A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
November 16, 2007
3. Watersheds
FORESTY REGULATIONS:
Coho salmon threatened, groups charge -
LAKE
Fish-killing chemicals dissipating -
PRESERVATION:
OHV use barred at Yuba Goldfields; BLM issues order to protect salmon, steelhead habitat -
WETLANDS CONSERVATION:
State coastal commission backs developer's plans near wetlands - Associated Press
FORESTY REGULATIONS:
Coho salmon threatened, groups charge
By John Driscoll, staff writer
Environmental groups have sued over forestry rules passed earlier this year by the California Board of Forestry, claiming they imperil protected coho salmon and were approved in violation of state laws.
The rules allow forest landowners easier approval for logging that could harm coho, and set standards for road management on timberlands. The Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) and the Sierra Club allege in a suit in San Francisco Superior Court Thursday that the board and the Department of Forestry didn't follow the state Forest Practices Act, the Environmental Quality Act and administrative and procedural laws.
The groups claim that the coho regulations run counter to the board's duty to protect fish and wildlife, and that the roads plan undermines existing standards and was authorized without adequate review. EPIC alleges that the board abandoned an initial proposal to add protections to the forest rules.
”However, apparently at the direction of the governor's office, that habitat protection approach was abandoned and replaced by the coho take rules at issue in this case,” the suit reads, “rules which find the board facilitating the killing of coho, rather than its protection.”
The Department of Fish and Game has yet to complete its related rule-making process.
The dispute over the rules passed in July had wide-ranging effects that left salmon restoration projects teetering in uncertainty.
Some $11.5 million in bond money was pulled from the budget in July -- apparently over concerns raised about spending money on restoration while the board passed rules environmentalists believed would harm fish. That money would have been used to match federal money for salmon projects on the
If the bill isn't heard as part of a special water bond session soon, it will likely have to be taken up as an urgency measure in January, and the amount of funding is likely to be reduced either way.
If the suit prevails in overturning the new rules, it's unclear the exact effects on landowners.
”We're uncertain at this time if it would have any effect on our lands,” Jackie Miller of Green Diamond Resource Co.
Most of that company's lands are covered under a habitat conservation plan with its own provisions for coho protection.
California Forestry Association President Dave Bischel said he has no reason to believe the board of forestry violated any procedure, and questioned the logic behind the suit.
”Again, it seems to me that they're trying to split procedural hairs,” Bischel said.
EPIC and the Sierra Club say the board would continue to adopt rules outside of proper procedures without the legal action, and that they have no other administrative remedy.
They are asking the court to overturn the rules and make judicial determinations that the board and the department violated the law. #
http://www.times-standard.com//ci_7479176?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
LAKE
Fish-killing chemicals dissipating
By Jane Braxton Little, staff writer
PORTOLA –
All of the chemicals are dissipating, said David Spath, who has regularly tested the reservoir water for the state Department of Health Services since the September treatment.
Rotenone, an organic insecticide used to kill all the fish in the lake, is largely gone, Spath said. The chemicals used to disperse rotenone remain detectable, but all levels were reduced when lasted tested Nov. 5, he said. The U.S. Forest Service has lifted a portion of the public closure imposed before the poisoning.
Spath had no estimate of when the chemicals might all be gone.
The California Department of Fish and Game has promised to stock
Department officials conducted the $16.7 million poisoning project to prevent the invasive pike from migrating downstream into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where they feared they would decimate the state's native and commercial fishery. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/496603.html
PRESERVATION:
OHV use barred at Yuba Goldfields; BLM issues order to protect salmon, steelhead habitat
Grass Valley
By Laura Brown, staff writer
The Bureau of Land Management issued an emergency order banning off-highway vehicle use on 160 acres of public land known as the Yuba Goldfields to protect habitat of spawning Chinook salmon and
The order comes after the federal agency received reports and photos of people riding quads into the river where threatened fish spawn.
"They were driving right into the river, right over the spawning 'reds,'" said BLM wildlife biologist Peggy Cranston. "Reds" are gravel areas in the river bed where salmon and steelhead lay their eggs.
The federal agency didn't hold a public hearing before calling the order, frustrating some OHV users who regularly ride in the area.
"We had to move quickly to protect the fish. We didn't have time to wait," said John Scull of the BLM's Folsom Field Office.
The Yuba Goldfields are located 8 miles west of Marysville on the
This year, salmon have returned in record low numbers to
After reviewing preliminary data, it appears this year's fall run of Chinook salmon will be less than 10 percent of returns seen in the last few years, said Jason Rainey, executive director for the South Yuba River Citizens League. The group has been talking with the BLM for more than a year about the issue.
"We're well aware of the impacts OHV use has been having on spawning grounds. We witnessed it ourselves," Rainey said.
The BLM is mandated by law to protect critical habitat for species listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, Scull said.
The
"We don't want to do anything to mess up their reproductive cycle," Scull said.
The closure of OHV riding along the river corridor could be made permanent in the future but decisions won't be made without following a public process, Scull said.
The BLM manages approximately 470 acres accessible from
"It's just a shame they're taking more and more away," Harris said. #
http://www.theunion.com/article/20071116/NEWS/111160165
WETLANDS CONSERVATION:
State coastal commission backs developer's plans near wetlands
Associated Press – 11/16/07
Upon learning about the commission's decision, land preservationists threatened to file a lawsuit to block the housing project.
"We're not happy about this," said Flossie Horgan, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. "We're going to be talking to our attorney about this and will make a decision later."
Shea Homes had hoped to build 268 homes but the company lost acreage in favor of conservation earlier this week. The company has been at odds with environmentalists who are worried about how the housing development will affect the wetlands.
Shea has said it will pay for $15 million in flood-control improvements in the area, which could eliminate mandatory flood insurance for 7,000 residents and businesses.
The trust also said Shea bought the property in 1996, leased it for farming and then allegedly altered the land with bulldozers to hide pools of water. Shea rejects the allegation.
Shea spokesman Laer Pierce said the project must be approved again by the Huntington Beach City Council because the commission changed the local coastal plan. The proposal then must go back to the Coastal Commission for final approval.
"Just to get our application to this point has taken five years," Pearce said. "And now it could be another two to three years before we get the final approval." #
http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/496911.html
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