Written by Reed Herbison, Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP) member at South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), May 2024
I think one of my favorite things about my service here at SYRCL is that it has allowed me to wear many hats as we do so much! Just to name a few things that I’ve worked on include salmonid habitat restoration, salmonid monitoring, vegetation surveys alongside replanting, meadow restoration, and even outreach and education. Just last week I accompanied the US Forest Service Wildlife crew to help with a Sierra Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog survey down on Green Horn Creek where we searched their egg masses and relocated them as necessary.
A recent project that has been taking up most of my time is our Lower Yuba post restoration biological monitoring for Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Trout. The monitoring and study efforts are focused on growth and residence time for Chinook and Steelhead Juveniles. We ultimately want to monitor these juveniles to determine if our restoration projects on the lower Yuba are successful or not.
Currently, habitat complexity and juvenile-rearing habitat in the Lower Yuba River is very limited. In fact, Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, and Spring-Run Chinook Salmon are federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Thus, SYRCL aims to support diverse life history strategies, increased growth and survival, and population viability and resiliency. By doing so, SYRCL has placed suitable material for salmonid rearing habitats and created side channels for juvenile salmonids to thrive during their growing years.
Personally, this is a full circle moment as before I took on this role as Restoration Coordinator, I was a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay Alaska, and spent most of my summers harvesting Salmon. Now I get the pleasure of conserving these species right here in California.
Funding for SNAP is supported by Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Nature Fund and Martis Fund – a collaborative project of Martis Camp landowners, DMB/Highlands Group (the developers of Martis Camp), Mountain Area Preservation Foundation (MAP), and Sierra Watch. Sierra Nevada Alliance is a proud grantee of AmeriCorps and California Volunteers, Office of the Governor.
