A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
February 22, 2008
3. Watersheds
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Column: Invasive species threatening local waters - Sierra Sun
Quagga mussels a growing threat to Arizona water systems - Lake Havasu News Herald
YUBA RIVER ISSUES:
Yuba fish woes spawn lawsuit; Complaint filed in 2006 is amended - for fifth time - Marysville Appeal Democrat
RESTORATION OF STEELHEAD RUN:
Matt Stoecker's plan is to set the steelhead free to get back to Corte Madera Creek - San Francisco Chronicle
WATERSHED ISSUES:
Guest Column: It's Fish Trivia Time; What's happened to our salmon? -
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Column: Invasive species threatening local waters
Sierra Sun – 2/22/08
By Bruce Ajari, Gone Fishin'
The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) recently released a press release regarding its concern about the New Zealand Mud Snail (NZMS) — an invasive species that was first found in the Owens River in Mono County in 2000.
Since that time the tiny snails have been confirmed in numerous other waters within
The DFG is appealing to the general public to help prevent further spread of the snails. Anglers and others who frequent
In addition, individuals who are visiting state fish hatcheries should be careful to remove waders that have been in contact with affected waters before entering hatchery grounds.
NZMS reproduce rapidly and can crowd out native insects that aquatic wildlife depend on for their survival. The snails have now been found in the following waters and county since their discovery in 2000: Hot Creek (Mono); Bishop Creek Canal (Inyo); Lone Pine Creek (Inyo); Media Creek (Los Angeles); Lindero Creek (Los Angeles); Malibu Creek (Los Angeles); Solstice Creek (Los Angeles); Segunda Descheca Creek (Orange); Trabuco Creek (Orange); Piru Creek (Ventura); Putah Creek (Yolo); Lower Calaveras River (Calaveras/San Joaquin); Mormon Slough (San Joaquin); Lower Mokelumne River (San Joaquin/Sacramento); American River (Sacramento); Rush Creek (Marin); Lower Napa River (Napa); San Lorenzo River (Santa Cruz); West Antioch Creek (Contra Costa); and Alameda Creek (Alameda).
Most recently, it has been confirmed in
It is believed that NZMS spread to new river systems primarily by humans, although it is also possible that wildlife plays a role. Anyone who frequents lakes, rivers and streams can inadvertently move mud snails to new locations and therefore should clean their gear. For example, the snails can attach to debris and mud left on waders and survive for weeks in these moist conditions. When an angler or anyone else who has contaminated equipment visits a new stream, the snails can deposit there.
The snails form colonies that disrupt the base of the food chain by consuming algae and competing with native bottom-dwelling invertebrates. A population decline of invertebrates (small aquatic insects, or trout food) can follow the introduction of NZMS, which reduces fish forage. With a decrease in food availability, fish populations can decline as well.
NZMS can grow as large as one-quarter inch but are often much smaller and are parthenogenic or able to start a population with only one snail. NZMS have the potential of extraordinary population densities — up to nearly one million snails per square meter and comprising up to 95 percent of the invertebrate biomass of a river.
It is believed that population in
Here are some steps that the DFG recommends taking if you have been along a stream that is known to have NZMS:
• Have extra waders and boots for use in infested waters only. Store them separately.
• After leaving the water, inspect waders, boots, float tubes, boats and trailers, dogs and any gear used in the water.
• Remove viable snails with a stiff brush and follow with a rinsing.
• If possible, freeze or completely dry out wet gear before reuse.
• Never transport live fish or other aquatic animals or plants from one body of water to another.
Quagga and Zebra mussels that first invaded North America in the
Invasive species are having a huge impact on our resources nationwide. Please exercise great care when you are out enjoying the great outdoors and be aware of accidentally transporting these unwanted visitors.
Threat is real for
The threat to
An agricultural inspection station at Interstate 80 in
The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is hiring watercraft inspectors for the upcoming boating season to patrol
http://www.sierrasun.com/article/20080222/SPORTS01/811758876
Quagga mussels a growing threat to
By John Rudolf, staff writer
In January 2007, the first quagga mussels were discovered in
As they spread, the invasive mussels may also pose a danger to local fish populations. As filter feeders, they pull sediment out of the water, letting more sunlight through and leading to algae blooms, which can hurt fisheries.
The mussels, native to Eastern Europe, arrived in the
The ultimate impact of the mussel invasion is yet to be seen, but biologists warn that the creatures, which can attach to virtually any surface, have the capability to clog pipes and valves at hydroelectric dams and pumping plants.
“All the
In
“Some areas will have hundreds per square meter,” said de Leon. “Other areas will have in the thousands per square meter.”
The city has only one intake pipe that draws raw water directly from the river. The rest of the city’s municipal water is drawn from groundwater that appears to be effectively filtering out the mussels’ larva.
That pipe, which supplies irrigation water mainly to golf courses during peak water use in summer months, may eventually have to be abandoned, Cassens said.
Mussels have been detected at Parker Dam, at the south end of
Last November, the Bureau hired an outside consultant to study the quagga mussel problem at Parker,
The study noted that the water supply intakes on the face of the dam were at risk of mussel settlement and growth, as well as other exterior and interior equipment.
The quagga mussels — a close relative to the zebra mussel — spread with such great rapidity due to their unique reproductive system. Unlike native mussels, which depend on an intermediate host species to achieve reproduction, the zebra and quagga mussels simply release their gametes into the water to breed. “They’re prolific, and they have this host-independent reproduction system, and that makes them very effective,” de Leon said.
The mussels can survive between three to five days out of water, during the summer, depending on the temperature, and as long as 30 days out of water in the winter.
So far the checks have netted 104 boats contaminated with quagga mussels or their larvae, which feel like sandpaper on smooth surfaces.
Biologist recommend completely draining all boat parts that can hold water, including bilges, live wells and motors, and waiting five days between visits to separate lakes. #
http://www.havasunews.com/articles/2008/02/21/news/doc47be38e850490934881849.txt
YUBA RIVER ISSUES:
Yuba fish woes spawn lawsuit; Complaint filed in 2006 is amended - for fifth time
Marysville Appeal Democrat – 2/21/08
By Andrea Koskey, staff writer
Environmental groups have amended a lawsuit demanding two federal agencies do more to correct fish migration obstacles in the
A 2006 lawsuit filed by the South Yuba River Citizens League and the Friends of the River was amended last week because the groups do not believe the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service are doing enough.
The groups are trying to help three endangered fish — Chinook salmon, steelhead and green sturgeon — that use the
"Doing nothing is not an option at this point," said Steve Evans, conservation director for Friends of the River. "But that's what the corps is doing. They're absentee owners."
The groups say they want the Army Corps and the Fisheries Service to begin looking at ways to make ease fish migration up the river. The Army Corps declined comment.
National Marine Fisheries issued a 2002 biological opinion on all rivers and watersheds in the
The opinion expired in 2007, but an extension of the document has been requested.
The suit, filed in federal court in
Last week's filing, which runs 50 pages, was the fifth amendment to the 2006 suit.
"They had an opportunity to amend opinions and start the process to find a solution but they didn't," Evans said. "
Recent studies have shown a decline in fish populations throughout
Jason Rainey, South Yuba River Citizens League executive director, said the groups are asking the federal agencies to develop a solution.
The Yuba County Water Agency is a defendant, but Evans said "they are not after the agency."
Rainey said fish are not the Water Agency's main responsibility, and it should be in the hands of the federal agencies.
Both environmental groups are part of the Yuba River Accord, which regulates river flows to help the fish.
"The salmon can't benefit from the accord if they can't get up the river," Evans said.
YCWA General Manager Curt Aikens said the agency has done more than any other agency to help fish migrations, including the increase of flows to help fish habitat.
"A collaborative approach is a better way to solving problems than a lawsuit," Aikens said. "The Yuba County Water Agency has been the leader in the collaborative process to resolve fishery issues. Being grouped in with other agencies is frustrating." #
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/fish_60641___article.html/lawsuit_river.html
RESTORATION OF STEELHEAD RUN:
Matt Stoecker's plan is to set the steelhead free to get back to Corte Madera Creek
San Francisco Chronicle – 2/22/08
By Sam Whiting
Searsville Dam has held back San Francisquito Creek for about 115 years. It won't make 125 if Matt Stoecker can get it torpedoed to let the steelhead finally come home. Stoecker, 32, is a biologist from
"Searsville Dam is located within the San Francisquito Creek watershed, which drains through
For several years it was used for irrigation on the campus. It was a recreation facility for the early to mid 1900s.
There were concerts. Joan Baez played there, I think. She still lives right across from the preserve. In the mid-'70s Stanford turned it into Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, which is over 1,000 acres. They shut down public access.
When I was in high school I used to sneak into the preserve to fish.
A steelhead is a rainbow trout that's been to the ocean. The rainbow trout are still in Corte Madera Creek, the main tributary to San Francisquito Creek. Those are the ancestors of steelhead. Because of the dam, steelhead can no longer get up into Corte Madera Creek but the trout are still there. Given the opportunity, those fish will head downstream, become steelhead and repopulate Corte Madera Creek on their own.
Stanford, ironically, has this Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve that is harboring this dam and reservoir that is one of the most negative ecological impacts in the whole watershed. The dam is about 65 feet tall and well over 200 feet wide. The reservoir is 10 percent of what it used to be in terms of its water storage capacity due to all the trapped sediment. This artificial reservoir is full of exotic fish like bass and crappie, catfish, bullfrogs. Stanford has done studies and you can see the non-native fish species are spilling over the dam and migrating down San Francisquito Creek. These fish are eating and competing with steelhead and other native fish and wildlife.
I formed Beyond Searsville Dam in early 2007, as an advocacy group. I'm trying to raise money to support an unbiased feasibility study on removing the dam. If you go to steockerecological.com you can see photos of the dam and underwater photos of steelhead in San Francisquito Creek that I've taken.
Within Stanford there is disagreement about Searsville. The biologists and professors teaching ecology have a different viewpoint than the facilities manager. Stanford definitely wants to preserve its water rights, but there's a way to remove the dam and have Stanford maintain and even improve its water rights.
Stanford has a unique opportunity here to be good stewards of the watershed and also to become leaders in this emerging field of dam removal. They can be one of the first institutions in the world to study the full ecological response of dam removal and how an ecosystem restores itself. It just takes them studying dam removal as a viable option, which they have not done thus far. Removing the dam would restore a valley and gorge that is currently submerged.
I haven't fished in Jasper Ridge since high school. I hope within my lifetime I'll be able to see steelhead upstream of the dam. I don't need to fish for them. Seeing them is enough."
The Lightbulb: I was downstream of Searsville Dam fishing and I saw a huge silver fish jump out of the water and bounce off the dam two times. I figured out it was a steelhead that had been to the ocean and come back, and couldn't swim home to spawn. The idea was to remove the dam and welcome steelhead back to
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/22/CM87TPK78.DTL&hw=water&sn=003&sc=481
WATERSHED ISSUES:
Guest Column: It's Fish Trivia Time; What's happened to our salmon?
By Guy Carl, CPA and partner with BDCo Accountants and Advisors in St. Helena
In recent weeks,
Our various species of salmon, along with their relative — the steelhead trout — are among
Here’s a little quiz. Which of the following fish are native to
• Largemouth Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Striped Bass
• Rainbow Trout
• Brown Trout
You might be surprised by the answers:
• Largemouth Bass
The next world record is expected to come from one of them. But just 120 years ago, not a single largemouth lived here.
The first planting came in 1891 using bass from a lake in
• Smallmouth Bass
Could the bronze-backed brothers of the largemouth be native Californians?
Nope, they came from the state of
Interestingly,
But apparently the local fishermen were a little too skillful, and the bass were fished out before they could take hold.
Smallmouths were later introduced into other nearby waters, and now have healthy populations in many lakes throughout northern
• Striped Bass
Able to survive in fresh, salt, or brackish waters, stripers seem a perfect fit for the
That’s what officials thought back in 1879 when they transported 132 small stripers from
Striped bass now can be found throughout the bay, delta, and most major rivers which flow into the system.
They have also been successfully planted in several reservoirs, including
• Rainbow Trout
Stocked in waters across the
Originally they were found in the same streams which support steelhead trout, with the only difference being that the rainbows do not swim out to the ocean like the steelhead.
Over the decades, fish hatcheries have performed extensive genetic engineering to the species so anglers will find them more “attractive” (i.e. bigger and easier to catch).
• Brown Trout
One of my personal favorite pursuits, the brown trout is not even native to this continent!
These ferocious fish immigrated to
They have found life here quite to their liking, and have developed a healthy wild population in numerous mountain lakes and streams.
All of these species, both native and non-native, have done very well in
But in retrospect, should all those foreign fish have been introduced into our waters in the first place?
Could there be a price to pay for tinkering with Mother Nature’s designs?
The Kern River’s native
Thanks to us, brown trout first appeared in the lower reaches of the river and eventually worked their way upstream.
Browns compete with other trout for habitat and, being the larger and more aggressive species, have also become a major predator of the Kern’s goldens.
A series of wire and concrete barriers have been constructed at several points on the river just to keep the browns downstream.
Rumor has it the browns are still finding ways through.
Perhaps even more of a concern on the Kern is the introduction of hatchery-raised rainbow trout.
Rainbows are not native to this river.
They compete in much the same way as do the browns, but the rainbow’s genetics are similar enough to the golden’s that they will actually interbreed with each other.
Large sections of the river now contain only these “hybridized” trout, with the pure golden trout genes only found in the upper reaches.
I can’t help but wonder if non-native species are threatening our salmon and steelhead in much the same way as the browns terrorize the Kern’s golden trout.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin delta is home to strong populations of both largemouth bass and striped bass.
Young salmon and steelhead must pass through this gauntlet on their way out to sea, whereas 120 years ago these predators did not exist here.
The
Could it now be just a matter of time before our new “recreational opportunities” completely displace the native species in our waters? #
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