Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
March 25, 2009
3. Watersheds –
Frost protection could be curtailed to benefit salmon and steelhead
Ag Alert – 3/25/09
By Steve Adler
Winegrape growers along the
The State Water Resources Control Board, which claims administrative authority over agricultural pumping from the
In scheduling the workshop, the state board referred to a letter it received Feb. 19 from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which mentioned two fish kills (one in
Winegrape growers in the region say that utilizing overhead sprinklers is the only effective method available to them to protect the tender young shoots that are emerging as their vines come out of winter dormancy.
David Koball, vineyard director for Fetzer Vineyards in Hopland, said he's very concerned. Koball will be one of the speakers at the water board workshop next month.
"According to the timeline from the state water board, we were told that they could implement a frost protection ban fairly quickly after the meeting on the 7th, so I don't know what is going to happen at that point," he said. "They could come back and say we can't use any more frost water or we may be able to continue as is. The worry is that if we have no water for frost protection, there are a lot of growers who don't have any other option for frost control in their vineyards. These growers have no other source of water for either frost protection or irrigation. It takes away all options."
Koball said he has been told by a meteorologist in
In the
Fanuechi is a second-generation grower, farming land that his father bought in 1948. While they grew prunes in the past, they converted totally to winegrapes in the mid-1990s. The concern that he expresses about a potential ban on sprinklers for frost protection is representative of that held by most area winegrape growers.
"All of a sudden frost protection is being looked at as a bad thing. It is a perceived problem that we are damaging fish. Last year we checked the water level in the river and when everyone in the
Fanuechi noted that vines are very susceptible to damage from frost and once the damage occurs it will affect the rest of the season, either severely impacting yield or destroying the crop altogether.
"If we aren't able to protect our vines and we lose them, we don't have a livelihood. If we are making payments on a ranch, we could lose the ranch," he said.
The controversy revolves around salmon and steelhead that spawn in the
According to Steven Edmondson, NMFS Northern California Habitat Supervisor, his agency has been working closely with the water board and area growers to address the issue.
"While we are exploring several promising long-term solutions, few practical ideas for avoiding additional take of salmonoids this spring have arisen. Given that we are likely to experience similar dry-year conditions this spring, and the need to protect crops from frost damage still exists, it seems imperative to act now in order to avoid a potentially widespread reduction in the reproductive success of salmonoids in watersheds where this is an issue," he wrote. "We therefore urge the SWRCB to take immediate action, such as implementing emergency regulations, to protect this important public trust resource from further harm."
In a related development, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously last week to submit a letter to the state water board opposing any attempt to prohibit frost protection this spring in the
The water board points out that there are currently voluntary actions being implemented to protect the fish, including grower education activities and inter-agency coordination efforts.
"At the workshop, the state water board hopes to receive information about ongoing actions to reduce the impacts of frost pumping, that will help them to decide whether to adopt emergency regulations, standard regulations or take other actions," said Kathie Smith of the water board.
Board staff has invited speakers to make presentations on issues of interest. The board will take public comment. Depending on turnout, time limits on comments may be imposed to provide everyone an opportunity to participate. Written comments may also be submitted.
If a frost event occurs at some time during the next several days, growers should take all actions necessary to avoid a take of listed species, the board cautioned.
"Ideally, growers in sensitive areas should work together to schedule their diversions to ensure that stream flow is not depleted. The Division of Water Rights, the Regional Board, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Department of Fish and Game will investigate if we become aware of frost pumping that affects these species. The agencies are working cooperatively on investigations, and intend to work cooperatively on prosecutions, as appropriate," Smith said.
According to the water board, both federal and state laws are involved. The penalty depends on the nature and extent of the violation and on the remedies available to the prosecutors under the pertinent law. Penalties may include fines and criminal prosecution.
The April 7 workshop is scheduled to begin at about 11 a.m., following the board meeting earlier that day. Location of the workshop is the Coastal Hearing Room, on the second floor of the
During a California Farm Bureau-sponsored trip to Washington, D.C., last week, CFBF board member Peter Bradford of Boonville discussed the situation with congressional and administration leaders.
"This is a clear example of how some of the regulatory issues that are being placed on agriculture during this time of drought have a huge impact," he said. "I pointed out that these regulations that we have to abide by are restricting the amount of water that we can use and they are restricting the development of storage.
"They are restricting food safety and food security down the road, because if we can't grow the crop because we can't pump the water or store the water, then the nation is going to have to get our food from somewhere else at greater cost and from a less secure food source," Bradford said.
The California Farm Bureau has been talking with the state water board to try to resolve the issue, said CFBF Director of Water Resources Danny Merkley.
"We're working to find solutions for everyone, fish and farmers alike," he said.
Richard Rued, a fourth generation winegrape grower in
"Frost is kind of funny. It will move around and hit one area and not another. It is going to be a real problem and I'm not sure what the outcome will be. Maybe we will have a warm spring and it won't be an issue," Rued said. "Hopefully there will be a resolution before the next frost season. But everything moves so slowly. There are so many agencies involved that to do anything is like walking through molasses." #
http://www.cfbf.com/agalert/AgAlertStory.cfm?ID=1277&ck=D759175DE8EA5B1D9A2660E45554894F
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