Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
January 20, 2009
5. Agencies, Programs, People –
Study Warns of Threat to Coasts From
New York Times
Proposed plan irks anglers, hunters
Governor to borrow from wildlife programs.
Editorial: Time for new rules on suction mining
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Study Warns of Threat to Coasts From
New York Times – 1/16/09
By Cornelia Dean
Sea level rise fueled by global warming threatens the barrier islands and coastal wetlands of the
The report, issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Geological Survey and other agencies, is one of a series examining the potential effects of a rising sea level on the nation’s coasts.
The rise in sea level is accelerating, the report said, because warmer water occupies more space and because of runoff from melting inland glaciers and ice sheets. The
The report, which is available at climatescience.gov, says that in the 20th century, rates of erosion in the region varied from 2.4 millimeters to 4.4 millimeters a year, or about a foot over 100 years. In the future, the report said, “it is virtually certain” that coastal headlands, spits and barrier islands will erode faster than they have in the past.
If sea level rises at a rate of seven millimeters a year or about two feet per century, “it is likely that some barrier islands in this region will cross a threshold,” and begin to break up, the report said. The islands forming the Outer Banks of North Carolina are particularly threatened.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations climate effort, estimated in its most recent report that sea level might rise by about as much as two feet by 2100. Many experts regard the estimate as optimistic.
Even a modest acceleration of sea level rise will have a negative effect on the region’s coastal wetlands, the report says, adding, “It is likely that most wetlands will not survive” a two-foot rise.
In natural environments, wetlands survive rises in sea level by shifting inland to higher ground. But in the
The report said public officials should consider the vulnerability of coastal areas and take action when necessary, for example, by limiting development in vulnerable areas. But it noted that there was great uncertainty about the timing and extent of the effects of sea level rise and that the region had conducted “only a limited number of analyses and resulting statewide policy revisions” to address the issue. #
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/science/earth/17sea.html?_r=1
Proposed plan irks anglers, hunters
Governor to borrow from wildlife programs.
Sacramento
By Matt Weiser
Fishermen and hunters are outraged about a plan tucked in the governor's proposed
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to borrow money from the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, which comes from hunting and fishing license fees, and use it to prop up other state programs. The funds would be repaid to wildlife programs by 2013 with interest.
Critics, however, want the money to stay where it is and pay for wildlife programs.
"They've made some big blunders and caused problems for themselves, and it shouldn't be fishing licenses that hook them out," said Frank Hashorva, a member of the Rancho Murrietta Fishing Club.
"It's totally absurd."
The money represents about one-third of the fund's annual receipts from hunting and fishing license sales. It is a key operating fund for the department, supporting law enforcement, habitat and research projects.
Fish and Game spokeswoman Jordan Traverso said the loan will not affect department operations. The fund will still have a balance of about $3.1 million at the end of this fiscal year, in June.
She said budget language requires the money to be paid back sooner if the department is negatively affected.
H.D. Palmer, Department of Finance spokesman, said the loan must be approved as part of a legislative package to adopt the 2009-10 budget.
Brett Matzke, wild and native trout manager at the advocacy group California Trout, said fishing groups recently urged the department to spend $1 million from the fund to restore habitat for the Paiute cutthroat trout. He said the request was denied.
Some anglers, he said, are considering a "license burning" rally outside the Capitol. #
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1136322.html
Editorial: Time for new rules on suction mining
Sacramento
It's not news that salmon populations have declined drastically. Last year, regulators voted to ban all salmon fishing along the Pacific coast of
The threat facing salmon is so dire that regulators are expected to continue the 2008 salmon fishing ban through 2009.
So it seems incredible that in the creeks and tributaries of the state's major rivers where salmon lay their eggs, suction gold mine dredging continues under regulations that are now 15 years old. These rules are badly out of date and inadequate to protect dwindling number of fish.
Recreational miners use giant dredges to vacuum the creeks and river beds, sucking up tons of sand and rocks in search of tiny flecks of gold. In the process, state fish and game experts say, they destroy precious salmon spawning grounds and kill salmon eggs, young salmon, trout and sturgeon.
The California Department of Fish and Game has the power to stop the damaging practice. It should do so immediately.
The Karuk Indian Tribe and a handful of conservation groups, including California Trout and the Sierra Fund, have petitioned DFG to issue emergency regulations to limit when and where dredging can be done on the Klamath River, its tributaries and five other streams in the Sierra including the north fork of the American River near Auburn.
In 2006, the Karuks sued Fish and Game to force the department to overhaul its suction dredging rules. Pushed by suction dredge miners, the courts ordered the department to complete a California Environmental Quality Act review before it acted. That review was supposed to take 18 months and be completed by July 2008.
The department has already missed its deadline by 6 months and the review hasn't even begun. Meanwhile, harmful dredging continues.
As the petition seeking the emergency actions makes clear, the fish are in peril. A 2008 federal report documented a 73 percent decline in coho salmon returning to spawning grounds in
Suction dredge gold miners claim that their activities improve the spawning grounds, especially on streams where dams have impeded the flow of water allowing silt to build up. They say global warming, not suction mining, has harmed the fishery. But fish experts both inside and outside the department disagree.
At a minimum it will take the department two more years of study before the CEQA review is completed and rules can be updated to protect fish. That is two more years of status quo dredging while endangered salmon populations continue to dwindle.
The Department of Fish and Game should act before that trend becomes irreversible. #
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/1556368.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DWR’s California Water News is distributed to California Department of Water Resources management and staff, for information purposes, by the DWR Public Affairs Office. For reader’s services, including new subscriptions, temporary cancellations and address changes, please use the online page: http://listhost2.water.ca.gov/mailman/listinfo/water_news . DWR operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs. Inclusion of materials is not to be construed as an endorsement of any programs, projects, or viewpoints by the Department or the State of
No comments:
Post a Comment