpeded fish passage is a 45-foot-wide concrete dam built by David Bouverie in the 1950s. The dam runs the streambed’s full span and is a barrier for juvenile salmonids and a variety of other fish and amphibians that migrate up and downstream. Audubon Canyon Ranch has plans to remove the dam in the next 2-3 years.  

The dam will be removed and the streambed recontoured to mimic natural habitat conditions.  Improving water flow and sediment movement may help fish and other aquatic life access additional ‘refugia’ pools — safe, cooler refuges during periods of warm weather or drought — where fish can grow before heading out to sea and where other fish and amphibians can live.    

Tuning in to nature’s signals

While the future of the dam removal and steelhead recovery is unknown, the sighting of adult Chinook in Stuart Creek is a clear sign of success, motivates us to do more, and fills us with hope. 

For now, collecting fin observations and other data along the restored areas of the creek may help CDFW and others make future decisions regarding restoration projects in the watershed. “All in all, this is a great opportunity to learn and share with other land stewards, the public, and CDFW.” said Potts. 

Supporting Audubon Canyon Ranch supports salmon recovery

Stewardship work that addresses degraded or lost ecological function is some of the most important work we do…and is ongoing!

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