November 7, 2008 Mt Shasta CA A spawned-out Chinook salmon watches over her redd in the Shasta River where it runs through Big Springs Ranch about 2 miles north of the town of Mt Shasta. The ranch, which is contributing to degraded habitat conditions, which actually warm water tempt by upwards of 10 degrees as the river passes through the ranch and then spills into the Klameth, is currently under contract for purchase by TNC, therefor TNC and partner organizations have been allowed to research this stretch of river for the first time. They have discovered that is it a very fertile juvenile rearing area and that there are a surprising number of returning salmon in spite of habitat degraded by grazing cattle (often in the river) and irrigation practices. If this purchase is successful, TNC has the chance to improve a large stretch of habitat and quickly improve conditions that will effect numbers of returning fish and habitat in the Shasta and Klameth Rivers. In California, The Nature Conservancy is focusing its efforts on protecting the Shasta River and its tributaries, which create one of the most important spawning nurseries for Chinook salmon in the entire Klamath Basin, United States of America