Who: ?????? Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Senior Fisheries Biologist Dennis Lee and Nimbus Hatchery Manager Terry West.

What: ???? DFG will plant approximately 130,000 four-inch long Chinook salmon in Folsom Lake, where the fish will grow to catchable size by next year.

When: ?? Monday, April 17, 2006 at 1 p.m.

Where: Rattlesnake Bar, Folsom Lake State Recreation Area. See directions below.

Fish will be released at Rattlesnake Bar in the North Fork of the American River and then swim downstream to Folsom Lake, which is stocked with salmon up to five and even 10 pounds from past years' plants. Rattlesnake Bar was chosen as a release site because the fish will have immediate access to a deeper channel, allowing the four-inch long fingerling salmon to escape potential predators quickly.

The eggs used to grow the fish were surplus from last fall's American River salmon run at the Nimbus Hatchery. Using the Nimbus eggs helps to maintain the genetic integrity of salmon in the American River watershed. The fish were grown in quarantine at the Silverado Fish Hatchery in Yountville and have been determined to be disease-free.

Directions:?ĮFrom Sacramento: Take HW 80 to Douglas Blvd. and go east. Take a left on Auburn Folsom Rd and proceed seven miles. Take a right on Rattlesnake Bar Rd. Enter Folsom Lake State Recreation Area and proceed one mile to signs for the boatramp.

Note to television media: Underwater video of the fish plant will be available to give a unique view of the process. MiniDV tapes can be made available on scene or direct dubs can be made to cameras that accept RCA or BNC inputs.