Two Pacific lamprey have made history in Oregon

Two Pacific lamprey have made history. The eel-like fish made it past the Soda Springs Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River. It's an important milestone as the region deals with climate change.

“The access to cool water habitats are going to be pretty important in the future," said Bob Nichols, the fish forest program manager for the North Umpqua National Forest.

Nichols says the current hope is that more lamprey will be able to reach more habitat north of the dam.

Pacific lamprey are a culturally important food for indigenous people and are a source of some traditional medicines.

Biologists think, in this case, one lamprey may have followed the other because if its pheromones. That can help guide lamprey to good spawning habitat.

Read the full story on this milestone here.