As we prepare to enter the 21st Century in the Salmon River Corridor,  it is not only important to review the present status of the river's fishery, but also to reflect on the past history of the river.  By doing so, we can realize what we had and lost, better understand what we presently have today, and prepare the river for future management that does not repeat the mistakes of the past, and that leaves a legacy of respect of the resource for future generations.  The Salmon River's oral history can be traced to the early Native Americans who occupied the region and used the resource as a source of food pre 1600's, while the written history of the river can be traced to the early French explorers and Jesuit missionaries observations post 1600.  A history time line of the Salmon River Corridor was broken into three categories:

(1) Early History - pre 1600 to 1899, including Native American subsistence fisheries in a pristine environment and EuroAmerican subsistence, commercial, and early recreational fishing  in an exploited and declining environment.

(2) Early to mid 20th Century recreational fisheries in a degraded river habitat mainly functioning as a hydro generating river.

(3)  Late 20th Century introduced salmonid sport fishery in a recovering multi use river ecosystem.

A physical description of the Salmon River Corridor including the present three reaches of the river was also included in the historical section to illustrate changes and similarities of the river over the last 400 years of EuroAmerican influence.  A description of the value and importance of the Salmon River to the Great Lakes Program and its rank statewide, DEC's outreach programs with the public to accomplish goals, and a developing stewardship program (NYSDEC Salmon River Stewards) in the corridor completed the history segment of the workshop.

The headwaters of the Salmon River originate in Lewis County on the southwestern slopes of the Tug Hill Plateau at an elevation of 1800 ft.  The river flows in a westerly direction thru Oswego County before entering Lake Ontario, elevation 250 ft.  The main stem of the river is 44 miles and the change in elevation over the course of the river is 1,550 ft.  Total drainage area is 285 square miles and today include three reaches:

(1)  The headwaters including the North and East Branch of the Salmon River, and their tributaries, including Mad River, Mill Stream, Fall Brook, Cottrel Brook, and Prince Brook.

(2)  The Salmon River Reservoir at river mile 21 (upper reservoir), the Lighthouse Hill Reservoir at river mile 17 (lower reservoir), and the river between, including the bypass reach (original river bed) and the Salmon River Falls at mile 19 (vertical drop of 110 ft)  which was the historical natural barrier to the upstream migration of the native Atlantic Salmon.

(3) Main stem Salmon River below Lighthouse Hill Reservoir including the tributaries Beaverdam Brook, Laney's Brook, Orwell Brook, and Spring Brook.

The historical reaches of the watershed pre hydro development included two reaches - the main stem and tributaries below the Salmon River Falls,  and the river and its tributaries above the falls.  Today the Lower reservoir dam blocks upstream passage of migratory fish to historical habitat below the Salmon River Falls with the loss of 2 miles of river, but the rest of the tributary system below the dam has historical habitat still available.  The upper watershed above the Salmon River Reservoir is a high quality cold water fishery, including stocked and wild native Brook trout, and introduced Brown and Rainbow trout - which have naturalized to the system. The lower main stem is a high quality migratory salmoid fishery consisting of  introduced Pacific salmon, Steelhead, Brown trout, and reintroduced native Atlantic salmon.  The lower main stem tributaries also receive runs of migratory salmonids from Lake Ontario with natural reproduction occurring, along with small populations of native Brook trout and naturalized Brown trout, mainly now being found in the upper reaches of these streams.

Pre 1600 - 1650: Native Americans (Iroquois) utilized the Salmon River up to the falls for Atlantic Salmon subsistence fishing. (Goode 1884) The Iroquois called the river "Heh-heh-wa-gah", meaning "where swim the sweet fish).

1615: French explorer Samuel de Champlain and Jesuit missionaries including Simon Le Moyne explore the river.

1657 - 1672: Importance of the salmon resource first documented by the Jesuits who observed Indians with boatloads of salmon during Mid July (Parsons 1973)

1776 - 1788: British lose control of the area to the new United States of America during the American revolution. The Iroquois Confederation was also weakened having sided with the British. New York Governor George Clinton purchased land north of the river from the Iroquois, and Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, bought 4,000 acres of the Salmon River region.

1801: First permanent white settlement in the Salmon River area is established. The economy of the community was based on fishing. (Atlantic Salmon), shipping, lumber, and agriculture. Atlantic Salmon are abundant.

1836: Atlantic salmon are still abundant, but the resource is already declining. (Parsons 1973) Exploitation of the resource for commercial use continued. 12 skiffs in one night take an average of 300 atlantic salmon each, with the average fish weighing 15 pounds, and fish reported between 40 and 45 pounds, with the largest 48 pounds. (Webster 1982) Estimated skiff fisherman using spears killed 10,000 salmon a year during the mid 1800's. (30 tons per year)

1837: dam construction just west of Pulaski hindering upstream migration. (Green 1940)

1864: John Davidson, Scottish immigrant, NYC lawyer, visits the area to fish for Brook trout in the East Branch of the Salmon River, above the Salmon River in present day Redfield. First record of sportfishing in the river. Records catching 40 Brook trout in a morning, that averages 2 pounds each. Maps the uppers rivers and names pools, runs, and riffles in the East Branch. Establishes permanent home for fishing and hunting, "The Braes", overlooking the East Branch.

1869: eight dams across the Salmon River blocking all upstream migration except for the rivers lowest branches.

1870: commercial fisherman off the mouth of the river still take in 400 salmon, in a netting, that range from 1 to 45 pounds. (Parsons 1973) Exploitation continues.

1872: Atlantic salmon all but extinct from the Salmon River, the last tributary on the American side of Lake Ontario to still have salmon. Historically, the Salmon River had supported the best runs of Atlantic Salmon in New York tributaries to Lake Ontario. Dams, overfishing, deforestation, pollution, agriculture, all contributed to the salmon's demise. An unknown contributing factor may also have been the introduction of Alewife to Lake Ontario thru the Erie Canal. A diet rich in Alewife can contribute to reproductive failure in Atlantic Salmon. (personal correspondence Groege Ketola USGS)

1873 - 1898: 1,156,000 Pacific salmon (Chinook) were stocked in the Salmon River. The program was discontinued because no recruitment from natural reproduction was documented. The same limiting factors of a degraded habitat resulted in failure for the Pacific salmon. During the same period 144,000 Atlantic salmon fry were stocked with low survival and recovery. Program discontinued.

1898: Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon extinct! The last pair of native Atlantic salmon was seen in a small tributary on the Canadian side of the lake. Lake Ontario had once supported the greatest freshwater population of the Atlantic salmon in the world.

1900 - 1925: Black Bass are caught in considerable numbers below Pulaski.  Limited rainbow trout and brown trout fishery above Pulaski.

1914: Salmon River Power Company erects a dam to form the Salmon River Reservoir and completes the Bennetts Bridge Hydropower facility.

1926: Rainbow trout introduced into Mad River, a tributary of the North Branch of the Salmon River in the upper watershed. Rainbow trout reproduce successfully and naturalize to the watershed.

1929 - 1938: seven species of the fish were stocked in the lower main river, and trout were stocked in the tributaries. Yellow Perch, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Brook, Brown and Rainbow trout. (NYSCD 1940)

1930: Construction of the Lighthouse Hill Hydropower facility completed. Generation of electricity becomes the rivers dominant use. Severe water fluctuations with resulting unfavorable water temperatures as a result of power generation, limits trout production in the main stem of the river.

1939: 291,000 Coho and 141,000 Chinook salmon are stocked in the main stem. No recruitment. Program discontinued. (NYSCD 1940)

1956 - 1959: 28,000 Atlantic salmon are stocked in the river below Lighthouse Hill Reservoir in an attempt to develop a spawning population. No recruitment, project dropped. Not only are river habitat conditions poor, but Lake Ontario was a hostile environment for salmoids with high population of lamprey existing, and poor water quality from years of pollution.

1960 - 1967:  Minor brown trout fishery exists above Pulaski from stocking.