A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 25, 2008
3. Watersheds
Future of Salton Sea hangs in balance; Legislative Analyst's Office indecisive on restoration plan - Desert Sun
Report urges action on Salton Sea rescue - Riverside Press Enterprise
Fishing ban sought on river; Two-month lull on American would help steelhead, group says - Sacramento
Guest Column: Critics of Klamath deal emerging from both ends of basin -
DELTA ISSUES:
A net gain; With the Delta smelt population on the ropes, scientists working near Byron await a state grant that they hope will help solve the riddle of the tiny fish's decline - Tracy Press
Column: 'Plight of our Fisheries' panel calls for action -
Column: Fish wrap: Water diversion program imperils salmon fishery - Marin Independent Journal
Future of
Desert Sun – 1/25/08
By Erica Solvig and Jake Henshaw, staff writers
A $9 billion plan to help the ailing
The State Legislative Analyst's Office did not endorse or oppose the restoration plan that's before lawmakers.
Instead, it called for state officials to consider the current realties - mainly the state's $14.5 billion deficit - before embarking on any fixes at the state's largest lake. Experts say without help, the
"Given the state's ongoing budgetary constraints and the uncertainty of any significant future federal funding, we think it is critical that the Legislature decide what the state can realistically afford to spend on the restoration when deciding what restoration plan to pursue," analysts wrote.
The new recommendations did not sit well with local sea supporters who are trying to gain state and federal funding before the sea shrinks. Many of the suggestions - from giving the state authority over the restoration to de-emphasizing water quality - conflict with the priorities locals set.
"The LAO report seems to be biased toward the
The
Left untreated, experts predict fish and bird habitat will be lost and the exposed lake bed will create massive dust woes for miles.
After years of false starts and debate, state Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman last year chose a 75-year, $8.9 billion plan to restore the sea, fix air quality problems and preserve habitat.
The plan would cost another $50 million to $140 million a year to operate, the report said.
Chrisman's plan is stalled in the Legislature, but backers hope it progresses this year. Meanwhile, state and local officials are nailing down another bill to outline the group that will oversee the restoration.
The LAO, traditionally influential in its recommendations to state lawmakers, focused more on the financing and management of the restoration than the technicalities of Chrisman's plan.
According to the report:
Lawmakers should deal with the
The Legislature should set in law specific policy priorities, topped by protection of air quality and preservation of habitat. Water quality and economic development take a back seat.
"It may not be practical to adopt a restoration plan that addresses each impact and restoration objective as comprehensively as proposed," the report states.
The "potential" for additional water transfers from Imperial Valley to other parts of
Officials need to ensure "future water inflows will be sufficient to support the plan's operation."
The state Department of Water Resources should lead the massive restoration project.
Other local, federal and state groups interested in the project would only be advisers.
"Focusing authority locally would separate those with authority from those with the primary responsibility for the restoration (including paying for it)."
Officials from the Coachella and Imperial valleys urged local control.
"This has been the state's position for the last several years," Riverside County Supervisor and authority member Roy Wilson said. "This is what the Salton Sea Authority has been trying to battle and make sure we retain and maintain local input. Without it, if it's just turned over to the state, no one is going to like the end result."
Chrisman called the report "helpful to the process" but reiterated that there are many stakeholders besides the state water resources department.
"I think we all recognize that we need a sustained, community-based governance structure," Chrisman said. "I'm not suggesting (local groups) have a veto. We need to have integration of locals with state agencies to work on long-term restoration. The locals have to be part of the process, in our view."
At the heart of Thursday's report is the question of money.
Any sea restoration will compete with "other funding priorities," including education and health care, the report says.
The state by law has to deal with the impacts of a shrinking sea. And the state will also be on the hook for the bulk of the cost, "as it is unlikely the federal government or local beneficiaries will provide significant funding."
The Salton Sea Authority has touted a plan that would capture taxes on future development around the sea and set it aside to pay for restoration.
Estimates show the proposal, based on the same concepts as a redevelopment agency, would generate $1 billion.
But the analyst's report calls the proposal "fairly speculative in nature" and warns lawmakers not to count on much local financing.
"That just shows you they're not always right," Riverside County Supervisor and authority member Marion Ashley said. "I could not disagree more. They're responding like a typical bean counter." #
http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080125/NEWS0701/801250361/-1/newsfront
Report urges action on
Riverside Press
By Jim Miller,
Lawmakers should approve a restoration plan for the ailing desert lake, which straddles
Reductions in its water supply will make the sea too salty for any fish by 2015, experts predict, as well as expose acres of sediment that will worsen the region's air pollution.
Last May, state officials unveiled an $8.9 billion, 75-year restoration plan. It includes a 52-mile, horseshoe-shaped barrier to create a marine sea along the eastern and western shores.
To date, though, the Legislature has taken no action on the plan. A bill to begin the process by releasing $47 million in water bond money was held in the Assembly last year after officials raised concerns that the spending would commit the state to far greater costs in the future.
Yet there is no way for the state to avoid the project, Thursday's report said. State law, as well as the 2003 agreement that reduced Colorado River water to
Significant amounts of federal and local money are unlikely, leaving the state general fund as the main source of money for the work. What money the state has should be targeted at projects that reduce air pollution, protect wildlife, and help the economy.
"It doesn't make any sense to start building the preferred alternative if the state runs out of money and you have a barrier that goes only halfway across the sea," fiscal and policy analyst Brendan McCarthy, the report's author, said. #
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_salton25.35bc620.html
Fishing ban sought on river; Two-month lull on American would help steelhead, group says
Sacramento
By M. S. Enkoji, staff writer
The state Fish and Game Commission is set to consider a two-month fishing ban on the lower
The ban for February and March, if approved, would be the first in years along a 26-mile section of the river from Nimbus Dam to the
A fly-fishing organization representing 7,000
Unusually low river levels below Nimbus Dam make fish more susceptible to "snagging," an illegal method that is difficult to prevent, a branch of the Federation of Fly Fishers said in a letter to the commission.
"We make this request with a heavy heart," the letter said.
As popular as the
"They're not going to be happy," he said of anglers, "me included. But if we're ever going to save the wild fish, we have to do it."
The commission will consider the proposal when it meets Feb. 7-8 in
The commission's staff has not made a recommendation on the request. Commission members couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.
River levels so low that people can stroll across the American give fish less room to spread out, which makes it easier for snaggers to spot them, Ford said. Steelhead spawn during February and March, another condition that makes them easier snagging targets, he said.
Fish, including steelhead, are supposed to be hooked in the mouth with a lure or bait. But illegally caught fish are hooked by a line dragged through the water until it snags somewhere on the fish, sometimes on its back.
"It brings out the worst in people," Ford said.
The lower stretch of the American has nearly shriveled into a muddy ribbon compared to its typical rippling abundance because of stingy dam releases, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
That isn't likely to change during the next two months because, even with the recent storms, there isn't enough snowmelt to spare more water, said Ron Milligan of the bureau's Central Valley Project.
The flow in the lower American was at 1,038 cubic feet per second Thursday, compared to a year ago, when it was 1,747 cfs.
On some
"Why isn't it true for the
The group is seeking only the two-month ban from the commission, but noted it would support the same kind of trigger for the lower American.
Beneath the looming concrete mass of Nimbus Dam, a half-dozen men stood thigh-deep in the muddy flow Thursday morning. Stalwarts of their sport, determined against the icy wind, they cast their lines and waited. And waited.
Gene Dragon, 74, cocked his head as he watched from the rockbound shore, calculating his odds. Should he join the ranks of the hopeful? Or should he climb into the warmth of his truck and head for his
Not a good idea to deny everyone all this fun, Dragon said of the proposed ban.
"When they see snaggers here, they get on them in a second," he said, summing up a kind of river justice.
As Dragon geared up, Nick Torres, 60, waded ashore, done for the day.
February and March will be slow months on the river for legitimate fishers anyway, he said. A moratorium on fishing, he said, is a small sacrifice for a viable steelhead population.
"If you want to keep it healthy and coming back, you have to," he said.
Torres, who lives near Weaverville in
Consider a catch-and-release-only restriction instead, urged Paul Young, 63, of Folsom, who also was calling it quits – until later in the afternoon.
Young, who throws back what he catches, said requiring the same thing of all fishers would discourage snaggers, who typically keep fish.
"That to me would make more sense," he said after wading ashore. "Otherwise, you're just going to annoy a lot of people."
The ratio of hatchery-raised to wild steelhead is about 2-to-1 in the river, said Terry Jackson, a biologist with Fish and Game. Only hatchery fish – recognizable by a clipped fin – can be kept; wild fish must be released.
The steelhead season generally runs through the summer at most locations on the lower river, but the run slows after March,
Steelhead also are fished in the Yuba and Feather rivers, which have higher flows and are not part of the requested closure.
Another department biologist, Mike Healey, said the
He believes that 90 percent of steelhead snaggings are accidental, unlike larger salmon. He knows his evaluation counters the conventional wisdom of some in the angling community.
"I know groups out there will say I don't get out enough," he said.
Walking the banks of the American this week, he surveyed anglers, who gave a thumbs down on a ban. Besides steelhead, anglers are fishing for striped bass and a few of the remaining salmon, he said.
But Wayne Chubb, a member of the fly-fishing group, said a ban on all fishing is the only effective way to control illegal practices targeting one species of fish.
A fisherman since he was 4, Chubb lives near Sailor Bar, which he calls one of the worst snagging locations on the
"I'm not a biologist," Chubb said "I'm just a guy who fishes and spends a lot of time out there. With the lower flows, there's a real danger of doing irreparable harm." #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/661086-p2.html
Guest Column: Critics of Klamath deal emerging from both ends of basin
By Leaf Hillman, vice-chairman of the Karuk Tribe and Craig Tucker, Klamath campaign coordinator for the Karuk Tribe
After more than two years of negotiation, the Klamath Settlement Group released a proposed agreement for resolving some of the most contentious issues surrounding the beleaguered
The proposed deal addresses the need for increased river flows for fish, dependable power and irrigation diversions for agriculture, and funding to restore fish habitat. Implementation of the plan hinges on successfully negotiating a dam removal deal with PacifiCorp.
The Karuk Tribe sees this deal as a huge intermediate victory in our effort to restore the Klamath. We knew four years ago when we set out to win the biggest dam removal in history, success would depend on building a diverse bipartisan coalition. Only if we had the ability to reach across the aisle once we got a deal to Congress could we achieve such an ambitious goal.
Given that PacifiCorp essentially double-crossed the farm community by refusing to continue a 100-year-old pledge to provide affordable power to the Klamath Irrigation Project, which they made in order to get permission to build the dams, the project farmers were open to discussing how we could all work together to solve common problems.
What we found when we actually sat down and opened a constructive dialogue is that we could indeed forge a blueprint for restoration that addresses both the ecological and economic concerns for both communities.
Critics of the deal have emerged in recent days. On the left we have so-called environmentalists who allege that the deal gives up too much to farmers. On the right we have radical property rights activists who allege that the deal gives up too much to Indians and fishermen.
Neither group has their facts straight or their hearts in the right place.
The reality is that many critics of the deal simply hate the other side more than they love their own self-interests. In other words, some hate farmers more than they love salmon. Others hate Indians and fishermen more than they love farming.
Given the impact that a degraded river is having on people's lives, this first response is understandable. The sadness and loss many of us felt when the fish kill happened in 2002 soon evolved into a bitter hatred for those who divert water upstream.
But our goal should not be revenge. Our goal should be to fix our river.
If we let hatred of our traditional political opponents guide us, we will fail. If we allow the perfect be the enemy of the good, we will fail.
Let's instead keep our eye on the ball and build the political coalition we'll need to take on Big Energy and callous corporations like PacifiCorp. That's what it will take to remove those dams and bring our salmon home. #
http://www.times-standard.com//ci_8063015?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
DELTA ISSUES:
A net gain; With the Delta smelt population on the ropes, scientists working near Byron await a state grant that they hope will help solve the riddle of the tiny fish's decline
Tracy Press – 1/24/08
By Bob Brownne, staff writer
Ecologists might lament the decline of the Delta smelt, but scientists at a lab next to Clifton Court Forebay, just south of Byron, expect to see an increase in the number of smelt they work with.
Since 1995, the U.C. Davis Fish Conservation and Culture Laboratory has been the state’s main breeding program for captive smelt. U.C. Davis expanded the lab in 2003, and in 2008 a $1.2 million grant from the State Water Resources Control Board and Department of Water Resources will enable the lab to expand again in an existing building.
Bradd Baskerville-Bridges, one of the lab’s directors since 1998, said the expansion comes at a critical time. As of last year, the population of wild Delta smelt declined so far that researchers are no longer allowed to take the smelt out of their native habitat.
"We had already come to the conclusion that it’s not the responsible thing to do," Baskerville-Bridges said.
"Fortunately, we kept our brood stock from last year and will spawn them as 2-year-olds."
Baskerville-Bridges said about 600 fish are still alive from when researchers last collected smelt from the Delta in December 2006. Typically, a female will produce about 1,000 eggs, but some of the older fish can produce 4,000 to 5,000 eggs. They also have second-generation fish in their lab, which is separated into areas for spawning, larvae, juveniles and adult smelt.
The fish spawn in the wild between February and May, but the season is longer in the lab and more of the fish spawned will survive as compared to those in the wild. The 2008 population already includes larvae and groups of thousands of eggs ready to hatch.
Joan Lindbergh, who has been at the lab since 1995 when the whole lab was housed in a single converted shipping container, said the lab could potentially produce 100,000 to 200,000 fish every year.
But the lab’s emphasis is identifying the genetic makeup and family groups of the fish, much like a pedigree. The lab expansion will enable researchers to do more detailed isolation of family groups among the fish, which will translate to better assurance of genetic diversity in future populations of fish bred in captivity.
For that reason, the number of fish produced in the lab is much lower, about 60,000 in 2006, but the lab can provide other researchers with detailed information on any particular fish used in a study.
The refuge and breeding program isn’t designed to produce fish to go back into the Delta, but it will provide fish for research into the species’ life cycles, feeding habits, habitat needs and other studies.
"If you want to do any laboratory study you have to have fish of a known origin and known age," Baskerville-Bridges said. Researchers who use the fish include other scientists at U.C. Davis, the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Researchers also used raised fish to study how screens designed to keep fish out of irrigation pumps, including the huge state and federal export pumps north of
While the smelt are believed to be at their lowest numbers ever in the wild, the lab directors said that breeding fish for release back into the Delta is not practical if the conditions that caused their decline in the first place are not corrected.
"They’ve considered that, but there are real downsides to producing cultured fish and releasing them into the wild," Lindberg said. "If the cultured fish breed with the wild fish, it could bring down the health of the wild fish.
"When it gets way down to a bottleneck, that’s when people consider putting laboratory animals back into the wild." #
http://tracypress.com/content/view/13257/2242/
Column: 'Plight of our Fisheries' panel calls for action
By Steve Carson, outdoors columnist
Last week's International Sportsman's Exposition Show in
Without a doubt the most compelling speaker was Jim Martin, retired Oregon Chief of Fisheries. Martin pounded his fists and boldly challenged the audience to "raise hell and demand change."
"Where is the outrage?" implored Martin. "Think about your children. The numbers are trending towards zero, and we will feel the deep burning pain of having lost something. The issue of the future is water, and we are losing our fish an inch at a time."
All of Martin's impassioned remarks from the previous week's San Mateo conference can be seen on either YouTube or Google by using the combined search words, "fisherman angry speak out."
Also up was John Beuttler of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Beuttler proclaimed that, "Our fisheries are in ruin, it's nothing short of a disaster. Primarily due to water exports, at least 90 percent of historic habitat has been lost. How do we find the political will to tell the government to do its job?"
Dan Bacher of Fish Sniffer Publications gave details of the disastrous fish kill at the Delta's
When her turn came up, California State Assembly member Lois Wolk said, "Fish are the canary in the coal mine, and part of the problem is that nobody is in charge. A steward is needed for the Delta, it's a huge area. I am introducing a bill to classify the Delta as both a water supply and an ecosystem. Make your voices heard, let your politicos know how you feel."
Dan Wolford, Science Director for the politically active Coastside Fishing Club, specifically addressed the coastal closures known as MPAs. "We must find a balance; the general public is aligned with fishermen. From 15 to 40 percent of the coastline will be affected in some way. We need to minimize the socio-economic impacts."
Dick Pool of the grassroots organization "Water4fish" spoke ominously, "If you didn't like salmon fishing this year, then you won't like next year at all." Pool urged the audience and all concerned anglers to go to Water4fish.org and sign the online petition. #
http://www.chicoer.com/sports/ci_8073668
Column: Fish wrap: Water diversion program imperils salmon fishery
Marin Independent Journal – 1/24/08
By Nels Johnson, columnist
Mike Aughney of
Enjoy those wild, local salmon filets while you can.
"The Marin food fan who enjoys salmon should know that the government is literally killing this incredible fishery," Aughney said. Salmon are vanishing because of the massive diversion of water from the Delta for southern agricultural interests, a program that is sucking up water along with baby fish, habitat and feed.
"If we don't get some new water policies in place soon, our
Aughney, a native of Novato and former commercial fisherman who works as a Marin water district foreman, said the salmon fishery has "completely collapsed in three short years," a tragedy that should resonate with those who focus on "how and where their food is caught, grown and produced."
It's a bleak picture:
- Water exports from the Delta have increased 25 percent in three years, with 2 million acre feet alone going to subsidized cotton growers who get both water and crop subsidies from taxpayers. "Basically cotton farmers are harvesting water to get their subsidy checks which can reach as high as $500,000 per farm," he said. "We need to stop growing cotton and other crops that are unprofitable without subsidies, have a high impact on the environment and enrich only a few wealthy farmers."
- Delta plankton that baby salmon and other fry feed on is vanishing, decreasing by as much as 90 percent, and experts blame sharp cutbacks in fresh water flows caused by water exports. "Baby salmon are literally staving to death in the Delta," Aughney said.
- The Department of Fish and Game's Fall Trawl fish survey, which studies fish populations at 116 bay and Delta sites, found the American shad and longfin smelt populations at the lowest levels on record, Delta smelt at the second lowest level, and juvenile striped bass at the third lowest level ever.
- The lowest central valley salmon runs on record were logged in 2007, and this year looks even bleaker.
Just as Vice President Dick Cheney orchestrated the water diversion from the
The federal Bureau of Reclamation is signing 50-year water contracts without regard for fish. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is boosting a $9 billion water bond program to build dams and a peripheral canal to divert even more water from the Delta.
Residents need to fight back - or kiss bay estuary marine life goodbye, not to mention local salmon entrees.
"Please tell the governor that you don't support his water plan and that you want to see our local salmon fisheries returned to health," Aughney said. #
http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_8068433
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