Spring Run Salmon Spawning Nearly Complete!

Spring run spawning season is coming to an end! Strong run this year!

Photos by Allen Harthorn

Butte Creek Updates:

Spring run salmon spawning has nearly come to end and we saw a good amount of 3-4 year old fish this year!
The Butte Creek Floodplain Restoration Project on the CDFW reserve breaks ground
Salmon Cam is up and running. We had some issues last week, but the live feed has been restored! Check it out.
Thanks again for helping us have a great 20th year of The Wild & Scenic Film Festival! Sending gratitude to our new FBC members, event volunteers, and festival sponsors.
Highlights from a Salmon Tour we hosted for a local K-12 watershed-focused home school
Centerville Recreation and Historical Association (CHRA) hosted their Annual Butte Creek Canyon Clean Up earlier this month. They filled a 20 yard dumpster with trash found along the creek sides and roadways on Centerville and Honey Run Roads. Awesome work CHRA and volunteers!

Floodplain Restoration Project Breaks Ground on Butte Creek

Work has begun on our Butte Creek Floodplain Restoration Project that will restore the riparian area of Butte Creek that spans from the Skyway to the CDFW Reserve border. The projects will repair damage caused by gold and gravel mining to restore salmon rearing habitat, increase floodplain capacity, and recharge ground water.

Two weeks ago, we installed 14 piezometers throughout the project site. Piezometers are pressure sensors that are used to measure the depth of ground water and soil mechanics. While installing the Piezometers, we also collected soil samples for testing.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Salmon Cam is Up and Running

We've worked out the kinks in our Salmon Cam and it's back up 24/7. While the salmon are almost done spawning for the season, you can still watch the camera for your daily creek update!

Check out the view!

Thanks Again for Making The Wild & Scenic Film Festival 2026 a Success!

Our twentieth year of hosting the Wild & Scenic Film Festival was our best yet! And we couldn't have done it without our generous volunteers, board members, and sponsors.

This year's events not only met our fundraising goal, but we also gained 48 new members of Friends of Butte Creek. We're so grateful to our new members and look forward to working together to advocate for the salmon, the ecosystem and the Butte Creek Watershed!

Thank You to Our Wild & Scenic Film Festival Volunteers:

Beth Johnson, Brenda Sorenson, Courtney Casey, Dorte Rasmussen, Gabrielle Broche, Jessie Raeder, Joe Krulder, Marcie Ligammari, Marla Stratton, Pamela Posey, Patty Moriarty, Todd Harris, and Vanessa Church.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors:

California Fly Fishers Unlimited, Community Foundation of the North State: The LiveRiffully Fund, An Anonymous Fish Biologist, FlowWest, AltaCal Bird Alliance, Wild Salmon Center, S&S Produce, FISHBIO, Chico Area Flyfishers, Butte 365, CalTrout, KZFR, Butte Environmental Council, Feather River Center and Forebay Aquatic Center, Burr-Lederer Community Fund, Chico Sol, Sierra Club/Blue Oak Group.

Barbara Steinberg, Bill & Carol Helms, Dorthy Whitlock, Elizabeth Devereaux, Gregory Will & Marji Thomas-Will, Israel Family Foundation, Kathryn Clements Coots, Michael P. Miller, Mike & Margo Cowan, Nancy Wirtz, Patricia Puterbaugh, Patsie Fullmer, Philip LaRocca, Quincey Martin-Chapman & Katelyn Connolly, Suellen Rowlison, Susan Taylor, Terrence Hoffman, Todd & Jenn Harris, and Vic & Kay Simenc.

Salmon Spawning Field Trip with K-12 Students

A local watershed-focused home school recently joined our executive director, Allen Harthorne, on a field trip to see the salmon spawning on Butte Creek.

The students learned about the salmon lifecycle on Butte Creek and then got to see the salmon spawning beneath the steel bridge on Centerville Road. After viewing the salmon from above, they walked down to the water to see the salmon up close and ate lunch by the creek.

We hope to host more schools during the next spawning season!

CRHA Annual Butte Creek Clean Up Success!

Each year the Centerville Recreation and Historical Association (CRHA) hosts the Butte Creek Canyon Clean Up on the first Friday in October. After the busy summer season, it's great to see our community come together to protect and steward the land before the rainy season.

This year they had a great turnout and filled a 20 yard dumpster with trash found along the creek sides and roadways on Centerville and Honey Run Roads. That's 540 cubic feet of trash that won't be left to wash into the creek this winter!

Learn more about CRHA and the Colman Museum and Centerville School House

Running Wild - Return to the River

The Wild Salmon Center (WSC) and Friends of Butte Creek have partnered on creating a Strategic Action Plan for Butte Creek. They work on the Salmon Stronghold Project across the entire North Pacific. Butte Creek is one of the strongholds for salmon in the Pacific Rim. It is the southernmost and the smallest stronghold. As part of the Strongholds campaign, WSC has produced a brilliant IMAX movie called “Running Wild – Return to the River”. Friends of Butte Creek will be sure to bring the movie to Chico as soon as it is available. Shirts available soon.

We continue to seek ways to address insufficient stream flows for migrating adults and juvenile salmon and hope to add to our water rights portfolio with more dedicated instream flows. Speaking of which, a great way to donate is to the Michael Smith Salmon Water Endowment established to pay our annual California State Watermaster fees for our 5 cfs instream flow water right. Last year a very generous donor paid the whole enchilada for us, allowing our endowment to grow even more. Maybe that is something you'd like to consider in 2026!

Like most non-profit groups, we accept any financial donations, be it cash, stocks, bonds or other financial instruments. Please consider including Friends of Butte Creek in your Charitable, Personal or Family trust. We also will consider any land donations, especially on Butte Creek. There may be financial incentives for critically located properties. There are many tax benefits to all of these donation types and we are happy to work with you to fit your situation.

Our general investment account for the long-term is another good option through the North Valley Community Foundation. These fund are reserved for future Board of Director needs and require Board approval for withdrawal.

Finally, feel free to reach out directly on the website or with a check, money order, gold, silver or diamonds! Our mailing address is:

Friends of Butte Creek, 2024 West Sacramento Avenue, Chico, CA 95973.

Friends of Butte Creek Merchandise

Support our Salmon Stronghold by purchasing a FBC shirt! We have plenty of shirts, long sleeves, and hats for the fall. Email friends@buttecreek.org to get yours now!

Just in: Ray Troll Shirts!

We've received a new order of Ray Troll Shirts. All sizes (S - 3XL) restocked!