Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 21, 2007
3. Watersheds -
Foes drop bid to cut funds for river work -
Sacramento
Fish-kill alert for Klamath -
Eureka
The teaching albatross
Aquarium visitors learn about the dangers of plastics to ocean birds -
San Francisco Chronicle
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Foes drop bid to cut funds for river work
Sacramento
Bee Washington
But the river maneuvering isn't finished. In fact, it's only now heating up.
"It's definitely not over," said Spencer Pederson, spokesman for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, "but I think that this amendment not being offered is a good thing for the river bill."
With an estimated federal price tag of $500 million, the
By 2009, additional water would flow from the dam. By 2014, salmon would be reintroduced. The plan would settle an 18-year-old lawsuit filed by environmentalists.
Water districts on the
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said Wednesday that after being "provided a great deal of information by the two opposing sides," he decided to withdraw his amendment to block federal spending on the San Joaquin River plan and examine the river bill closely when it comes up at the Resources Committee.#
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/233849.html
Fish-kill alert for Klamath
John Driscoll The Times-Standard
Fishery biologists are on alert for signs of salmon dying on the
A group of state and federal agencies, tribes and environmental organizations is fine -tuning water quality and disease-monitoring efforts after raising their alert level to yellow earlier this month. The Klamath Fish Health Assessment Team is a group of field-level biologists that will stay in close touch over the coming months, said California Department of Fish and Game biologist Sara Borok.
”I'd rather be crying wolf than be unprepared,” Borok said.
The team was created in 2003, the year after 68,000 adult chinook salmon died in a low, warm
Nat Pennington with the Salmon River Restoration Council said in a trap on the Klamath just above Weitchpec, about half of the 50 young fish caught Wednesday were dead.
”We had a respite a couple of weeks ago when it rained,” he said. “It seems like things are getting bad again.”
Of equal concern are conditions expected this fall. With little snowpack, both the Klamath and Trinity rivers are being managed under guidelines for a “below average” year. By this fall, when thousands of chinook salmon begin to migrate from the ocean into the river, flows will be low and the river probably warm.
In 2002, a large run of salmon estimated at 160,000 crowded into the mouths of cooler tributaries but still succumbed to deadly diseases. Temperatures of 73 to 75 degrees were registered that year, and the river above Klamath Glen on the lower river was running at only about 1,800 cubic feet per second.
This year, the run is expected to be about 121,000, and flows could easily drop to below 2,000 by the time fall salmon begin to run.
Tribal, fishing and conservation groups said removing the Klamath River dams is a necessary step in stemming disease problems on the river and important to restoring healthy fish runs. #
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6194042
The teaching albatross
Aquarium visitors learn about the dangers of plastics to ocean birds
San Francisco Chronicle – 6/21/07
By Patricial Yollin, staff writer
(06-21) 04:00 PDT
"We wanted people to actually see what kind of fabulous animals are affected by plastics floating in the ocean," said Christina Slager, a curator in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's husbandry department.
Every year, plastic debris kills 40 percent of newly hatched albatross chicks at Makana's birthplace, the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge near the northwest end of the
"Their parents see shiny things on the surf, ingest them and regurgitate them to the chicks," Slager said. "It's a slow and painful death."
Plastic garbage was not Makana's problem. She's been permanently grounded because of a dislocated carpus in her left wing -- an injury that has led to a major lifestyle change for her and a new program for the aquarium. For 15 minutes a day, Makana leaves her rooftop aviary and stands on a sand-topped cart while Slager and other staff members introduce her to the public and describe threats to seabirds across the Pacific.
"It's a really unusual opportunity," Slager said. "Normally they're in the sky or at sea most of their lives. They can even sleep while they're flying. They can lock their wings and glide on updrafts off the ocean surface."
Makana was born on Midway Atoll early last year. She was moved to Kauai, along with nine cohorts, in March 2006 as part of a pilot project to help researchers learn how to handle and rear the chicks -- and to eventually apply the knowledge in
Five chicks died of bacterial infections, four fledged and the 4-month-old Makana got hurt, according to Brenda Zaun, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the Kauai National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
"We don't know what happened," Zaun said. "We hoped the wing would heal. She'd flap around and try to fly, but she couldn't get airborne. She's never known free flight -- she's never known that freedom."
The seabird's predicament made her a good candidate for life as an education bird and an "ambassador" for her species. Her name is apt, Zaun said. It means "gift" in Hawaiian.
"She was a gift to all of us," Zaun said. "She was a really special bird, and now everybody can learn about albatrosses."
She said she felt "like a salesperson," making desperate calls to find a home for Makana and keep her from being euthanized.
It's a big responsibility to take on a bird that lives more than 50 years," she said.
The 16-month-old Laysan albatross arrived at Monterey Bay Aquarium in November. She moved into "
On Tuesday afternoon, before the show, Makana was splashing in her pool, 10 feet in circumference and 2 feet deep. She nibbled on kelp, played with a green Frisbee and looked at herself in the mirror. Other toys include a basketball, gigantic rubber ducky and a fake purple eggplant that Slager had just bought for her.
"Hey cutie, you want a head scratch?" Slager asked.
She prodded the 5 1/2-pound bird gently with a big broom until she hopped onto a mat, which is soft and squishy to accommodate a species that usually flies thousands of miles a year.
"Normally, albatross don't do a lot of standing around," Slager said.
Makana clambered onto the cart. Except for a quick squirt of guano, she maintained aplomb as Slager and senior aquarist Julia Mariottini pushed her through the hallway, onto the elevator and down to the second floor. It took months of training to make sure the albatross would be calm enough to interact with visitors.
"We've proceeded carefully," Slager said, "for fear of being perceived as abusive or as a pointless entertainment show. We don't want her to jump through rings of fire."
The waiting crowd quickly grew. For most people, an albatross is either a distant speck in the sky glimpsed from a boat, an obese sea gull or something around one's neck -- from "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," the famous poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Children shouted, "What is it?" Other typical questions: What does she eat? Will she get any bigger? Is this the same thing I saw on my cruise?
Slager said there are 21 species of albatross, and the Laysan is among the most prolific. Makana, although fully grown, won't be sexually mature until age 5. She eats krill, squid and anchovies, and likes to be scratched on her head and under her chin.
"Makana's here to remind us that plastics are a big problem," said Mariottini, who passed around a large tube of junk recovered from the stomach of a young albatross. It included a ballpoint pen shaft, bottle caps and cable tie.
Mariottini added that the United Nations estimated that 46,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating on every square mile of ocean, and she urged people to be more environmentally conscious.
"I had no idea," said Bruce Feldman, a doctor from
Makana spread her wings 6 feet wide and preened, ignoring onlookers as she tended to her feathers. That's not always the case. In the week and a half the program has operated, she frequently has stared intently at people.
"It's a little bit like sightseeing for her," Slager said. "At least that's what I anthropomorphically imagine." #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/21/BAG5JQIMD584.DTL
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