Tag: Robert Lusardi
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Change at the Center for Watershed Sciences
By Karrigan Börk Readers of the California Water Blog (Blog) may have noticed some changes over the past year. The Blog is a product of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences (CWS), and after many years of dedicated service, longtime CWS leaders Dr. Andrew Rypel (Director) and Dr. Cathryn Lawrence (Assistant Director) are transitioning…
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Build it, and they will come: Early evidence for establishment of Chinook salmon in Putah Creek, CA
By Lauren G. Hitt, Malte Willmes, Mackenzie C. Miner, Max Stevenson, Carson A. Jeffres, Robert A. Lusardi, Nann A. Fangue, and Andrew L. Rypel For the third year in a row, regulators have canceled California’s commercial Chinook salmon fishing season.Poor spawning salmon returns in 2024 and low predicted numbers of salmon in the ocean during 2025…
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Are spring-fed rivers key to long-term persistence of salmon and trout in California?
By Nicholas Corline, Emilio Grande, Ate Visser, Jean Moran, Jory Lerback, Tyanna Blaschak, Damon Goodman, Jake Harm, Lauren Tolley-Mann, Dylan O’Ryan, Valerie Muenker, Rollie Nearhood, Amber Lukk, Sarah Howe, and Robert Lusardi Imagine a giant sponge made of volcanic rock. That’s what scientists have recently discovered in the central Cascades of Oregon, an aquifer that…
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Can large dams help feed downstream ecosystems?
By Francisco J. Bellido-Leiva, Nicholas Corline, and Robert A. Lusardi About 1,500 dams obstruct, modify, and regulate flow in all but one of California’s major rivers. These dams provide Californians with reliable drinking and irrigation water, flood protection for low-lying communities, and hydropower for our electrical grid. But dams also threaten downstream ecosystems by severely disrupting…
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Moving Salmon over Dams with Two-Way Trap and Haul
by Peter Moyle and Robert Lusardi Removing Shasta Dam is the single best action we can take to save California’s wild salmon. Not possible, you say? Then there are two alternatives. One is to provide plenty of cold water and diverse, highly managed habitat below dams. The other is to transport fish to now-inaccessible habitat…
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The Little Shasta River: A model for sustaining our national heritage
by Ann Willis, Rob Lusardi, Alex Hart, Susan Hart, Blair Hart, Andrew Braugh, Amy Campbell, Ada Fowler Rancher: farms. Conservationist: fish. Researcher: science. Too often, identity is used to divide us. Stereotypes are used to stake out conflicting positions. It’s a zero-sum approach that ignores the commonality of our natural – and national – heritage.…
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The Future of California’s Unique Salmon and Trout: Good News, Bad News
by Robert Lusardi, Peter Moyle, Patrick Samuel, and Jacob Katz California is a hot spot for endemic species, those found nowhere else in the world. Among these species are 20 kinds of salmon and trout. That is an astonishing number considering California is also literally a hot-spot in terms of summer temperatures and that these…
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Conservation of inland trout populations in California
by Robert Lusardi This article originally appeared in California Trout’s The Current. For the full issue, click here. Native fish conservation and recovery is an onerous task. While there are many threats, hybridization has played an integral role in the demise of numerous inland trout species throughout the western United States. Nowhere is this more…
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Aquatic plants: unsung but prime salmon habitat
By Robert Lusardi and Ann Willis For decades, California’s management and restoration of salmon and trout populations have focused on principles rooted in coastal redwood streams, mostly fed by rainfall runoff. These concepts portray ideal salmonid habitat as deep pools, shallow riffles and “large woody debris,” such as fallen trees and limbs. Recent studies on…
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How to save salmon: location, location, location
By Robert Lusardi Spring-fed waters are luxurious places for salmon and trout. They provide ideal flows and temperatures year-round and jungles of aquatic plants teeming with insects for easy snacking. In real estate, the saying goes, three things matter: “location, location, location.” Can the same be said for native fish? Are fish that reside near…