[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 3/26/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

March 26, 2007

 

3. Watersheds

 

SALTON SEA:

Daniels: Sea ignored - Imperial Valley Press

 

FISHERIES RESTORATION:

Column: Salmon, steelhead getting a helping hand from DFG - Auburn Journal

 

 

SALTON SEA:

Daniels: Sea ignored

Imperial Valley Press – 3/25/07

By Jonathan Athens, staff writer

 

SALTON SEA — “They don’t care.”

That’s how Salton Sea Authority Executive Director Rick Daniels summed up his frustration with state and federal bureaucrats when it comes to approving a fix for the decaying sea.

Although he’s a self-described fiscal conservative Republican, Daniels criticized the Bush administration for not even taking a glance, let alone a hard look, at sorely needed, long-awaited proposals to save and revitalize the sea.

“The view from Washington is this is the far Left Coast, a blue state, it’s almost Mexico. … The view from Sacramento is, it’s almost Mexico,” Daniels said.

He made those comments early last week when he convinced the Brawley City Council to endorse the authority’s $5.2 billion plan to save the largest manmade body of water in the Golden State.

 

 

The Salton Sea was a popular recreation spot 40 years ago, attracting tourists and outdoor enthusiasts. But rising salinity concentrations from agricultural runoff water coupled with neglect have taken a severe economic and environmental toll — fish die-offs happen often, air quality has diminished and tourists no longer flock to the lake as they did in the 1960s. Scientists estimate the sea will start shrinking if nothing is done by 2015.

As for bureaucrats giving short shrift to restoration proposals — there are 10 under consideration — all that may change starting early next week.

The Salton Sea State Advisory Committee, a 35-member private-public group of stakeholders, will meet Tuesday morning in Sacramento to come up with a preliminary preferred alternative plan for fixing the sea.

Though that committee may not choose the authority’s proposal, it may come up with one that incorporates elements from that proposal and others. From there, the preferred alternative will go to the California Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman, who is expected to give his recommendation on a fix to state lawmakers in late April.

Daniels said he is optimistic efforts come up with an agreed-upon a remedy are moving forward, but the bureaucracy, especially in Washington, remains a major hurdle.

“The whole bureaucracy is East Coast. They don’t understand the West. They don’t understand California issues. They don’t understand the role water plays in the West,” he said.

Although Congress two years ago authorized $26 million for restoration of the sea, the cost to restore the Salton Sea run will run into the billions — one restoration plan is estimated at $14 billion.

State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-Chula Vista, said she believes this fiscal year both the Legislature and Congress will come up with the money.

“We need their participation” Ducheny said, referring to the federal government.

“We’re getting closer to a consensus people can live with,” she said.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, said Washington bureaucrats aren’t her immediate concern.

“I’m concerned about the state of California” coming up with the money and an agreed-upon solution, Garcia said.

“We don’t have an alternative but to pay attention” to the Salton Sea degradation, she said.

Garcia said she is confident Tuesday’s meeting will come up with a workable solution that will enable the state to get federal dollars. #

http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/03/26/news/news02.txt

 

 

FISHERIES RESTORATION:

Column: Salmon, steelhead getting a helping hand from DFG

Auburn Journal – 3/23/07

By J. D. Richey, columnist

 

In California, it seems that most of the news we get about salmon and steelhead populations gets progressively worse each year as the fish collide with habitat loss from development, water exports and the state's exploding population.

However, there are a few bright spots on the horizon like the restoration work the Department of Fish and Game has planned for Tehama County's Battle Creek.

Battle Creek is one of the most important salmon and steelhead spawning tributaries on the Sacramento River and is home to endangered and threatened populations of steelhead and Chinook salmon - including federally listed winter and spring run kings.

Historically, the creek was the only Sacramento River tributary downstream of the Pit River capable of supporting all four runs of Chinook salmon and steelhead. In the early 1900s, miners built numerous diversion dams across the creek to provide hydroelectric power to Iron Mountain Mine near Keswick.

The dams blocked migrating salmon and steelhead from accessing their spawning habitat and reduced water quality in Battle Creek to the point where these fish and resident trout could barely exist.

 

For nearly 100 years, Battle Creek salmonids have been hanging by a thread. That should all change soon because the DFG recently announced a $67 million project to restore the stream to, hopefully, some of its former glory.

"The fact that salmon and steelhead may soon be thriving in an additional 42 miles of Battle Creek is a story of partnerships," DFG director Ryan Broddrick said. "Wide support and cooperative efforts between state and federal agencies, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., environmental groups, local community groups, and sport and commercial fishing organizations are the reason the Battle Creek Salmon and Steelhead Restoration Project has become a reality."

The project, funded by the California Bay Delta Authority, will remove several hydroelectric diversion dams along Battle Creek, as well as increase water flow while protecting fish and creating passages.

Battle Creek is a particularly good option for restoration work because of its unique features. It has a relatively high and stable flow of water throughout the year - unusual in California - making it a uniquely drought-resistant habitat for salmon and steelhead.

Instead of seasonal rains rapidly flowing out of the watershed, large portions of annual rainfall percolates through the underlying volcanic rock and then emerge as cold springs. Snow melting from Mount Lassen provides cool surface water throughout much of the spring and early summer. The cold, clean water are exactly what salmon and steelhead need to thrive.

Making this whole deal even more intriguing is the fact that the project is sure to boost populations of the native wild rainbow trout throughout a large portion of Battle Creek. DFG fishery biologists expect the trout population in these areas will increase to between 5,000 and 7,000 trout per mile due to restoration habitat changes.

For more information about the project, visit the Bureau of Reclamation Web site, www.usbr.gov/mp/battlecreek or the Battle Creek Conservancy Web site, www.battle-creek.net. #

http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/03/23/sports/local_sports/06richey.txt\

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