Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 12, 2009
3. Watersheds –
Critics decry fast timeline for MLPA
Crescent City Triplicate
Salmon count worries linger
Red Bluff Daily News
Evacuations ordered in Northern Calif. Wildfire
Red Bluff Daily News
Martin Mars air tanker to join battle against blaze
Lompoc Record
Water dispensaries keep mountain bighorn sheep alive
Riverside Press-Enterprise
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Critics decry fast timeline for MLPA
Crescent City Triplicate-8/11/09
By Kurt Madar
The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative is stirring up the waters of the North Coast.
While the possibility of more fishing restrictions is enough to raise interest, the most recent controversy centers around the formation of a Science Advisory Team (SAT).
Critics of the MLPA process claim locals were given too little warning about an upcoming deadline for nominations to the SAT. That deadline is this Friday, Aug. 14.
"We thought we would have input into the SAT process," said local fishermen Kenyon Hensel, who has been closely following the MLPA process. "Then they give us a week to make nominations? This is their (MLPA Initiative officials') way of ensuring that there is no true local participation. They have known for the last three years that this process was going to occur."
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being established all along California's coastline in an effort to protect ocean resources.
The North Coast is the fourth of five regions to undergo the process, and one element is forming a regional stakeholders group and an SAT.
"The regional stakeholder group actually draws the lines on the map," said MLPA Initiative Program Manager Melissa Miller-Henson. "The Science Advisory Team helps provide the guidelines, like how big to make the protected areas, or what habitats need to be included."
She said the 25-day window for nominations isn't any shorter on the North Coast than for the last three regions where the process has been completed.
"We have been telling folks informally since May," said Miller-Henson.
While MLPA representatives say that they began sending out formal letters 25 days ago, that was only to people on their list server.
Miller-Henson said that people who didn't receive a formal letter asking for nominations can still call the MLPA Initiative office at (916) 654-1885.
"One of our office staff will either read it to them over the phone or get them a copy in a timely fashion," Miller-Henson said.
There are three types of MPAs that could be established on the North Coast. From least restrictive to most, they include marine conservation areas, marine parks, and marine reserves (which would be no-take areas).
Once the stakeholder group and the Science Advisor Team are formed, their members can begin the process of forming a proposal, which could start sometime next year.
According to Miller-Henson, the stakeholder group could choose to ignore the SAT's guidelines, but would have to provide a clear rationale to both the Blue Ribbon Task Force, in charge of reviewing the proposal, and the Fish and Game Commission that ultimately approves it.
Critics of the MLPA process fear the stakeholders group and the SAT will be loaded up with members who lean toward more restrictions on fishing.
"This thinly veiled effort to stack the deck in the state's favor is more of the same heavy-handed treatment true stewards of the ocean are objecting to so strenuously," states a press release by Judith Vidaver, chair of the Ocean Protection Coalition, a Mendocino non-profit organization, states.
"If the state is truly interested in facilitating public participation in the MLPA process, adequate outreach and time for input would be the minimum the public could expect."
Miller-Henson said the MLPA Initiative is committed to choosing SAT members whose sole concern is truly understanding the science of the particular region.
"We distribute the formal letter seeking nominations to the nearly 3,000 individuals and organizations on our list server," Miller-Henson said.
The server includes both individuals and agencies and organizations like Humboldt State University, North Coast Harbors, the Tribes and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
"Ultimately anyone can nominate somebody to the Science Advisor Team," Miller-Henson said. "But a nomination that doesn't meet the requirements outlined in the formal letter, wouldn't be considered."#
http://www.triplicate.com/20090811106660/News/Local-News/Critics-decry-fast-timeline-for-MLPA
Salmon count worries linger
Red Bluff Daily News-8/12/09
By Geoff Johnson
The counting of fall run chinook salmon will not begin until late September, but concerns are already floating among Tehama County Fish and Game Commissioners that salmon fishing in the Sacramento River may be prohibited for the fourth year in a row.
Fishing seasons are determined a year in advance by estimating the number of two-year-old salmon, or jacks, because 3-year-old fish make up the bulk of the salmon run.
Because of those estimates, fishing during the fall chinook run has been banned since 2007.
In 2007 and 2008, there were 93,224 and 71,803 fish counted, compared to 280,152 in 2006, according to DFG.
With winter run chinook on the endangered species list and spring run chinook on the threatened species list, only the late-fall run chinook are open to fishing.
As the DFG moves to estimate the salmon count through tagging, marking dead fish and pooling information between fish hatcheries and tributaries, it expects to find less than 122,000 in the 2009 fall run, said Randy Benthin, a senior fishery biologist for the DFG.
Of those, as few as 5 percent may be jacks, which help the department forecast the 2010 fall run and determine whether fishing will be allowed.
Fish counts may pick up when the Red Bluff Diversion Dam's system of diverting water is replaced by a water pumping station, but abrupt drops in salmon populations can also come from changes in water temperature.
Because of a drought in the late 70s, during which water was distributed without regard to the fish, winter run chinook salmon passing through the diversion dam dropped from 24,735 in 1977-78 to 2,339 the next year, Benthin said.
They went ahead and gave full (water) deliveries to all their customers, and so the river really heated up when the eggs were in the gravel, and that killed off most of them, he said.
The species has remained on the endangered species list since.
County Fish and Game Commissioner Scott Ferris said no one thing can account for struggling native salmon populations, but a broken food chain and an increased demand for water are at least in part responsible.
Because California's population is growing even in the third year of drought, some biologists fear a full comeback may be impossible, Ferris said.
The dwindling fish population marks a sharp change from 1951, when Ferris moved to the north state. Back then, he would catch salmon 12 months a year.
I thought I'd never see the day you couldn't catch a salmon, Ferris said.#
Evacuations ordered in Northern Calif. Wildfire
Red Bluff Daily News-8/11/09
One of several lightning-caused fires in Northern California is endangering a handful of homes and prompting evacuations.
Firefighters were evacuating 10 homes and one business in Shasta County northwest of Burney, more than 200 miles north of Sacramento.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman James Stewart says fire crews are cutting more lines to protect houses.
The blaze was sparked by an Aug. 2 lightning storm and grew overnight from 4,300 acres to 5,000 acres—nearly eight square miles. It was almost 70 percent contained on Tuesday.
Firefighters say they also are nearing containment on other fires in Shasta, Lassen and Tuolumne counties.#
http://www.redbluffdailynews.com/ci_13037829?source=most_viewed
Martin Mars air tanker to join battle against blaze
Lompoc Record-8/12/09
One of the largest air tankers available is expected to join the fight against the big La Brea Fire, which is burning in a remote and inaccessible area of Los Padres National Forest east of Santa Maria.
A Martin Mars air tanker — with a wing span comparable to a Boeing 747 and capable of carrying 7,200 gallons of water or retardant — was to begin making drops today, once the necessary requirements, such as a water source, are worked out, said George Broyles, a Forest Service fire information officer.
Since the wildfire began Saturday afternoon, it has been scorching dense vegetation in very steep terrain that ground crews have had difficulty reaching.
In addition, the use of all mechanized vehicles, including bulldozers and fire engines, is banned in the roadless San Rafael Wilderness, where the majority of the fire is burning.
Most of the attack on the flames has come from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft dropping water and fire retardant, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
On Tuesday there were nine helicopters and six aircraft making drops, mainly focused on the eastern flank of the blaze, which is moving toward the Cuyama Valley.
In addition to the aerial attack, bulldozers and ground crews have been working to build containment lines.
Plans were to have the Martin Mars in the air and scooping up water from the San Antonio Reservoir, north of Paso Robles, were put on hold Tuesday with the hope that instead, Lake Cachuma would work as a water source.
Jeff Stone, deputy parks director for the North County, confirmed that Cachuma may be used as a water source today if it meets the requirements for the plane's operations.
If the popular fishing site in the Santa Ynez Valley is used, the lake would remain open to boaters, Stone said.
The large plane has a pilot plane to scout the area before it drops and scoops, and boaters and fishers would be notified that the main channel may be used for air-tanker support, Stone said.
The Martin Mars, also called a flying boat, was originally intended for the U.S. Navy as a bomber for long-range missions. It was redesigned for general transport, according to the operating company, Coulson Flying Tankers.
There are only two remaining and both have been converted into water tankers.#
http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2009/08/12/news/centralcoast/news03.txt
Water dispensaries keep mountain bighorn sheep alive
Riverside Press-Enterprise-8/12/09
By Janet Zimmerman
A herd of desert bighorn sheep deftly scramble up a rocky hillside in the Mojave National Preserve as the rumble of approaching trucks breaks the silence.
The pickups, each hauling plastic tanks filled with water, come to a stop in a cloud of dust. Soon, the drivers stretch fire hoses from the truck to two big holding tanks that feed a manmade watering hole -- a lifeline for the bighorn and other wildlife that lay claim to this inhospitable landscape.
There are 72 "drinkers" built and maintained across the desert from Interstate 10 north to Death Valley by volunteers with the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep. The group is a mix of conservationists and hunters whose efforts started 50 years ago when the founders began helping the struggling sheep population.
The Kerr Drinker, two 1,600-gallon water collection tanks in the Old Dad Range of the Mojave National Preserve, are filled by members of the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep. The group spends hours each month repairing and filling the tanks for sheep in the summer.
The work has grown more critical in recent years, they say, as desert springs dry up from drought and from a dropping water table as supplies are siphoned away by development in outlying areas.
"The sheep live on these drinkers from June to September," said Gary Thomas, 70, of Upland, who monitors and fills the watering holes. "Ideally, they would be naturally replenished (with rainfall), but that hasn't happened."
And so the group has resorted to trucking in water during summer months when the moist, green vegetation that sustains bighorn the rest of the year dries up.
In extreme cases, members pay for helicopters to haul water to the most remote locations and have hand-carried water in five-gallon bottles to areas where vehicle access is prohibited. Earlier this summer, the Forest Service donated use of its chopper to ferry supplies and sheep society members nine miles into an inaccessible area of the Santa Rosa Mountains south of Palm Springs to rebuild a drinker.
Threats to desert bighorn go beyond water shortages, however.
The elusive animals historically have been compromised by disease, hunting, habitat loss, competition with livestock and fragmentation of their ranges by fences, highways and canals that cut off wildlife passages between mountains, said Conrad Jones, a wildlife biologist and desert water coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Game.
Conservationists fear the onslaught of alternative energy developments that they say will denude the land and further impede the animals' movement.
The sheep need to travel between ranges and other herds to prevent in-breeding, keeping the animals more resilient to environmental extremes.
Dwindling rainfall is a concern. A 2004 UC Berkeley study found that rain levels have decreased about 20 percent in the Southwest during the past century and cited predictions that precipitation will drop another 10 to 20 percent by 2100. In that case, fewer lambs would survive because of less vegetation, the researchers found.
Desert bighorn in the peninsular ranges -- the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park -- are on the federal endangered species list. The isolated populations there plummeted from an estimated 1,170 in 1971 to about 230 when it was listed in 1998; now there are about 800, said Jane Hendron, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Carlsbad.
In all, an estimated 3,500 to 5,500 desert bighorn sheep live in California, up from fewer than 2,000 in the 1960s and '70s, Thomas said.
"Now we have a viable population," he said. "That's directly related to building big-game drinkers."
After an early stop in Baker to take on 2,300 gallons of water donated by the local Community Services District followed by a 15-mile drive on a rough dirt track, the volunteers prepare to refill the Kerr drinker near Old Dad Peak, home to one of the Mojave's healthiest herds. The watering place south of Baker is named for Chuck Kerr, a society founding member whose son George continues his work.
Above the drinker, vultures circle over the spot where two camouflaged water tanks are nestled in a ravine. The volunteers spot a ram, its horns curled like an old toenail, lying motionless near a small stainless trough.
The animal is about 10 years old, almost the end of its life span, and has probably been dead a couple weeks, says George Kerr, a Fish and Game commissioner for Ventura County.
"A lot of times rams will find a place they know" when they are ready to die, he says. "It could be habitat stress."
At least nine bighorn with their characteristic white rumps keep watch from the canyon's rocky slopes. Sheep aren't the only wildlife that benefit from this water; golden eagles, badgers, bobcats, coyotes, skunk, deer, birds and bees also drink here.
When the group built this guzzler in 1985, they formed a dam at the bottom of the slope to catch rainwater and ran pipe from there to holding tanks. The tanks feed the stainless trough, intentionally small to reduce evaporation.
The society knows when the Kerr drinker needs filling, because a solar-powered sensor on the tank transmits water levels daily via satellite. The remote monitoring is one of the many advances the group has made.
In several sites, including the Ord, Newberry and Rodman mountains, battery-powered, infrared cameras track the number of animals visiting the drinkers. The information, combined with helicopter survey results, gauges population density.
"A sheep will not tend to stray more than two to three miles during the heat of the summer from one of these drinkers," said Jones, the Fish and Game biologist who helps on re-fill missions.
Another group, Desert Wildlife Unlimited in Brawley, has installed and maintains more than 120 drinkers from Interstate 10 to the Mexican border. That means there are less than 200 drinkers south of Bishop, Jones said. "That's not much."
Thomas said thousands of guzzlers would be ideal.
The conservation groups use money from grants, membership and fundraisers to pay to build the drinkers, which cost from $15,000 to $40,000. Refilling them costs about $1,000 per trip.
Jones called the volunteer groups a critical element in bighorn survival, citing a study published this year by U.S. Geological Survey scientist Kathleen Longshore, who found a correlation between artificial water sources and survival of the remaining bighorn populations in Joshua Tree National Park.
But such water developments are not without controversy. Some environmentalists say the drinking holes can spread disease and provide easy access to wildlife by predators.
Thomas, of the sheep society, said their 3-month-old camera monitoring program has not captured any mountain lions, the bighorn's main predator, attacking the animals at watering holes.
Joshua Tree resident Elden Hughes, a member of the Sierra Club's California/Nevada Desert Committee, opposes guzzlers because of their impact on pristine areas.
"They are usually putting them in wilderness areas, which means putting in a road and construction in wilderness. Those two are enough for me to oppose it," Hughes said.
Desert protection laws have made it more difficult to access many guzzlers, and the groups must get permits to drive into restricted areas. The sheep society builds two new drinkers a year, said Steve Marschke, the group's president.
Hughes also objects to drinkers as a way to increase bighorn herds for hunting. Fish and Game issues a limited number of hunting permits based on the count of older rams, which are not crucial to the herd. The endangered populations are not hunted.
Proceeds from permit sales are dedicated to sheep work, including biologists and programs to collar, capture and relocate animals to areas where they have historically lived and to increase genetic diversity among other herds.
Many relocated sheep come from Old Dad Peak, where the sheep society wraps up its most recent refilling project at the end of a nine-hour day. Hot and dirty, they head home.
Despite the back-breaking labor and disputes about the benefits, Thomas vows to continue his work.
"We've manipulated the environment almost everywhere, so we now have to continue to manage it. You can't just sit back and say we're going to let it go back to nature, now that we have isolated them into tiny islands with highways," he said. "If you don't, they will disappear."#
http://www.pe.com/rss/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_guzzlers12.469eda4.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 California.
No comments:
Post a Comment