Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
June 24, 2009
3. Watersheds –
UPDATED: Fire fighters continue to battle blaze in
Redding Record Searchlight
Mountain lion roams Thermalito
Oroville Mercury-Register
Invasive mussels could be costly to Tahoe economy
Contra Costa Times
Quagga mussel program progress
Ukiah Daily Journal
The Times-Standard
Mercury News
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UPDATED: Fire fighters continue to battle blaze in
Redding Record Searchlight-6/24/09
Fire crews are working to contain a 215 acre fire in the
The blaze began around 2:50 p.m. yesterday and quickly spread through the Sims Creek area located off U.S. Highway 96, spokesperson Davida Carnahan said in a release.
Last night the blaze had spread across 175 acres but has grown substantially, Carnahan said. Structures in the area are not threatened and crews are working to secure the fire's perimeter, she said. Two helicopters, one lead plane and two tankers were assigned to the fire, she said.
Due to the threat of burning debris rolling onto the highway, motorists are urged to be cautious.
Carnahan said crews hope to have the fire contained by 6 p.m.#
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/jun/24/fire-fighters-battle-blaze-klamath-national-forest/
Mountain lion roams Thermalito
Oroville Mercury-Register-6/24/09
By Laura Urseny
A dog was seriously injured last weekend by a mountain lion, according to his owners.
Amy Yates confronted a mountain lion Saturday evening in the backyard of her
Yates said the mountain lion stopped to look at her, then ran out of the backyard. The dog had teeth marks on its head and stomach, and was taken to a veterinarian, she said.
The attack occurred at about 5:30 p.m. said Yates, who has lived in the area for 13 years and was surprised by the attack, which occurred along a busy part of Grand Avenue, not far from Highway 70. However, the house is not far from a wooded area and the
Yates contacted authorities, who told her to stay in the house with her young children if the mountain lion returned, and call the Sheriff's Office.
"I'm worried that no one's doing anything," said Yates, who believes this is the same mountain lion that was sighted last year in the area.
Neighbors reported seeing the mountain lion as well, Yates said.
In the past, California Fish and Game representatives have said mountain lion sighting are not usual, and that children and pets should be kept in the house, if a lion is suspected in the area. A cat that interacts in a populated area may be hungry and unable to find its preferred food, deer.
The Fish and Game's Web site indicates mountain lions are most active at dawn, dusk and night, and that pets should be brought in at night. Livestock should be kept in a secured, roofed pen.
People who encounter a mountain lion should wave their hands over their heads and make lots of noise and throw rocks. If attacked, fight back, the site says.
The site is http://www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/lion.html.#
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_12678011
Invasive mussels could be costly to Tahoe economy
Contra Costa Times-6/24/09
A new report says
The report prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the Tahoe economy could suffer an annual loss of $22 million because of lost tourism, declining property values and maintenance costs associated with the mussels.
Quagga and zebra mussels are quickly spreading across lakes and reservoirs across the country and now are considered one of the biggest dangers to Tahoe's future.
If established, experts say the could forever alter the lake's sensitive ecosystem, and clog water intakes, encrust boats and docks and cover now-pristine beaches with sharp, smelly shells.#
Quagga mussel program progress
Ukiah Daily Journal-6/23/09
By Peter MacRae
The Clear Lake Foundation is encouraged by actions taken at the June 17 Quagga Mussel Prevention Program Task Force meeting. The decision was made to divide the program into its components with select task force members serving on sub-committees for each component. Those sub-committees are to recommend a plan for their assigned component.
In addition, the Clear Lake Foundation supports the no nonsense approach to enforcement and is therefore very encouraged by Sheriff Mitchell's statement that his officers will now issue citations to every vessel not in compliance with the county's quagga mussel ordinance.
The county is likely to rewrite the ordinance making violations a misdemeanor rather than an infraction. That action will greatly increase the amount of the fine. The word among boaters will spread.
Finally, the foundation is gratified at the increase in publicity and education for the program. Public awareness as to the seriousness of the potential consequences of quagga mussel infestation is critical. The public needs to be acutely aware of the devastating ecological and economic impact of quagga mussel infestation.
If they colonize the water supply system, keeping that system clean will cost millions of dollars on a continual basis. Because of their feeding and filtration process, the quagga mussel will dramatically disrupt the plankton, water clarity and weed growth cycle such that fish populations could plummet.
Much of the tourist base of
Many people, and the organizations that some of them represent, have expressed their frustrations as to the lack of leadership and a cohesive plan in place for the quagga mussel prevention program.
The Clear Lake Foundation has shared those frustrations and concerns. In a proposal to the board of supervisors dated Feb. 19 the foundation stated that it was time to synthesize all the thoughtful ideas that have been generated within the quagga mussel task force into a coherent, workable plan.
Further, that proposal asserted that, as accurately as possible, the cost pro-forma should be immediately developed for the plan so that fundraising efforts could begin.
The Clear Lake Foundation will continue to take a great interest in the full implementation of a viable quagga mussel prevention program. The foundation trusts that this new vigor is not short-lived.
(Peter MacRae is the executive director of the Clear Lake Foundation headquartered in Lakeport).#
The Times-Standard-6/24/09
By John Driscoll
The amazing oyster has not only put Humboldt Bay on the map -- it's made it the pearl of
A resolution read into the record at Arcata's Oyster Festival last weekend by state Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro dubbed Humboldt Bay the oyster Rome, the bivalve Shangri-La. It's for good reason.
Humboldt Bay's clean water, its tides and its moderate climate make it the biggest producer of oysters in the state: About 70 percent of the state's oysters are grown in
”It's a great spot for growing oysters,” said Todd Van Herpe, who owns the Humboldt Bay Oyster Co. “We're really fortunate to have the estuary we have for growing oysters.”
Van Herpe got into oysters in 1992 as a summer job, working for Kuiper Mariculture. After a decade, Van Herpe was able to buy part of Kuiper's operation and began growing oyster seed for sale to growers. Then he took on growing Pacific oysters and that gem of all oysters, the
Today, Humboldt Bay Oyster Co. sells about 4 million oyster seed a year to growers from
Humboldt Bay Oyster Co. and Kuiper Mariculture are two of four small growers on the bay, along with North Bay Shellfish and Aqua Rodeo Farms.
The production giant is Coast Seafoods, started in the 1950s, which sells an average of about 60,000 gallons of Pacific oysters each year. They're measured in gallons because they are canned raw for use in dishes like gumbo, oyster stew and fried oysters. Coast Seafoods also sells about 400,000 dozen -- 4.8 million --
Coast Seafoods manager Greg Dale credits the bay's productivity to little pollution, an even climate, a lack of shellfish diseases, expansive intertidal areas and the right elevation. Offshore upwelling -- where winds force cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface -- also drives a food chain that's beneficial to oysters.
Perhaps most important, Dale said, is the cooperation of the cities around the bay that have worked to prevent pollution.
”It's due to people paying attention to it and designing systems and developments to make sure that the water quality stays good or gets better,” Dale said.
That's one of the reasons one can slurp down oysters straight from
Things have changed substantially for oyster growers in the bay over the past decade. Agencies and environmentalists for years voiced concern about how oyster growers discarded shells on the bay floor on which to grow oysters, then hydraulically harvested them with a dredge. Growers would also kill bat rays that fed on oysters grown on the bay bottom.
In the late 1990s, Coast Seafoods began wading into a lengthy and arduous permitting process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Years later, its operation had changed substantially to meet the terms of the permit.
Coast Seafoods in three years changed its culturing technique from a bay bottom method to one that primarily grows oysters on lines suspended between posts. It effectively eliminates the bat ray problem, and in the process Coast Seafoods reduced its footprint on the bay.
”That was the most substantial transition of any shellfish industry in the
http://www.times-standard.com/ci_12678105?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com
Mercury News-6/24/09
Officials with the
Joe Garcia, a spokesman for the southwestern
He said only 6 inches of fast moving water can sweep a person off their feet and 2 feet of water can carry away most vehicles.
The National Weather Service said the best chance for precipitation later in the week will be the western mountains as the plume of moisture heading north from
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12678612?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com
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