Here is a short underwater video clip of a school of juvenile coho at our recent restoration site at San Geronimo (the former San Geronimo Golf Course)!
Historically, this particular site had little vegetation on either side of the creek when it was a golf course. This past winter quick growing native willows were planted at the site that will shade this pool and decrease the filamentous algae you see there now.
While this algae is good food for aquatic insects the juvenile coho eat, coho prefer shady pools that remain cold under a beneficial tree canopy. The tree canopy also feeds insects that sometimes drop into the water and become “fish food.” By next year, this site will have a lot more shade and be an even better coho habitat. Now that the property is no longer managed as a golf course, there are no longer any additional applications of fertilizer and pesticides to pollute the water.
Thanks to Sharon Beals for the footage!
