Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
January 23, 2009
Top Item –
Salmon press conference at ISE drops a few bombshells
The Oroville Mercury
Extinction imminent for
The
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Salmon press conference at ISE drops a few bombshells
The Oroville Mercury – Register – 1/23/09
By Steve Carson
Last week's International Sportsmen's Exposition show at Cal-Expo in
Each participant delivered a prepared statement based on their area of expertise or concern, although time constraints allowed only a few questions from the audience. The participant's statements are excerpted below.
"At this time, only 10-percent of
"Bio-complexity is important. We have had self-sustaining salmon populations because of locally-adapted stocks. If we want to keep self-sustaining populations, we should take advantage of this. Right now it is not possible to differentiate between stocks in the ocean."
"We may also need to re-connect landlocked populations. It may be necessary to look at taking trout, steelhead and salmon, and passing them into historic habitats. In
During a brief one-on-one discussion with Dr.
Nelson (NRDC): "The Chinook salmon is
Grader (PCFFA): "Right now we have another opportunity for change. Some 40 years ago when the negative effects of the Red Bluff Diversion Dam were first being felt in the salmon population, the proposal from Pauline Davis in the Assembly was just to 'close down the fisheries'. Since then of course, we have found that the foundation for restoring salmon is water.
"The Delta is collapsing, there is not enough water. In the future, we must not get things out of order; instead we need to go from the foundation up. We must say no to new dams and the peripheral canal."
Huffman (CA Assembly Sixth District): "We are looking at an unprecedented second year in a row for salmon fishing closure, primarily caused by the Delta pumps and upstream reservoirs that don't allow enough cold water downstream. A fishery can't be managed just by restricting the take of endangered species. If we don't come together on this, it will be handled by the courts, which can be abrupt and draconian.
"It is important that the voices of fishermen be heard in
"Governments have not fulfilled their responsibilities, the system is failing. As we reach critical mass, we must act in enlightened self-interest. It should also be made clear that economic activity related to fishing amounts to millions of dollars. The decline and loss of jobs is equally bad. Nationwide, at least $200 million is collected for fishery restoration in the form of excise tax on fishing tackle. Some $12 million of that comes back to
"It is important that the voices of fishermen be heard in
"Governments have not fulfilled their responsibilities, the system is failing. As we reach critical mass, we must act in enlightened self-interest. It should also be made clear that economic activity related to fishing amounts to millions of dollars. The decline and loss of jobs is equally bad. Nationwide, at least $200 million is collected for fishery restoration in the form of excise tax on fishing tackle. Some $12 million of that comes back to
Jackson (CSPA): "There are four things we must do within five years, or salmon will go extinct. We must reduce the water export from the Delta from 6 million acre-feet to 2.5 million acre feet per year. The water that is pumped should be given an 'urban preference', to keep the city dwellers from becoming hysterical.
"You can't equate urban requirements with growing cotton in the
"We have got to get those fish above the dams. All it takes is one natural disaster, like a catastrophic fire or even
"Last, the outflow must increase at cross channel gates during the ingress and egress of fish. It happens now or they're [salmon and steelhead] gone."
Dick Pool([Water4fish): "In the past year almost nothing has happened. No water has been reserved for fish. This industry is going to die if we don't change. So far we have 64,000 people signed up on our website, but we need 264,000! We need the public behind us and support for conservation organizations." #
http://www.orovillemr.com/sports/ci_11535387
Extinction imminent for
The
By Guy Carl
The treasured salmon runs of
The return numbers for the 2008-09 spawning season are not yet final, but preliminary counts show no improvement over the previous year’s dismal figures. There is every indication that the recreational salmon fishing season will remain closed for all of 2009.
At last weekend’s International Sportsmen’s Exposition in
The consensus was clear — without immediate action, the
The salmon have already been in trouble for years. We have been keeping the runs on life support (so to speak) through extensive hatchery programs.
The truth is the majority of returning fish were reared in hatcheries. Only a small population of wild-born salmon still survives today.
This is hardly the self-sustaining species that thrived in these waters for millennia before humans arrived!
Out of Water
Water is at the heart of the issue. Salmon require consistent flows of cold, fresh water in the rivers and streams in order to successfully spawn.
Prior to human influence, winter rainstorms would create massive river flows, making for just the conditions salmon need to migrate upstream to their spawning grounds.
But in modern days, a combination of upstream dams and diversion programs has drastically reduced flows in most river systems. In many cases, so much water is extracted or held back that the salmon are left with far less-than-ideal habitats for spawning, and have great trouble even reaching the spawning grounds.
These issues become painfully evident in seasons of drought like we are experiencing right now. In wet years, there is enough water to go around to irrigate all the farms, supply all the cities, and leave good flows for the fish.
But when the rains don’t come, the demands on our state’s water resources become far greater than the supply. Farms have always been the “sacred cow” in this country, so their water deliveries are a priority.
And we selfish humans bristle at being inconvenienced with water rationing, so our local governments find ways to keep the water flowing to their people.
It is the fish, then, who get left high and dry.
There is no greater example of this than the
More rivers may face this same fate. The state’s human population continues to expand, most dramatically in regions which Mother Nature had designed as a desert and suitable for only a small community of people.
These new desert-dwellers demand more water, and that water now comes from river systems in the north part of the state.
The California State Water Project transports billions of gallons around the state each year. Much of this goes to the farms of the
But a significant allocation also goes to Northern California cities, including the city of
So before we go blaming
And we can be part of the solution.
Save Some For the Fish
Recycled urban storm runoff as well as treated sewage water can be used for many kinds of irrigation. Another great solution is good ol’ common-sense conservation. Cut back on the lawns and other water-intensive landscaping.
Use the low-flow shower heads and efficient plumbing fixtures.
And just generally be responsible with your water usage.
A potential solution that’s seldom mentioned is the concept of desalination.
For all of Southern California’s need for water, the most plentiful supply in the world is right on its front doorstep — the
The problem is that removing the salts from seawater and making it suitable for drinking is very expensive and energy-intensive. But some cities in the state are already doing it, including
Desalination plants are commonplace in extreme desert regions like northern Africa and the
At some point it will make economic sense for
Take Action Now
But the salmon can’t wait for “eventually” to arrive.
Immediate action is necessary to save them from extinction. So far the only measures taken have been the closures of the fishing seasons. As the 2008-09 runs have proved, that is not enough.
An organization called “Water For Fish” has stepped to the forefront of the effort to demand more action from state and federal governments.
Anglers and environmentalists alike have joined forces through Water For Fish to save the salmon runs.
The organization has created a petition to demand specific government actions on certain rivers, along with enforcement of environmental protection laws that are already in place but are being ignored by water agencies.
To read the petition details and learn more about the organization, visit the Web site at www.water4fish.org.
You can also sign the petition and send letters to government representatives right from the Web site.
It is nearing the point of no return, after which there will be nothing we can do to save them from extinction.
It took all of us Californians to break the system, and it will take all of us to fix it.
Let’s get started.#
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2009/01/23/sports/guy_carl/doc49794bed9d08e827408077.txt
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