An article in the Sunday Sacramento Bee highlights a  letter this spring sent by the California Department of Fish and Game to the Nevada Irrigation District alleging that the District was in violation of the Fish and Game Code over blockage of fall run salmon by the Hemphill Dam. Advocates are asking why the Department is not taking action against the District especially in light of the fact that the Department of Fish and Game refuses to allow volunteers to move salmon over the dam this fall as a temporary measure to ensure more salmon are able to spawn.

The same article goes on to declare that:

 Hemphill Dam is emblematic of the struggles facing salmon in the Central Valley. Dozens of small dams and other man-made barriers, many of which predate the state’s largest reservoirs, block fish passage along river tributaries. Removing or building passageways around the impediments is considered crucial to the survival of Central Valley Chinook, particularly as water temperatures warm due to climate change. The fish need better access to cold, high-elevation water cut off in prior decades by major water storage projects, including Folsom Dam on the American River.