We all know that wild salmon and steelhead trout are in jeopardy of extinction.

Some people say that the only way to save wild salmon is to drive them in gas-guzzling trucks around the dams that block these fish from reaching miles of historic spawning habitat.

FOR & SYRCL says, “Fish don’t drive. Yuba salmon and steelhead deserve better.”

Unfortunately, a short-sighted plan for our river is gaining traction among California decision-makers. It recommends trapping and trucking salmon around dams, both to and from the North Yuba River. With an estimated price tag of $700 million, this “trap & haul” plan is a questionable means of restoring salmon, and would take at least 20 years to implement, even then doing nothing to benefit steelhead trout.

Wild salmon are born to swim, not ride in trucks. This is why we need your help.

Please sign our letter to Governor Jerry Brown and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. It urges them to ask state and federal agencies to look for a long-term sustainable plan for volitional fish passage on the Yuba and immediately support large-scale salmon habitat improvement projects on the lower Yuba River.

We’re advocating that decision-makers examine the best available science to develop a fish passage plan that allows salmon and steelhead to get by the dams on their own – one that benefits the health of the entire Yuba River watershed.

Plus, we can act now to save salmon. Miles of defunct river land could be transformed into vital fish and wildlife habitat. If we could implement these critical, on-the-ground restoration projects within the next few years on the lower Yuba, then the wild fish population could grow — imagine thousands more wild salmon knocking at the door of Englebright Dam in just 10 years!

Wild salmon can be saved from extinction and the Yuba is the best opportunity for restoration. SYRCL is poised to spearhead this effort, but we need your help to create the political will in Sacramento to secure the funding and get to work.

You can help by signing on to this letter to Governor Brown and Secretary Pritzker.

With FOR’s & your support, SYRCL will lead the efforts to restore thousands of acres of habitat in the lower Yuba River, and bring public pressure to find sustainable ways to reconnect the lower Yuba to the upper reaches so salmon may return home on their own.