Russian River, The Russian River supplies drinking water for some 600,000 people in Sonoma and Marin counties, and it’s also home to the endangered coho salmon and threatened chinook salmon.

David Manning, principal environmental specialist with the Sonoma County Water Agency says biologists are counting higher numbers of returning coho this year.

Manning says the coho numbers continue to be small, but he’s optimistic that by improving river habitat, the coho will slowly rebound as well.

Manning says they’re also reaching out to anglers who fish for steelhead trout in the river with a newly launched program with the tagline “If Mouth has Black, Put it Back” to help fishermen not to mistake salmon for steelhead.

Manning says with only a handful of coho left in the Russian River, every spawning salmon lost to an angler’s mistake takes a big toll on the local population.