HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.12.25 Board Correspondence - FW_ Lake Oroville Community Update - December 12, 2025.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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From:Clerk of the Board
To:Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Jessee, Meegan; Kimmelshue, Tod;
Kitts, Melissa; Krater, Sharleen; Lee, Lewis; Little, Melissa; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.;
Sweeney, Kathleen; Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth; Loeser, Kamie
Cc:Nuzum, Danielle
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Lake Oroville Community Update - December 12, 2025
Date:Friday, December 12, 2025 2:43:53 PM
Please see Board Correspondence -
From: California Natural Resources Agency <CNRA@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2025 2:10 PM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Lake Oroville Community Update - December 12, 2025
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Lake Oroville Community Update
December 12, 2025
Salmon Spawning Operations
Annual Chinook salmon spawning activities at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville
are complete. The Hatchery collected enough eggs to meet its normal production goal of 2
million spring-run fingerlings and 6 million fall-run fingerlings, with additional eggs
collected to increase production this year. To help address recent declines in Central
Valley Chinook salmon populations, the Hatchery will produce an additional 1 million
spring-run fingerlings and 2.5 million fall-run unfed fry, as well as 1 million fall-run Chinook
salmon fingerlings to support ocean fisheries.
The Hatchery’s spawning process collects eggs from returning adult females and milt
(sperm) from returning adult male Chinook salmon to fertilize the eggs. After fertilization,
the eggs are placed in incubators to develop for approximately 85 days. Once they reach
the fry stage and can consume food, they will either be released into the Feather River or
transferred to long ponds called raceways at the facility to grow into fingerlings. Chinook
salmon fingerlings raised at the Hatchery will be released in the Feather River and San
Francisco Bay between March and June to support inland and ocean populations. In
addition, DWR and CDFW continued thiamine treatments to combat B1 vitamin
deficiencies. This treatment improves the health of the fish, increasing the survival of
Chinook salmon from egg to juvenile.
The Feather River Fish Hatchery is a California State Water Project (SWP) facility built in
the late 1960s by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to mitigate
impacts on fish migration resulting from the construction of Oroville Dam. DWR owns and
maintains the facility and provides funding to the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife (CDFW) to perform spawning, rearing, and stocking operations.
Snow-cember at the Visitor Center
Stop by the Lake Oroville Visitor Center for free winter-themed craft activities for kids ages
three and older! Located at 917 Kelly Ridge Road in Oroville, the Visitor Center is open
daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Snow-cember weekend craft activities are offered between 10
a.m. and 4 p.m. and include:
Dec. 13-14: Salt and watercolor snowflake art, snowflake sun catcher, and ice
fishing experiment
Dec. 20-21: Pipe cleaner snowflake ornament and take-home salt crystal snowflake
experiment
Dec. 27-28: Paper plate swirly snowman and snowman wreath
Jan. 3-4: Pasta snowflake art and icicle ornament
Craft activities are free and offered while supplies last. Visitor Center activities throughout
Snow-cember also include a water drop toss game, snowflake craft station, and 2025
DWR snow survey videos in the theater.
Staffed by knowledgeable guides, the Lake Oroville Visitor Center features interpretive
displays on Oroville Dam, area geology, wildlife and habitat, hydroelectric power, and
cultural and historical artifacts. View videos in the theater about the construction of
Oroville Dam, walk or hike along nearby trails, and visit the 47-foot-tall observation tower
that provides unsurpassed panoramic views of surrounding areas. Free guided tours for
school and community groups are available by reservation. Parking and admission to the
Visitor Center are free.
Feather River Fishing Opportunities
Like Chinook salmon that migrate from the Pacific Ocean to the Feather River to spawn,
steelhead trout have similar migratory practices, with most returning in the fall and winter
months. With more than 1,600 steelhead trout migrating upstream from DWR’s fish
monitoring station this year, the cooler months offer prime steelhead fishing opportunities
in the Feather River. These fish have typically spent a year or two in the ocean and range
in size from 2 to 8 pounds. The Oroville Wildlife Area (OWA) provides walk-in access to
several miles of the Feather River for fishing, along with multiple locations for launching
fishing boats. In addition, the Thermalito Afterbay offers excellent fishing opportunities for
steelhead that were raised at the Feather River Fish Hatchery and range in size from 2 to
4 pounds.
Lake Oroville is also one of the State Water Project’s premier recreational destinations
and one of California’s best fishing spots. The lake provides both warm-water and cold-
water fisheries, with excellent bass fishing opportunities during the fall and winter months.
Be sure to check California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) fishing regulations.
The marinas at Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle are open daily and provide a variety of
services including a convenience store, gas, boat rentals, and more.
Golden Mussel Inspection Program
DWR is reminding the public that boat ramps at Lake Oroville are no longer open 24/7.
Watercraft must be out of the water by ramp closing time or they will be locked into the
facility overnight. Please plan ahead. More details about DWR’s mussel inspection
program are available at water.ca.gov/mussels.
Watercraft Inspection Location/Decontamination Services
North Thermalito Forebay at Garden Drive and HWY 70 in Oroville
Hours of operation: Daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sealed Vessel Launching
Lake Oroville
Ramp hours: Daily from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Spillway
Ramp hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 8
p.m.
Bidwell Canyon
Ramp hours: Monday-Thursday 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Lime Saddle
Ramp hours: Daily from 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Loafer Creek/Loafer Point
Thermalito Afterbay
Ramp hours: Daily from 1.5 hours before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset
Monument Hill
Thermalito Forebay
Ramp Hours: Daily from 8 a.m. to sunset
North Forebay (Non-motorized vessels only)
Oroville Recreation
Extended closures of the Brad Freeman Bike Trail and the Dan Beebe Trail between the
Thermalito Diversion Dam and Powerhouse Road, including Lakeland Blvd., will continue
through Summer 2026 during construction work to replace power and fiber-optic
communication lines. DWR, the Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks), and
CDFW maintain over 92 miles of trails in the Oroville area. An interactive map of
recreation facilities, including open trails and their permitted uses (hike, bike, horse, multi),
is available on DWR’s Lake Oroville Recreation webpage. A paper trail map is available at
various locations, including most entrance kiosks and the Lake Oroville Visitor Center.
Between Jan. 30 and April 20, high flows in the Feather River required the temporary
removal of fish monitoring equipment resulting in lower spring-run estimates. Upstream
migrating fish totals through the Feather River Fish Monitoring Station between Jan. 1 and
Dec. 8, 2025 are:
Spring-run Chinook salmon (April 16 through June 30): 17,712
Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 43,399
Steelhead: 1,679
To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.
Current Lake Operations
Lake Oroville is at 765 feet elevation and storage is approximately 1.74 million acre-feet
(MAF), which is 51 percent of its total capacity and 97 percent of the historical average.
Feather River flows are at 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with
1,100 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total
Feather River release of 1,750 cfs downstream. DWR continues to assess Feather River
releases daily.
The public can track precipitation, snow, reservoir levels, and more at the California Data
Exchange Center. The Lake Oroville gage station is identified as “ORO.”
All data as of 11:59 p.m. on 12/11/2025.
This email was sent to clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net from the California Natural Resources Agency
utilizing govDelivery. California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
California Department of Water Resources
715 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Call our general information line at 916-820-8142
or email us at oroville@water.ca.gov
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