“Thanks to habitat restoration efforts, Central California Coast coho salmon have enjoyed a run of fruitful spawning migrations. In 2025, 30,000 adult salmon returned to Mendocino Coast rivers to breed, up from 15,000 the year before and 3,000 a decade ago,” reports The Doomslayer.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes the improvement:
During the 2024–2025 spawning season, endangered Central California Coast coho salmon (CCC coho) migrated to Mendocino Coast rivers in numbers few scientists thought they would see in their careers. Monitoring teams estimated that more than 30,000 adult coho returned, double the previous season’s record-breaking return of 15,000 coho. These numbers represent a significant leap from the past decade, where as few as 3,000 fish returned annually.
Several factors contributed to this surge. Many scientists believe that reconnecting spawning streams to mainstem rivers and other large-scale habitat restoration projects significantly boosted their productivity and abundance. These actions expanded and improved the habitat available for salmon to spawn and grow…
Central California Coast coho salmon, a NOAA Species in the Spotlight, are the most endangered subset of the coho salmon species….To estimate the number of returns on the Mendocino Coast, monitoring teams conduct surveys across roughly 500 miles of habitat…Staff from the Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission, Mendocino Redwood Company, and Redwood Timber Company participate in the effort.
Teams visit randomly selected stream sections, known as “reaches,” every 2 weeks during spawning season. They count adult fish and redds—gravel nests built by spawning females. At life-cycle monitoring stations crews track juvenile fish traveling downstream and adult fish traveling upstream. They use this information and other data to estimate watershed-wide populations.
An endangered marsupial is making a comeback in Australia. Koalas’ genetic diversity is recovering. A vaccine to save koalas from chlamydia was recently approved. A “rampant chlamydia epidemic” had devastated the koala population.
Whales have become so numerous in parts of the Southern Ocean that groups of 100 or more whales can be often be sighted near the South Orkney islands.
Bobcats have returned to New Jersey after disappearing from the state in the 1970s. Now, there are between 200 and 400 bobcats in New Jersey.
