A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 5, 2008
3. Watersheds
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Officials OK boat ban at Casitas; Mussel infestation fear spurs year-long limit -
Fear of invasive mussel leads to Lake Casitas boat ban - Associated Press
Concerns well up over Klamath agreement - Eureka Times Standard
KILARC RESERVOIR ISSUES:
PG&E: Kilarc can be saved; Interested groups must pay for permits, fish ladders -
WATERSHED FORUMS ANNOUNCED:
WATERSHED FORUMS IN
Public Input Sought to Shape a Statewide Watershed Program - News Release -
INVASIVE SPECIES:
Officials OK boat ban at Casitas; Mussel infestation fear spurs year-long limit
By Zeke Barlow, staff writer
Despite the pleas of scores of fishermen who flock to
The ban, which takes effect immediately, will not allow boats from outside the lake because officials fear quagga mussels attached to a boat could multiply and cause millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure and change the ecology of the lake.
Fishing from shore, from rented boats or on vessels permanently stored at the lake will still be permitted. Officials repeatedly said the ban is not permanent.
Casitas is the largest, most popular lake in
In a debate that lasted 3 1/2 hours with nearly 300 people packed in the cafeteria at
But the board ultimately voted 3-2 to close the lake to the roughly 30,000 boats that launch there annually, saying that while they understand the concerns of the fishermen, the primary job of the district is to provide water to more than 60,000 rate payers in western
Board members Bill Hicks and Jim Word were the dissenting votes, saying while they think a temporary ban is needed, one year is too long. But the board members who voted for the measure said the closure, which might not last an entire year, is greatly needed so they can figure out how to keep the mussels at bay.
Taking a breather
“What we are really grappling with is we want to take a breather and get our ducks in a row,” said board member Rich Handley. “We are not going to close you guys out; this is not permanent.”
Board members hoped their vote would send a message to state and federal agencies, which they said are dragging their feet in dealing with the quagga issue, board member Russ Baggerly said.
But for the 27 fishermen who spoke and the hundreds in the audience who applauded their comments, the temporary closure was a huge blow.
“
The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss a temporary ban at
The quagga, as well as the zebra mussel, has done more than $5 billion in damage to the Great Lakes after it was brought from the
One lake in
Earlier this year, the closely related zebra mussel was discovered for the first time in
Quagga mussels, which can reproduce up to 1 million offspring a year, can quickly take over a lake, clog pipes and filters and cause a maintenance nightmare for water delivery systems. Casitas officials have said that an infestation could financially break the district.
The mussels can also alter a waterway’s ecosystem by eating away the bottom of the food chain and starving fish and other animals that depend on the microorganisms.
Fishermen pleaded that not only would they lose their recreation, but businesses around
Ojai resident Larry Elshere did an informal survey of local businesses and said he estimates the loss of revenue to the county could be as high as $1.8 million.
“Before you make your final decision, I hope you take into account how it will affect the merchants and the businessmen in the community,” he said.
Joe Nasta said he recently retired and worked his whole life to get to the point where he could fish a few days a week on his new bass boat.
“What am I going to do when you close the lake?” he asked.
One of the most passionate appeals of the night came from actress Diane Ladd.
“If closing the lake would assure us pure water, I’d say go ahead, but if you have no proof that closing the lake will guarantee clean water, I beg you not to close the lake,” she said. #
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/mar/05/officials-ok-boat-ban-casitas/
Fear of invasive mussel leads to
Associated Press – 3/5/08
OJAI, Calif. -- Lake Casitas is now closed to outside private boats for one year because water district officials fear an infestation of a destructive mussel.
The Casitas Municipal Water board decided on the ban despite pleas from fishermen who showed up for a Tuesday hearing at
The
Boats from outside the lake are banned because officials fear quagga mussels attached to a boat could multiply, damaging infrastructure and changing the lake ecology.
Rented boats and vessels permanently stored at
http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/762221.html
Concerns well up over Klamath agreement
By John Driscoll, staff writer
The
The center on Monday said the agreement aired in January provides guarantees for water deliveries to irrigators in the
”Our rejection of the agreement is predicated on no guarantee of water for fish,” said center Executive Director Greg King.
The environmental center consulted with Arcata fisheries expert Bill Trush and
”This premise squarely places onto the salmon and the river ecosystem any risk inherent in the conclusion that flows contained in the agreement will actually provide enough water for recovery of the species,” Trush wrote in his analysis. “Nowhere is this clearer than in the future allocation of water.”
The deal is still being finalized, however, and the parties in the talks that led to the agreement are meeting today in
Craig Tucker, Klamath campaign organizer for the Karuk Tribe, said that the environmental center brings up some reasonable concerns. But he said a drought plan will be developed as part of the agreement to safeguard water for salmon in the driest years, and that the deal preserves the tribes' and other parties' right to sue if federally protected species are at risk of serious harm.
Tucker said the tribe's flow plan for the river lined out in the agreement is solid, and comes out of a strategy by tribes in the
”I do feel like they're letting the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Tucker said.
The Hoopa Valley Tribe has also opposed the agreement, calling it a water deal that does not include the critical element of dam removal. The settlement group is in talks with dam owner Pacificorp, and several parties have pledged their support of the basin-wide agreement only if a deal is reached with the company to take down the dams.
Humboldt County Supervisor Jill Geist said she hopes the environmental center will bring its issues to the table at today's talks, but said that the various parties' support or lack of support matters most after the final draft of the agreement is reached. Geist said it seems premature for the center to say it's rejecting the deal.
”This is our opportunity,” Geist said. “We have 50 years until the next one and we need to give it the best shot we can.”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is finalizing a relicensing agreement with Pacificorp for the dams, a process that occurs every 30 to 50 years. It has signaled in its draft environmental analysis that the dams can continue operating. But federal fisheries and wildlife agencies have directed that Pacificorp will have to build fish ladders -- at a cost of possibly hundreds of millions of dollars -- to allow salmon to get to historic spawning grounds above the dams.
King said that the environmental center intends to fund an alternative plan to evaluate the needs of salmon, and that it would have to be completed before the group would support the agreement. He said he recognizes that any delay could mean the agreement is considered in the next congressional cycle, but he didn't see the deal disintegrating because of it.
Rep. Mike Thompson has voiced his support for the agreement, and added that he hopes the center remains part of the talks.
”I think it's extremely important that NEC remains a participant of the talks, despite their opposition,” Thompson said in a statement. “I've always been a supporter of this process. I expect that there will be some changes before this draft proposal is finalized, and I hope NEC will remain an interested and productive player.” #
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_8459366
KILARC RESERVOIR ISSUES:
PG&E: Kilarc can be saved; Interested groups must pay for permits, fish ladders
Redding Record Searchlight – 3/5/08
By Dylan Darling, staff writer
Kilarc Reservoir is not for sale, but it could remain a fishing hot spot if the right group steps up to maintain it, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials Tuesday told the Shasta County Board of Supervisors.
“There are a lot of hurdles to overcome in that area,” said PG&E spokeswoman Janet Walther, after the supervisors’ regular meeting.
A nonprofit, private or other group could take over operation of Kilarc if it earns approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the state Public Utilities Commission, and other state and federal agencies, she said. That group would need to be able to cover the cost of a new fish ladder and screens, as well as permits that those agencies would require.
Those costs could be as much as $1 million for the ladder and screens and up to $500,000 for permits, according to a “white paper,” or fact sheet, PG&E put out in December containing details about operating the 4-acre Kilarc Reservoir for recreation.
In 2002, PG&E had sought a new federal license to continue generating power at Kilarc. The small hydroelectric project about 30 miles east of Redding puts out 3.2 megawatts, or enough to power about 2,000 homes. But after consulting with various agencies, the utility decided that the project would no longer be economical and put it on the selling block.
While Synergics Energy Services of Maryland showed interest in the project, it didn’t apply for a new license to keep it running. Redding Electrical Utility also took a look at Kilarc, but decided against buying the project.
Since early 2007, PG&E has been planning how to shut down the project, with a plan due to FERC next March. Any groups hoping to keep the reservoir for recreation will need to speak up by then, Walther said.
A popular spot for anglers, hikers and picnickers from nearby Whitmore and beyond, Kilarc has a host of supporters who want to keep it full of water — and stocked by the state with trout.
One of those is Glenn Dye, a member of the group Friends of Cow Creek. The group has about 60 members trying to save Kilarc Reservoir. Dye was at Tuesday’s meeting and said he doesn’t feel like PG&E is trying to save the reservoir, despite its value to the community.
“The costs that they put out in maintaining it are really high,” he said.
With Whitmore in his district, Supervisor Glenn Hawes said he is familiar with the reservoir and the effort to preserve it. Hawes said he took his kids fishing there in the 1960s and ’70s.
“I don’t think people around this county want to see that thing go,” Hawes said.
He said he thinks state agencies are trying to get PG&E to close down the project to make its water available for others.
“I think they are just looking for an excuse to ship more water to
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/mar/05/pge-kilarc-can-be-saved/
WATERSHED FORUMS ANNOUNCED:
WATERSHED FORUMS IN
Public Input Sought to Shape a Statewide Watershed Program
News Release -
Contact: Sara Martin, 916-372-7202
The California Statewide Watershed Advisory Committee will host three public forums in the Sacramento Hydrologic Region over the next two weeks.
California Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman has tasked the Department of Conservation with changing CALFED's Bay-Delta Watershed Program into a wider reaching, statewide effort.
To aid in the transition, advisory committee members from the state's 10 hydrologic regions are leading an extensive outreach process. They represent local government, agriculture, resource managers and other groups.
"It is vitally important to our effort to have a broad perspective of input as we develop the California Watershed Program," said Robert Meacher, advisory committee member and
Public Forums will be held to receive public input in
"Through these local conversations, we hope to learn what support is needed to help steward natural resources in each watershed," said Mary Lee Knecht, advisory committee member and Executive Director of the Sacramento River Watershed Program.
The program will promote and conduct effective stewardship of natural resources in a watershed context, and will work with local communities and state and federal agencies in collaboration with other stakeholders. The Program will retain many of the important elements that made the CALFED Watershed Program successful.
“The watershed approach is a less intrusive and more cost effective way of managing our state’s natural resources," said Meacher. “The California Watershed Program could be the most cost effective tool in the Governor's toolbox when it comes to managing floods and providing for drought resistance, while at the same time contributing towards protection of the public trust and climate change goals of this administration.”
"If we can develop a process whereby the Program can demonstrate the linkages between the watershed approach to resource management and all the other existing state and federal programs, this will be of great benefit to land managers thought the region,” continued Meacher. “I believe this program can and will accomplish that task."
The Sacramento Hydrologic Region contains all the tributaries to the Sacramento River from above
Additional forums are being held around the state. For more information and for specific times and locations, go online to http://www.conservation.ca.gov or call Mary Lee Knecht at (916) 549-4017. #
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