A Big Win for Nature: Salmon Come Back to Alameda Creek

After a long time, salmon are back in Alameda Creek. This is a big deal because it hasn't happened in 70 years. The creek is in a place called Sunol, and the salmon had to swim up a tall wall to get there. This shows that the environment is getting better. Salmon and steelhead trout are like nature's report card. If they are doing well, it means other animals like otters, eagles, beavers, and bears might come back too. This is good because it makes the ecosystem stronger and more diverse. Volunteers have seen almost a dozen salmon since November. This happened right after a big rainstorm. People who care about the environment are excited to see what else might come back. A long time ago, people built dams and changed the creek to control floods. This stopped the salmon from swimming up the creek. But now, people are working to fix these problems. They have removed a gas pipeline that was in the way. This has helped the salmon come back. The salmon that are coming back now are mostly from hatcheries. This means they don't have a special place to spawn like wild salmon do. But it's still good that they are coming back. The return of the salmon is a hopeful sign for the environment. When salmon die after spawning, their bodies feed other animals and make the ecosystem stronger. Other endangered animals like steelhead trout and turtles have also been seen around the creek. For the people who have been working to bring the salmon back, this is a big victory. It shows that even though we have made mistakes in the past, we can still fix them. The return of the salmon is exciting because it connects people to nature and helps them understand how everything is connected.