[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 6/25/07

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

June 25, 2007

 

3. Watersheds -

 

Sturgeon crushed by dam gates -

Sacramento Bee

 

Dan Walters: Disgraceful shortage of wardens -

Sacramento Bee

 

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Sturgeon crushed by dam gates

Sacramento Bee – 6/25/07

By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer

 

Ten rare adult green sturgeon were recently squashed by the gates of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam on the Sacramento River, marking what one official called a "very unfortunate" setback for another dwindling river species.

 

The sturgeon, all spawning adults, are believed to have been trapped by the dam's gates before May 24, with the most recent carcass being discovered June 10. The dam is operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

 

Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the bureau, said the fish probably died after being caught in the dam's partially opened gates. When the gates were later closed, the fish were crushed or cut into pieces.

 

While sturgeon are the largest threatened fish in the Sacramento River, the species' loss comes amid a related crisis for the river's tiniest fish, the fingerling Delta smelt, also threatened. Both are imperiled by water diversion systems.

 

"If we want to have any native fish populations left, it's time to take a sober look at what we use water for in California and assess what are reasonable uses and what aren't," said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

 

The National Marine Fisheries Service last year listed Sacramento River green sturgeon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. That resulted from a petition filed by Miller's group and two others.

 

Last year, the state Department of Fish and Game estimated there may be as few as 50 spawning-age green sturgeon in the river, so the 10 dead fish could represent 20 percent of the population.

 

All the dead fish were spawning adults, said Maria Rea, manager of the Sacramento office of the National Marine Fisheries Service. They ranged from 48 to 82 inches long. At least two were female and four were male.

 

Sturgeon are known to become more prolific spawners as they age, so mature fish are considered especially valuable.

 

"These were large, old fish, which makes this a significant and very unfortunate event," Rea said. "We think this could constitute a significant portion of the spawning population."

 

Rea said there is no sign the deaths resulted from wrongdoing. As an interim measure, her agency ordered that when gates at the dam are opened, they must be open at least 12 inches so sturgeon can pass without being trapped.

 

The dam, built in 1964, is a long, low structure that diverts water from the Sacramento River near Red Bluff into the Tehama-Colusa Canal. The canal provides water to farmers on the west side of the Sacramento Valley.

 

McCracken said the timing of dam operations was unusual this year because of the dry winter and requirements to accommodate migrating spring-run Chinook salmon. This may have contributed to the deaths of the sturgeon, which also must migrate past the dam to spawn upstream.

 

He said only one sturgeon has been killed by the gates before, in 2002.

 

"It's just really weird why all of a sudden there seems to be a plethora," he said. "We've never seen this before in all the years that we've operated that dam."

Green sturgeon are one of the oldest known fishes in North America, believed to date back 200 million years. Like salmon, they spawn in freshwater but spend a large part of their lives in the salty waters of San Francisco Bay and the ocean. They do not reach spawning age until at least 13 years old, then they spawn every two to five years and often live to be 70 years old.

 

The state Department of Fish and Game recently banned anglers from keeping green sturgeon and imposed new catch limits on its even larger cousin, the white sturgeon. Both are threatened by poaching, water diversions, competition from non-native species and water contamination.#

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/239903.html

 

Dan Walters: Disgraceful shortage of wardens

Sacramento Bee – 6/25/07

 

Public employee unions complain all the time about staff shortages and low pay and benefits. But laments from the California Fish and Game Wardens Association about appalling shortages and salary shortcomings among those who protect California's wildlife and other natural resources have the ring of truth -- and add up to a rather shameful situation.

 

There are only about 200 wardens covering the entire state, a ratio that's the lowest among the states. There are many vacancies, and they get paid much, much less than prison guards and Highway Patrol officers, even though wardens have higher educational requirements.

 

Fish and Game Lt. Jeff Longwell, his department's chief recruiter, put it this way to a Sacramento Bee reporter: "We send these guys out into the middle of nowhere by themselves to protect the state's resources, and we expect them to live in hovels. We're just going to lose everybody unless something is done."

 

The appalling warden shortage results from a confluence of financial and political factors, not the least of which is that the unions representing prison guards and Highway Patrol officers are among the Capitol's most powerful political forces. The Fish and Game Department, meanwhile, is largely dependent on fishing and hunting license fees -- which have been flattening or declining -- and the department has assumed many additional duties relating to environmental protection.

 

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget seeks 34 new Fish and Game positions for environmental reviews, supported by new fees -- an action ratified by legislative budget-writers. The Legislature wants 50 more Highway Patrol officers on top of the 240 positions added last year. The ranks of prison guards, meanwhile, are swelling dramatically and will increase even more as the state resumes prison construction. But what about the wardens? So, far, nada. Nothing. Zero. Zilch.

 

"We know ourselves as the thin green line," union President Bob Orange has written. "Yet, as critical a role as we have, wardens themselves have been a vanishing force, marginalized by political whims, undermined by falsehoods, and victimized by economic pressure. As warden numbers diminish, so do the wildlife, fisheries and environment of California."

 

California is a huge state (163,696 square miles) with huge numbers of wildlife species on the ground, in the water and in the air. Its human population continues to grow by 5 million-plus each decade. But Fish and Game has the same number of wardens it had 50 years ago -- and just half the number authorized a few years ago. Meanwhile, poaching has skyrocketed, in part due to the demand for animal parts in Asia for medicinal potions.

 

After the Animal Planet television network filmed a segment on bear poaching in California, British producer Amanda Feldon sent a letter to Schwarzenegger lamenting the shortage of wardens, saying: "It will create great consternation when the program is eventually watched by a worldwide audience."

 

A bill to raise wardens' pay to the level of other major law enforcement agencies in the state didn't even get a hearing in the Senate. The Schwarzenegger administration says that with a 10 percent raise scheduled for next year, wardens' salaries will have increased by one-third since 2004. They still lag far behind those of Highway Patrol and prison badge-carriers.

 

Last week, with the budget nearing final form, legislative budget conferees approved a $3 million augmentation to improve warden recruitment and training and provide some overtime pay to boost retention. But it's a stopgap at best. It does nothing to close the yawning salary gap and, most importantly, does nothing about the shameful shortage of wildlife protectors.#

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/239768.html