The 2026 Slab Creek recreation season was set to kick off with six scheduled releases between late March and April under a Below Normal water year—flows that typically anchor California’s early-season boating calendar.
These releases will not occur this year.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has confirmed that all 2026 Slab Creek recreation releases are cancelled due to an operating license condition developed to protect the foothill yellow-legged frog (FYLF), with rapidly warming river temperatures triggering that requirement.
Within the South Fork American River watershed, foothill yellow-legged frogs are part of the South Sierra distinct population segment, listed as endangered under both the federal and California Endangered Species Acts. These frogs rely on stable spring conditions to reproduce, using water temperatures around 12°C as a cue to begin laying eggs along shallow river margins. Once that threshold is reached, egg masses become highly vulnerable to changes in flow.
Under the project license in the Slab Creek reach, if the 7-day rolling average water temperature exceeds 12°C during this critical period, recreation releases must be cancelled to avoid stranding or scouring eggs and disrupting development. This year, record early-season heat has accelerated river warming, pushing temperatures past that threshold earlier than expected and shifting the ecological window ahead of the scheduled release dates.
The result is the full cancellation of Slab Creek’s 2026 release schedule, removing a key early-season boating opportunity.
American Whitewater has long worked on this watershed to secure and implement these recreation flows through the Upper American River Project license. That work includes coordinating annual release schedules with SMUD, aligning flows with boater preferences and hydrologic conditions, and working with land managers to improve access, safety, and on-the-ground usability. While disappointing, this cancellation reflects the same balanced framework American Whitewater helped put in place—one that provides meaningful recreation opportunities in most years while ensuring protections for sensitive species when conditions require it.
There are still limited ways to get on the water. Minimum instream flows on Slab Creek will support low-water boating in May and June for inflatable kayaks and packrafts. The South Fork Silver Creek reach below Ice House Dam will have pulse flows in May and the scheduled releases are still slated for June.