Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, March 6, 2019, 9:16 AM
Town Square
Stanford removes dam, giving endangered fish room to roam
Original post made on Mar 6, 2019
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, March 6, 2019, 9:16 AM
Comments (18)
Posted by sequoiadean
a resident of Los Altos
on Mar 6, 2019 at 11:17 am
sequoiadean is a registered user.
a resident of Los Altos
on Mar 6, 2019 at 11:17 am
sequoiadean is a registered user.
Great news!
Posted by Nguyen Vu
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 6, 2019 at 12:43 pm
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Mar 6, 2019 at 12:43 pm
OK to fish for salmon if of legal size & have license? Can catch with hands if stream is small.
Wild salmon very expensive.
Posted by Harry
a resident of Professorville
on Mar 6, 2019 at 2:51 pm
a resident of Professorville
on Mar 6, 2019 at 2:51 pm
Thank you, Stanford!
Posted by Dan
a resident of another community
on Mar 6, 2019 at 3:42 pm
a resident of another community
on Mar 6, 2019 at 3:42 pm
Sorry Nguyen Vu, you can't legally catch these salmon, they are protected by Federal law.
Posted by Lynn
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 6, 2019 at 5:14 pm
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 6, 2019 at 5:14 pm
Great news! Too bad it took a lawsuit to get Stanford to finally remove this unused blight on our creek.
Hopefully, they will remove their disaster called Searsville Dam next.
Posted by Wilbur
a resident of Stanford
on Mar 6, 2019 at 5:29 pm
a resident of Stanford
on Mar 6, 2019 at 5:29 pm
Yay!
Good to see Stanford embrace dam removal and do right by their home creek.
Next to come out: Searsville Dam.
Posted by ecologist
a resident of Professorville
on Mar 6, 2019 at 6:56 pm
a resident of Professorville
on Mar 6, 2019 at 6:56 pm
... Followed by the O’Shaughnessy. https://www.hetchhetchy.org
Posted by Robert
a resident of Menlo Park
on Mar 6, 2019 at 7:37 pm
a resident of Menlo Park
on Mar 6, 2019 at 7:37 pm
That old dam used to divert water and steelhead into “Lake” Lagunita where they died a terrible death as it dried up each summer. My dad found a dead steelhead, about 32 inches long, in the shallow, shrinking Lake Lag in the late 70’s one summer. Thousands of adults and juveniles trying to swim downstream in San Francusquito Creek to the Bay were killed by that old dam and diversion. Good riddance!
Now Stanford needs to let them steelhead swim home into Corte Madera Creek, and other Woodside and Portola Valley creeks blocked by their obsolete Searsville Dam. Hope this dam removal success motivates the next, and bigger, one.
Posted by resident
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on Mar 6, 2019 at 9:02 pm
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on Mar 6, 2019 at 9:02 pm
YEAH - great news.
Posted by Field & Stream
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 6, 2019 at 9:06 pm
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Mar 6, 2019 at 9:06 pm
>> OK to fish for salmon if of legal size & have license? Can catch with hands if stream is small.
Considering 'poached salmon' for dinner?
Posted by Butch Cassidy
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 7, 2019 at 7:45 am
a resident of Midtown
on Mar 7, 2019 at 7:45 am
Just for the record ,make sure u call the paper and hold that fish up for a pic (mug shot) and smile.!
Posted by Nancy
a resident of College Terrace
on Mar 7, 2019 at 8:05 am
a resident of College Terrace
on Mar 7, 2019 at 8:05 am
Great about the salmon and the dam removal. What does this mean for "Lake" Lagunita? Will it be totally dry or just stay as it is?
Posted by macbaldy
a resident of Midtown
on Apr 2, 2019 at 3:20 pm
a resident of Midtown
on Apr 2, 2019 at 3:20 pm
@Robert, your sentiment for spawning adult salmon is misplaced. Such adults die soon after spawning. Whether their deaths are terrible, it's natural. It's not likely that your father found a mix of adults and juveniles anywhere.
Posted by Call Me Steelhead
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Apr 2, 2019 at 7:06 pm
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Apr 2, 2019 at 7:06 pm
> Such adults die soon after spawning. Whether their deaths are terrible, it's natural.
I felt the same way after we had kids & realized the future expenditures of raising them.
Posted by Michael Loveridge
a resident of Stanford
on Apr 30, 2019 at 11:33 am
a resident of Stanford
on Apr 30, 2019 at 11:33 am
@ macbaldy
No, Robert is correct. Whilst Pacific salmon die after spawning steelhead are like Atlantic salmon, and return to the sea, where they they feed for a year before battling their way back upstream to the headwaters in the Santa Cruz mountains, where they spawn.
They will, if they're able to make the perilous upstream journey successfully, repeat the cycle every year until they die. They're magnificent creatures, and they deserve to be helped, not hindered by dams etc.
Sadly, in this case the steelhead mentioned by Robert was a victim of our carelessness and greed.
This is good news about the Diversion Dam, but if Stanford were to agree to remove Searsville Dam that would be GREAT news, and would make the front page of The Daily Steelhead!
Posted by Anon
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 30, 2019 at 2:58 pm
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 30, 2019 at 2:58 pm
Posted by Michael Loveridge, a resident of Stanford
>> They're magnificent creatures, and they deserve to be helped, not hindered by dams etc.
(Pre-)spawning steelhead really are magnificent to behold for anyone fortunate enough to see them in the wild. Unforgettable.
In the meantime, Lagunita will continue to be a breeding ground for tiger salamanders et al. Web Link
Posted by @macbaldy
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on May 1, 2019 at 2:46 pm
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on May 1, 2019 at 2:46 pm
Steelhead do not die after spawning. I've fished for them for 25 years up north. The post spawn "down-runners" generally start being caught in high numbers about mid feb.
I've also watched very large post spawn steelhead in the headwaters of Pescadero creek over the years. March is a good time for that. Pacific salmon die post spawn, steelhead do not.
Posted by Field & Stream
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on May 1, 2019 at 3:11 pm
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on May 1, 2019 at 3:11 pm
>> Steelhead do not die after spawning.
Correct. A steelhead is an oceangoing trout.
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