Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
1769
Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola is first European to see San
Francisco Bay.
1772
Father Juan Crespi and Pedro Farges see the delta for the first
time.
1848
Italian colony begins fishing full time in San Francisco.
1849-1884
Hydraulic gold mining.
1852
First California salmon law, prohibiting weirs or obstructions in
streams, and establishing a no-fishing season.
Californians begin channelizing waterways and reclaiming wet-
lands.
1861
State Reclamation District Act allows drainage of delta lands and
levee construction to prevent flooding.
1863
First Pacific coast fish cannery established on Sacramento River.
1871-1908
Early introductions of Striped Bass, oysters, and other non-
native species.
First fish hatchery built on the McCloud River near Mt. Shasta.
1872
Creation of California Fish and Game Commission.
1878
Fishing licenses required for commercial boats.
1887
First West Coast sardine cannery, on San Francisco Bay.
1890
State starts keeping systematic records of commercial fish land-
ings.
1915
Contra Costa Canal begins diverting water from the estuary.
1940
Reber plan proposes dams in the upper estuary to prevent salt
water intrusion into drinking supplies, and creates new freshwa-
ter lakes.
1940s
Shasta Dam completed on Sacramento River.
1942
Friant Dam completed on San Joaquin River.
1948
Bay Model built in Sausalito by U.S. Army Corps to test effects of
various salinity barriers and physical modifications to the estu-
ary.
1950s
