November 12, 2008 Mt Shasta CA, Big Springs ranch Carson Jeffres (rt) Staff Research Associate for UC Davis Center for watershed Sciences, and Andrew Nichols, Jr Specialist (UC Davis Center for watershed Sciences,) conducting research in the Shasta River where it runs through Big Springs Ranch about 20 miles north of the town of Mt Shasta. The ranch, which is contributing to degraded habitat conditions that warm water temps by upwards of 10 degrees as the river passes through the ranch and then spills into the Klameth, is currently under contract for purchase by TNC, therefor TNC and partner organizations have been allowed to research this stretch of river for the first time. They have discovered that is it a very fertile juvenile rearing area and that there are a surprising number of returning salmon in spite of habitat degrated by grazing cattle (often in the river) and irrigation practices. If this purchase is sucessful, TNC has the chance to improve a large stretch of habitiat and qucikly improve conditions that will effect numbers of returning fish and habitiat in the Shasta and Klameth Rivers. The Shasta River and its tributaries create one of the most important spawning nurseries for Chinook salmon in the entire Klamath Basin, United States of America

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