Water Education Foundation

Salmon crash adds pressure for new canal, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 27, 2008 at 6:05 am

From Redding’s Record Searchlight, this editorial, which notes the the fate of the salmon is tied to the health of the Delta:

This week, a federal judge in Fresno ruled that the state’s water-pumping operations in the delta put wild salmon “unquestionably in jeopardy.” He hasn’t ordered further action to stem that jeopardy yet, but the pressure to cut pumping has added a forceful push to revive the peripheral canal - an idea the governor’s “blue ribbon” delta panel also recommended in a report released mid-month.

By some accounts, a properly designed canal could improve conditions for fish. It would certainly improve the water quality and reliability for the millions of Californians who depend on water from the delta.

But that tighter link around the delta would also create intense pressure to pipe more water south. That makes it a very risky deal for the north state - but we might not get a choice.

Read the full text of this editorial from Redding’s Record Searchlight by clicking here.

October 27, 2008 · Filed Under Peripheral Canal, Salmon

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Klamath salmon looking good for 2009

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 25, 2008 at 6:06 am

From the Eureka Times-Standard:

Early indications are good for Klamath and Trinity river salmon next year, although Sacramento River fish — whose collapse ground ocean commercial and sport fishing to a halt this year — may still be struggling.

Counts of adult fish and 2-year-old chinook salmon, which are a strong indicator of next year’s run, have been strong at several weirs on the Klamath and Trinity. While it’s still early, the beginning numbers are encouraging. For example, some 1,000 2-year-olds — called jacks — have been counted at the Willow Creek weir. Last year at this time there were 50 counted, said California Department of Fish and Game biologist Wade Sinnen.

Biologists don’t start tabulating all the information on the two rivers until the end of December, Sinnen said, but so far it appears that the run will be average or perhaps a bit better. Counts at other weirs on Klamath tributaries also are up, he said. ”It’s really all still up in the air,” Sinnen said.

Klamath River salmon stocks have long limited fishermen’s access to typically more abundant Sacramento River fish in the ocean. That’s because they mix at sea, and fishery managers try to limit the effect of fishing on the Klamath salmon.

Dave Hillemeier, a senior biologist with the Yurok Tribe, said that information collected from the tribe’s fishery is promising.

Read more from Eureka’s Times-Standard by clicking here.

October 25, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Judge Wanger: Delta salmon ‘unquestionably in jeopardy’, but no additional cutbacks are ordered

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 22, 2008 at 6:31 am

From the San Jose Mercury News:

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that California’s canal water systems are placing wild salmon “unquestionably in jeopardy,” but stopped short of issuing court-order limits on pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Environmental groups had sought the temporary pumping limits to guard three species of migrating salmon in the delta until a new fish protection is due in March. But U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger declined to do so, after the state Department of Water Resources said last month it would voluntarily reduce pumping to protect the juvenile fish.

“Upon initial glance, the department believes that the judge handed down a responsible ruling,” said spokesman Ted Thomas.

If environmental groups want to make new arguments for court-ordered pumping limits, Wanger wrote, any motion filed would be “heard on an expedited basis,” an offer attorneys are considering. “We need to decide whether it’s worth doing for this short amount of time or not,” said Michael Sherwood, an attorney for Earthjustice.

From the Fresno Bee:

Environmentalists had requested that:

–Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta pumping in December and January be limited to 7,600 cubic feet per second, or to a ratio based on how much water enters the estuary, based on whichever is more protective of the salmon.

–At least 1.9 million acre feet of water be held in Lake Shasta at the end of January, and 2.5 million acre feet at the end of February.

–Releases from Folsom Lake be limited beginning Dec. 31 until the new salmon opinion is completed.

The federal government and its water agency allies had opposed the request and had presented new evidence that questioned the science used to justify the requests. Changes requested by environmentalists would have been only for the short term until the new opinion is issued.

The litigation over winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead is part of a long-running battle between the government and environmentalists dealing with the massive Central Valley Project’s effect on the fish, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Judge Wanger has already issued a written opinion that the three fish species are being jeopardized by the pumping operations, but cited “potential consequences of further reducing the available CVP project water” for implementing the requests, as well as “scientific disagreement” about the effectiveness of the proposed remedies in denying the environmentalists request.

More from the Fresno Bee by clicking here.

October 22, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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The ‘wildness’ of Yuba River salmon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 9, 2008 at 6:09 am

From the Union.com, this commentary by Gary Reedy, a fisheries biologist:

The Yuba River has a unique stature in regional efforts to save salmon from further slips toward rarity and extinction. Among all rivers within the Central Valley basin, the Yuba River hosts a population of Chinook salmon with the best characteristics of strength, and the best opportunities for enhancement.

Central Valley Chinook were phenomenally abundant despite being at the southern edge of their range. Prior to 1850, one to 2 million salmon returned to the rivers of the Central Valley each year.

Virtually every river not isolated by natural barrier falls would have been stinking with salmon carcasses in the fall season, and salmon were immeasurably important for California’s wildlife and native people.

Central Valley salmon were decimated by a one-two punch: Hydraulic mining and the first industrial canning operations of the West. It is a testament to the resiliency of salmon that they were not forever lost from the Yuba River where mining activities were particularly intense and Daguerre Point Dam (c. 1910) operated for 25 years without any fish ladder.

Yuba River salmon not only persist today, but the annual run of 6,000 to 30,000 Fall-run Chinook is the largest wild population anywhere in the Central Valley. The salmon population of every other large river has been altered by hatchery operations that put production goals over the preservation of genetic diversity. The network of salmon hatcheries in the Central Valley has attempted to mitigate for the impacts of dams, diversions and habitat degradation. While these hatcheries have sometimes managed to produce a fishery as large as one-third historic abundance, they have certainly reduced the fitness and resiliency of Central Valley salmon, overall. Recent studies indicate that hatchery fish may now comprise 90 percent of the total salmon population.

Read more from the Union.com by clicking here.

October 9, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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On California’s coast, farewell to the king salmon; For the first time there’s no fishing for chinook salmon on the California coast

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 29, 2008 at 8:50 am

From the Smithsonian Magazine:

The salmon-boat cemetery in Fort Bragg, a fishing port tucked into shaggy pines about 150 miles north of San Francisco, is full of bleached and peeling hulls. Over the years many California vessels have landed in Bruce Abernathy’s front yard, pitched at steep angles among the weeds, some still rigged with trolling poles. The Anita II, the Dag. Eventually Abernathy’s son David takes them apart with a tractor and chain saw and sells what he can for parts. Sometimes all that’s left is a scrap with a painted-on name: My Pet.

Bruce Abernathy himself doesn’t watch the demolitions. He finds somewhere else to be, or he stays inside his house, with its many framed prints of trim little ships atop frisky seas. The fisherman turned resale man, and lately junk dealer, has “a lot of remorse” about what’s happening outside his window beyond the hot pink rhododendron bush. “I know almost everybody who owned these boats,” he said. “Boats become part of you, like a wife.”

Thirty years ago there were several thousand salmon boats in California. More recently, as the fish became scarce, only a few hundred worked the coast. Then salmon populations crashed, and this year for the first time U.S. officials canceled all ocean salmon fishing off California and most of Oregon, and curtailed it off Washington, a $300 million loss. When I visited Fort Bragg, in late May, the harbor felt about as cheerful as a junkyard. The docks should have quaked with activity, but the mooring basin was quiet except for the hoarse bark of sea lions. The fishermen with the biggest boats hoped to go way out after tuna later in the season; others had already joined roadwork crews or cobbled together odd jobs. Disaster relief money would be on the way, but to many second- and third-generation fishermen, a summer without salmon felt like the end of the line. For the better part of a century the fish supported Fort Bragg, home of the World’s Largest Salmon Barbeque, at which local politicians flip fillets on the grill and tourists come from far and wide to taste one of the most sought-after fish in the sea, the chinook salmon, a.k.a. the king.

Read more from the Smithsonian Magazine by clicking here.

September 29, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Bush withholds salmon disaster money as he pushes for corporate bailouts!

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 23, 2008 at 6:11 am

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay:

While George W. Bush wants taxpayers to give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a $700 billion blank check to bail out Wall Street for its reckless speculation and greed, the administration announced last week that it would release only $100 million of the $170 million appropriated to salmon fishermen and businesses impacted by this year’s salmon fishing closure off the California and Oregon coasts and in Central Valley rivers.

Representatives Peter DeFazio (OR-04) and Mike Thompson (CA-01), along with 10 other members of Congress, wrote to President Bush on September 19 urging him to distribute the full $170 million in disaster aid to fishermen and businesses suffering from the closure of the salmon fishing season on the West Coast caused by the collapse of the Sacramento River fall run chinook salmon population.

“Playing games with the livelihood of fishers across the Pacific Northwest is yet another sign that the Bush Administration has no commitment to protect our valuable river systems, and no interest in helping the fishing communities and economies that rely on them,” the letter stated. “It is also completely unacceptable. We insist that you comply with congressional intent and immediately release the full $170 million in federal disaster aid for Pacific Northwest fishers.”

The other Representatives who signed the letter were Baird, Blumenauer, Capps, Eshoo, Farr, Hooley, Matsui, Woolsey, Wu and George Miller.

“The Bush Administration has once again put politics ahead of people,” said North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA). “Because of the Administration’s disastrous policies, Pacific coast fishing families have been devastated. Congress appropriated $170 million in federal disaster relief, but this latest proposal by the Bush Administration to withhold a large portion of these funds shows no regard for hardworking fishing families nor their livelihood.”

Read more from Dan Bacher at IndyBay by clicking here.

September 23, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Klamath River tribes and fishermen: No business as usual at PacifiCorp!

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 19, 2008 at 5:55 am

From Dan Bacher:

A coalition of Klamath River Indian Tribes, fishermen, conservationists and local supporters ramped up their campaign to remove four fish-killing dams on the river today when they held a spirited protest in front of PacifiCorp’s headquarters in Portland.

The “Day of Action Against PacifiCorp” started off at 8:30 a.m. today when local activists hung a banner proclaiming “Warren Buffett Kills Salmon, Jobs and Communities” over Interstate-84 in solidarity with the Tribes. Around 200 people marched from Holiday Park in Portland at noon to converge in front of PacifiCorp for a press conference at 1 p.m.

After the conference, 70 people occupied the area in front of the headquarters, effectively shutting down the front entrance to PacifiCorp after company staff locked the doors. Police decked out in riot gear guarded the building, but no arrests were made. The dam removal advocates, including American Indian Movement (AIM) activists, commercial fishermen and other local supporters, pounded on the doors of the building, disrupting business at the power company.

“We are here to let PacifiCorp and Warren Buffett know that there will be no business as usual for PacifiCorp as long as there is no business as usual for Klamath River communities,” said Chook Chook Hillman of the Karuk Tribe and a member of the Klamath Justice Coalition, who carried two bottles of toxic algae from Klamath River reservoirs to the front door of PacifiCorp.

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September 19, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Government says salmon disaster money on its way; however, not the entire amount approved by Congress

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 18, 2008 at 7:54 am

From the Associated Press:

The Bush administration on Wednesday released $100 million in disaster relief to West Coast salmon fishermen, $70 million less than the amount Congress approved to help those hurt by the sudden collapse of the Pacific Coast salmon fishing industry. The salmon collapse left thousands of fishermen and dependent businesses struggling to make ends meet, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said, adding that the disaster aid package will help them get back on their feet.

Of the initial $100 million, about $63 million will go to California, $25 million to Oregon and $12 million to Washington state, officials said. The breakdown is based on the projected economic impacts of the fishing shutdown in each state.

The failure stemmed from the sudden collapse of the chinook salmon run in California’s Sacramento River, where the salmon return to spawn. Scientists are studying the causes of the collapse, with possible factors ranging from ocean conditions and habitat destruction to dam operations and agricultural pollution.

Salmon advocates and congressional Democrats complained that the Bush administration was shortchanging fishermen in the three states by $70 million. Congress approved $170 million in disaster relief as part of a recent farm bill.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., accused the Bush administration of “trying to steal money from salmon fishermen to give it to an incompetent defense contractor” that is overseeing the 2010 Census.

Read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.

September 18, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Cold water rings dinner bell for West Coast salmon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 10, 2008 at 6:13 am

From the Associated Press:

A federal oceanographer says a flip-flop in atmospheric conditions is creating a feast for salmon and other sea life off the West Coast, reversing a trend that contributed to a virtual shutdown of West Coast salmon fishing this summer.

Bill Peterson of NOAA Fisheries in Newport, Ore., said Tuesday the change in cycle of an atmospheric condition known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation last fall has brought cold water flows from the Gulf of Alaska, which are carrying an abundance of tiny animals known as copepods that are the foundation of the food chain.

It’s unknown how long the good times will last, but Peterson said ocean surveys of chinook salmon in June found lots of yearling juveniles, which should grow up to be plentiful stocks of adults by 2010. Coho surveys start in a couple weeks.

Peterson said last spring that he expected the rebound, and the confirmation of his expectations were reported by The Oregonian. While the cycle used to last as long as 20 years, it has lately taken about four years for conditions to change; but no one knows for sure what the future will bring, Peterson added.

Read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.

September 10, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Spawning salmon traumatized by fishing technique

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 30, 2008 at 6:56 am

From the Sacramento Bee:

Fishermen are targeting salmon returning to spawn in the American River and other Central Valley streams, despite a virtual ban on all salmon fishing this year. Even worse, some anglers are using a technique called “flossing,” intended to hook salmon in the body, fin or face. The method is considered unethical by many fishermen. It appears to slip through a loophole in regulations designed to protect salmon. “They’re traumatizing these big fish,” said Alan Weingarten, a state Department of Fish and Game warden who has observed the practice on the American River.

In May, commercial and recreational fishing was banned at sea and in Central Valley rivers, but not specifically ‘catch and release’; instead anglers were urged to “use a very conservative approach” and “refrain from any catch-and-release fishing that specifically targets salmon.”

Read more from the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

August 30, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Voluntary water conservation puts Lake Mendocino in shape for salmon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 18, 2008 at 7:42 am

From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat:

For the second consecutive year, water conservation efforts are paying off in the North Bay area. The Sonoma County Water Agency is meeting its goal of reducing the amount of water it takes out of the Russian River by 15 percent, allowing water to be stockpiled in Lake Mendocino for release during the fall salmon run.

Officials credit conservation efforts by the agency’s major customers — the cities and water districts from Windsor to San Rafael — and now project there will be enough water left in the reservoir for October releases. “They said they were doing a similar effort as last year, they would reduce the water by 15 percent from 2004, and that was the basis of what happened last year,” said Don Seymour, principal engineer for the Water Agency.

The Water Agency has been diverting less than 70 million gallons per day from the Russian River at its intake pumps at Wohler and Mirabel, near Forestville, Seymour said. Without the conservation measures, the average in past years had been about 80 million gallons per day, Seymour said.

Read more from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat by clicking here.

August 18, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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3 common pesticides said to harm West Coast salmon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 14, 2008 at 5:57 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

Three common pesticides are helping push the Pacific Coast’s prized but imperiled salmon closer to extinction, a new federal report has found.

A 377-page draft study by federal fisheries experts contends there is “overwhelming evidence” that unfettered use of the pesticides is “likely to jeopardize the continued existence” of 28 salmon stocks off the West Coast.

The National Marine Fisheries report says the pesticides interfere with basic functions of the fish: their ability to find food, reproduce, even to swim. The three pesticides — malathion, diazinon and chloripyrifos — have been used for decades by farmers and home gardeners.

Joshua Osborne-Klein, an attorney with the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, said the report pointed to a need to find alternatives to the chemicals.

The fisheries service is expected in coming months to make recommendations on potential remedies to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which governs pesticide use. Agency officials could order restrictions or prohibit use of the pesticides.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

August 14, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Commentary: A simple solution to help salmon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 12, 2008 at 6:49 am

Thanks to Aquafornia reader Rick for sending me a link to this article, which I had missed! From the opinion pages of the Sacramento Bee, commentary by Peter Moyle & Richard Sitts. Once numbering in the millions, California’s salmon population has reached record low numbers, but Moyle & Sitts have a plan that could help save the salmon while keeping the salmon season open:

The causes of the salmon population collapse are multiple and complex, an apparent “perfect storm” of interacting factors, man-made and natural. To supplement the wild populations, hatcheries produce approximately 31 million young salmon per year. Yet today, hatchery fish are part of the problem.

Hatchery fish are less-adapted for survival in the wild, but they can compete with and interbreed with wild salmon in rivers, overwhelming wild fish by their sheer numbers and weakening the offspring. They are wonderful food, but when it comes to spawning and perpetuating the species, they are no substitute for truly wild salmon.

In previous years, up to 90 percent of salmon caught off California by fishermen were born in a hatchery. Unfortunately, the fishermen have never had an easy way to tell hatchery from wild fish. As a result, wild salmon that are endangered species are caught as well as hatchery fish, with negative effects on their beleaguered populations.

A major step toward solving the problem: Mark all hatchery fish.

Read more of Moyle & Sitt’s commentary in the Sacramento Bee by clicking here.

August 12, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Signs point to monster return for salmon

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 12, 2008 at 6:37 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

An 80-pound salmon caught off Rivers Inlet this past week crowned a siege of some of the biggest salmon taken off British Columbia in years. The news could mean great things for the Bay Area coast in the future.

On the same morning the 80-pounder was caught, an angler on a nearby boat caught a 71-pounder. At least one 50-pound salmon has been caught every day this week out of Rivers Inlet Resort, according to Ron Shapland, co-owner of the resort. “The fish this season are unbelievably huge.”

The story of the decline in salmon populations on the Pacific Coast is well documented, but there’s a surprise twist this summer. Scientists blamed the fall of salmon stocks primarily on a lack of marine food production, which has also affected the population of some marine birds. This was the result of a change in wind patterns across the ocean that caused poor upwelling and lack of plankton and krill.

But this spring and early summer, powerful winds out of the northwest returned, and with it, upwelling jump-started the marine food chain. With plenty of food again in the ocean, yet far fewer adult salmon this summer, the fish that are out there are gorging and getting huge.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

August 12, 2008 · Filed Under Endangered Species & Wildlife, Salmon

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California water war enters new front with the ‘battle of the reports’

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 12, 2008 at 6:32 am

From Dan Bacher at IndyBay.org:

The California water war over the fate of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Dela entered a new front over the past several weeks with the “battle of the reports.”

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released two in-depth reports recommending ways to provide water to restore salmon and other fish while serving California’s water needs. The two reports come on the heels of a controversial report the previous week by the PPIC that advocated the construction of a peripheral canal.

PPIC Report:

The Public Policy Institute of California on July 17 released a new report, “Comparing Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,” concluding that building a peripheral canal to carry water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is “the most promising strategy” to revive a threatened ecosystem and ensurie a “high-quality water supply” for California’s residents.

“Coupling a peripheral canal – the least expensive option – with investment in the Delta ecosystem can promote both environmental sustainability and a reliable water supply,” claimed PPIC program director Ellen Hanak, who co-authored the study with University of California at Davis researchers – professor Jay Lund, research engineer William Fleenor, professor Richard Howitt, professor Jeffrey Mount, and professor Peter Moyle.

The EDF Report:

EDF released their report, “Finding the Balance: A Vision for Water Supply and Environmental Reliability in California,” on July 23, two weeks after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Diane Feinstein announced an enormously costly and environmentally destructive $9.3 billion “compromise” water bond that would build two new dams and a peripheral canal.

The report concludes that providing a more reliable water supply for the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary could help save fish, including salmon, while also helping to ensure adequate water for farms, cities, and the 25 million Californians who rely on the Bay-Delta’s water. The report outlines steps that state and federal leaders must take to end “a vicious cycle of water shortages and environmental near-disasters, and instead create a stable and reliable water supply.”

“Our water supplies will remain vulnerable as long as we allow the environment to remain at the brink of disaster,” said Laura Harnish, EDF’s Regional Director in San Francisco and an author of the report. “For decades, water users have sought to pump additional water out of our Central Valley streams, then species have declined, and ultimately the courts are forced to step in to prevent an environmental catastrophe.”

The NRDC Report:

On the following day at a press conference at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) and Water for Fish released a report saying that California salmon “could soon disappear permanently from the state’s rivers, restaurant menus and supermarkets if massive water diversions from the San Francisco Bay-Delta continue unabated.”

The report, “Fish Out of Water: How Water Management in the Bay-Delta Threatens the Future of California’s Salmon Fishery,” describes how the State Water Project and Central Valley Project contribute to declining salmon populations by reducing the availability of water necessary for migration and spawning, killing tens of thousands of juvenile salmon by sucking them into giant pumps used to export water and blocking salmon’s migration route with their dams.

“The future of California’s salmon fishery is completely dependent on how we manage water in the Bay-Delta ecosystem,” said Doug Obegi, NRDC staff attorney and lead author of the report. “California agencies must implement existing requirements to restore salmon, reform management of the water projects, and reduce water diversions.”

Despite the current crisis, the report notes that state and federal agencies are considering actions that could make things even worse for salmon survival. For example, agencies are considering developing a peripheral canal and more dams to export even more water from the Bay-Delta. In addition, they have executed water supply contracts that commit more water than the system can sustainably yield.

Read more of this article, which includes links to all reports summarized, by clicking here.

August 12, 2008 · Filed Under Endangered Species & Wildlife, Peripheral Canal, Salmon

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Good news for salmon & steelhead: Battle Creek improvements to aid fish

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 3, 2008 at 12:06 pm

From the Redding Record-Searchlight:

A 42-mile stretch of Battle Creek near here is about to get nearly $80 million in salmon and steelhead habitat improvements.

In what’s been billed as one of the largest cold water anadromous fish restoration efforts in North America, six government agencies will team with a private utility to restore habitat in the creek, a tributary to the Sacramento River that runs through Shasta and Tehama counties.

The project will also restore an additional six miles of habitat in Battle Creek’s tributaries. The effort will help restore winter- and spring-run Chinook and Central Valley steelhead, all of which are critically imperiled.

“Given the current salmon emergency, this restoration project demonstrates a commitment by all of the involved

entities to resolving habitat issues directed toward recovery of the various runs of salmon in the Sacramento River system,” the agencies said in a news release. “The predominately spring-fed Battle Creek system is a reliable source of abundant cold water for salmon, even in a warming climate.”

Teaming to implement the project are the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, the California Department of Transportation, the Bay Area Toll Authority, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

Read more from Redding’s Record-Searchlight by clicking here.

August 3, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Judge seeks salmon impact report; State, federal agencies must file update by Aug. 29

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 2, 2008 at 7:11 am

From the Capital Press:

A federal court judge has ruled that Central Valley Project operations are detrimental to certain fish species, but so far he’s made no decisions about what modifications the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation must make to reduce the impact on fish. Judge Oliver Wanger hasn’t instituted any other emergency remedies on behalf of three fish species - winter run chinook, spring run chinook and steelhead.

In a hearing held Wednesday, July 23, Wanger ordered the federal defendant and the California Department of Water Resources to file a status report by Aug. 29 that contains an update on current project operations as well as those proposed through next March, the status of any jeopardy to the fish and an analysis of proposed remedies to protect species and habitat.

“We’re evaluating his recommendations right now and putting together our strategy for coming back to the table for a conference with him,” Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Pete Lucero said. “We’ll be prepared to discuss with the court what we’ve come up with in the way of meeting his requirements from his bench.”

“It’s not entirely clear what’s going to happen next,” said Natural Resources Defense Council spokesman Craig Noble. However, Noble said, “The status quo is unacceptable.” What will follow has yet to be decided, he said.

Read more from the Capital Press by clicking here.

August 2, 2008 · Filed Under Judge Wanger salmon ruling, Salmon

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California water operations threaten survival of iconic salmon fishery; Fishermen, seafood restaurant and conservationists call for improved water management in the San Francisco Bay-Delta

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 31, 2008 at 11:00 pm

From the NRDC, this press release (hat tip to Joy - thank you!)

SAN FRANCISCO (July 24, 2008) – California salmon could soon disappear permanently from the state’s rivers, restaurant menus and supermarkets if massive water diversions from the San Francisco Bay-Delta continue unabated, according to a new report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association (PCFFA) and Water 4 Fish.

The report, “Fish Out of Water: How Water Management in the Bay-Delta Threatens the Future of California’s Salmon Fishery,” describes how the State Water Project and Central Valley Project contribute to declining salmon populations, by reducing the availability of water necessary for migration and spawning, killing tens of thousands of juvenile salmon by sucking them into giant pumps used to export water, and blocking salmon’s migration route with their dams. The report comes on the heels of a federal court ruling that water project operations in the Central Valley jeopardize the survival of several salmon runs, and a few months after state and federal agencies closed California’s commercial salmon fishery for the first time ever due to record low numbers of fish returning to spawn.

“The future of California’s salmon fishery is completely dependent on how we manage water in the Bay-Delta ecosystem,” said Doug Obegi, NRDC staff attorney and lead author of the report. “California agencies must implement existing requirements to restore salmon, reform management of the water projects, and reduce water diversions. California can meet its water supply needs and restore salmon and the health of the Delta ecosystem by investing in fish friendly water supply alternatives, including water conservation and recycling. If we do so, Californians will once again be able to enjoy abundant local salmon in their rivers, on their lines, and on their plates.”

Read on for more information and a link to the post: Read more

July 31, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Fun, farms and fish; Reactions mixed to ruling on Red Bluff Diversion Dam

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 26, 2008 at 11:44 am

From Tehama County’s Daily News:

The city of Red Bluff may be the only interested party not content after a July 18 ruling in U.S. District Court that water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, including the Red Bluff Diversion Dam, pose irreparable harm to three endangered species of salmon.

As the coalition of environmental groups, fisheries and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe that makes up the plaintiff in the case celebrated, something of a victory flag was also being waved by the operators of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA).

In his ruling Judge Oliver Wanger, of the U.S. District Court’s Eastern District of California in Fresno, denied requests for emergency interim remedies, including raising the 11 gates that make up the Dam on Aug 1. The judgment should allow irrigation for the area’s multi-million dollar harvest season to continue undisturbed. “What was avoided was nothing less than an economic disaster,” TCCA General Manager Jeff Sutton said.

Although trumpeting the same economic positive, Red Bluff City Manager Martin Nichols said the court’s decisions are leaving the future of Lake Red Bluff less and less secure.

As a result the city’s game plan is expected to change from defensive to offensive as the city will shift focus toward finding an alternative to replace an estimated $4 million in lost revenue if the lake is drained for good.

Although the spin was positive, reactions from those dependent on TCCA for economic stability were guarded at best. While Wanger ruled there should be no immediate change to the status of the Dam’s gates, the finding of jeopardy in the Endangered Species Act lawsuit leaves a cloudy question over whether the gates will be lifted at all in 2009.

July 26, 2008 · Filed Under Salmon

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Commentary: Farmers being blamed for salmon dying

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 12, 2008 at 7:43 am

From the Lemoore Advance, this commentary:

Sewage water being dumped into the Sacramento River-Delta is killing fish? Remember in May 2007 the reports of Salmon dying in the Sacramento River blamed on farmers? It turns out the fish killer is ammonia, a common by-product of human urine and feces contained in partially-treated sewage water. The cities of Sacramento and Stockton are dumping it into the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

Two recent studies — researching what killed the Salmon, what’s killing the tiny aquatic food sources for Salmon, and why other fish are dying in the delta — was released by Richard Dugdale, an oceanographer at San Francisco University. The study showed sewage contaminated water, containing high levels of ammonia, is being dumped in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and is disrupting the food chain and killing the fish.

The effects of sewage water contaminants was dramatically illustrated last May when dozens of Chinook Salmon showed up dead in the river area where Stockton discharges sewage water into the river every day. Lack of food and other contaminants in the ammonia tainted water is killing the Delta and the Salmon.

Another example: Sacramento’s sewage facility dumps 146 million gallons of ammonia rich waste water every day into the River and plans to increase that volume by 30 percent to almost 200 million gallons per day! This is more than 600 acre-feet of partially treated sewage water per day and/or more than 220,000 acre feet per year being dumped in the river by just one sewage water disposal plant. It’s estimated more than 50 cities along the Sacramento River, its tributaries, and Bay-Delta area cities are dumping partially treated sewage water into the water system.

Read the rest of this commentary from the Lemoore Advance by clicking here.

July 12, 2008 · Filed Under Other Delta Issues, Salmon

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