A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 20, 2008
3. Watersheds
SALMON ISSUES:
Chinook salmon fewer in Merced River; Options to address issue affect fishing, wildlife interests -
North Coast could lose salmon season - Ukiah Daily Journal
STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD:
Critics say water board has 'given up' -
ATASCADEO
Will man-made floating islands clean up Atascadero Lake?; The city has long struggled to find ways to filter harmful chemicals - San Luis Obispo Tribune
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SALMON ISSUES:
Chinook salmon fewer in
By Dhyana Levey,
"It's bringing it home," said Gail Davis, fish and wildlife interpreter in
Students learn about basic life cycles as they raise the eggs into tiny salmon. Then they release the fish into the river, just as two sixth-grade classes from
Now is prime time for such releases,
But
"Everyone received only 30, and there was barely enough for that," she said. "We had to tell the teachers about the poor salmon runs. If it officially becomes an endangered species, it could hurt the program."
Chinook salmon, also called king, typically range about 36 inches long and weigh about 30 to 40 pounds.
They usually spend an average of three or four years in the ocean before returning to rivers to spawn.
Recent surveys found only 520 Chinook salmon in the
As a result, the Merced River Hatchery is collecting fewer fish eggs and releasing fewer salmon into the river.
The issue isn't confined to the Central Valley or even
And the problem is spilling over into fishing season.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council last week canceled early season ocean fishing off the coasts of
One option puts this year's Chinook fishing season to an end. Another only allows a limited amount of fishing for research. And the third allows sport fishing only on certain holidays, such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, Gilden said.
The final decision on which option to take will be made in April.
While the council mainly deals with ocean fish, its decision will extend to the salmon returning to the
Michael Martin, conservation director for the Merced Flyfishing Club, said the low fish numbers in the river and resulting options certainly worries his club's 100 or so members.
But fishing the
The Chinook salmon aren't in the best condition when they reach the
http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/474281.html
Ukiah Daily Journal – 3/20/08
By Ben Brown, staff writer
The council is considering three options to deal with the declining population, two of which would completely close the salmon fishing season along the coast of
"The status of
The only plan that does not require closing fisheries would restrict coastal fishing to small fisheries in specific areas.
The PFMC has proposed options that include quotas of between 15,000 and 25,000 coho salmon and between 25,000 chinook , split between commercial and recreational fishermen, between
South of Cape Falcon, an area that includes
All three options will be available at PFMC web site at www.pcouncil.org/. The council will be taking public comment on the plans until they make their decision on April 1.
According to PFMC estimates, chinook returns to the
In
PFMC Vice-Chairman David Ortman said it is not clear why the returning salmon populations are so low.
"Ocean conditions have been poor, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong for salmon in fresh water," Ortman said.
The council has requested a multi agency task force led by the National Marine Fisheries Service's
This drop in chinook population comes only a two years after a mass die-off of Salmon in the
The federal government eventually dispersed more than $60 million to help salmon fisherman along the west coast. #
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_8638013
STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD:
Critics say water board has 'given up'
By Alex Breitler, staff writer
But before it can get its socks off, the State Water Resources Control Board finds itself targeted by two environmental groups, which claim the board already has failed to protect the declining estuary.
While the state Department of Water Resources and federal Bureau of Reclamation are the agencies that get the most heat for sending billions of gallons of water each year to homes and farms as far away as San Diego, critics said the State Water Resources Control Board has allowed it all to happen while the Delta dies.
Two groups, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and California Water Impact Network, filed a petition Wednesday asking the board to flex its muscles and use its authority to reduce exports.
"You've essentially given up," Bill Jennings, the Stockton-based director of the fishing alliance, told the board at a workshop Wednesday. "Everybody comes to an endless series of workshops and says whatever they want to say, but there's no accountability."
Several agencies are crafting strategies and plans for the Delta, where fish species are crashing and much of the state's water supply is preserved by marginal levees. But the state water board's coming involvement might be significant because the board has broad power to grant water rights and protect water quality.
Officials with the water board said they're planning to do just that. The board in December passed a resolution outlining many of the same problems described by environmentalists.
"Just as there are multiple historic causes for the problems in the Delta, restoring it will take multiple actions, and we are already doing our part," board spokesman William Rukeyser said.
Specific strategies will be outlined in a work plan expected to go before the board by June.
"We do plan to take on full responsibility and be a full-time player in the future of the Delta," board member Frances Spivy-Weber said.
The environmentalists' petition says the board has failed to require other agencies to set mandatory flows on rivers to protect fish. The board also has a "duty" to reduce the amount of water that can be pumped from the Delta, according to the petition. #
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080320/A_NEWS/803200330
ATASCADEO
Will man-made floating islands clean up Atascadero Lake
San Luis Obispo
By Stephen Curran, staff writer
A natural and relatively inexpensive way to clean up the water in
Public works officials are considering whether to dot the lake with a half-dozen floating wetlands —basically small, circular islands about six feet across and made from native vegetation.
LynneDee Althouse, a water quality specialist for Paso Robles-based environmental consultant Althouse and Meade Inc., said these miniature plant habitats would absorb excess nitrates and phosphates. Those chemicals, she said, make the lake water unhealthy for humans and even more dangerous for native fish.
Althouse said problems frequently arise in man-made lakes, which typically have limited shoreline vegetation to absorb bird waste and other toxins.
Floating islands are commonly used in other parts of the world as an affordable but natural filtration device, she said.
Constructing these substitute wetlands is relatively easy, she said. Her firm would provide the young tule, cattails and sedges to the public works department. City workers would then build the islands by affixing the vegetation to a material such as polymer mesh and foam, she said.
That process, she estimates, would cost
“That was really our goal,” Althouse said, “to come up with some low-tech, low-cost ideas to improve water quality.”
Public works Director Geoff English said the city has long struggled to find ways to filter the chemicals from the artificial lake. When the City Council revised its master plan for the lake in 2001, it made improving the water quality its top priority.
The floating wetlands are one in a series of proposals being weighed for the lake, including well maintenance and other repairs. The City Council has approved $37,500 for water quality improvements as part of the 2007-09 budget.
Adding the floating wetlands, which would allow roots to grow through a hollow tube in the middle, would keep algae from blooming along the lake’s edge. And the islands would make it unlikely that the lake would experience a widespread fish die-off similar to one there that became national news in 2001.
In addition, Althouse said, her firm would recommend that local residents stop feeding the ducks in an effort to reduce the number of birds near the lake.
“That’s going to be a tough one,” she said, “but that bird population has a significant impact on water quality.” #
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/427/story/309480.html
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