From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Jan 2 15:06:13 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 15:06:13 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] CLEANUP PROJECT REVEALS POISONED EGGS; Selenium came from farm drainage Message-ID: <01fb01c72ed4$08955fa0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> CONTAMINATION ISSUES: CLEANUP PROJECT REVEALS POISONED EGGS; Selenium came from farm drainage Monterey Herald ? 12/26/06 By Bettina Boxall, LA Times staff writer A dozen wild bird eggs plucked from nests on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley show how easily things can go awry when trying to clean up the region's tainted farm drainage. The eggs, collected last year in fields that are part of a treatment project, contained the same lethal levels of selenium that poisoned migrating waterfowl more than two decades ago at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge near Los Banos. The 2005 egg contamination was the worst detected in five years of monitoring at the project, which recycles selenium-laced agricultural drain water by using it to irrigate crops. The results, reported to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation this summer, come at a time when the agency is considering greatly expanding such reuse areas as part of a massive proposed drainage program on the valley's west side. The high selenium levels reinforce the concerns of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has warned that the bureau's drainage plans could endanger thousands of Central Valley waterfowl. ''They have to be extremely careful; that water is so potent, they can't make any mistakes,'' said U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Joseph Skorupa. ''If they make a mistake, they'll have dead birds.'' The tainted eggs come from the Grassland project, which has otherwise been a success in reducing the flow of selenium-spiked water into the San Joaquin River, where it could do environmental damage. The project takes drainage from fields south of Los Banos, located in Merced County, and uses it to irrigate crops that can tolerate the soil salts that accumulate in drain water. A naturally occurring trace element, selenium is washed out of valley soils by irrigation. In drain water, it can build to levels toxic to wildlife, a problem that first came to light in the early 1980s at Kesterson, when widespread birth defects were found in birds that foraged in refuge ponds filled with farm drainage. In the case of the 3,500-acre Grasslands reuse project, coordinator Joe McGahan said it is unclear why selenium levels suddenly jumped last year in eggs taken from the nests of black-necked stilts, a shorebird that is among several dozen species that frequent the site. ''We had no reason to think in 2004 it was going to go up like that,'' he said. McGahan added that the monitoring found no deformed or dead bird embryos. But Skorupa, an expert on selenium contamination in the Central Valley, said that was only because a relatively small number of eggs was tested. ''We would have expected them to find deformed embryos if they had checked every egg'' in the sampled nests, Skorupa said. This year, grasslands managers have taken steps to reduce bird exposure to selenium. They have created nearby habitat to lure waterfowl away from the reuse area and regraded drainage channels to make them less attractive to foraging birds. ''You can't haze and prevent birds from nesting,'' he said. ''It's not practical. But you can do the best you can to try to scare off as many birds as possible.'' The acreage devoted to such reuse areas could grow significantly under proposals in the final stages of review by the reclamation bureau. The agency is under court order in a long-standing lawsuit to solve the drainage problem on roughly 379,000 acres of west-side farmland with a high water table. The bureau, which supplies the area with federal irrigation water, was supposed to make a final decision this summer on how to proceed. But negotiations to settle the case have left the matter up in the air. In documents released this year, the reclamation bureau outlined a variety of options, favoring a complex solution that would cost nearly $1 billion. It revolves around taking most of the poorly drained land out of irrigation and converting it to dryland farming or fallowing it, a step that could cost federal taxpayers more than $700 million. The proposal also calls for treating drainage from land remaining in irrigation through a combination of 7,500 acres of reuse areas, high-tech filtration and nearly 1,300 acres of selenium-spiked evaporation ponds. But it's likely that either a settlement or the agency's final decision would retire less land than the Los Angeles-sized chunk the bureau has proposed. Most of the acreage lies in the huge, politically powerful Westlands Water District, which opposes extensive land retirement. The less land taken out of irrigation, the more drainage treatment will be required -- and the more evaporation ponds and reuse areas will need to be built. That has raised alarms at the fish and wildlife agency, which in a report earlier this year said the ''service remains very concerned with the potential for adverse environmental effects of installing over 3,200 acres of highly toxic evaporation ponds and up to 19,000 acres of drain water reuse'' -- the maximum created under any of the treatment options. Michael Delamore, an official in the bureau's Fresno office, said that new reuse areas constructed under the reclamation proposal would not have the open drain water channels that are the presumed source of contamination at the Grasslands project. ''You have to identify what happened, what resulted in this exposure that led to these high levels and address that component,'' Delamore said. ''And if indeed it is the open ditch irrigation system, we've already addressed it. If it's something else, then we'd have to address it.'' Conveying the tainted drain water in pipes -- as is planned -- will be an improvement, said Terry Young, a senior scientific consultant for Environmental Defense, an environmental group familiar with the Grasslands project. But she warned that it will not eliminate potential dangers. ''The bottom line is, if you lose control of one of these systems, you can have a disaster worse than Kesterson within a period of a very few months, if not days. # http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/state/16319191.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov Wed Jan 3 09:24:06 2007 From: BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov (Brandt Gutermuth) Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:24:06 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Supplemental EA/EIR available for Indian Creek Project Message-ID: Dear Trinity River Enthusiasts - FYI - and for the New Year A Supplemental EA/EIR is Available for the Trinity River Restoration Program's Indian Creek Rehabilitation Site Project Under guidance of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) and in response to public comment and technical review, the Bureau of Reclamation (the Federal lead agency) and the Trinity County Planning Department (the State lead agency) have developed a new alternative (Alternative 3) for the Indian Creek Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River Mile 93.7 to 96.5 (Project). A Project description and impact analysis for the new alternative is available for public review and comment, as part of a Supplemental Environmental Assessment/ Recirculated Partial Draft Environmental Impact Report (SEA/RPDEIR). The joint supplemental document meets National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. While the purpose and need of the Project remains unchanged - to increase juvenile salmonid rearing habitat and reduce Trinity River flow impacts to structural improvements - the new alternative provides opportunities to: (1) maximize side channel habitat and (2) minimize impacts by decreasing in channel construction, reducing the overall quantity and area of excavation, and reclaiming onsite materials for use as spawning gravel at future project sites. Although no in-channel excavation is considered, this new alternative has similar flow conveyance benefits as the previously described Proposed Action. The new alternative would utilize on-site processing of excavated alluvial materials (e.g., sand, gravel, cobbles) and dredge tailings as a source for spawning gravel enhancement efforts up-river. Such re-use of on-site materials would not only reduce potential environmental impacts resulting from placement of excavated materials within the Project boundary but would also restore additional floodplain areas by removing dredge tailings. Export of processed gravels from the Project site would, however, require seasonal increases in truck traffic on State and local haul routes. Trinity County has received financial support for Project implementation from the California Department of Fish and Game's Fisheries Restoration Grant Program and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Targeted Watershed Grants Program. Trinity County is working as a partner agency under the EPA program with the Yurok Tribe and the Trinity County Resource Conservation District. The SEA/RPDEIR may be viewed at the TRRP Office, 1313 South Main Street; at the Trinity County Library, 211 North Main Street; or at the Trinity County Planning Department, 60 Glen Road, in Weaverville, CA. The SEA/RPDEIR may also be viewed at Reclamation's NEPA website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2094. Or on the TRRP website at http://www.trrp.net/implementation/IndianCreek.htm. Comments on the SEA/RPDEIR are due by Tuesday, February 13, 2007, to Mr. Brandt Gutermuth, Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, Weaverville, CA 96093 or e-mail bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov. Comments will be consolidated and responded to in an EA/Final EIR along with comments received on the original EA/Draft EIR. The final document will be used by Federal and State agencies to satisfy NEPA/CEQA requirements and provide the basis for the various permits, authorizations, and approvals needed to implement the project. The preferred alternative is scheduled for implementation during summer 2007 when impacts to fish and wildlife from in-channel work may be minimized. Please direct any questions on the Project to the Trinity County Planner, Mr. Joshua Allen, at 530-623-1351, extension 3411, or e-mail jallen at trinitycounty.org, or to Mr. Gutermuth at 530-623-1806 or e-mail bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov. ___________________________________ Brandt Gutermuth, Environmental Specialist Trinity River Restoration Program PO Box 1300 (mailing) 1313 Main Street (physical address) Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1806 voice; (530) 623-5944 fax Bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov ___________________________________ From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Jan 3 13:23:32 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 13:23:32 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Could you post this on the list serv? Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E0BA1B7@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Rod, Sure, but you can just as easily do it yourself by just sending the e-mail to env-trinity at mailman.dcn.org, and it should automatically go through being that you are a member. If it is over 75kb, I would have to moderate it for approval. I'll do it this time, but please keep the list-serve submission address for future reference. Thanks. Joshua Allen Assistant Planner Trinity County Planning Department Natural Resources Division PO Box 2819 Weaverville, CA 96093 (530)623-1351 ext. 3411 (530)623-1353 fax jallen at trinitycounty.org -----Original Message----- From: Rod Wittler [mailto:RJWITTLER at mp.usbr.gov] Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 1:20 PM To: Josh Allen Subject: Could you post this on the list serv? Josh, Would you please post this article on the list-serv? Thanks, Rod Blown-down trees windfall for streams BILL MONROE Oregonian - Online Monday, January 01, 2007 Wind, fire, floods . . . the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife finds a silver lining in everything nature can throw at the state. Especially trees. The agency, with help from the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State Parks and a $28,750 grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, is collecting as many 20-inch (diameter) trees as possible from a veritable forest that blew down along the central Oregon Coast during December windstorms. Downed trees 40 to 50 feet long are destined to be placed in several streams to provide rearing habitat for small salmon and steelhead, capture gravel and create side channels for both juvenile and adult fish. Four log-truckloads of conifer logs have been collected so far, and as many as 10 more might be collected from the December windfall. Jason Kirchner, a department fish habitat biologist, said he has planned seven to 10 projects next summer to improve 12 to 15 miles of streams. He'll use 10 to 200 logs per project. 'The Douglas fir, hemlock, and spruce trees we have collected will last for decades,' he said. Over in LaPine, the department and Forest Service are collecting about 200 conifer logs -- roots attached -- killed in a 2005 fire at LaPine State Park. The Watershed Enhancement Board is also funding the salvage with a grant of $7,700. For two weeks, workers have been setting trees in the upper Deschutes River to stabilize eroding shorelines, create habitat and capture spawning gravel for trout. From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jan 5 11:05:13 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 11:05:13 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmon Fisheries - Eureka Times Standard Message-ID: <002201c730fc$6eabe780$0301a8c0@optiplex> SALMON FISHERIES: Disaster relief help sought for fishermen Eureka Times-Standard - 1/5/06 WASHINGTON -- On the first day of the 110th Congress, bills were introduced in both the House and Senate to aid suffering salmon fishermen. North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, introduced legislation to provide federal disaster relief to California and Oregon's salmon fishing industry. The bill authorizes the appropriation of $60.4 million for the fishermen, tribes and businesses that were impacted by the commercial fishery failure of 2006. California Sen. Barbara Boxer also introduced companion legislation Thursday in the Senate. Reps. Lois Capps, Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Peter DeFazio, Darlene Hooley, George Miller, Doris Matsui, Tom Lantos, Zoe Lofgren, Lynn Woolsey and David Wu co-authored Thompson's legislation. Boxer's legislation is co-authored by Oregon Sens. Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden. "It is our responsibility to do everything we can to help the thousands of families and businesses that are suffering from the largest commercial salmon fishery disaster in our nation's history," said Thompson. "The devastating impact this disaster has had on California's North Coast has been obvious for years, and it is time we help bring this important industry back to life." Boxer said: "Our coastal communities have already waited too long to get the disaster relief they need as a result of this administration's mismanagement of the Klamath River. By introducing this legislation on the first day of Congress, we are letting our communities and families know that getting them financial assistance is a top priority this year." According to Thompson's office, the fisheries disaster was due in large part to poor federal management of the Klamath River, which caused 80,000 adult salmon to die in 2002. Since then, the salmon population has continued to deteriorate, forcing the Pacific Fisheries Management Council to sizably reduce the fishing seasons in 2005 and 2006. As a result, the commercial fishing season was cut by more than 90 percent in 2006, costing fishing families and associated fishing businesses more than $60 million. There is also an expectation that the commercial salmon season will be significantly reduced in 2007, as well. "Getting our fisherman and salmon businesses back on their feet is a top priority for me and my colleagues from California and Oregon," said Thompson. "But it is also important that we stay focused on restoring the salmon population in the Klamath basin so this disaster does not continue into the future. As a first step toward that goal, we passed legislation last Congress requiring the government to implement a salmon restoration plan, and I look forward to monitoring the government's progress." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Jan 8 11:45:18 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 11:45:18 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] The Great Thirst; Looking ahead to a post-global warming life in California, 60 years hence Message-ID: <019d01c73376$4b9ce740$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> CALIFORNIA LONG-TERM WATER SUPPLY: The Great Thirst; Looking ahead to a post-global warming life in California, 60 years hence San Francisco Chronicle ? 1/7/07 By Glen Martin, staff writer The following extrapolation presents a worst-case scenario of California's water situation in the coming decades, but not necessarily an unlikely one. It is based on a variety of sources, including interviews and conversations over the past several years with scientists and government agency staffers, such as those associated with the University of California, the California Department of Water Resources and the Bay Institute. (The observations of Jeffrey Mount of UC Davis and John Harte of UC Berkeley were particularly enlightening.) Various textual sources -- including white papers produced by the state's Climate Action Team -- were also a source of both statistics and inspiration. The Climate Team reports, prepared for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature before the drafting of the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, postulate likely impacts of global warming on precipitation patterns, water availability, hydroelectric power, forestry and agriculture. Few of the conclusions are comforting. Finally, I must acknowledge that my field observations from two decades of reporting on water played a role in this soothsaying exercise. The main thing I've learned is that larger trends don't necessarily translate into predictable regional events. Global warming likely will result in somewhat drier winters and less snowpack for the Sierra; strong El Ni?os, also predicted in most current global warming projections, mean wetter, warmer winters for the North State. I've tried to reconcile these two seemingly disparate projections in this piece. I've also learned that nature invariably seeks and exploits the weakest link. I still remember the panic engendered by the second year of the 1976-77 drought. And I recall covering the great floods of 1997, the year, some experts say, we came close to losing Sacramento. One day that winter, I stood on Highway 70 at the point it disappeared into a roiling inland sea, the outflow of the Feather, Yuba and Bear rivers. Among the flotsam were trailer homes and huge propane tanks, venting gas as they rolled in the brown water. Submerged beneath the flood was the little town of Olivehurst. Then, it was a mere hamlet surrounded by croplands. Today, it is a residential tract boomtown. The engineers say the new levees they are constructing will withstand anything the rivers deliver. I wonder. -- Glen Martin -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is a sign of the flexibility of the human spirit that a certain nostalgia has begun to pervade our memories of the Great Thirst. With it immured safely 30 years in the past, we can afford such revisionism. Today, in 2062, we delight in recalling the heroic incidents it kindled, the ingenious responses to catastrophe, the shared privations. Now that we have squeezed through the bottleneck with our institutions more or less intact, we can savor the simple and glorious fact that we endured. But as we bask in the alpenglow of our memories, we must acknowledge that the forces that almost destroyed California are still in play globally; that other people are still grappling with the crises we have weathered. They still have to get though the bottleneck. True, we Californians have established the standard for societal response to catastrophic water shortages and supply disruption. But we had an essential advantage: We were Californians. Our state was -- and is -- one of the world's great repositories of wealth, technology and talent. We had everything going for us, and we still barely squeaked through. Nor can we claim that we emerged unscathed. Our society has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Our lives are tightly regulated now, in ways our antecedents would not have tolerated. Key components of the old economy have disappeared. The environmental disruption of the past five decades has been extreme, and much of the damage is irreparable. There are far more of us living on much less. Basic services and resources that were once considered an unalienable birthright are now privileges: Only the very wealthy have swimming pools or lawns. Still, we all have enough water to drink now. All of us can shower regularly, and we can flush our (reduced flow) toilets after each use. We can wash our clothes more or less when we want. Yes, we pay a lot of money for our water, but we're used to it -- as our grandparents became inured to paying top dollar for gasoline. After years of dire shortages and draconian rationing, the simple fact that we can turn on a tap at will seems like a luxury of the most decadent stripe. The irony, of course, is that the Great Thirst initially wasn't driven by water shortages. For thousands of years, the west slope of the Sierra Nevada annually produced about 30 million acre-feet of runoff. Winters have become somewhat drier during the past 50 years, but the Sierra still yields on average about 25 million acre-feet of water a year. So the issue isn't so much about the amount of water -- it's the way nature delivers it that has radically changed, and that has made all the difference. (Climate Scenarios for California, California Climate Change Center, 2006) Many scientists saw it coming, positing as early as the late 20th century that global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions would change the precipitation pattern in the Sierra. And by 2020, the emerging pattern became clear: More moisture falling as rain rather than snow at the higher elevations. (Interview with John Harte, UC Berkeley) This basic fact radically changed the way water was delivered to California's reservoirs. When the state's reservoir system was conceived, it was designed to hold water from spring snowmelt. Because it typically took several weeks for the snowpack to melt, the reservoirs could be filled gradually through the late spring. The water was then released for hydropower, agricultural irrigation and urban requirements through the summer and early fall, when needs were at a peak. But the shift in the weather regimen rapidly made the system obsolete. Instead of falling as snow for later and manageable downstream flow to the reservoirs, the precipitation began falling as rain. What fell at high altitudes raced instantly downstream, all through the vast watersheds of the Sierra. The reservoirs were changed from water-storage systems to flood-control structures, holding back the torrents only enough to prevent catastrophic flooding through the Central Valley. Most of the water had to be passed downstream, through San Francisco Bay and out the Golden Gate. It could not be saved for summertime irrigation, power and urban uses. (Paper by Edwin Maurer and Philip Duffy; Geophysical Research Letters, Jan. 27, 2006) By the third decade of the century, the state had begun its slide toward water deprivation: Even during extremely wet winters, we simply could not hold on to the precipitation. Overall, annual water deliveries in the state had declined an average of 20 percent by 2030. (Climate Warming and Water Supply Management in California, California Climate Change Center, 2006) Snow still accumulated in the Sierra -- but as the years went by, it tended to accumulate only briefly, and only at the highest elevations. Even then, it merely compounded the problems rather than ameliorating them: Any snow lying around was sure to be drenched in short order by warm rain, sending even bigger pulses of water into the already stressed reservoirs. Worse, as predicted by most global warming models at the beginning of the century, the incidence of El Ni?o years increased for the eastern Pacific. These intrusions of warm marine water to our coast left the door open for countless "Pineapple Express" storms that dropped huge amounts of warm precipitation on the state, far more than is typical for northern storms. (Maurer/Duffy: Geophysical Research Letters, Jan. 27, 2006) So even as California inched toward summer water shortages, it was sometimes drowning during the winter. At this point, many pundits opined the state could adjust to the new precipitation patterns by building more reservoirs on major rivers to improve flood control and increase water storage capacity. The negative environmental impacts of such projects were openly acknowledged, but advocates claimed the very social fabric of the state was at stake. Their arguments convinced many Californians, and it seemed clear that legislation or bond initiatives eventually would be passed for new dams and delivery systems. Then came the winter of 2033-2034. Again, the events that transpired in mid-February had long been foretold. More than 30 years earlier Jeffrey Mount, a UC Davis geologist, had predicted similar scenarios with almost preternatural accuracy. The rains came early that year, following a fierce El Ni?o. In November, the first of a great train of subtropical storms swept in from the south-central Pacific. By Thanksgiving, the state was drenched, and by early December it was waterlogged. Every river from the McCloud in the north to the Kern in the south was swollen and turbid with runoff. The storm door remained open through Christmas, but it abruptly canted north. Everyone breathed easier as the snow began to accumulate in the Sierra. There had been some levee breaches in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and in the northern San Joaquin Valley, but crews immediately began plugging them. The snowpack grew through late January as front after front moved down from the Gulf of Alaska; drifts were 20 feet high at Donner Summit. Ski resorts, impoverished by years of scant snow, declared the return of the Glory Days. But while skiers and snowboarders responded, the crowds were considerably reduced from those of three decades earlier. (Interview with Harte) The Sierra, once a global destination for winter sport enthusiasts, now suffered from a reputation for meager snow and unreliable conditions. Instead of zipping up to Tahoe for the weekend as was once the norm, skiers and snowboarders now tended to save their money for extended trips to destinations that still had prime snow -- the Canadian Rockies, Alaska -- and for those who had the funds, Patagonia or New Zealand. Still, the skiing was superb in late 2033 and early 2034. Then in the second week of February, the storm track swung south again. Front after front still rolled through, battering the west slope of the Sierra -- except now, as was the case in November and early December, they came from the central Pacific. They were warm, and the copious volumes of moisture they contained all fell as rain or sleet -- even at 7,000 feet. >From Tahoe to the Tehachapis, the snowpack melted as though a blowtorch had been held against it. In the Sacramento Valley, Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River and Folsom Dam on the American River had been dumping steadily since the heavy fall rains, but their reservoirs were still high. Now, with an entire season of snowmelt pushing downhill in a matter of days instead of weeks, they proved insufficient to avert catastrophe. Shasta Dam held against the torrent, thanks to a huge reservoir and a strong, high dam. But it was barely able to keep up with its inflows, and its gates ran wide open. The Sacramento River boiled near the top of its sodden levees all the way to its confluence with the Feather River, which was in turn dumping water from the Feather and Yuba watersheds at the rate of hundreds of thousands of cubic feet a second. Marysville and Yuba City were inundated by the flood. South of Marysville, near the former farming hamlet of Olivehurst, a vast warren of residential tracts had sprouted on the rich loam, protected by levees that had been declared impregnable when they were built 25 years before. Now these berms melted before the surge, and the developments utterly disappeared beneath the water. The floods claimed 600 lives in the greater Marysville area. A great deal of water was diverted to the Sutter and Yolo bypasses, but it wasn't enough. Most of the Sacramento River's flow still pushed to the heart of the city of Sacramento -- where the American River entered from the east. Here, Folsom Dam quickly revealed its deficiencies. (1998 Field Hearing on Proposed Modifications of Folsom Dam; Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Resources, U.S. House of Representatives) Folsom Dam was lower than Shasta Dam, and it backed up a much smaller reservoir. Folsom had been raised in 2022, and was considered sufficiently bolstered to handle 200-year floods. But that analysis was based on historic data mostly gathered from the 19th and 20th centuries. The quixotic weather that now seemed a corollary of global warming had not been taken sufficiently into account. By the old criteria, the water now booming down the American River was not a 200-year flood -- it wasn't even a 500-year flood. It was, at the least, a millennial flood. More than 200,000 cubic feet of water per second was coming down the American. And it went over Folsom Dam. More accurately, it undercut the earthen flanks of the structure. Folsom Dam became nothing more than a diversion in the flow, like a mid-stream boulder. Sacramento braced briefly against the walls of water approaching it from the north and east -- and yielded. The two great rivers claimed the city as their own, turning it into a muddy torrent up to 2 miles wide. In the Natomas area, the water stood 20 feet deep. As we now know, at least 4,000 people died in Sacramento. The state government was moved temporarily to San Jose. The drowning of Sacramento still stands as the country's worst civil disaster. It is marked on our calendars, and state schoolchildren and government employees get the day off. But it was not, of course, the most far-reaching consequence of the February Flood. The bitter irony is that the flood, an epochal manifestation of fresh water, marked the beginning of the Great Thirst. While the Sacramento and American rivers were destroying the state capital, the San Joaquin River to the south was also in extreme flood stage, bolstered by the contributions of its mighty tributaries: the Merced, Tuolumne, Mokelumne and Stanislaus rivers. By the standards of the Sacramento Valley, most of the levees of the San Joaquin Valley were pathetically under-engineered. And even relatively new levees that were designed to handle anything nature could throw -- the "super levees" surrounding the huge housing tracts near Lathrop, for example -- proved dismal failures. The river conquered all, and surged into the Sacramento Delta. And here, the tipping point was achieved -- and a new equilibrium established, one inimical to civilization as we knew it in early 2034. (Interviews with Jeffrey Mount, UC Davis) The central fact driving the change: Most of the delta's agricultural islands had subsided drastically from more than a hundred years of farming. They were essentially holes in the ground protected by weak levees; some were 20 feet below sea level. Additionally, water levels were rising in the delta. For 20 years, sea levels had been climbing due to massive polar ice cap melting -- again, attributed to global warming. The rise, modest in annual increments, was significant in the whole: Between 2000 and 2030, sea levels at San Francisco Bay had risen 6.5 inches. (Projecting Sea Level-California Climate Change Center) The higher mean water levels had weakened all the westernmost levees drastically -- they desperately wanted to fail. And the San Joaquin River obliged them, smashing the levees and flooding the islands, abruptly changing the delta from a patchwork of farmland, canals and sloughs into a vast, saline bay. To the north, the Sacramento River added its flow, compounding the disaster. (Interviews with Mount) The bay now surrounded the great state and federal pumps near Tracy. The gigantic apparatus that delivered freshwater from the north state to the farms and cities of the south ground to a halt. The pumps could now send only salt water south; they were useless. The storms eventually blew themselves out and the rivers stopped raging. California buried her dead. But that all ended up as subtext as the full impact of the destruction of the state's primary water delivery systems became apparent. Full water rationing immediately went into effect for the East Bay and most cities south of the delta. Irrigation deliveries to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley were curtailed -- after state and federal legislation passed compensating farmers for that year's crop loss. In the first weeks following the flood, both the governor's office and the state Legislature unexpectedly showed their mettle, forsaking their interminable squabbles to address the disaster. Immediately on gaining her new authority, she conferred with and received support from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which controls many of the Sierra's reservoirs. She then approved diversion of all water from Millerton Reservoir on the San Joaquin River to the Cross Valley Canal, (currently in use) which connected to the California Aqueduct -- at that point a dry, worthless ditch, since water no longer flowed from the delta. Her move dried up eastern San Joaquin Valley farms, but it allowed the continued delivery of water over the Techachapis to Los Angeles and its satellite communities. The governor also directed all Colorado River water deliveries away from Imperial Valley farms to the south state's biggest municipalities. Californians were by no means comfortable in the summer and fall of 2034. Their lawns were brown and their cars were filthy -- but they at least had enough water for drinking, short daily showers and semi-regular toilet flushing. That might have been enough to allow the state to limp through the next few years, until water supplies could be judiciously re-allocated, affected parties made whole and new delivery systems built. But the governor and lawmakers didn't enjoy such a leisurely interregnum between one disaster and the next. In early 2035, just as it seemed the economy and citizenry were settling down, something became distressingly clear: Virtually no precipitation had fallen that winter. A high-pressure system of unparalleled stability was locked over the eastern and north Pacific. California had lurched from one of the wettest years on record to one of the driest. The drought that loomed promised to be as severe as the great drought of 1976-77, the first inkling modern Californians had that the Golden State was, at heart, a desert state. In fact, the drought was worse than the '70s dry spell. It ominously hinted at the multi-decade droughts that research indicated had blighted California roughly between A.D. 1100 and 1350. (Scott Stine, Nature, 1994) For four years, only a few storms hit the Sierra, and they were paltry. By the end, all the state's reservoirs were bottoming out. The San Joaquin was a dirt-bike track its entire length; the Sacramento had been reduced to a trickle. Before, people were inconvenienced; now, they were panicked. In the months after the flood, the issue was about obtaining sufficient water for a reasonably civilized life. Now it was about raw survival. Some urban areas ran dry, and had to be serviced with tanker trucks. Freelance, or "gypsy," tankers catered to the poorer neighborhoods, selling their cargo at exorbitant prices. That triggered the Water Riots of the summer of 2038, when much of Los Angeles burned. Agricultural production collapsed. Once the salad bowl of the nation, California was now importing most fruits and vegetables. Produce prices skyrocketed. Yet state farmers, paradoxically, did fairly well, at least those with primary water rights. After some brisk legal skirmishes, those rights generally were upheld -- and the farmers who possessed them prospered, selling what water they had at astronomical rates to the cities. (Climate Warming and Water Supply Management in California, California Climate Change Center) Water became the new gasoline, every drop precious and hoarded. Dishes and clothes were all washed by hand now, and the gray water saved to irrigate window pots of herbs and greens or to flush toilets. Showers became a fond memory. The sponge bath was the new standard: One small saucepan of water to wash, with a cloth, bar of soap and shampoo; one larger pot to rinse. Again, the gray water was saved. Thousands of new wells were drilled throughout the state in a desperate bid to tap groundwater. This provided brief relief in some cases, but the exponential increase in demand tapped out water tables, and soon the new wells were sucking air. At this point, California's 50 million citizens seemed to take a collective deep breath and consider their options. About 8 million of them -- mostly the poor, unemployed and hopeless -- decided they'd had enough. What then transpired was like the Okie exodus of the Dust Bowl, except in reverse. Caravans of the disenfranchised clogged the freeways and blue highways heading east. As they traveled, they found drought had gripped the Southwest, the Rocky Mountain states and the Great Plains as viciously as it had California. Before its extensive settlement in the mid-19th century, the American West had been called the Great American Desert. It was now clear those early evaluations were accurate. Most of the emigrants didn't stop until they were well beyond the Mississippi River, where the rains still fell reliably. America was not ready for these new armies of the poor and desiccated. Huge encampments sprang up along Eastern freeways, especially along Interstate 80 from Illinois to Pennsylvania. These ragged immigrants had no money, and their collective skill set was low. Their demands on local communities -- for shelter, food, funds, jobs, medical care, schooling -- was great, in some cases insupportable. Local resentment against them ran high. It took a full generation to absorb the "Calies" into their new environs, and the process was trying, at times traumatic, for all involved. Meanwhile, back in California, the governor had begun running into resistance from state legislators on long-term responses to the drought. So -- as other California governors had done in the past -- she appealed directly to voters, promoting a series of referenda that would utterly revamp the state's water storage and delivery system. Among the initiatives was one that greatly increased the power of the governor's office. This, she said, would allow her to do what had to be done to get California rehydrated: override a vacillating and feckless Legislature and definitively cut the Gordian knot of environmental regulation. The remaining initiatives were bond measures and levies that would fund the largest public works effort in state history -- a veritable Manhattan Project for water. Under the governor's plan, a peripheral canal would be dug around the delta, providing a new south state delivery conduit for the Sacramento River. Just as bold: Every major river canyon on the west slope of the Sierra would be turned into catch basins for winter and spring precipitation. Altogether, five new dams would be built on the major west Sierra drainages. The measures also included plans for reservoirs on some of larger streams on the east slope off the Coast Range, such as Putah Creek and Cache Creek. (Scenarios of Climate Change in California: An Overview, California Climate Change Center) New water standards were required for toilets, dishwashers and washing machines. Provisions were also made to retrofit most major urban water treatment complexes to render sewage and storm runoff fit for reuse, with the recycled water employed for agriculture and landscaping. Finally, the initiatives provided for ambitious groundwater storage projects. Under the measures, many of the areas that had been sprawling housing tracts before the February Flood would now be permanent bypasses, zones where flood waters could be diverted and held until they percolated downward, recharging water tables. These areas, the governor declared, could be managed for wildlife habitat as well as water storage. Altogether, the initiatives would raise $300 billion through bonds and new taxes, greatly increasing the state's debt and further burdening businesses and workers. The governor pointed out she had received guarantees the federal government would provide up to $100 billion in matching funds. Further, she said, the bonds and taxes were a necessary investment, essential to assuring not California's prosperity, but its simple existence as a modern society. Environmentalists rallied to fight the initiatives. They pointed out the effects of a peripheral canal on the delta and San Francisco Bay were unknown, (various interviews with staffers of the Bay Institute and the Pacific Federation of Fishermen's Associations) and that the Sierra's great river canyons would be lost to chains of reservoirs. They also noted no provisions had been made to maintain water deliveries from Shasta Dam for Sacramento River Chinook salmon -- runs that had been painstakingly revived over five decades. Fearing the worst, they hastily drafted an initiative of their own, specifying any new dam projects must include fishery maintenance flows for the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Conservationists also claimed the new reservoirs would add significantly to the state's global greenhouse gas emission load, undermining the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The decaying trees and other vegetation in the new reservoirs, they said, would release large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (Philip Fearnside: Greenhouse Gas Emissions From a Hydroelectric Reservoir; Water, Air and Soil Pollution Journal, 2002) The governor countered somewhat disingenuously that the carbon-free hydroelectric power yielded by the new dams would help offset the added greenhouse gas releases. Besides, she once again emphasized, she had no choice but to proceed with her plans. Even before the flood and drought, California residents had been leaning toward dam construction. Now, with empty reservoirs and a devastated economy, they saw things the governor's way. Her "Healing Waters" initiative package passed in a landslide. Of some small relief to environmentalists was the narrow passage of the Sacramento-San Joaquin salmon initiative. In a magnanimous move, the governor said fishery flows down both rivers were sacrosanct, and would be maintained. Simultaneously, the state's local governments and residents responded to the water crisis on their own. Marin County had long maintained a desalinization plant to supplement water supplies during dry years, and now it built a huge new complex, capable of providing up to 60 percent of county needs. The water was expensive -- up to $1,500 an acre foot (Climate Warming And Water Supply In California, California Climate Change Center), exponentially more costly than water from most other sources. But county residents could afford it, and were happy to pay for the peace of mind the new plant provided. Other wealthy coastal communities, most notably Santa Barbara and San Diego, followed with big desalinization plants of their own. The Great Thirst also revived an ancient technology: cisterns. Across the state, the roofs of homes and commercial buildings were covered with sheet metal or treated with special polymer coatings, and their gutters and downspouts connected to plumbing that emptied into newly constructed concrete or stainless steel cisterns. Such systems were simple to install and maintain, and the water they provided required little treatment. Tens of thousands of acres of roofs eventually were outfitted in this way, and the yield was impressive: 550 gallons of water for each inch of rain falling on 1,000 square feet of roof. (Rain Catchment Systems/The Campus Center for Appropriate Technology, Humboldt State University) Many homeowners found their cisterns provided a significant fraction of their water requirements. Other avenues were tried and abandoned. These include solar stills for distilling gray water; a "still suit" -- modeled after those described in the science-fiction novel "Dune" -- that was designed to turn sweat, urine and respiratory vapor into potable water, but did little more than make its wearers reek like actively fermenting compost piles. And most notably, the Berg Project. This plan to wrap Arctic icebergs in heavy-gauge plastic sheeting and tow them to water-deprived southern cities had been kicking around for decades, (Time magazine, Oct. 17, 1977), but the Big Thirst gave venture capitalists impetus to back a pilot effort. It was an abject failure, from start to finish: The towlines kept breaking in heavy seas; the ice melted far more rapidly than expected, and was lost as leakage. The expenses were so high that the much-reduced berg that finally made it to San Francisco Bay wouldn't have covered costs had it been sold as mere drinking water. Investors made most of their money back by selling small vials of the ice melt as tourist souvenirs. Much has been taken from California by the Big Thirst. We have lost the deep, wild canyons of the Sierra. Hobbled by both regulation and new social mores, our lives are more constricted. For most of us, such simple pleasures as a flower garden or a prolonged soak in a big tub are no longer affordable. But our optimism has returned. After all, we have been able to save -- even augment -- some of the best things of the past. We still have our wild salmon fisheries, albeit at reduced levels. The huge new Sacramento and San Joaquin bypass system has created thousands of acres of wildlife habitat and parks on land where housing developments once sprawled. The economy has recovered, driven in large part by the research and technologies that emerged here as a response to the floods and droughts. We shouldn't assume, however, that we have bested Nature at her game. We have water now, but barely enough -- and our population is once again growing, today standing at about 55 million. The planet is still warming, with consequences for California that are unlikely to prove benign. It is increasingly clear we haven't really solved our water crisis -- we have simply negotiated a respite. And we have no clear idea where to go from here. >From 2035 to 2064, Sierra snowpack is expected to decrease 12 to 47 percent from historic levels. By the end of the century, annual snowpack could decline by 90 percent. Source: California Climate Action Team reports By the mid- to late century, reservoir inflows are expected to decline in spring and summer and increase in winter. In the most extreme model, the month of highest streamflow would shift from May to February. Source: California Climate Action Team reports Flows into major Sierra reservoirs could decline 25 to 30 percent from the middle to the end of the century. Source: California Climate Action Team reports Before the end of the century, sea levels are expected to rise 5.1 to 24.4 inches from the 2000 mark. Stress on tidewater levees in the bay and delta will increase with every inch of rise. Source: California Climate Action Team reports Within the tenure of human habitation, California has suffered severe droughts lasting more than a century. A study of relict tree stumps recovered from lakes and marshes indicates the Sierra Nevada endured an extreme drought of more than 200 years before A.D. 1112 and another lasting more than 140 years before A.D. 1350 Source: Scott Stine, Nature, June 16, 1994 How the water flows Each year, the Sierra snowpack provides about 30 million acre-feet of water for human use - but that figure is expected to decline under most global warming scenarios. Warmer winters are also likely to deliver more rain than snow to the Sierra. This will make it more difficult to store water in reservoirs, because the flow schedule will be compressed, moving from late to early spring - or even late winter. Stream flow levels will be higher in this shorter runoff season, meaning reservoirs may have to be used more for flood control than water storage. Warmer winters and less available water will increase pressure for more water storage and production facilities - new reservoirs, canals, extensive groundwater recharging schemes and desalinization plants. Yet this may not prove sufficient to avoid severe social and economic disruption, and environmental costs for such projects could also be high. There also remains the nagging reality that much of California is desert or semi-desert, and that the entire state is vulnerable to drought. Particularly disquieting is evidence that California endured extreme droughts lasting several decades only a few hundred years before it was first explored by Europeans. Sources: ESRI, Chronicle research # http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/01/07/CMG9HMMTIT12.DTL&hw=water&sn=040&sc=1000 ##### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jan 9 08:50:49 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 08:50:49 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Shasta-Trinity announces funding for schools, roads Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E0BA33A@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Shasta-Trinity announces funding for schools, roads http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/articles/2007/01/08/news/doc45a2b700935ce84 9504126.txt Published: Monday, January 8, 2007 3:25 PM CST E-mail this story | Print this page REDDING - Forest Supervisor Sharon Heywood announced that more than $28 million in U. S. Forest Service revenue will be distributed to five counties encompassing parts of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest for improvements to public schools, roads and stewardship projects. "This is the sixth and final year of payments as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools Act and Community Self Determination Act of 2000," Heywood stated in a recent press release. "The Forest Service has distributed more than $163 million under this legislation since 2001 to assist Lassen, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties in maintaining and improving local schools and roads." Since 1908, 25 percent of Forest Service revenues, such as those from timber sales, mineral resources and grazing fees, have been returned to states in which national forest lands are located, according to the release. Because receipts from timber sales fluctuate, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 was developed to stabilize payments to counties. The press release reported that funds have been used for schools and roads as well as "to create employment opportunities to maintain current infrastructure and enhance forest ecosystems, improving land health and water quality." Authority for the Forest Service to make the payments expired at the end of fiscal year 2006. Siskiyou County received the highest payment of more than $9.57 million; Trinity County received $7.98 million; and Shasta County received $4.14 million. The Shasta-Trinity National Forest is the largest national forest in California with a diverse landscape ranging from 1,000 to 14,162 feet. The 2.1 million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and 6,278 miles of streams and rivers. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/home-page/rac -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Jan 10 11:04:18 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:04:18 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] The Register Guard - 1/10/07 Message-ID: <002001c734ea$22e19830$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Help fishing industry A Register-Guard Editorial The Register Guard - 1/10/07 Bottom of Form If the West Coast's beleaguered fishing industry doesn't get federal disaster assistance soon, there may be no fleet left when - and if - the salmon some day return. Last year, Congress spent oceans of time discussing the plight of coastal fisheries and restructured the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the premier federal law regulating ocean fisheries. Thanks to a monumental push by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the law included a formal declaration that the West Coast fishing industry is facing an economic disaster. Yet Congress failed to approve a single dollar of actual aid for the fishermen, seafood processors, communities and businesses that lost tens of millions of dollars when the federal government imposed sharp fishing restrictions on a 700-mile stretch of the coasts of Oregon and California. It's a glaring example of dysfunctional governance: recognizing a full-bore disaster and then doing nothing to help. At least Oregon heard the cry of fishermen. In Salem, the legislative Emergency Board last year approved $1 million in emergency assistance. Despite controversy over how the money was distributed, the money has helped some fishermen, although many remain on the brink of losing their boats and livelihoods. Much more assistance is needed, along with a full-throttle federal effort to fix the real cause of the salmon crisis: a Klamath River that once supported vibrant salmon runs but that, thanks to federal mismanagement, has become one of the nation's most troubled waterways. Last week, Wyden, Smith and Boxer introduced a bill to provide more than $60 million in immediate assistance. With early salmon return data indicating that fishing will remain severely restricted for the 2007 season, Congress should waste no time in approving an aid package that is critical to the fishing industry - and to coastal communities in Oregon and California. Ultimately, however, the future of the fishing industry depends on restoring Klamath salmon runs, which have suffered precipitous declines because of drought, a proliferation of disease and parasites that afflict fish, dams that hinder migration and river flows lowered by excessive water diversions to farmers. In revising the Magnuson-Stevens Act, lawmakers had the foresight to include an unprecedented order for federal fishery managers to fast-track a recovery plan for endangered Klamath coho runs. The new Democratic majority in Congress should flex its oversight muscles to make sure the Bush administration actually produces a plan that will restore the Klamath's former bumper crops of salmon. Lawmakers should keep firmly in mind that it was the administration's mismanagement of the Klamath that led to the current salmon crisis. Congress must act soon to save both the West Coast's salmon fishing industry and the Klamath River. Time's running short for both. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net Wed Jan 10 12:01:23 2007 From: dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net (Dan Westermeyer - TCRCD) Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 12:01:23 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Triinity River Watershed Council Message-ID: <001d01c734f2$204bb170$b500a8c0@DAN> The next meeting of the Trinity River Watershed Council will be on Tuesday, January 30th from 9 am to 1 pm at the Trinity County Public Utility District conference room. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Dan Westermeyer Trinity County RCD dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net 530-623-6004 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Jan 10 15:34:36 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 15:34:36 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] First Annual TRRP Science Symposium Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E0BA3D7@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Good afternoon, I am pleased to announce that plans for the first annual science symposium for the Trinity River Restoration Program are progressing very nicely. The agenda is attached, and also available on our website (www.trrp.net). It is scheduled for February 7-9, 2007 at the Victorian Inn in Weaverville, CA (attendees are responsible for making their own lodging reservations at one of the motels in town). There will be an optional field trip to constructed restoration sites on February 6. The science symposium is open to all program partners, stakeholders, and the public. I think you will agree that the presentations are quite comprehensive and relevant to the restoration efforts of the Program. Please share this information with everyone who might have an interest. We look forward to seeing you in early February. Thank you, Doug ___________________________________ Douglas P. Schleusner, Executive Director Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main St. Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1800 Fax: (530) 623-5944 e-mail: dschleusner at mp.usbr.gov ___________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Agenda.TRRP_symposium_2007.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 35328 bytes Desc: Agenda.TRRP_symposium_2007.xls URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jan 11 09:54:15 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 09:54:15 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath - Eureka Times Standard Message-ID: <002401c735a9$82c3be80$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> KLAMATH RIVER: State of the Klamath Eureka Times-Standard - 1/11/06 By John Driscoll, staff writer As part of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposals outlined in his State of the State address Tuesday are millions or even tens of millions meant to go toward the Klamath River, possibly to grease the skids of removing four of the river's dams. Some $250 million is proposed for restoration activities on the Klamath and San Joaquin rivers and the Salton Sea. How the money would be split and exactly how it would be used will be determined as part of discussions between the governor's office and the state Legislature. "The conversation is ongoing as we speak," said California Resources Agency spokesman Sandy Cooney. The money would come through bond measures that would go before voters in 2008, Cooney said. It also follows millions of dollars that could go toward Klamath efforts, approved as part of bond measures passed in November. Significant political pressure is coming to bear to revive the Klamath in recent years, as water shortages and fish kills have cropped up. This past year, commercial salmon fishing was all but halted along a long stretch of the West Coast to protect low salmon returns to the river. The proposal comes as Pacificorp's dams are being considered for a new 30- to 50-year license. The utility's dams block salmon from 300 miles of spawning habitat above lowermost Iron Gate Dam, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have signaled that they are unlikely to change demands for fish ladders to be installed. The final provisions are due at the end of the month. If Pacificorp does have to install fish ladders, it could cost $150 million or more. The costs of capital improvements to hydropower projects can be passed on to ratepayers, with the utility also realizing a reasonable rate of return. A recent study by the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of the Interior found that tearing out the Klamath's dams and building efficient power plants to replace the 150 megawatts they produce would be cheaper for ratepayers than leaving them in. The public utilities commissions in the state's Pacificorp operates in have to approve changes that would affect ratepayers. Craig Tucker, a spokesman for the Karuk Tribe, said he was pleased that Schwarzenegger continues to show a resolve to fix the problems on the Klamath River. "He is committed to the Klamath River as indicated by this state of the state speech material," Tucker said. "The state's been a really good partner." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Jan 12 09:32:47 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 09:32:47 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity-Friant Connection? Message-ID: <034a01c73671$0aa7c540$4a6f3940@trinitycounty.org> See paragraph below which mentions the Trinity River ##################################### Senator Dianne Feinstein Statement on Introduction of San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act December 5, 2006 Mr. President, I rise today to introduce -- with my cosponsor Senator Boxer -- an historic bill that will end 18 years of litigation between the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Friant Water Authority, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. The legislation will enact a settlement that accomplishes the restoration of California?s second longest river, the San Joaquin, while maintaining a stable water supply for the farmers who have made the Valley bloom and have supplied low-cost agricultural products to Americans from coast to coast. The alternative to a consensus resolution to this long- running western water battle basis is to continue the fight. To my knowledge, every farmer and every environmentalist who has considered the possibility of continued litigation believes that an outcome imposed by a judge is likely to be worse for everyone on all counts: more costly, riskier for the farmers, and less beneficial for the environment. Because the Settlement provides a framework that all interests can accept, this legislation has the strong support of the Bush Administration, the Schwarzenegger Administration, the environmental and fishing communities and numerous California farmers and water districts, including all 22 Friant water districts that have been part of the litigation. In announcing the signing of this San Joaquin River settlement in September, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior praised it as a ?monumental agreement.? And when the Federal Court then approved the Settlement in late October, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne further praised Settlement for launching ?one of the largest environmental restoration projects in California?s history.? The Secretary further observed that ?This Settlement closes a long chapter of conflict and uncertainty in California?s San Joaquin Valley?.and open[s] a new chapter of environmental restoration and water supply certainty for the farmers and their communities.? I share the Secretary?s strong support for this balanced and historic agreement, and it is my honor to join with Senator Boxer and a bipartisan group of California House Members in introducing legislation to approve and authorize this Settlement before we end the 109th Congress. The legislation indicates how the settlement agreement forged by the parties is going to be implemented. It involves the Departments of the Interior and Commerce, and essentially gives the Secretary of the Interior the additional authority to: o Take the actions to restore the San Joaquin River; o Reintroduce the California Central Valley Spring Run Chinook Salmon; o Minimize water supply impacts on Friant water districts; and o Avoid reductions in water supply for third-party water contractors. One of the major benefits of this settlement is the restoration of a long-lost salmon fishery. The return of one of California?s most important salmon runs will create significant benefits for local communities in the San Joaquin Valley, helping to restore a beleaguered fishing industry while improving recreation and quality of life. The legislation provides for improvements to the San Joaquin river channel to allow salmon restoration to begin in 2014. Beginning in that year, the river would see an annual flow regime mandated by the Settlement, with pulses of additional water in the spring and greater flows available in wetter years. There is flexibility to add or subtract up to 10% from the annual flows, as the best science dictates. A visitor to the revitalized river channel in a decade will find an entirely different place providing recreation and relaxation for residents of small towns like Mendota, and a refuge for residents of larger cities like Fresno. The legislation I am introducing today includes provisions to benefit the farmers of the San Joaquin Valley as well as the salmon: ? In wet years, Friant contractors can purchase surplus flows at $10 per acre-foot for use in dry years, far less than the approximately $35 per acre-foot that they would otherwise pay for this water. ? The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to recirculate new restoration flows from the Delta via the California aqueduct and the Cross-Valley Canal to provide additional supply for Friant. Today?s legislation also includes substantial protections for other water districts in California who were not party to the original settlement negotiations. These other water contractors will be able to avoid all but the smallest water impacts as a result of the settlement, except on a voluntary basis. In addition, the restoration of flows for over 150 miles below Friant Dam, and reconnecting the upper River to the critical San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta, will be a welcome change for the more than 22 million Californians who rely on that crucial source for their drinking water. Finally, restoring the San Joaquin as a living salmon river may ultimately help struggling fishing communities on California?s North Coast ? and even into Southern Oregon. The restoration of the San Joaquin and the government?s commitment to reintroduce and rebuild historic salmon populations provide a rare bright spot for these communities. In addition to congratulating the parties for making a settlement that will enable the long-sought restoration of the San Joaquin River, I am mindful of and remain committed to progress in implementing and funding the December 19, 2000, Trinity River restoration record of decision and the Hoopa Valley Tribe's co-management of the decision's important goal of restoring the fishery resources that the United States holds in trust for the Tribe. Support of this agreement is almost as far reaching as its benefits. This historic agreement would not have been possible without the participation of a remarkably broad group of agencies, stakeholders and legislators, reaching far beyond the settling parties. The Department of the Interior, the State of California, the Friant Water Users Authority, the Natural Resources Defense Council on behalf of 13 other environmental organizations and countless other stakeholders came together and spent countless hours with legislators in Washington to ensure that we found a solution that the large majority of those affected could support. Last month, California voters showed their support by approving Propositions 84 and 1E that will help pay for the Settlement by committing at least $100 million and likely $200 million or more toward the restoration costs. Indeed, this Legislation includes a diverse mix of approximately $200 million in direct Water User payments, new State payments, $240 million in dedicated Friant Central Valley Project capital repayments, and future federal appropriations limited to $250 million. This mix of funding sources is intended to ensure that the river restoration program will be sustainable over time and truly a joint effort of federal, state and local agencies. I would like to emphasize that the federal funding in the bill is for implementation of both the Restoration Goal to reestablish a salmon fishery in the river, and the Water Management Goal to avoid or minimize water supply losses supplied by Friant Water Districts. It is important to recognize that these efforts are of equal importance. At the end of the day, I believe that this agreement is something that we can all feel very proud of, and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to move quickly to approve this legislation and provide the Administration the authorization it needs to fully carry out its legal obligations and the extensive restoration opportunities under the settlement. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the RECORD immediately following the appearance of this statement and Senator Boxer?s statement. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Jan 18 09:21:29 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:21:29 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle- Experts cast doubt on toxic water plan Message-ID: <003a01c73b25$197debe0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/18/BAGCONKNH31.DTL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY Experts cast doubt on toxic water plan Scientists don't think pricey new drainage policy will succeed Glen Martin, Chronicle Environment Writer Thursday, January 18, 2007 a.. Printable Version b.. Email This Article An internal government memo obtained by The Chronicle shows that the federal government wants to spend billions of dollars on a plan to fix one of the San Joaquin Valley's most intractable pollution problems. The policy, expected to be confirmed in a Feb. 16 announcement, targets the decades-old dilemma of toxic water that drains from some west valley farms -- contamination that has caused the deformities and deaths of thousands of birds since the problem was first discovered at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the 1980s. The new policy outlined in the memo involves: -- Paying potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to farmers who would take about 194,000 acres of cropland out of production. -- Treating some farm drainage water with expensive technology to remove selenium, a naturally occurring element in west San Joaquin Valley soils that can poison wildlife and poses a danger to humans. -- Building more than 2,000 acres of artificial ponds in the valley to collect drainage water until it evaporates. Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the agency that sets federal water policy, declined to comment specifically on the memo, which was written by an agency staffer and verified by several sources familiar with the negotiations. None of the staff members wanted to be named by The Chronicle because of fears of retaliation from their employers. Some experts who have read the memo say the plan, which could cost upward of $2 billion, is much more expensive than past proposals and could amount to little more than payouts to a few hundred farmers. Many experts who monitor water issues in California say the memo represents an extreme departure from previous proposals. "The insanity of this plan defies economic, scientific and just plain common sense," said Tom Stokely, a director of the advocacy group California Water Impact Network. "It's clear this alternative will not work and taxpayers will end up paying the bill." Stokely and other activists preferred earlier proposals that would have taken much more selenium-laden cropland out of production. Drain water from western San Joaquin Valley farms has been a problem for years. Growers there use salty irrigation water imported from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and delivered via a canal-and-pump system. The federal government subsidizes that water, delivering it to the farmers through long-term water contracts. Over time, salt builds up on the land and farmers flush it away with additional water. This takes away most of the concentrated salt, but it also flushes out large quantities of selenium that occur naturally in the soil. At sufficiently high levels, selenium can poison fish, wildlife and people. To solve the drainage disposal problem, the Bureau of Reclamation in 1968 started building the San Luis Drain so the contaminated water would flow into the delta. It was stopped in 1975 due to high costs and a growing awareness of selenium's dangers. In the 1980s, wildlife officials discovered that selenium-tainted drain water had caused birth deformities and deaths of thousands of birds at Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, where some of the polluted water was sent. The San Luis Drain was never completed. So in 1995, the Westlands Water District -- which at 600,000 acres is the largest water district in the country and represents hundreds of farmers -- sued the federal government, demanding a solution to the dilemma of drain-water disposal. A federal appeals court in 2000 ordered the Bureau of Reclamation to solve the problem. Most recently, it seemed the Bureau of Reclamation was poised to pay farmers to permanently retire about 308,000 acres of farmland and build a large system of ponds to collect much of the remaining runoff water. That plan could have cost more than $300 million for the evaporation ponds and compensation to farmers for crop losses; perhaps another $900 million -- or $3,000 an acre -- would be paid to retire the land. Yet, according to the internal government memo, the agency now favors a much more expensive plan -- one that could cost between $2 billion and $3 billion over a 50-year-period. This new plan would retire only 194,000 acres of cropland, build even more evaporation ponds, and use reverse osmosis water-treatment technology to help remove the selenium from the drain water. Ultimately, any agreement that settles Westlands' lawsuit would have to be approved by a federal judge, and Congress would have to agree to pay for it. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken -- who declined to identify the plan the agency now favors -- wouldn't confirm the policy shift. But he said it was within the agency's authority to change its policy with regard to the selenium problem. "We do have the legal right to select any alternative within the legal confines" of the environmental studies, said McCracken. "It is not unique to go from a preferred alternative to another alternative that meets everyone's interests." The affected farmers, in general, want to retire less land than environmentalists, who say the best solution to the selenium problem involves retiring as much land as possible. Stokely said the Bureau of Reclamation's new plan will only exacerbate the selenium problem. "The problem is easily solved. Less irrigation, less drain water," Stokely said. The Bureau of Reclamation's new plan may also allow irrigators to keep both the land and their promised allotments of federally subsidized water, Stokely said. The so-called "retired" land could then be irrigated with groundwater, he said. "Basically, the public will pay billions of dollars for worse than nothing. We'll have fewer options for solving the selenium problem and less control over public water," Stokely said. And tests by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show the reverse osmosis treatment won't work well enough to solve the problem. Joe Skorupa, a biologist for the agency and an expert on selenium's impact on wildlife, said there are only two ways to fix the pollution: Irrigate less land, or somehow get the drainage water safely out of the valley. "Anything else is a stalling action," he said. "Basically, the less water you put on the land, the less polluted water you have coming out the bottom." Skorupa also questioned the proposed ponds that would collect the selenium-tainted water and allow it to evaporate. The ponds are bird magnets, he said. "All things being equal, the fewer evaporation ponds, the better," he said. Westlands Water District spokeswoman Sarah Woolf confirmed that the district's farmers have been discussing lawsuit settlement options with the Bureau of Reclamation, but she would not go into details. She also refused The Chronicle's requests to speak with farmers about the issue. "We're not confident any of the drainage options under consideration will really solve the problem," Woolf said. "Each of them has some problems." Woolf said she knew nothing about another aspect of the government memo: The proposed transfer of San Luis Reservoir, a water-storage reservoir owned jointly by the state and federal governments, to west valley water districts. The Los Banos-area reservoir now serves the farmers, Southern California municipalities and some Santa Clara County cities. Such a transfer would give farmers much more control over when -- and how much -- water is released. Carl Torgersen, the chief of state water project operations and management for the California Department of Water Resources, said his agency supports efforts to solve the San Joaquin Valley's drainage problem. But it would be premature to discuss details, Torgersen said -- including the future of San Luis Reservoir. But Karen Schambach, the California director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said transfer of the reservoir shouldn't be considered. "It's really inappropriate to be having discussions of disposing of a public resource to a private party," Schambach said. "Who's looking out for the public in this?" Regardless of how the Bureau of Reclamation proceeds, the scrutiny from the new Democratic Congress could be rigorous. Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk (Los Angeles County), who is expected to take over the House Subcommittee on Water and Power, said she had serious concerns about selenium contamination and threats to wildlife and drinking water. "In the past, the Bureau of Reclamation and I have had many differences," Napolitano said. "We may be compelled to hold hearings on this current situation." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- How agricultural drain water is becoming contaminated Water coming off farms in the western San Joaquin Valley is picking up selenium, an element that can be poisonous to fish, wildlife and people. 1. Irrigation water is applied to croplands in the western San Joaquin Valley, an area with selenium-rich soils. 2. Salt in the irrigation water concentrates around the root zone of the plants. 3. To remove the concentrated salts and keep land productive, farmers flush their lands with more water. 4. The water that drains off the fields picks up selenium from the soil as well as salt. The high levels of selenium can be toxic to wildlife, especially birds. E-mail Glen Martin at glenmartin at sfchronicle.com. Page B - 1 For Information on the California Water Impact Network, see http://www.c-win.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_drain_water_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4292 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_selenium_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5196 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Jan 22 09:43:57 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 09:43:57 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Water pollution suit aims to make dams' cost prohibitive Message-ID: <017201c73e50$ac0a2400$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Note: The Hatchery (under CDFG) has a current NPDES permit with the state's NCRWQCB. The Hatchery was designed to mitigate for salmon losses above Iron Gate Dam. Rocky Mountain News Water pollution suit aims to make dams' cost prohibitive By Jeff Barnard, Associated Press January 18, 2007 GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Conservationists are increasing pressure on PacifiCorp to remove hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River to help struggling salmon runs, warning they will sue to stop pollution from a fish hatchery the utility owns. Klamath Riverkeeper, an affiliate of the Waterkeeper Alliance headed by Robert Kennedy Jr., has sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue under the Clean Water Act to PacifiCorp and the California Department of Fish and Game. The utility owns the hatchery at Iron Gate Dam in Holbrook, Calif., and the department operates it. Both would be defendants. The aim of a suit would be to make PacifiCorp pay to upgrade the hatchery. PacifiCorp would then take on the environmental and social costs of the pollution, rather than imposing them on the salmon and people downstream, said attorney Daniel Cooper, who represents Klamath Riverkeeper. Any increase in the cost of operating the dams makes it more attractive for PacifiCorp to agree to take them out, Cooper said. "This is a first salvo to try to make the hatchery reflect the real costs," Cooper said. "We will also be petitioning the regional and state boards that issue state pollution permits to the dams, because the dams are discharging pollutants into the river. "The permits have minimum requirements which the dams will be very hard pressed to meet," said Cooper. Regina Chichizola, of Klamath Riverkeeper, said the hatchery regularly discharges fish parts and excrement that exceed Clean Water Act limits, and regularly fails to report the discharges. The materials feed algae blooms associated with parasites that have contributed to declines in salmon returns. Spokesmen for the company and the department said the notice hadn't been received, and had no comment. PacifiCorp is based in Portland and serves 1.6 million customers in six western states. It is seeking a new operating license for the Iron Gate, J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1 and Copco No. 2 dams, which produce about 150 megawatts of power, enough to serve 70,000 customers. The first of the dams went in nearly a century ago, and they now block about 250 miles of salmon spawning habitat. A coalition of conservation groups, Indian tribes and commercial salmon fishermen is trying to persuade PacifiCorp to remove the dams rather than seek a new license. After a collapse of wild salmon returns to the Klamath triggered drastic cutbacks in commercial salmon fishing off Oregon and California last summer, the governors of the two states called a summit to consider removing the dams. It was originally scheduled for December, but has been delayed over efforts to work out agreements among the various parties. Cooper said the Clean Water Act provides for fines of up to $32,500 a day, but Klamath Riverkeeper would rather settle and see any money go into Klamath River restoration rather than the federal treasury. Copyright 2007, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: b33409.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 633 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Jan 22 11:03:41 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:03:41 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Reporter January 21 Message-ID: <003601c73e58$0817f360$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Regional restoration projects approved Eureka Reporter - 1/21/07 The California Water Resources Control Board announced Friday its approval of $25 million in grants that it hopes will result in greater water supply reliability, cleaner water, improved water recycling, environmental restoration and fisheries habitat enhancement and watershed planning projects for seven counties in a North Coast consortium. The North Coast Integrated Regional Water Management Plan was ranked No. 1 in the state, out of 50 applications. Seven counties - Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino and Sonoma representatives - developed the plan. Humboldt County submitted the plan as the lead agency and will administer the grants for the seven-county region. "The county should be commended for an outstanding proposal," said Liz Kanter, information officer for the state Water Resources Control Board. "These grants are very competitive. We're looking forward to working with the county." Humboldt County 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith served as chair of the regional planning team, along with Sonoma Councilmember Jake McKenzie. "This is a great win for working together as a region and for our local communities," Smith said. "Water and wastewater infrastructure has deteriorated to a critical state, and these funds will be a big step in upgrading ailing systems." Development of the plan also enabled several North Coast communities to secure funding through the Proposition 40 Consolidated Grant programs. Taken together, funding from Propositions 40 and 50 may total some $38 million. Proposition 84, approved by voters on Nov. 7, will add an additional $37 million in funding for North Coast projects and up to $45 million for restoration of coastal salmon and steelhead populations. "The regional cooperation on this plan was unprecedented, and we were rewarded with tapping a funding source that the North Coast has traditionally been left out of," said Tom Weseloh, North Coast manager for California Trout and a technical team representative. "Hopefully, we'll build upon this regional success for the future, so we can maintain our infrastructure while protecting and restoring our precious fishery resources." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net Wed Jan 24 14:16:36 2007 From: dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net (Dan Westermeyer - TCRCD) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:16:36 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Watershed Council Agenda Message-ID: <001901c74005$50b7b7a0$b500a8c0@DAN> Attached is the agenda for the January 30th meeting of the Trinity River Watershed Council. Dan Westermeyer Trinity County Resource Conservation District 530-623-6004 dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Jan30TRWC_Agenda_Email.doc Type: application/msword Size: 25600 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jan 25 12:05:38 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:05:38 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribe/Westlands Water District Message-ID: <001a01c740bc$2fe3dc40$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Hoopa Valley Tribe Protests Westlands Water District Grab on Trinity River May. 17, 2006 at 9:27 AM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 Hoopa, Calif. - The Hoopa Valley Tribe has asked the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to not renew the long-term contracts with the largest consumers of irrigation water in the Central Valley until those contracts are revised to protect the Trinity River. The tribe also has called on the contractors to stop trying to take water and money from the restoration of the Trinity River. The Westlands Water District and San Luis & Delta Water Authority in the Central Valley have shown a "persistent antagonism," towards plans for restoration of the river, which bisects the reservation, according to Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall. In an April 24 letter to the U.S. Department of Interior Marshall asserted the proposed water contract language contradicts laws and court decisions guaranteeing enough water be left in the Trinity River to support the river's fishery. "For decades the BOR has allowed these water districts to pillage and ruin the natural fishery of the Trinity River. Now, after Congressional action and litigation ordering the restoration of the river these contractors are trying to drill a water line in the back door of the bureaucracy to circumvent the law," said Marshall. "The fish populations in the Trinity and Klamath rivers are at such a crisis low level this year's commercial fishing season had been almost been eliminated. This year's small salmon run is because of the devastating after effects of the 2002 fish kill," said Marshall. "Now we have enough water in an obviously extremely wet year and these water contractors want to take water away from the fish that survived. " In an April 19 letter Westlands attorneys ask the BOR to classify this year's water forecast as a "wet year," not an "extremely wet year," thus creating a formula reducing the Trinity River water some 80,000 to 100,000 acre feet this year. The same letter ends with a threat of litigation. "We would prefer that this matter be addressed without renewed litigation," writes Westlands attorney Dan O'Hanlon. "However, we reserve the right to seek injunctive relief against the proposed unlawful released if there is no prompt corrective action." Westlands is also disputing their obligation to pay for environmental restoration under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). Marshall said Westlands litigious strategy, "unreasonably consumes time and resources of both the Tribe and the United States, and threatens the fishery resources that the United States holds in trust for our Tribe." He said the water contractors should accept the will of Congress and the courts and stop trying to intimidate the BOR with threats of litigation. The degradation of the Trinity River fishery began in 1955 when Congress authorized diversions of the river's water to the Central Valley. The act said enough water would be left in the river to support the fishery, but spawning runs have diminished since the diversions began. The BOR began diversion in l964, taking up to 90 percent of the river's water in some years. In the l992 Congress passed the CVPIA, which included cooperative restoration studies by the tribe and the Department of Interior. The studies culminated in a Record of Decision (ROD) signed by Department of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in 2000 agreeing to a river restoration plan. Westlands and Central Valley hydropower users sued to stop the river restoration work. Conditions worsened until 2002 when some 68,000 fish died in the linked Trinity and Klamath rivers. In 2004 the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Department of Interior and the tribe to allow the implementation of the ROD. "The Hoopa Valley Tribe will not stop fighting those who are trying to destroy this river and the fish. We have no choice. We do not have another river that flows though our ancestral land and blood. The fish do not have another river to spawn in," said Marshall. "If the BOR approves these water contracts they will be ignoring the will of Congress and the rulings of courts calling for the restoration of the Trinity River." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jan 25 12:21:34 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:21:34 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribe/Westlands Message-ID: <003b01c740be$69161fd0$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> That Press Release I just sent was from last May. Sorry about that. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Sun Jan 28 12:07:29 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 12:07:29 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Westlands/Bollibokka SF Chronicle January 28 Message-ID: <000e01c74318$00c27ad0$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Land sale fuels fear of higher dam at Shasta Greg Lucas, Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Staff Writers Sunday, January 28, 2007 The Fresno-based Westlands Water District -- already the largest agricultural user of Northern California water -- has spent nearly $35 million to purchase 3,000 acres of land on the McCloud River to make it easier to one day raise Shasta Dam. The land acquired by Westlands would be sold to the federal government and inundated if officials and lawmakers decided to raise the dam. Located on the property is the private Bollibokka fishing club, built in 1904 by the founders of Hills Brothers Coffee, and 26 Winnemem Wintu Indian villages with burial grounds. The Indians worry that their access to sacred sites could be blocked by Westlands. "Our purpose in buying the property was only to ensure there would be no additional impediments if the (federal) Bureau of Reclamation concludes it's feasible to raise the dam," said Tom Birmingham, general manager and general counsel for Westlands. The Indians "have conducted cultural activities there. I don't see any reason why they couldn't continue to do that." Westlands' goal of capturing more water in Lake Shasta would help make more water available to the 600 farmers it serves. Those farmers now, on average, receive only 65 percent of the annual 1.15 million acre-feet they are entitled to under the district's contract with the federal government. Any extra water the district receives could be sold at higher prices to urban users. An acre-foot is 325,853 gallons -- roughly the annual amount of water used annually by a family of four. Indians, anglers and environmentalists, who all oppose raising Shasta Dam, decried the sale to Westlands, which was completed Jan. 12, saying a higher dam represents a loss of irreplaceable river. "It's going to inundate some wonderful, wonderful trout water and some very beautiful natural resources," said Duane Milleman, manager of guide services at the Fly Shop in Redding. "That's scaring a lot of people." One prospective buyer of the property wanted to develop the property and create a subdivision of vacation homes. Westlands feared that more residents living in an area inundated by a higher dam "would create a greater impediment to the potential raising," Birmingham said. That fear -- and what Birmingham described as a "bidding war" for the property -- led the water district to pay the Hills family $11,600 an acre -- a purchase price nearly $5 million higher than the Hills' $30 million asking price. Birmingham said the water district would contract with someone to operate the fishing club. "This was a case of a willing buyer, willing seller," said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a supporter of raising the dam. "It is in California's long-term interest to preserve the option of providing additional flood control, more cold water for the Sacramento River salmon fishery, more generation of electricity from clean hydropower and additional surface space at Shasta Dam," Feinstein said. The federal government has been studying the environmental impact and feasibility of heightening the dam since 2000 and expects to complete its review by fall 2008. Birmingham predicted it would be decades before the dam was raised, if Congress approves the project. For the 120 Winnemem Wintu tribe members who live near the McCloud, the land around Bollibokka contains sacred places and 26 village sites, each with undisturbed burial grounds. "We need those lands to survive. By facilitating the dam being raised, Westlands is engaging in cultural genocide," said Mark Franco, whose tribal title is "head man." In the 1850s, there were some 14,000 Winnemem Wintu on the McCloud. By 1900, just 395 remained, according to Caleen Sisk-Franco, the tribe's chief and spiritual leader. Tribal members who fought in World War II returned home in 1945 to find Shasta Dam completed and their old homes underwater. In 2000, the Bureau of Reclamation first proposed raising the 602-foot tall dam by 6.5 to 18.5 feet, prompting the remaining Winnemem Wintu to declare war on the United States. The Winnemem Wintu are not a federally recognized tribe, which means they have less power to prevent potential destruction of their village sites and sacred places. "This land is what makes us what we are," said Sisk-Franco. "We will fight to the end." Leighton Hills, who managed Bollibokka fishing club for his elderly parents, said one of the conditions of sale to Westlands was that the water district continue to allow the Wintu access to their sacred sites. "Westlands has a varied reputation in some parts of the state relative to environmental issues," Hills said in an interview. "But in terms of their willingness to be responsive to our concerns, they've been great." Sale of the property was driven by estate planning and a desire to avoid having 50 percent of the asset lost to federal inheritance tax, Hills said. It was purchased for $5 an acre by Hills' great-grandfather Austin Hills and his brother Rueben after Southern Pacific decided to lay its tracks along the Sacramento River instead of the McCloud. A number of wealthy San Franciscans have been members of the club over the past 103 years. Its members opposed raising the dam because it would destroy the prime trout water running through the 7-mile stretch of river where the property is located. "The McCloud certainly ranks among the best fly-fishing streams I've been on," said Birmingham, who has fished at Bollibokka, which means "black manzanita" in Wintu, and elsewhere in the West. Unlike some of the Winnemem Wintu sites, the club's buildings will survive even if the dam is raised by 18.5 feet, Hills said. The lowest building, called "The Rock House" and built by Winnemem Wintu tribe members, is 33 feet above maximum reservoir level. Allied with the Wintu are several environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is working with the tribe to win recognition by the federal government. "This purchase is a five-fer for Westlands," said Barry Nelson, senior policy analyst for the NRDC. "It eliminates an opponent of the dam, heads off the tribe, blocks any development, the district will be bought out with public funds if the dam is raised, and they can use the fishing club to lobby for the project." Westlands has long been a target of criticism from environmentalists. Farm drainage water from some of Westlands' 600,000 acres along the western side of the San Joaquin Valley carries heavy amounts of selenium, which can poison wildlife. Westlands has successfully sued to force the federal government to clean up the toxic water. Jack Trout, a guide on the McCloud for 16 years, learned of the possible land sale when he was taking a group out to the Bollibokka last October and encountered Birmingham, whom he had guided before, and a local real estate agent looking over Bollibokka. Trout wrote an angry blog about the potential sale and his chance encounter with Birmingham, who disputes Trout's account. Trout remains angered by the sale, fearing not just a loss of livelihood but of something deeper. "The river has given me life. The river was there before the Hills family, before the Wintu Indians. All we have in the end is the river, and we have to protect it." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 28276 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Jan 30 09:02:28 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 09:02:28 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath Dam Relicensing Message-ID: <001101c74490$6c805e80$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Good Morning! Today is a historic day in the struggle to restore the Klamath River. The Department of Interior and Commerce issued final mandatory terms and conditions for the relicensing of PacifiCorp dams that require fish passage, paving the way for the removal of four dams that block the migration of salmon, steelhead and other fish. This huge victory wouldn't have happened without all of the political pressure over the past few years by a broad coalition of Klamath Basin Indian Tribes, commercial fishermen, recreational anglers and conservationists. Now that the terms and conditions have been officially issued, it is crucial that increasing pressure is put upon PacifiCorp, owned by Warren Buffett, to bring the dams down! Here's today's press release from the Karuk Tribe. Dan Bacher P R E S S R E L E A S E KARUK TRIBE For Immediate Release: January 30, 2007 Contact: Craig Tucker, Klamath Coordinator, Karuk Tribe, 530-627-3446 x3027 FEDERAL AGENCIES ISSUE FINAL MANDATES FOR KLAMATH DAMS Feds mandate ladders; costs officially favor dam removal Happy Camp, CA - Today, the Department of Interior and Commerce filed the final mandatory terms and conditions that must be met in order for PacifiCorp to relicense the Klamath Dams. Although the agencies do not have the authority under the Federal Power Act to mandate dam removal, they can and did mandate fishways and ladders. Klamath Basin Tribes and other dam removal advocates are pleased since the cost of the prescribed ladders and fishways makes dam removal an economically favorable alternative to relicensing. "We applaud the Departments of Commerce and Interior for fulfilling their obligation to protect and restore the Klamath River," said Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman of the Karuk Tribe. "Now it's time for PacifiCorp President Bill Fehrman to make good on his commitment to protect his ratepayers from higher costs and simply remove these fish killing dams." Last August as members of the Karuk, Hoopa, Yurok and Klamath Tribes protested the international hydropower industry's symposium in Portland, PacifiCorp President William Fehrman released a statement that concluded with, "We have heard the Tribes' concerns. We are not opposed to dam removal or other settlement opportunities as long as our customers are not harmed and our property rights are respected." In December the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of Interior filed an economic report with the Federal Energy Relicensing Commission which concluded that dam removal would be cheaper, by $100 million, than relicensing. The analysis included the cost of replacing the electricity the dams generate with other currently available sources. Last month PacifiCorp filed an alternative to the draft prescriptions in an effort to water down the Department of Interior and Commerce's final mandates. According to Hillman, "PacifiCorp's trap and haul alternative was another attempt to duck their social responsibilities. I commend Secretaries Kempthorne and Guiterrez for seeing through their charade." Hillman concludes, "If Bill Fehrman still refuses to remove the dams, he will be guilty of gouging ratepayers to the benefit of Warren Buffett and other wealthy investors. He will also be complicit in the genocide of the Native People of the Klamath Basin." Capital improvement costs to power projects such as dams are often billed to ratepayers with a regulated rate of return for investors. "Even though the cost of ladders exceeds the cost of dam removal, PacifiCorp may attempt to bill ratepayers for the added cost and at the same time earn a rate of return for investors," according to Craig Tucker, Ph.D., Relicensing Coordinator for the Karuk Tribe. The Public Utility Commissions of California and Oregon would have to approve such a move. Historically, the Klamath River was one of the three most productive salmon rivers in America. Today, dams and diversions have decimated salmon populations leading to strict limits on commercial salmon fishing up and down the west coast in 2006. Tribes, fishermen, and environmentalists see dam removal as a fundamental step towards restoring the Klamath's fishery. Governors Schwarzenegger and Kulongoski plan to host a Dam Removal Summit in early March to discuss how the dam removal factors in a basin wide agreement to address the concerns of Tribes, fishermen, and irrigators. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Jan 31 16:29:28 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:29:28 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] U.S. Orders Modification of Klamath River Dams Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E112BE7@mail3.trinitycounty.org> U.S. Orders Modification of Klamath River Dams Removal May Prove More Cost-Effective http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR200701 3001757.html?nav=hcmodule By Blaine Harden Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, January 31, 2007; Page A03 SEATTLE, Jan. 30 -- In a decision that could trigger the largest dam-removal project in world history, the federal government said today that four hydroelectric dams on the troubled Klamath River must undergo costly modifications to allow passage for salmon. Since modifying the aging dams would cost an estimated $300 million, removing them has suddenly become a much more plausible -- and considerably cheaper -- option for their owner, PacifiCorp, a company owned by Warren E. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Buy This Photo The Klamath River in southwestern Oregon and Northern California was once the third most productive salmon fishery on the West Coast. (By Blaine Harden -- The Washington Post) Removing the dams would cost $101 million less than modifying them as ordered by federal agencies, according to a recent report written for the California Energy Commission. Although a number of dams across the United States and around the world have been removed or scheduled for removal in recent years, federal officials say they know of no other river in the world for which the removal of four hydroelectric dams is under review. If the dams were removed, the Klamath, which straddles the Oregon-California border, has extraordinary potential to rebound as a major salmon resource, according to fish biologists and regional officials. They say a revival could dramatically improve commercial and sport fisheries along the coasts of Oregon and Northern California. The Klamath once supported the third-largest runs of salmon on the West Coast. But in the more than eight decades since it was dammed, it has become one of the most fought-over rivers in the West -- with massive fish kills, blooms of algae, angry irrigators, litigious environmentalists and Indian tribes whose diet and culture have been substantially damaged by the disappearance of salmon. Biologists blame the dams as a contributing factor to the near shutdown last summer of commercial salmon fishing along 700 miles of the Oregon-California coastline. The four dams produce electricity for about 70,000 customers. The power is worth about $29 million a year, according to the California Energy Commission. "The Klamath is a degraded system, but it is uniquely restorable," said David Diamond, an analyst with the Interior Department. "These dams are the only barriers to fish passage from the headwaters to the Pacific. The watershed is 80 percent under federal ownership and it doesn't have major cities or other development that prevents the return of healthy salmon runs." For years, pressure to remove the four Klamath dams has come from Indian tribes, conservation groups and commercial fishermen. But in a move that surprised many environmentalists, the Bush administration -- through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service -- concluded last year that dam removal would be best for salmon. The issue has been forced on PacifiCorp because federal licenses for the dams, the oldest of which was completed in 1918, are up for renewal. The Portland, Ore., power company had proposed that it be allowed to trap and haul salmon around its dams as a way to revive the river's salmon fishery. But the joint announcement by the Interior Department and NOAA rejects that proposal. As a necessary condition for obtaining a new federal license, they said that PacifiCorp must build costly fish ladders and other fish-passage devices at each of the dams on the Klamath. "We are disappointed," said Dave Kvamme, a spokesman for PacifiCorp. "We are looking for an outcome that best serves our customers. We are going to have to look at costs and risks." In three other license-renewal cases, PacifiCorp has agreed to remove dams from Western rivers. The company, too, has participated for more than two years in confidential negotiations with other Klamath River stakeholders in what to do about reviving the health of the river. "We have never ruled out dam removal as one potential outcome," Kvamme said, while adding that his company urgently needs to create more electricity generation and regards the dams as "an extremely valuable resource." Buffett, whose holdings include PacifiCorp, is a major shareholder in The Washington Post. In the six Western states where PacifiCorp sells electricity, the company would need to secure the approval of public utility commissions to raise electricity rates to recover the cost of demolishing or modifying the Klamath dams. Because removing the dams would be cheaper than modifying them, there will be strong pressure on PacifiCorp from the commissions to get rid of them, said Steve Rothert, director of the California field office of American Rivers, an environmental group involved in negotiations over the dams. "It is in their ratepayers' interest to remove the dams and replace the power," Rothert said. Kvamme said PacifiCorp has not yet determined whether modifying the dams would be less expensive in the long run than taking them out. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 209 bytes Desc: image001.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 903 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 24467 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Feb 1 08:54:23 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 08:54:23 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Karuk Tribe: FEDERAL AGENCIES ISSUE FINAL MANDATES FOR KLAMATH DAMS Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E112C0C@mail3.trinitycounty.org> P R E S S R E L E A S E KARUK TRIBE For Immediate Release: January 30, 2007 Contact: Craig Tucker, Klamath Coordinator, Karuk Tribe, 530-627-3446 x3027 FEDERAL AGENCIES ISSUE FINAL MANDATES FOR KLAMATH DAMS Feds mandate ladders; costs officially favor dam removal Happy Camp, CA - Today, the Department of Interior and Commerce filed the final mandatory terms and conditions that must be met in order for PacifiCorp to relicense the Klamath Dams. Although the agencies do not have the authority under the Federal Power Act to mandate dam removal, they can and did mandate fishways and ladders. Klamath Basin Tribes and other dam removal advocates are pleased since the cost of the prescribed ladders and fishways makes dam removal an economically favorable alternative to relicensing. "We applaud the Departments of Commerce and Interior for fulfilling their obligation to protect and restore the Klamath River," said Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman of the Karuk Tribe. "Now it's time for PacifiCorp President Bill Fehrman to make good on his commitment to protect his ratepayers from higher costs and simply remove these fish killing dams." Last August as members of the Karuk, Hoopa, Yurok and Klamath Tribes protested the international hydropower industry's symposium in Portland, PacifiCorp President William Fehrman released a statement that concluded with, "We have heard the Tribes' concerns. We are not opposed to dam removal or other settlement opportunities as long as our customers are not harmed and our property rights are respected." In December the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of Interior filed an economic report with the Federal Energy Relicensing Commission which concluded that dam removal would be cheaper, by $100 million, than relicensing. The analysis included the cost of replacing the electricity the dams generate with other currently available sources. Last month PacifiCorp filed an alternative to the draft prescriptions in an effort to water down the Department of Interior and Commerce's final mandates. According to Hillman, "PacifiCorp's trap and haul alternative was another attempt to duck their social responsibilities. I commend Secretaries Kempthorne and Guiterrez for seeing through their charade." Hillman concludes, "If Bill Fehrman still refuses to remove the dams, he will be guilty of gouging ratepayers to the benefit of Warren Buffett and other wealthy investors. He will also be complicit in the genocide of the Native People of the Klamath Basin." Capital improvement costs to power projects such as dams are often billed to ratepayers with a regulated rate of return for investors. "Even though the cost of ladders exceeds the cost of dam removal, PacifiCorp may attempt to bill ratepayers for the added cost and at the same time earn a rate of return for investors," according to Craig Tucker, Ph.D., Relicensing Coordinator for the Karuk Tribe. The Public Utility Commissions of California and Oregon would have to approve such a move. Historically, the Klamath River was one of the three most productive salmon rivers in America. Today, dams and diversions have decimated salmon populations leading to strict limits on commercial salmon fishing up and down the west coast in 2006. Tribes, fishermen, and environmentalists see dam removal as a fundamental step towards restoring the Klamath's fishery. Governors Schwarzenegger and Kulongoski plan to host a Dam Removal Summit in early March to discuss how the dam removal factors in a basin wide agreement to address the concerns of Tribes, fishermen, and irrigators. # # # For more information and previous press releases log on to: http://www.karuk.us/press%20&%20campaigns/press.php -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net Thu Feb 1 10:47:17 2007 From: dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net (Dan Westermeyer - TCRCD) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 10:47:17 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Watershed Council meeting notes Message-ID: <001c01c74631$65c1a5c0$b500a8c0@DAN> Attached are the meeting notes from the January 30th Trinity River Watershed Council meeting. Dan Westermeyer Trinity County RCD 530-623-6004 dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Feb 1 11:52:25 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 11:52:25 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times-Standard - 2/1/07 Message-ID: <002b01c7463a$8257ad20$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Klamath salmon still ailing Eureka Times-Standard - 2/1/07 By John Driscoll, staff writer FORTUNA -- A large portion of salmon in the Klamath River continue to become infected by pathogens and die each year, especially when the water is warm and they crowd into cool spots for relief. Biologists gathered on Wednesday to give a prognosis on the health of the river's fish, and there was not much positive information. Scientists are trying to understand the complicated relationship between conditions in the river, a worm-like host that harbors two key pathogens and how fish handle infection and disease. Studies show that the polychaete worm that is an intermediate host to the pathogens is most heavily infected below Iron Gate Dam, the lowest on the river. It's also prevalent far above all of the dams, in the Williamson River. High numbers of parasite spores are released when adult spawning salmon die, and the most spawners are seen just below Iron Gate Dam, said Jerry Bartholomew, a researcher for Oregon State University. The annual conference has drawn more people as attention on the Klamath has intensified. Commercial fishing was shut down last year and sport and tribal fishing slashed to protect a weak run of fish, causing tens of millions in economic losses along a long stretch of the West Coast. As water temperature in the river increases, one parasite begins to replicate quickly, and fish infected by it die more rapidly. The incidence of infection in young salmon jumped quickly on May 1, 2006, one month later that a similar spike on April 1, 2005, according to a presentation by Ken Nichols with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Nichols said it almost looks as if there were a trigger responsible for the sharp jump in infection at those times, but it had not yet been identified. Scott Foott, a pathologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that the Klamath's native fish have evolved with the pathogens, but get overwhelmed when conditions are stressful. They crowd together in cool spots when water gets warm and that allows infection to spread rapidly, he said. "It's kind of a death of a thousand cuts," Foott said. Fisheries biologist Pat Higgins asked if high pH and ammonia levels observed below Iron Gate Dam would suppress the immune response of salmon. Foott said any additional stress would probably make the fish more susceptible. Rebecca Quinones with the U.S. Forest Service reported that hatchery bred fish are more and more often spawning in the river -- making up 13 percent of the chinook salmon that return to the Klamath. That percentage is as high as 40 percent in the Shasta River. Quinones also said that 2006 was another bleak year for spring run salmon, which almost exclusively return to a single tributary of the Klamath -- the Salmon River -- not including the Trinity River. The number of adult steelhead that return to Iron Gate Hatchery is also decreasing, she said. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net Thu Feb 1 15:35:19 2007 From: dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net (Dan Westermeyer - TCRCD) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 15:35:19 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] TRWC notes with attachment ! Message-ID: <003101c74659$a2c34b90$b500a8c0@DAN> Sorry about that, it's the little details that always get you ! Dan Westermeyer Trinity County RCD 530-623-6004 dwestermeyer at tcrcd.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: TRWCnotes0130.doc Type: application/msword Size: 36352 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Feb 1 15:41:22 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 15:41:22 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Science Program for TRRP symposium February 6-9 Message-ID: <019e01c7465a$7b662080$746c3940@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andreas Krause" To: Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2007 3:25 PM Subject: Science Program for TRRP symposium February 6-9 > Dear Colleagues: > > I am pleased to announce that the science program containing a > compilation of abstracts for next week's TRRP science symposium is now > available at our website. Several of the presentation titles have been > modified so a revised agenda dated 2-1-07 is also included on the > website. > > http://www.trrp.net/science/2007scienceSymposium.htm > > I look forward to seeing everyone next week. > > Regards, > Andreas > > __________________________________ > Andreas Krause, P.E. > Physical Scientist > Trinity River Restoration Program > P.O. Box 1300 (mailing address) > 1313 South Main St. (physical address) > Weaverville, CA 96093 > Phone: 530-623-1807; Fax: 530-623-5944 > Website: www.trrp.net > __________________________________ > > From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Feb 1 16:25:19 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 16:25:19 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Science Program for TRRP symposium February 6-9 Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E112C33@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Subject: Science Program for TRRP symposium February 6-9 Dear Colleagues: I am pleased to announce that the science program containing a compilation of abstracts for next week's TRRP science symposium is now available at our website. Several of the presentation titles have been modified so a revised agenda dated 2-1-07 is also included on the website. http://www.trrp.net/science/2007scienceSymposium.htm I look forward to seeing everyone next week. Regards, Andreas __________________________________ Andreas Krause, P.E. Physical Scientist Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300 (mailing address) 1313 South Main St. (physical address) Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: 530-623-1807; Fax: 530-623-5944 Website: www.trrp.net __________________________________ From emelia at trailofwater.com Thu Feb 1 14:37:13 2007 From: emelia at trailofwater.com (Emelia Berol) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 14:37:13 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Westlands/Bollibokka SF Chronicle January 28 In-Reply-To: <000e01c74318$00c27ad0$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> References: <000e01c74318$00c27ad0$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Message-ID: <48DD2B38-7BF6-4261-82C1-B2CB2F778D58@trailofwater.com> Oh my god, somebody needs to tell Senator Di FI she needs new advisors on rivers and fisheries issues ... I cannot believe how profoundly stupid her quote sounds ... On Jan 28, 2007, at 12:07 PM, Byron Leydecker wrote: Land sale fuels fear of higher dam at Shasta Greg Lucas, Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Staff Writers?Sunday, January 28, 2007 The Fresno-based Westlands Water District -- already the largest agricultural user of Northern California water -- has spent nearly $35 million to purchase 3,000 acres of land on the McCloud River to make it easier to one day raise Shasta Dam. The land acquired by Westlands would be sold to the federal government and inundated if officials and lawmakers decided to raise the dam. Located on the property is the private Bollibokka fishing club, built in 1904 by the founders of Hills Brothers Coffee, and 26 Winnemem Wintu Indian villages with burial grounds. The Indians worry that their access to sacred sites could be blocked by Westlands. "Our purpose in buying the property was only to ensure there would be no additional impediments if the (federal) Bureau of Reclamation concludes it's feasible to raise the dam," said Tom Birmingham, general manager and general counsel for Westlands. The Indians "have conducted cultural activities there. I don't see any reason why they couldn't continue to do that." Westlands' goal of capturing more water in Lake Shasta would help make more water available to the 600 farmers it serves. Those farmers now, on average, receive only 65 percent of the annual 1.15 million acre-feet they are entitled to under the district's contract with the federal government. Any extra water the district receives could be sold at higher prices to urban users. An acre-foot is 325,853 gallons -- roughly the annual amount of water used annually by a family of four. Indians, anglers and environmentalists, who all oppose raising Shasta Dam, decried the sale to Westlands, which was completed Jan. 12, saying a higher dam represents a loss of irreplaceable river. "It's going to inundate some wonderful, wonderful trout water and some very beautiful natural resources," said Duane Milleman, manager of guide services at the Fly Shop in Redding. "That's scaring a lot of people." One prospective buyer of the property wanted to develop the property and create a subdivision of vacation homes. Westlands feared that more residents living in an area inundated by a higher dam "would create a greater impediment to the potential raising," Birmingham said. That fear -- and what Birmingham described as a "bidding war" for the property -- led the water district to pay the Hills family $11,600 an acre -- a purchase price nearly $5 million higher than the Hills' $30 million asking price. Birmingham said the water district would contract with someone to operate the fishing club. "This was a case of a willing buyer, willing seller," said U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a supporter of raising the dam. "It is in California's long-term interest to preserve the option of providing additional flood control, more cold water for the Sacramento River salmon fishery, more generation of electricity from clean hydropower and additional surface space at Shasta Dam," Feinstein said. The federal government has been studying the environmental impact and feasibility of heightening the dam since 2000 and expects to complete its review by fall 2008. Birmingham predicted it would be decades before the dam was raised, if Congress approves the project. For the 120 Winnemem Wintu tribe members who live near the McCloud, the land around Bollibokka contains sacred places and 26 village sites, each with undisturbed burial grounds. "We need those lands to survive. By facilitating the dam being raised, Westlands is engaging in cultural genocide," said Mark Franco, whose tribal title is "head man." In the 1850s, there were some 14,000 Winnemem Wintu on the McCloud. By 1900, just 395 remained, according to Caleen Sisk-Franco, the tribe's chief and spiritual leader. Tribal members who fought in World War II returned home in 1945 to find Shasta Dam completed and their old homes underwater. In 2000, the Bureau of Reclamation first proposed raising the 602- foot tall dam by 6.5 to 18.5 feet, prompting the remaining Winnemem Wintu to declare war on the United States. The Winnemem Wintu are not a federally recognized tribe, which means they have less power to prevent potential destruction of their village sites and sacred places. "This land is what makes us what we are," said Sisk-Franco. "We will fight to the end." Leighton Hills, who managed Bollibokka fishing club for his elderly parents, said one of the conditions of sale to Westlands was that the water district continue to allow the Wintu access to their sacred sites. "Westlands has a varied reputation in some parts of the state relative to environmental issues," Hills said in an interview. "But in terms of their willingness to be responsive to our concerns, they've been great." Sale of the property was driven by estate planning and a desire to avoid having 50 percent of the asset lost to federal inheritance tax, Hills said. It was purchased for $5 an acre by Hills' great-grandfather Austin Hills and his brother Rueben after Southern Pacific decided to lay its tracks along the Sacramento River instead of the McCloud. A number of wealthy San Franciscans have been members of the club over the past 103 years. Its members opposed raising the dam because it would destroy the prime trout water running through the 7-mile stretch of river where the property is located. "The McCloud certainly ranks among the best fly-fishing streams I've been on," said Birmingham, who has fished at Bollibokka, which means "black manzanita" in Wintu, and elsewhere in the West. Unlike some of the Winnemem Wintu sites, the club's buildings will survive even if the dam is raised by 18.5 feet, Hills said. The lowest building, called "The Rock House" and built by Winnemem Wintu tribe members, is 33 feet above maximum reservoir level. Allied with the Wintu are several environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is working with the tribe to win recognition by the federal government. "This purchase is a five-fer for Westlands," said Barry Nelson, senior policy analyst for the NRDC. "It eliminates an opponent of the dam, heads off the tribe, blocks any development, the district will be bought out with public funds if the dam is raised, and they can use the fishing club to lobby for the project." Westlands has long been a target of criticism from environmentalists. Farm drainage water from some of Westlands' 600,000 acres along the western side of the San Joaquin Valley carries heavy amounts of selenium, which can poison wildlife. Westlands has successfully sued to force the federal government to clean up the toxic water. Jack Trout, a guide on the McCloud for 16 years, learned of the possible land sale when he was taking a group out to the Bollibokka last October and encountered Birmingham, whom he had guided before, and a local real estate agent looking over Bollibokka. Trout wrote an angry blog about the potential sale and his chance encounter with Birmingham, who disputes Trout's account. Trout remains angered by the sale, fearing not just a loss of livelihood but of something deeper. "The river has given me life. The river was there before the Hills family, before the Wintu Indians. All we have in the end is the river, and we have to protect it." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org ?_______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity Emelia Berol P.O. 300 Willow Creek, CA 95573 (530) 629-3495 emelia at trailofwater.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 28276 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 28276 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Feb 2 10:17:05 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:17:05 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Bollibokka/Westlands - Fresno Be January 2 2007 Message-ID: <001601c746f6$73a17a10$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Water district buys fish club Westlands' purchase of NorCal property could ease dam expansion. By Mark Grossi / The Fresno Bee 02/02/07 05:05:23 Westlands Water District, a 600,000-acre farm water agency mainly in Fresno County, has purchased a $35 million private fishing club in Northern California to clear an obstacle for expanding Shasta Reservoir. With Westlands as owner, Shasta expansion someday can swamp the fish club land with no opposition, and a bigger reservoir would mean more irrigation supplies for the Fresno County water district. The deal, which closed in January along the McCloud River, infuriates a local Indian tribe and environmentalists. They call it a water grab at the expense of Northern California. The Indian tribe, the Winnemem Wintu, fears sacred sites thousands of years old will be lost. Tribe members also wanted to obtain the property but believed they never got the chance. They are looking for a legal way to stop the sale. "We are in the fight of our life," said Mark Franco, whose title is tribal head man for the 125 members living near the McCloud. "If that land is inundated, our culture could die." A federal dam-raising study on Shasta is expected to be completed next year. If the reservoir is expanded, it would cover the 3,000 acres of the Bollibokka fishing club, previously owned by the family who founded Hills Brothers Coffee. In buying the property from the family, Westlands agreed to continue running it as a fishing club for the next 25 years, unless Shasta is expanded in the meantime. A dam-raising project on a major reservoir could take decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. "We will contract with some entity to manage the club," said district general manager and counsel Tom Birmingham. "It is a beautiful property." The possibility of additional water supply appeals to Westlands, he said. The district's deliveries have been cut back in the last 15 years due to endangered fish protections, drought and water quality concerns in Northern California. The district buys irrigation water from the federal Central Valley Project. Shasta - eight times larger than Millerton Lake near Fresno - is the project's cornerstone. If the dam is raised 18 feet, the reservoir would add more water than Millerton's entire capacity. Like the Winnemem Wintu, the Hills family opposed raising Shasta. But the family put its private fishing club up for sale last year, asking $30 million. When Westlands officials learned one possible buyer was considering building vacation homes, they bid $5 million above the asking price. Homeowners might oppose Shasta expansion, so Westlands considered a new subdivision to be an obstacle. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has supported raising Shasta Dam, said the deal appeared to be a case of a willing buyer and a willing seller. She said she liked the idea of preserving the option to raise Shasta Dam. But environmental advocates have long criticized irrigation diversions from Northern California for San Joaquin Valley farmers. They said the Westlands purchase smacks of the infamous deals Los Angeles made to acquire water in the Owens Valley decades ago. "They paid $11,600 per acre," asked Byron Leydecker, founder of the Friends of Trinity River. "That's pretty expensive for a fishing club. There should be some kind of hearings or investigation. People are outraged." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Feb 2 10:44:33 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 10:44:33 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: Press Advisory: Fishing Industry Launches Campaign to Restore Bay-Delta Estuary and Klamath River Message-ID: <003b01c746fa$344f0270$6601a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> P R E S S A D V I S O R Y WATER FOR FISH COALITION For Immediate Release: February 5, 2007 Contact: Dick Pool (925) 825-8560 Craig Tucker, Karuk Tribe Public Relations, 530-627-3446, x 3027, cell 916-207-8294 Fishing Industry Launches Campaign to Restore San Francisco Bay Delta and Klamath River Group Holds Press Conference to Detail Plans WHAT: A Coalition of Sport, Commercial and Tribal fishing organizations will host a press conference to detail their Water for Fish petition campaign. Participants will include The American Sportfishing Association, Coastside Fishing Club, The Allied Fishing Group, The California Striped Bass Association, The Fish Sniffer, The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, The Karuk Tribe, boat and fishing tackle retailers and many others. The top priorities are the restoration of the San Francisco Bay Delta and Klamath River. See http://www.water4fish.org/ WHERE: The Fred Hall Fishing Tackle and Boat Show at the Cow Palace 2600 Geneva Avenue, Daly City Calif. (415) 999-5797. Go to the South Hall and the Triton Boat saltwater tank seminar area. WHEN: Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 12:30 P.M. WHO: Moderator, Dick Pool - Pro-Troll Fishing Products SPEAKERS: Mike Nussman, American Sportfishing Association The Role of Grassroots Advocacy Chris Hall, Coastside Fishing Club Use of the Internet for Advocacy John Beuttler, Allied Fishing Group The Delta Need Craig Tucker, Karuk Tribe The Klamath Need Dan Bacher, The Fish Sniffer Water for Fish Objectives and Marketing Plan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Fri Feb 2 14:07:17 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 14:07:17 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Scientist Offeres Cash Message-ID: <007a01c74716$841a7ed0$0201a8c0@HAL> Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study Ian Sample, science correspondent Friday February 2, 2007 Guardian Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today. Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an ExxonMobil-funded thinktank with close links to the Bush administration, offered the payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings of a report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Travel expenses and additional payments were also offered. The UN report was written by international experts and is widely regarded as the most comprehensive review yet of climate change science. It will underpin international negotiations on new emissions targets to succeed the Kyoto agreement, the first phase of which expires in 2012. World governments were given a draft last year and invited to comment. The AEI has received more than $1.6m from ExxonMobil and more than 20 of its staff have worked as consultants to the Bush administration. Lee Raymond, a former head of ExxonMobil, is the vice-chairman of AEI's board of trustees. The letters, sent to scientists in Britain, the US and elsewhere, attack the UN's panel as "resistant to reasonable criticism and dissent and prone to summary conclusions that are poorly supported by the analytical work" and ask for essays that "thoughtfully explore the limitations of climate model outputs". Climate scientists described the move yesterday as an attempt to cast doubt over the "overwhelming scientific evidence" on global warming. "It's a desperate attempt by an organisation who wants to distort science for their own political aims," said David Viner of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia. "The IPCC process is probably the most thorough and open review undertaken in any discipline. This undermines the confidence of the public in the scientific community and the ability of governments to take on sound scientific advice," he said. The letters were sent by Kenneth Green, a visiting scholar at AEI, who confirmed that the organisation had approached scientists, economists and policy analysts to write articles for an independent review that would highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the IPCC report. "Right now, the whole debate is polarised," he said. "One group says that anyone with any doubts whatsoever are deniers and the other group is saying that anyone who wants to take action is alarmist. We don't think that approach has a lot of utility for intelligent policy." One American scientist turned down the offer, citing fears that the report could easily be misused for political gain. "You wouldn't know if some of the other authors might say nothing's going to happen, that we should ignore it, or that it's not our fault," said Steve Schroeder, a professor at Texas A&M university. The contents of the IPCC report have been an open secret since the Bush administration posted its draft copy on the internet in April. It says there is a 90% chance that human activity is warming the planet, and that global average temperatures will rise by another 1.5 to 5.8C this century, depending on emissions. Lord Rees of Ludlow, the president of the Royal Society, Britain's most prestigious scientific institute, said: "The IPCC is the world's leading authority on climate change and its latest report will provide a comprehensive picture of the latest scientific understanding on the issue. It is expected to stress, more convincingly than ever before, that our planet is already warming due to human actions, and that 'business as usual' would lead to unacceptable risks, underscoring the urgent need for concerted international action to reduce the worst impacts of climate change. However, yet again, there will be a vocal minority with their own agendas who will try to suggest otherwise." Ben Stewart of Greenpeace said: "The AEI is more than just a thinktank, it functions as the Bush administration's intellectual Cosa Nostra. They are White House surrogates in the last throes of their campaign of climate change denial. They lost on the science; they lost on the moral case for action. All they've got left is a suitcase full of cash." On Monday, another Exxon-funded organisation based in Canada will launch a review in London which casts doubt on the IPCC report. Among its authors are Tad Murty, a former scientist who believes human activity makes no contribution to global warming. Confirmed VIPs attending include Nigel Lawson and David Bellamy, who believes there is no link between burning fossil fuels and global warming. Guardian Unlimited ? Guardian News and Media Limited 2007 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Sun Feb 4 14:31:18 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 14:31:18 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle Magazine Message-ID: <000a01c748ac$30b8ca20$0401a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> What's not shown is a great picture of Herb on front cover of magazine. GONE FISHING Into Cold Water Winter steelheading on the Trinity River Sam Whiting Sunday, February 4, 2007 Trinity Fly Shop owner Herb Burton fly fishing in the Tri... Herb Burton, a 24-year river guide, on the Trinity River,... A view of Herb Burton, 24-year-river guide, and the Trini... A two-year hatchery steelhead is caught on the Trinity Ri... It is 41 degrees in the water and 42 in the air, and Herb Burton is halfway in each. His toes are numb and his fingers are getting there and a 5-pound steelhead has just risen from the rocky bottom of the Trinity River and grabbed his dry fly off the surface. Instantly, the angler is in a tug-of-war with something as wild and jolting as electricity. Just as instantly the big fish has snapped the line, taking the fly back to the bottom with it. Burton is left standing there with nowhere for his adrenaline to go. A rod-snapping rage would be in order, but he only laughs. He's been a fishing guide on this river for 24 years, but today he is fishing, not guiding, and the start of his 25th year may as well be the start of his first. It's the last day of fall and thousands of oceangoing rainbow trout are making their run up the Trinity from the Pacific. Last year's heavy runoff, combined with a legal victory for the fish after a 23-year battle, has allowed for the highest flow release for fishery purposes since Trinity Dam was built in 1963. Between 20,000 and 40,000 steelhead, as large as 19 pounds, are estimated to be in the 110-mile river, some of which swam to Japan and back just for the honor. As one California Trout board member explained, the renewal of the Trinity can be summarized in three words: "Just add water." "There aren't many rivers that I can step into and say it's every bit as good as it was when I first fished it, and probably better," Burton says, even though he has reasons not to want to say this. The Trinity, which can be as narrow as a trout stream in places, has been discovered by the big river guides from Alaska and Canada. In winter, their clients are dressed up like Minnesota ice fishermen, riding in drift boats as if they were taxicabs, stacking up wherever the fish are. When Burton arrived in 1982, he had the second guide permit on the river and "for six years I could fish anywhere I wanted with my customers," he says. "There was nobody." Now there are at least 60 permits with who knows how many guides working under them. Pressure on the water doesn't help a guy like Burton, who has kept his operation small to protect the resource. It is a two-man outfit -- Burton and Kit Kreick -- and their bookings are passed down through generations the way 49er tickets were in the late 1980s. Reluctant to take out a writer and a photographer, Burton is vague with the directions he gives over the phone. First there is a scavenger hunt for a fishing license and steelhead stamp at a Longs Drug Store off Interstate 5 in Redding. An hour west on Highway 299, there is a missed turnoff, which leads to a 14-mile overshoot. Back up the hill and down Old Lewiston Road, the Trinity Fly Shop is marked by a 20-foot cedar plank carved into a steelhead and a yellow lab named Buddy lounging on the plank porch. The first thing you notice about Buddy is that he's an in-and-out dog. You go in, he goes in. You go out, he goes out. The first thing you notice about Buddy's owner is that he looks younger than his old-timer's fishing name, Herb Burton. The going rate for a guided day on the Trinity is $350 to $450, plus tip. Other outfits allow their clients to fish from high-sided drift boats and use brightly colored strike indicators. When the little colored ball disappears underwater, the client pulls up and has a steelhead. The guide gets the boat into position to net it for the photo and the result might make the brochure. That's not how Burton does it. "We'd rather take the time to teach you how to properly fish," he says, "than run you down the middle of the river and catch fish for you." In place of a drift boat he uses an inflatable raft, which is prone to taking on water, and makes his clients get out and wade in the cold, stiff current, numb feet feeling for purchase on the rock bottom. When he sees fear in the eyes of a guest, he steps in and leads the way, making it look as easy as strolling the sands of Waikiki. The essential promise of fly-fishing is that when done correctly, it is impossible for the mind to wander, especially when there is the fear of falling into the cold water and being swept away. The promise of the Trinity is that if you do it for a day, you will hook into a steelhead, pound for pound the toughest fighting fish there is. In the water, Burton becomes poetic when describing how the steelhead leave their ancestral waters as 5-inch smolts and head out to sea for two, or three, or four years of strength training. "They mature out in the ocean, then they sniff out these freshwater arteries that bleed these mountains and woods, and they migrate through," he says. "They are the ghosts of the coast. You can't ever seem to get a full handle on them." The ghosts come upriver to spawn in all four seasons. What separates the winter run is that the fish are bigger, fatter and shinier, and the people are fewer -- fly-fishing doesn't have the same appeal when your fingers are too frozen to clear the ice out of the guides on the rod. And don't expect Burton to do it for you; it's not part of his traditionalist approach. Flies are known for elegant names, like Royal Coachman and Gold Ribbed Hares Ear, but Burton's winter favorite, tied by his wife, is a wet fly he calls Mr. Pimp, which he describes proudly as "big and gaudy and full of motion." Burton ties on Mr. Pimp and hands over the rod. The required cast is straight across the water, then letting the fly sink a few feet and run with the current in a "dead drift" until it runs out of line and swings across toward the angler. After making two casts you are asked to give up that hard-earned foothold and move two wobbly steps downstream, the "two and two" strategy for covering water. A fish has been seduced by Mr. Pimp. It clamps on and, almost unnoticeably, ticks line off the reel like the shark in "Jaws." Suddenly it takes off and the reel sings. A brilliant silver specimen leaps out of the water, attempting to throw the hook. While it makes a run, the fisher must pay out line, wait until it slows down, then reel it back in, maintaining the right tension and keeping the rod's tip up. All this while backing toward the shore over those same slippery rocks that were hell on the way in, before you had a fish to disrupt the balance. When the fish tires enough to be landed, Burton gets actively involved, only because he doesn't want the fisher to hurt the fish by trying to grab it. He wets his hands, snags it by the tail and cradles it. A net might do damage. He doesn't even like it to be lifted out of the water for a picture. The steelhead is silver with black spots, indicating it is "fresh," or still making its migration. A fish that has been around awhile or is making its return trip to the ocean will have red sides and an olive back, more closely resembling a resident rainbow. He judges it a 2-pound hen and releases it. Burton knows that where there is a hen there is a buck, so he gets out his rod and says, "Let me tiptoe through that one more time." Immediately he engages the buck. He works it over to the bank before the buck makes a vicious head shake and spits the hook. "The fish got the best of me," he says, smiling while reeling in a mournfully slack line. Later that afternoon, a hatch of the blue wing olive comes on, and that inspires Burton to anchor his raft and step overboard. Some fly-fishers swear a steelhead will not rise to a dry fly, but he doesn't believe it. "It's the ultimate, ultimate," he says, tying a tiny Quill-Body Parachute on a 6x line no thicker than a hair. "The fish don't know they're not supposed to take a dry fly." First he studies the water and notices a pattern of ripples, or rises, moving in a rhythm. It is one fish, feeding on the bugs. With a motion that looks effortless, he increases his line with several looping false casts before setting the fly down 60 feet across the water and 3 feet above the rise. Sitting high, just like the live bugs on the hatch, his artificial bug floats over the ripples. A small fish would leap out of the water to take a fly, but the big ones don't bother. They just suck it under, and that's what happens. A lunker pulls down, Burton pulls up, and there isn't enough strength in the line to hold the equation together. He never gets a look at the fish, though later he claims to have seen the word "HOG" written on its side. "Most steelheaders realize that it's a fish a day," he says. "Anything above and beyond that is a bonus." The bonus on this day is tightening up on three fish, seeing two flyovers by bald eagles, and watching a three-point buck swim in front of the raft. "The river has been good to us," he says. A storm is coming and the atmospheric pressure is dropping. "Fish like the sag in the barometer," he says. He mentions that he has the next morning free, but first his guests have to get through the night. The entertainment and lodging options in downtown Lewiston are limited. If you're not the B&B type, there is the Lewiston Hotel, built in 1896, which seems to be perpetually for sale. It's tough to clear a profit on room charges of $50 a night, single occupancy, breakfast included. There are five rooms on the second floor, with the bathroom down the hall and fishermen snoring it off above the bar like prospectors on "Deadwood." To upgrade the options, Burton's brother Glenn and his wife, Kristyne, have opened the Old Bridge Cabin in one of the newer buildings, which dates to the 1920s. Originally a one-room miner's cabin, it was enlarged over the years and has two bedrooms, a kitchen, a view of the Lewiston Bridge and warm chocolate chip cookies on the table when chilled fishermen arrive. The charge is $125 a night. Fittingly, the cabin sits at the crossroads of Turnpike and Deadwood streets and there is a front porch in view of a hand-lettered picket sign that reads "San Francisco -- 249 m." The action is 200 yards uphill at the hotel, where it is Spaghetti Night, $7.98 for an unfinishable plate. Burton recommends splurging and adding the sausage -- "it's only 50 cents more" -- but by 7 p.m., the special has been wiped from the chalkboard and the room is all but empty. Outside on a smoke break, men can be heard arguing about who has better Lewiston cred. "I wasn't born here," argues one, "but I was definitely raised in Trinity County, which, if you haven't noticed, is far removed." If you go into the hotel bar to make small talk with the tender and ask about life in the big city, she responds, "The city is Weaverville and the big city is Redding." The night keeps getting colder, and by dawn of the first day of winter there are 4 inches of slush on the ground. By 7:30, a light snow is falling as Burton steps into a favorite riffle. The water temperature has remained at 41, but the air is down to 34. Casting a Coppertone Stone (one of Pat's wet-fly creations) in the traditional down-and-across method, it takes him 10 minutes to hook and land a 5-pound steelhead, making up for the one lost the day before. After 24 years of floating and guiding 800 to 1,100 miles a year, the thrill hasn't diminished. "The more and the longer I do this, the more I realize I don't know about the fish and the fishery," he says, later, back in his shop. "It's the unknown that keeps me out there." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2487 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2597 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2516 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2432 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Sun Feb 4 21:23:04 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 21:23:04 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle Magazine February 4 Message-ID: <000a01c748e5$b6ecc770$0401a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> I finally figured out how to get all of the pictures from the Chronicle Sunday Magazine today. The large picture of Herb below is on the cover. Or, you can click on the pictures with the text I sent this morning to enlarge and view all of them. Clicking on the pictures below will not enlarge them. Byron SF Gate Home Page Photo Gallery Full Story <----> GONE FISHING / Into Cold Water / Winter steelheading on the Trinity River Trinity Fly Shop owner and guide Herb Burton. Chronicle photo by Jim Merithew Selected <----> Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 609 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.gif Type: image/gif Size: 73 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.gif Type: image/gif Size: 443 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: image016.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2716 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image017.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 20366 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Feb 6 07:52:20 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 07:52:20 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle Editorial - Klamath February 6 2007 Message-ID: <000901c74a06$c98e3db0$0301a8c0@optiplex> EDITORIAL Take down the dams Tuesday, February 6, 2007 FOR YEARS, Indian tribes, conservationists and fishing groups have argued that removing four power dams blocking the headwaters of the Klamath River would reverse the losses of once-plentiful salmon. Free flows of cold water are what the fish need, and the fearsome foursome of dams near the Oregon border were major impediments. Now the federal bureaucracy has joined the chorus in a roundabout way. As a result, taking down the barriers has never been closer. Because the dams need new licenses to operate, federal agencies have taken a long look. The results aren't pretty for the dam operator, PacificCorp, owned by billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corp. To keep the dams humming, Commerce and Interior agencies now want $300 million in fish ladders and screens. This price tag may be too high for PacificCorp, which cranks out only enough power to light 70,000 homes. A miracle lies within reach. One of the country's biggest dam removal projects could begin, affording a chance at returning surging waters not seen for almost a century. Easing this change is the fact that Washington controls most of the land along the river course, and no major city lies downstream. Taking out other dams on big rivers won't be this easy. Much remains to complete the dam demolition dream. Sediment behind the dam walls must be considered. Other tolls on the Klamath's health such as timber cuts, farm diversions and human building should be weighed. But an amazing change is suddenly attainable. The dams that have plagued a once-mighty salmon river may come down. A river's past could be restored. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Tue Feb 6 09:47:32 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 09:47:32 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle Editorial - Klamath February 6 2007 In-Reply-To: <000901c74a06$c98e3db0$0301a8c0@optiplex> References: <000901c74a06$c98e3db0$0301a8c0@optiplex> Message-ID: <7D98B8FC-A2CF-4338-809A-B2DA5DE0B604@fishsniffer.com> I sure hope this isn't a big promotional tool for the resurrection of the Peripheral Canal! Dan ? Media Advisory: For Immediate Release Contact: Rachel Pitts (916) 443-3354 rachel.pitts at porternovelli.com A PPIC Phone-Conference Briefing DETERIORATING AND DEADLOCKED: THE FUTURE OF THE SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA WHAT: The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) is holding a telephone press briefing on its new study, Envisioning Futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This report finds that the Delta, a vital natural resource and major supplier of the state?s water, is on a dangerously unsustainable path and could become an environmental and economic disaster due to changing conditions and increasing vulnerabilities to its system of levees. The report?s six authors ? who include experts in engineering, water policy, biology, geology, and economics ? will be available to discuss the major findings of the report and answer any questions. WHO: Ellen Hanak (PPIC), Jay Lund, William Fleenor, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle (University of California, Davis). WHEN: Wednesday, February 7th, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. CALL-IN: Number: (888) 433-6571 Conference Code: 6433001 ### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: unknown.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 31057 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Feb 13 10:52:34 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:52:34 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Sacramento Bee February 11 2007 Message-ID: <002001c74fa0$1fd54260$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Pair who know water helping to run House; Key lieutenants for Pelosi worked behind scenes on Central Valley Project Sacramento Bee - 2/11/07 By Michael Doyle, staff writer Few men know Central Valley water quite like Dan Beard and John Lawrence. Now, they're helping run the House of Representatives. That should intrigue anyone who drinks, irrigates or fishes in California. Because, when it comes to Valley water, memories are long and feelings pronounced. Beard and Lawrence now serve as key lieutenants for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As chief of staff, Lawrence oversees legislative operations. As the House's newly appointed chief administrative officer, starting next Thursday, Beard will handle personnel, procurement and other unglamorous grit. "My job is to get people their paychecks and make sure the computers are running," Beard said Friday. "It's not a partisan position, and it has nothing to do with policy." Washington attorney Tom Jensen put it another way: "I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to try to administer the House of Representatives," said Jensen, a former Senate staff member, "but Dan is certainly up to the job, and I have no doubt he'll keep his eye out on water issues, as well." Beard's new appointment is a homecoming of sorts. Along with Lawrence, he formerly worked for Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. Miller, in turn, is one of Pelosi's closest congressional advisers. Yet another alumnus of Miller's office, Steve Lanich, is now staff director for the House water and power subcommittee. Water-wise, they've already left their mark. Miller co-authored the 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act, which changed where water goes in California. Farmers get less and pay more, while the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta enjoys an added infusion of water. The bill shifted 800,000 acre-feet of water from farms to fish. Water and power users have also paid millions of dollars into an environmental restoration fund. Beard, Lanich and Lawrence all played crucial behind-the-scenes roles in writing the 1992 law. "Dan Beard is a true expert on Western water, and on California water in particular," said Jensen. "He knows the law, economics, politics, players and where all the bodies are buried." The work helped Beard win promotion in 1993, to serve as President Clinton's first commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. That put Beard in charge of the vast Central Valley Project, the Redding-to-Bakersfield series of dams and canals relied upon by Valley farmers. But Beard's work antagonized farmers in areas like the Westlands Water District, where irrigation deliveries fell by as much as 50 percent. "I don't need him," Fresno County farmer Jorgen Clausen said of Beard in the mid-1990s. "Everybody out here got hurt by what that man did." A former Democratic member of Congress, Rick Lehman, made a point of criticizing Beard. Lehman still lost in 1994 to Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, in part over voter unhappiness with federal water policies. Beard left the Bureau of Reclamation job in 1995, unhappy with the Clinton administration. He later served as senior vice president of the National Audubon Society and then with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Now 63, Beard said he was retired, playing with his new granddaughter and writing a book on Western water policy when Pelosi called. "The House is an exciting place to work," Beard said, "and I thought, if I could make some small contribution to making it work more effectively, I would like to try to do it." With his new job, he will oversee 700 employees and a $130 million budget. Publicly, his water past has not arisen as an issue. Republican grumbling did arise, though, over Pelosi's failure to consult with them prior to hiring Beard for the job that pays roughly $160,000 a year. "I do not question the credentials of Mr. Beard," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield. "Will he make a great CAO? I do not know, quite frankly, because he has never come before us." McCarthy serves on the House Administration Committee, which oversees congressional administrative details. He was not in Congress when Beard, Lawrence, Lanich and Miller were writing the 1992 water revisions. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Feb 13 10:55:57 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:55:57 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath Issues - Capital Press and USBR Press Release Message-ID: <002501c74fa0$9bb090b0$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> WATERSHED PLANNING: Scott River Water Trust seeks to help fish, farmers; Program leases water rights from growers Capital Press - 2/9/07 By Elizabeth Larson, staff writer ETNA - In Northern California a unique effort is under way - possibly the first of its kind in California - that seeks to enhance fish migration by keeping more water in local streambeds. The Scott River Water Trust is a developing program that leases and/or purchases water historically used for agriculture and pays willing water right holders to leave the water in the stream for threatened coho salmon. The idea behind the water trust was first discussed a decade ago, said project consultant Sari Sommarstrom. Then the coho salmon, which spawns and rears in the river, was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Finally funded in 2002, the water trust program is a project of the Scott River Watershed Council and the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District, with the California Department of Fish and Game initially funding the effort. The Scott River is one of the Klamath River's four major tributaries. The river runs through Siskiyou County's Scott Valley, a largely agricultural area. Sommarstrom said the water trust's goal is to improve streamflow for salmon and steelhead at critical periods within the Scott River watershed. The trust proposes to do that through compensating willing water-right holders - in particular, farmers and ranchers who use the water for irrigation and stock watering - to forego using some of their water. "It's a community idea that developed due to a combination of proactive nature and upcoming regulatory requirements," said Gary Black, a SRCD senior project coordinator who has been instrumental in putting the water trust together. The flows of the Scott River and its tributaries are snowmelt-driven. In the spring, Black noted, "there's more than enough water for fish and farms," but as the snowmelt tails off, supplies become tough in the late summer and fall. "The issue of late summer competition between fish and ag is pretty significant," he said. Water needs for the fish are most critical in late July, August and September, Sommarstrom said, when fish species such as coho salmon and steelhead are rearing their young in the streams. In years when fall rains are delayed, she said, even the fall chinook salmon have not had enough water for spawning in October. Black said the water trust wants to focus on short-term water leases with water users to improve fall and summer flows. The typical lease, he said, would be 60 to 90 days in duration during those times. Sommarstrom said if a water user agreed to divert less stream water for irrigation, the water trust would fully compensate him for production loss. Likewise, the trust would help ranchers get alternative sources of water for watering livestock during the post-irrigation season. Determining water value is important, Sommarstrom said. "We don't want to pay too much or too little for water, just what is fair and reasonable." Just how much water do the fish need? She suggested the amount could range from as little as 0.5 cubic feet per second (CFS) and up. "That can make a big difference in a small creek that's only flowing a half CFS already," she said. Sommarstrom emphasized that the water trust seeks to benefit the fish without hurting other water users - the farmers and ranchers who are irrigating their crops of pasture and alfalfa, and watering their livestock. "We don't want to take land out of production permanently. I know that's been an issue in some other states," she said. Black, who is also a rancher in the area, agreed. "Agriculture is the main economy in this valley and is the only answer to protect existing open space from development. The intent of the RCD is to find local solutions that demonstrate agriculture can and will be the best economy for the environment and community. The water trust is an extension of that belief." Even though it's a community-based effort, Black called the response from both the ag and environmental communities "mixed." While some environmentalists don't feel it goes far enough, some water users are concerned about the risk associated with having less water available. Black said many people think the effort's intent is to increase water flows into the Klamath River. "That is entirely not the intent and is not possible," he said. The trust's water transactions will have "minimal to no influence" on the Klamath, he said, and its goals include addressing fishery and water quality issues within the Scott River watershed only. Water trusts are a new concept in California, said Sommarstrom. "When we are formalized, we will be the first water trust in California, as far as I know." The concept has already been adopted in Oregon, Washington state, Colorado and Montana, she said. A critical step in transferring water to instream uses, for the short- or long-term, is state approval, a process that both Black and Sommarstrom report has been very slow. Sommarstrom and Black said that there are already a few instream transactions before the State's Water Resources Control Board's Division of Water Rights, which hasn't approved them yet. One of the transactions has been waiting for approval for 16 months, said Black. Part of the issue, Sommarstrom said, may be that the instream water transfer concept is so new to the state that officials don't know how to handle it and staffing is limited. "This process is regulatorily strangled," Black said. "The community is proactively trying to do the right thing for fish and water quality and the process won't allow us do what agencies and interest groups continually ask of us." Going forward, Sommarstrom said, building relationships will be key to the effort. They're calling this a water trust with a capital T, she said, but what will be essential is to establish trust - with a small t - within the Scott River watershed community. KLAMATH RIVER: Klamath Basin Dam Removal Will Restore Habitat for Endangered Fish News Release, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation - 2/6/07 Contacts: Jeffery McCracken, 916-978-5100 In a major step toward recovering endangered fish in the Klamath Basin, Interior's Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a nearly $9 million contract to remove Chiloquin Dam, which would open 80 miles of spawning habitat on the Sprague River in southern Oregon. "In cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Reclamation awarded the contact to the Slayden Construction Group of Stayton, Oregon, on February 5, 2007," said Kirk Rodgers, Regional Director of Reclamation's Mid-Pacific Region. "The removal of Chiloquin Dam and construction of a new pumping plant for delivery of irrigation water represents another major milestone in President Bush's commitment to Klamath Basin restoration." "Restoring access to this habitat on a tributary above Upper Klamath Lake will enable the endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers to migrate upstream to historical spawning areas in the Sprague River watershed," said Steve Thompson, Manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's California/Nevada Operations Office. "This is a significant step in helping to restore the traditional fishery for the Klamath Indian Tribes, which have reserved fishing rights in the area." Chiloquin Dam, 220 feet wide and 11 feet high, is located on the Sprague River about 30 miles north of Klamath Falls, Oregon. The dam was built by the U.S. Indian Service in 1914 to divert water for use by the Modoc Point Unit of the Klamath Indian Reservation. Ownership of the dam was transferred to the Modoc Point Irrigation District in 1973. The project will also construct a new pumping plant on the Williamson River to provide an alternate means to deliver irrigation water to the Modoc Point Irrigation District. In June 2005, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Biological Opinion supporting the Bureau of Indian Affairs' proposal to remove the dam. In September 2005, the BIA completed an Environmental Assessment which analyzed the environmental impacts of the various alternatives. The Bureau of Indian Affairs' proposed construction schedule will be carried out over 2 years. During the first phase, the new pumping plant will be constructed from July to December 2007. During the second phase, the dam will be removed from July 2008 to December 2008. The contractor is expected to start on-site mobilization in May 2007. Under an agreement, Reclamation will serve as the contracting entity and provide construction management services to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Feb 13 22:10:18 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 22:10:18 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Preliminary 2006 Klamath Basin fall chinook run-size(megatable) Message-ID: <000301c74ffe$cde14ad0$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> To interested parties, Attached is a PDF file containing Klamath Basin fall chinook run-size data for 1978 - 2006. All 2006 data are preliminary and subject to revision. Please pass along to any interested parties or have them contact me to be included on the annual distribution list. If you have any questions regarding the table or data feel free to contact me. Regards, Wade Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District 5341 Ericson Way Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-5119 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 06MEGTBL_pdf.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 84102 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed Feb 14 08:57:37 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:57:37 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Registration now open for Tahoe restoration shortcourse Message-ID: <001a01c75059$3b4c3530$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Registration now open for Tahoe restoration shortcourse ----- Original Message ----- From: Matt Kondolf To: kondolf at berkeley.edu Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 5:14 PM Subject: Registration now open for Tahoe restoration shortcourse Registration is now open for: GEOMORPHIC AND ECOLOGICAL FUNDAMENTALS FOR RIVER AND STREAM RESTORATION August 13-17, 2007 (with optional field training August 9-11) Sagehen Creek Field Station near Lake Tahoe, California For more information and registration form: restoration.ced.berkeley.edu/shortcourse For questions, please contact restoration_shortcourse at yahoo.com. This course consists of organized lectures, backed by lecture notes, a reference text on measurement and analysis methods in fluvial geomorphology, spreadsheets, and other relevant reading, field trips, exercises, and discussions. The course includes several field trips to rivers and streams in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the nearby Sierra Nevada range, and Truckee River with their spectacular mountain scenery, diverse fluvial environments, and range of human impacts (and their often very visible consequences). The course includes workshops on geomorphic river restoration problems faced by participants, who briefly present the problem for discussion by instructors and colleagues in a workshop format, for discussion and ideas on analytical approaches and resources. The overall content of the course will be similar to the successful offerings of previous years, with adaptations to the new environment that will be updated on the website and in course information as it develops. A new feature this year is an optional, 3-day training in geomorphic field methods offered immediately prior to the shortcourse (described below). Course instructors: Peter Wilcock, Johns Hopkins Univ, Matt Kondolf, Univ. California Berkeley, Mary Power, Univ. California Berkeley, Jack Schmidt, Utah State Univ, Mitch Swanson, Swanson Hydrology/Geomorphology, Scott McBain, McBain & Trush, Chad Gourley, Otis Bay LLC, Mark Tompkins, Univ California Berkeley, Shannah Anderson, Univ California Berkeley. The course is ideal for anyone responsible for managing and restoring rivers and streams, including those who have previously taken shortcourses in the field, as this course offers insights and approaches unlike those typically taken in many restoration projects today. Practitioners and agency staff responsible for reviewing restoration proposals will benefit from the high caliber of instruction and direct link to current research. This course is a good choice for those seeking an understanding of process-based river restoration in contrast to the form-based projects commonly implemented. And this course is unique in offering the opportunity to learn from such an extensive and growing data set of post-project appraisals of restoration projects, and to learn how to conduct effective post-project monitoring. The number of participants is limited to 26 to provide many opportunities for one-on-one instruction. Course details The course fee of $1,980 includes tuition, continuing education credits through UC Riverside Extension, field trip transportation, and course materials, including printed copies of lecture notes, CD with PDF files of additional papers and spreadsheets, and a copy of the reference work Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology. The course fee also includes three meals per day for five days, beginning Sunday dinner through Friday lunch, 12-17 August. GEOMORPHIC FIELD METHODS, August 9-11, 2007, Sagehen Creek Field Station nr Lake Tahoe, Calif. Beginning this year, we are pleased to offer an optional three-day training in field measurement techniques 9-11 August, the Thursday-Friday-Saturday immediately preceding the shortcourse. This field training is suitable for participants whose experience in geomorphic field measurements is limited and who would like to strengthen their background and skill set. The training covers principles of surveying, field surveys of channel geometry using traditional level and rod, total station theodolite, and hand-held GPS units. The training will include an introduction to use of survey-grade GPS and ground-based LIDAR, and possibly, field instruction in their use. The training will include mapping of sedimentary facies and other stream features, bed material sampling through pebble counts and demonstration of bulk subsurface sampling and its attendant issues, measurement of surface flow and shallow groundwater, and mapping riparian vegetation and techniques for using riparian vegetation features to infer flood history and channel change. The training will rely heavily on the methods presented in Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology (John Wiley & Sons 2003), and while interdisciplinary in context, will focus on geomorphic field methods. Instructors are drawn from those involved in the regular shortcourse. The field training is $1250 if taken alone, $1100 if taken in conjunction with the shortcourse. LODGING FOR SAGEHEN COURSES For both the Geomorphic/Ecological Fundamentals shortcourse and the Geomorphic Field Methods Training, participants can make their own lodging arrangements among a choice of hotels in Truckee (about 10 mi south of Sagehen, near Hwy I-80) or can take advantage of comfortable, inexpensive accommodations on the beautiful grounds of the research station. Lodging at the field station is $20/night per person, which entitles you to a bunk bed in a cabin with 6-8 beds, and clean, updated bathroom facilities. You can stay in the bunk bed in the cabin or pitch your tent outside on the station grounds (and use the bunk to store gear if you wish). OTHER SHORTCOURSES AVAILABLE Most of the material presented in the 5-day shortcourse is presented by some of the same instructors in two comparable shortcourses, offered in Logan, Utah, and Baltimore, Maryland. Like the 5-day Sagehen (Tahoe) course, these assume a basic understanding of stream reach characterization (which may be acquired in the 3-day field training at Sagehen if you don't already have it from academic training or professional experience). Ecological and Geomorphic Principles of Stream Restoration June 4-8, 2007 Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore http://www.palmerlab.umd.edu/ (please note - website update coming soon) Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration July 16-20, 2007 Utah State University, Logan http://uwrl.usu.edu/streamrestoration/ An advanced class is offered in Logan in August. Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration, Part II (Design Problem) August 20-24, 2007 Utah State University, Logan, UT http://uwrl.usu.edu/streamrestoration/ How These Courses Relate The 5-day "principles" shortcourses (Ecological and Geomorphic Fundamentals, Principles of Stream Restoration, and Geomorphic and Ecological Fundamentals) share many of the same instructors, and are designed to cover much the same material, although adapted to the specific environments in which the courses are offered. The 3-day Geomorphic Field Methods Training is designed for biologists, managers, and others without prior training in geomorphology and hydrology, and allows the 5-day shortcourse to assume some background and thereby treat advanced topics in greater depth. This 3-day training is not a prerequisite for the other courses, and inability to take the training need not prevent one from taking one of the regular shortcourses. However, taking the training will probably increase what you get out of the 5-day shortcourse. The training would likely be repetitious and thus is not recommended for engineers and others familiar with geomorphic and hydrologic field methods through relevant work experience. The advanced 4-day course in sediment transport calculations and channel design includes a full design problem, including hydraulic and sediment transport modeling, site layout, and riparian planting. It is open to students who have completed any of the 5-day shortcourses (in MD, UT, or CA). -- G. Mathias Kondolf Associate Professor of Environmental Planning Chair, Portuguese Studies Program Dept Landscape Architecture/Environmental Planning 202 Wurster Hall, University of California Berkeley 94720-2000 tel 510 644 8381 fax 510 486 1210 kondolf at berkeley.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed Feb 14 09:37:27 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:37:27 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Dept. of Water Resources Announces Release of CALFED Watershed Program PSP Message-ID: <007401c7505e$d11d8870$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: Wermiel, Dan at CALFED To: CBDA_WATERSHED_SUB at shrlist02.CAHWNET.GOV Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 8:55 AM Subject: Dept. of Water Resources Announces Release of CALFED Watershed Program PSP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News for Immediate Release February 13, 2007 Contacts: Kristyne Miller, Division of Planning & Local Assistance (916) 651-9621 Don Strickland, Information officer (916) 653-9515 Ted Thomas, Information Officer (916) 653-9712 DWR Seeks Proposals for $10 Million in Grants to Study, Restore, and Protect Watersheds SACRAMENTO - The Department of Water Resources, Division of Planning and Local Assistance, has released its 2007 Proposal Solicitation Package seeking projects to share $10 million in CALFED grants. The money comes from the sale of $3.4 billion in bonds approved by voters as Proposition 50 in November 2002. The projects can range from evaluating the condition of watersheds to implementation of local watershed projects. A watershed is a region draining into a creek, river, river system or other body of water. In California, there are about 1,500 watersheds. Some are as big as the Sacramento River watershed that drains much of Northern California. Others are as small as the Laguna Creek watershed, which drains several miles in Sacramento County. More information about the Proposal Solicitation Package is on-line at: http://www.watershedrestoration.water.ca.gov/watersheds/ . -0- The Department of Water Resources 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. Contact the DWR Public Affairs Office for more information about DWR's water activities -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 14928 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Thu Feb 15 08:48:53 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:48:53 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Caltrans Liking for Rural Projects Message-ID: <00de01c75121$2dbbc700$0201a8c0@HAL> BAY AREA Highway planners fear Caltrans' liking for rural projects Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, February 15, 2007 When Californian voters overwhelmingly backed Proposition 1B -- which promised congestion relief in its proponents' campaign ads -- many of them probably weren't thinking of busting through backups in such places as the Trinity Mountains, Willits and Angels Camp. But highway projects in those rural areas are competing with such Bay Area projects as a fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, carpool lanes on Interstate 580 and the Cordelia interchange for the first big batch of transportation bond money from the $20 billion bond measure, which voters approved in November. The first $4.5 billion in bond money is earmarked for projects that will make traffic flow better on highways. On Friday, the California Transportation Commission's staff will release a recommended list of such projects that it has culled from the 147 plans -- worth $11.3 billion -- nominated by county and regional transportation agencies and Caltrans. On Tuesday, the commission will hold a hearing, and it will decide at its monthly meeting Feb. 28 in Irvine. With the decision near, Bay Area transportation officials and politicians are arguing that it doesn't make sense to complete freeways or highway improvement projects in rural regions at the expense of urban congestion-relief projects. "The priority should be congestion, which was the promise made by sponsors of the bond to voters,'' said Jim Wunderman, executive director of the Bay Area Council, which represents businesses in the region. Bay Area transportation leaders put together a package of projects totaling $2 billion that focuses on relieving congestion by completing the region's network of carpool lanes and improving heavily traveled routes leading in and out of the Bay Area -- including Highway 101, Interstate 580 and the Interstate 80/Interstate 680/Highway 12 junction in Cordelia. Prop. 1B allots 40 percent of the $4.5 billion in congestion-relief funding -- $1.8 billion -- to Northern California, which reaches as far south as Fresno inland and Monterey on the coast. And because Caltrans studies estimate that about 85 percent of traffic congestion in the northern part of the state is in the Bay Area, transportation officials say the region should be in line to get at least $1.5 billion. But they fear that Caltrans, which has submitted a list of recommendations to the Transportation Commission, will persuade the agency to use much of the big infusion of funds -- the first in at least four decades -- on rural highways instead of urban gridlock. "I fret that Caltrans, which did not get its freeways built in the '60s and '70s -- the freeway era, cannot resist the pull to complete the rural freeways,'' said Randy Rentschler, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area's regional transportation planning and financing agency. "But the voters did not vote for a rural freeway completion program when they voted for Prop. 1B.'' According to the bond measure, the $4.5 million in the Corridor Mobility Improvement Account "shall be used for performance improvements on the state highway system or major access routes to the state highway system on the local road system that relive congestion by expanding capacity, or otherwise improving travel times within these high-congestion travel corridors.'' John Barna, executive director of the California Transportation Commission, says that language doesn't exclude rural counties or highways that don't suffer daily gridlock. Caltrans has recommended $6.4 billion in projects -- many of them in places that aren't routinely congested. Among them is $150 million to complete the Highway 101 bypass around Willits in Mendocino County, where traffic jams are generally limited to the summer travel season. Other rural projects that have been nominated, but didn't make Caltrans' list, include $4.4 million toward a bypass on Highway 4 around Angels Camp (Calaveras County) and $239 million to improve a curvy and hazardous stretch of Highway 299 at Buckhorn Pass (Shasta County) east of Weaverville in the Trinity Mountains. "Congestion is not only sitting on the 880 in the Bay Area going very slowly,'' said Ross Chittenden, Caltrans' project manager for the bond measure. "It's anything that restricts the free flow of people, goods and services.'' -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bay Area's Prop. 1B wish list Proposition 1B projects in the regional include: -- Caldecott Tunnel fourth bore -- New and expanded carpool lanes on Highways 101 and 4 and Interstates 80, 580 and 680 -- New San Francisco approach to the Golden Gate Bridge -- Truck lanes over the Altamont Pass -- New Cordelia Junction interchange for Interstates 80 and 680 and Highway 12 -- Improving Interstate 880/280 interchange in San Jose -- Cordelia truck scale improvements -- Highway 101 additional lanes, Marsh Road to Highway 85 -- Highway 101 improvements between Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza and freeway Source: California Transportation Commission E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan at sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Thu Feb 15 11:04:26 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:04:26 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Frontline & the NewsWar Message-ID: <00fb01c75134$206a5fe0$0201a8c0@HAL> part 1 & 2 can be viewed online @ www.pbs.org/frontline/newswar PBS' 'Frontline' examines ways politics, business hurt news media Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, February 13, 2007 The timing couldn't be better for the four-part "Frontline" series "News War" premiering tonight on PBS. Not only does tonight's first episode explain why non-journalists should care about the Valerie Wilson leak investigation trial unfolding in a Washington, D.C., courtroom -- it uses the probing, contextualized "Frontline" style to answer a question on a lot of lips: What's wrong with the American media? Readers didn't need a week of front-page stories about diaper-wearing astronauts and the alleged cultural significance of Anna Nicole Smith to tell them that the Fourth Estate is having an identity crisis. There's also last week's Pentagon inspector general report criticizing the Bush administration's manipulation of prewar intelligence, reminding Americans that most of the Beltway media danced to the White House's drumbeat to the Iraq war four years ago. The 4 1/2-hour "News War" series traces the pathology crippling the media business -- financially and legally -- back to the days of the Nixon administration. What it reports is not necessarily new, but it is one of the first televised efforts to connect the factors transforming the news industry at this critical juncture in journalism. And many of the key players -- on both sides of the camera -- are in the Bay Area. Over its four parts, "News War" explains the significance of recent media controversies, including BALCO-investigating Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams -- who could face jail time in the next few weeks -- and San Francisco blogger Josh Wolf, who recently became the nation's longest imprisoned journalist for refusing to turn over digital footage to police. The last two installments of "News War" -- which, in true deadline-pushing tradition are still being edited and unavailable for preview -- are likely to include interviews with Google and Yahoo executives, whose companies are taking readers and advertisers from traditional news sources without paying much for the newspaper content they aggregate. Daily Kos blogger founder Markos Moulitsas, a Berkeley resident, also was interviewed to show how readers are pursuing new, more interactive media sources. In between are a parade of journalistic all-stars, and not all of them come off looking great. Influential Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, whose Watergate reporting with Carl Bernstein helped topple Richard Nixon, admits that he blew it when he said the chance of never finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq "is about zero." "It was totally wrong," Woodward said in the first segment of "News War." "I think I dropped the ball there. I should've pushed much, much harder (investigating the reality of WMD)." In the first two installments, "News War" explains how current efforts by federal prosecutors to chill investigative journalism by trying to coerce reporters to reveal confidential sources is not a new story. Neither is the White House's push to kill stories that allegedly threaten national security -- such as the New York Times expose that the National Security Administration is listening to citizens' phone conversations without warrants. The media faced similar issues in the early 1970s during the publication battle over the Pentagon Papers and for its coverage of the unpopular Vietnam War. The difference now, said Berkeley-based "Frontline" correspondent and co-writer Lowell Bergman, is that the financial and legal landscape of the journalism industry has changed. Major newspapers, which traditionally have been the leaders in investigative reporting, were more financially robust 35 years ago. Now that they're financially weaker and not held in as high public esteem, they're in a more vulnerable position. At the same time, the legal protections that have enabled the use of confidential sources for nearly four decades are under attack by the Bush administration. And when publishers cut costs, investigative reporting -- one of the most vital checks on government power, as the Watergate coverage showed -- is often the first to go. Next up on the budget chopping block, frequently, is foreign reporting, something that major television networks said they'd increase after the Sept. 11 attacks as a way for Americans to better understand the world. That hasn't happened. "The economic foundation that was very prosperous for decades is now in trouble at the same time (as the shifting legal landscape)," said Bergman, an award-winning investigative producer and reporter at "60 Minutes" and the New York Times. "Universally, what everybody is saying, from the CEO of Google on down, is that you're going to lose some in-depth reporting," Bergman said. "And the watchdog role that the news industry developed, particularly newspapers over the last four decades ... is getting damaged." "Part of what we have in the documentary is a historical flashback," Bergman said. "People under 40 don't know where we were then, where we are now and how things can change." Providing that perspective for "News War" are three prominent Bay Area residents who developed, largely funded and executed the series. Bergman, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism Dean Orville Schell and Bay Area philanthropist Richard Goldman. Schell came up with the idea three years ago, largely out of frustration with the state of journalism. Many respected journalists had visited his school and told him they were depressed by the ways the business was changing. Schell began having a version of this conversation with Goldman. "In my early life, it never came up that the news was slanted or that the business was under pressure," said Goldman, 86. The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation eventually gave $1.5 million to the "News War" project, one of the largest individual donations in "Frontline's" 24 years, and more than half of the $2.5 million budget. Goldman said, "We were influenced by Orville. He's a very persuasive guy. And Lowell has a very good reputation." The series is a co-production with the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where Bergman teaches investigative journalism. The challenge now is getting people -- especially those younger than 40 -- to tune into a 41/2-hour PBS documentary, not usually a neon come-hither to younger audiences. "Most of the country doesn't really care about anything other than local news and a little entertainment," Schell said. "And I don't really worry about having everybody eat their broccoli." But he hopes the series' appeal will ripple outward from the nation's intelligentsia to "those who desperately care about having a free press able to deliver accurate information." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Related documents and interviews available at www.pbs.org/frontline/newswar. E-mail Joe Garofoli at jgarofoli at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Feb 16 08:41:41 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:41:41 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle February 16, 2007 Message-ID: <001701c751e9$63da01d0$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> San Francisco Chronicle CALIFORNIA U.S.-valley plan on water issues Glen Martin, Chronicle Environment Writer Friday, February 16, 2007 The federal government would transfer ownership of one of California's largest reservoirs to the state and local water agencies and require San Joaquin Valley farmers to oversee the costly cleanup of toxic agricultural drain water, under a draft plan released Thursday. Federal and regional water officials said their proposal could help settle two of the state's most pressing water issues: Distribution of government project water and the disposal of tainted farm runoff that has been blamed for deformities and deaths of thousands of birds since the 1980s. The plan -- subject to extensive environmental review and congressional approval before it could be adopted -- also would settle a lawsuit by valley farmers alleging that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation failed to provide a solution to the disposal of agricultural drain water contaminated with selenium. Critics say the proposal would put control of a huge block of the state's water in the hands of a few regional districts, threatening the equitable flow of water during shortages. Some environmentalists and lawmakers were wary of the transfer of the massive San Luis Reservoir to the state and six water districts and putting cleanup plans in the hands of private agricultural interests. "This is something you want to go over with a fine-tooth comb," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. "Here you have a major asset (the San Luis Reservoir) that's under federal control and regulation for good reasons, and you're opening it up to some degree of privatization. It looks like they're trying to bootstrap simple water contracts into some other form of water rights." Partners to the proposal say it could help solve conflicts over California's water distribution woes and result in a drain-water solution. Farmers in drainage-impaired areas would receive less water than they do now -- deliveries would be capped at 1 million acre-feet annually, instead of the current cap of 1.4 million acre-feet. An acre-foot is equivalent to 326,000 gallons of water. "That would provide a new 400,000 acre-foot pot of water that could be used for things other than irrigation, such as environmental flows (through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta) or as a reserve in upstream reservoirs," said Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Tom Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District -- at 600,000 acres, it is the nation's largest irrigation district -- said the proposal allows irrigators greater flexibility. The federal government would forgo $490 million from water contractors in compensation for construction of the Central Valley Project, the vast system of dams, canals and pipes that delivers water from the north to the south. Birmingham said the money that water districts would otherwise have to pay for the cost of water projects would go toward implementing a drainage solution. He said the proposal does not promote privatization, because water districts are public agencies, not private stakeholders. Environmentalists also questioned whether valley water districts will be able to implement a satisfactory solution to the valley's drain water problem. "The drainage cleanup cost estimates run as high as $3 billion," said Byron Leydecker, chairman of Friends of the Trinity River, which has battled San Joaquin farmers over transfers of Trinity River water. "They (the irrigators) aren't going to pay that kind of money." Birmingham said the proposal focuses on an "in valley" drainage solution that would dispose of the water by a variety of means, including reusing it to irrigate crops and sprinkling it on gravel-topped beds to hasten evaporation. He said the plan would not include evaporation ponds, which have been opposed by environmentalists because they attract birds. Tom Stokely, a spokesman for the California Water Impact Network, a group that favors retiring croplands high in selenium from agricultural production, said he is leery of the proposal. "The good news is that this won't happen overnight," Stokely said. "It's going to require full environmental review, federal legislation and action by the state Water Resources Control Board. If the devil is in the details, we'll find him." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Feb 16 08:44:19 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:44:19 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fresno Bee February 16, 21997 Message-ID: <001d01c751e9$bc1a79b0$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> U.S. floats water transfer Valley farmers would clean up tainted land. By Mark Grossi and David Whitney / The Fresno Bee 02/16/07 03:55:34 The federal government Thursday announced a plan to hand over part of California's largest water project to west San Joaquin Valley farmers and let them pay for cleaning up 370,000 acres of land tainted by salty irrigation drain water. The sweeping proposal would settle a decades-old controversy. It also would forgive almost a half-billion dollars of debt that the farmers owe for construction of reservoirs, canals and other irrigation facilities that make up the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project. Without the deal, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, owner of the project, is on the legal hook for a cleanup that could cost almost three times the agency's annual budget -- more than $2.2 billion. Water officials who worked on the concept said it seemed sound. Tom Birmingham, general manager and counsel of the 600,000-acre Westlands Water District, said farmers would be taking on a tremendous obligation. "We think we can undertake the cleanup at a lower cost than the government," he said. "But it will still take hundreds of millions of dollars." The deal would end a 15-year lawsuit over the tainted land, but the settlement is still in the preliminary stages, said Kirk C. Rodgers, the bureau's regional director in Sacramento. In addition, if the deal is completed between the bureau and farm water officials, it would have to be approved by Congress. Officials expect the process to be controversial. Environmentalists were cautious about the announcement on Thursday, saying they did not have much detail. The 20-page description of the arrangement was circulated late Thursday afternoon. "The concern in the environmental community is that are just going to repeat the mistakes of the past," said Fresno resident Lloyd Carter of Save Our Streams. Carter was referring to the wildlife disaster at Kesterson Reservoir in western Merced County in the 1980s. Biologists discovered dead and deformed wildlife at Kesterson where Westlands irrigation drainage had been pooling for several years. Selenium, a natural trace element found in abundance on the Valley's west side, had become highly concentrated at Kesterson. Thousands of migrating birds died, and thousands more were disfigured. The bureau built the San Luis Drain to send used irrigation water to Kesterson as a solution to a long-standing drainage problem on the Valley's west side. Layers of clay beneath the soil surface prevent irrigation drainage from percolating into the deep underground water. When officials were forced to close down Kesterson in the 1980s, the irrigation drainage had nowhere to go. On many west-side acres, more and more water became trapped above the shallow clay layers. The bad water began rising from the underground until it eventually started to poison the land surface with salts, affecting hundreds of thousands of acres of land. Irrigation districts sued the federal government in the early 1990s, demanding drainage of the bad water. Federal law obligates officials to provide the drainage. An appellate court in 2000 ordered the bureau to come up with a solution. The ideas included retiring 300,000 acres of farm land, creating huge ponds to evaporate the drain water or sending it through a pipeline for ocean dumping off the coast of San Luis Obispo County. A final solution was supposed to be submitted in federal court today, but officials said that filing will be delayed probably until next week. A negotiated settlement based on the concept announced Thursday might be substituted. If the details are worked out, the agreement would form a joint-powers authority among 10 irrigation districts to take over 100 miles of canals, pumping plants, reservoirs and possibly power plants in the San Luis Unit. The authority would be responsible for running the water system and devising a cleanup for the tainted land. The farmers would be forgiven $490 million in debt for construction of the San Luis Unit. As a sweetener for environmentalists, the agreement also would cap water deliveries to west-side farmers at 1 million acre-feet a year. This would free 400,000 acre-feet to remain in Northern California reservoirs for other uses. One acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons of water, or a 12- to 18-month supply for an average family. Tom Graff, senior attorney for the national nonprofit Environmental Defense, said the west Valley should not have been allotted 1.4 million acre-feet of water in the first place. In many years, the project does not deliver that much water to farmers. "They're giving back 400,000 acre-feet of water?" he asked. "That's no deal. This a first offer. The real negotiations will take place as Congress looks at this." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Feb 16 09:45:55 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:45:55 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] More News Articles on Privatization of Federal Water Facilities Message-ID: <000001c751f2$59e2a6b0$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Central Valley farmers may get partial ownership of reservoir - Associated Press Federal plan would cede control of water - Los Angeles Times Land deal proposed as selenium solution; A transfer to irrigators would help them pay to clean up drainage - Sacramento Bee Deal on Delta suit goes to Congress; State, users would get partial ownership of system; farmers would give up claims on water, take on draining duties - Contra Costa Times Central Valley farmers may get partial ownership of reservoir Associated Press - 2/16/07 By Garance Burke, staff writer FRESNO, Calif. - The federal government wants to give Central Valley farmers partial ownership of a massive reservoir to settle a lawsuit over drainage problems that led to the deaths and deformations of birds and other creatures, according to a draft plan obtained by The Associated Press. The complex deal would transfer the federal government's stake in the San Luis Reservoir, pumping plants and miles of canals to some of the country's biggest farming operations, who also would gain rights to a large percentage of the water stored there. In exchange, farmers would be responsible for disposing of toxic runoff and cleaning up thousands of acres of tainted land that is too salty for crops after intensive irrigation. Shifting that cost over to the private sector would save the federal government about $2.5 billion, said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken. Environmentalists and congressional representatives briefed on the plan Thursday expressed surprise at the proposal, which was entirely different from previous plans. "It's being suggested now that one of the most significant environmental problems in the history of western water can be resolved by privatizing a major piece of the largest water project in the West," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. "Is this new plan really in the best interest of the taxpayers?" The San Luis Reservoir, located just off Interstate 5 between Los Banos and Gilroy, holds 2.5 million acre feet of water, almost one-third of which is used each year to irrigate the arid Westlands Water District. Westlands is the nation's largest water district and includes giants of agribusiness, such as Harris Farms, one of California's biggest farming operations and Tanimura & Antle, the nation's top lettuce grower. Westlands farmers and those who belong to nearby water districts have been banned from disposing of agricultural runoff since the 1980s when millions of migratory birds were born deformed after nesting at Kesterson Wildlife Refuge, where federal officials initially routed the poisonous drainage. Irrigation runoff here carries concentrated levels of selenium, a naturally occurring trace element that washes down from the volcanic mountain range flanking the valley's western edge. Few realized selenium was toxic when agricultural water was first pumped into Kesterson, which is part of the 26,609-acre San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, about 80 miles northwest of Fresno. After the environmental disaster, the bureau stopped allowing the drainage to flow into Kesterson. In 1995, the Westlands Water District sued, claiming federal officials who run the Central Valley Project _ a massive irrigation complex that makes farming possible in the arid western half of the valley _ reneged on their obligation to help them dispose of the tainted water. Officials have proposed numerous solutions as the case has traveled through the courts. One of the bureau's proposals, favored by some environmentalists, was to retire vast tracts of farmland altogether. Other ideas included building huge ponds to evaporate the drain water, or piping it into the delta. The new plan to give farmers partial ownership of the reservoir _ which Westlands officials said was developed with nine other irrigation districts, the bureau and the California Department of Water Resources _ still is far from final. Such broad changes would require congressional approval. "No one has a greater interest in solving the drainage problem than the farmers," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager and general counsel. The plan would give the 10 districts the annual rights to 1.1 million acre feet of water, the largest water right granted since the 1950s, McCracken said. Information was not immediately available about the conditions under which that water would be provided in dry years, or in relation to other water users like cities and rivers upstream. Bill Walker, who tracks federal subsidies in agriculture, blasted the proposal. "This deal may seem to relieve taxpayers of the costs of the drain, but it gives away more of California's most precious resource - water - to a group of irrigators who already receive millions of dollars in crop, water and energy subsidies," said Walker, a vice president of the Oakland-based Environmental Working Group. Westlands farmers and those who belong to nearby water districts have been banned from disposing of agricultural runoff since the 1980s when millions of migratory birds were born deformed after nesting at Kesterson Wildlife Refuge, where federal officials initially routed the poisonous drainage. # http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2007/02/16/ap-state-ca/d8nal4cg0.txt Federal plan would cede control of water Los Angeles Times - 2/16/07 By Bettina Boxall, staff writer The federal government would give a huge block of water as well as partial control of a large reservoir to powerful Central Valley agricultural interests under a possible agreement aimed at resolving a long-standing farm-drainage problem. The complicated proposal amounts to an unprecedented restructuring of the federal Central Valley Project, the country's largest water-supply operation. The project's biggest customer, Westlands Water District, would drop out of the system, and along with neighboring irrigators would assume the rights to a million acre-feet of water - more than the city of Los Angeles consumes in a year. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the project, would also forgive a debt of nearly half a billion dollars the irrigators owe for construction of the mammoth project. In return, the federal government would no longer be under obligation to fix a vexing San Joaquin Valley drainage problem that could cost U.S. taxpayers several billion dollars to solve. "This goes beyond anything we've ever considered in its scope," Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeffrey McCracken said. The proposal, which would require congressional approval, is under discussion and has not been endorsed by the reclamation bureau, which Thursday briefed members of Congress and Interior officials. In divorcing Westlands and the project, the plan would end a contentious relationship between the two and give Westlands, the most powerful irrigation district in the state, even more clout. "It gives us an opportunity to be in greater control of our own destiny," said Westlands general manager Tom Birmingham. The reclamation bureau would transfer its state water rights permit for a million acre-feet, roughly a sixth of its entire statewide deliveries, to a joint powers authority formed by Westlands and other irrigators in the San Luis unit of the project, on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. The amount is what irrigators have typically gotten from the project, but 400,000 acre-feet less than what their federal contracts call for - effectively freeing up that quantity for other uses in the federal system during good water years. The federal government would also transfer ownership of the San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos to the joint authority and the state, which uses about half of the reservoir to store supplies for the State Water Project. The implications of the proposal were not entirely clear Thursday. McCracken and Birmingham both said that because the water Westlands was taking over would continue to be pumped by federal facilities from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the deliveries would still be subject to endangered species and other environmental restrictions. Spokesmen for the state and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which gets water from the San Luis Reservoir, said they would evaluate the proposal but were not prepared to comment. Longtime critics of the bureau and Westlands were not so reserved. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) said the plan amounted to the privatization of a large part of the West's biggest water project and would leave up to the irrigators how to solve a serious environmental problem. "Do we really want to give these water users this kind of control over so much water?" Miller said in a statement. "Is this new plan really in the best interest of the taxpayers? Given all of the possible ramifications, it will be important for Congress to go through this proposal with a fine-toothed comb." # http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water16feb16,1,1867158.story?coll=la -headlines-california Land deal proposed as selenium solution; A transfer to irrigators would help them pay to clean up drainage Sacramento Bee - 2/16/07 By David Whitney, staff writer A proposal for federal transfer of a big piece of the Central Valley Project to irrigators, so that they can pay for disposal of selenium-laced drain water polluting tens of thousands of acres of farmland, was floated on Capitol Hill on Thursday. The initial reactions ranged from skepticism to outright praise. The proposal, described as a "concept for collaboration" between the Bureau of Reclamation and 10 irrigation districts led by kingpin Westlands Water District, would transfer at no cost the federal portion of the CVP's San Luis Unit -- reservoirs, pumping plants, roughly 100 miles of canals and possibly even power plants -- to a joint powers authority that irrigators would create to pay for cleaning up the drainage mess. While the joint powers authority would own the system, the bureau still would be in charge of how much water is moved through the system, and the maximum amount flowing to irrigators would be cut by about 30 percent. "We are still in the preliminary stages of this," Kirk C. Rodgers, the bureau's regional director from Sacramento, said. "This represents a remarkable promise for a good deal. ... I am willing to put a lot of effort into this solution." Rodgers said in an interview that without this approach, or something like it, the cost of fixing the drainage problem, and the attendant selenium toxicity threatening wildlife, could reach as high as $2.6 billion -- almost three times the agency's entire annual budget. "There are times when we are talking about over $500 million a year for a reasonable construction schedule," Rodgers said. Tom Birmingham, Westland's executive director, called the sketchy deal "an opportunity to solve one of the most serious resources problems in the San Joaquin Valley." Reaction on Capitol Hill was hard to get Thursday, but what little there was suggested, as one congressional aide said, that the proposal "is not dead on arrival." Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, a leading House environmental voice and policy adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said that while he has questions about it, the drain problem is so serious that the proposal deserves close scrutiny. "It's being suggested now that one of the most significant environmental problems in the history of Western water can be resolved by privatizing a major piece of the largest water project in the West," Miller said in a statement. "Do we really want to give these water users this kind of control over so much water?" he said. "What will this mean for the future of our state's water and for California's economic growth? Is this new plan really in the best interest of the taxpayers? Given all of the possible ramifications, it will be important for Congress to go through this proposal with a fine-toothed comb." The proposal received a more enthusiastic reception from Central Valley lawmakers. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said he is fully supportive and likely would introduce legislation authorizing the deal when all the details are worked out. "At first glance, I believe this has merit and is a cost-effective way to solve this problem," he said. "I think they should be commended for thinking outside the box." Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, also was backing the proposal, said his press aide, Spencer Pederson. Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral that in the right amounts is necessary for good health. It is so prevalent on federally irrigated portions of the Central Valley, however, that it must be flushed along with other salts to keep some of the state's most productive lands in use. But that drain water cannot percolate through a layer of clay beneath the soil, and the result has been the inundation of tens of thousands of acres where the contaminated brew collects. The bureau has tried various ways of dealing with the drain water, including directing it into Kesterson Reservoir. But after deformed waterfowl were found there in 1983, releases were halted two years later. Irrigators filed a lawsuit against the bureau to force it to clean up the problem, and a court has ordered it to do so. Last summer, just as the bureau was about to file its decision on how it planned to do that, irrigators and the agency announced they were going to try to resolve the matter through negotiations. # http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/124523.html Deal on Delta suit goes to Congress; State, users would get partial ownership of system; farmers would give up claims on water, take on draining duties Contra Costa Times - 2/16/07 By Mike Taugher, staff writer The nation's largest irrigation district would take partial ownership of an important dam, canals and pumping plants in exchange for giving up claims to water and relieving the federal government of its obligation to drain tainted water from the western San Joaquin Valley under a proposal presented to members of Congress on Thursday. It is the latest attempt to settle a decades-long conundrum of how to dispose of selenium-tainted farm runoff that was once destined to be dumped in the Delta near Antioch. The broad outline of the lawsuit settlement has not been endorsed by any federal agency and requires approval of Congress, where key members on Thursday sounded guarded about its implications. "We need to learn much more about this proposed settlement," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in an e-mail. "Whether this settlement is just or not, I simply cannot answer at this time." Under the proposal, a list of ideas still being developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and several water agencies, farmers would take over the federal government's court-ordered obligation to drain their farms. They would also give up claims to 400,000 acre-feet of water -- enough for about 800,000 homes -- and they would turn over another 43,000 acre-feet of water to regulators to be used for environmental purposes. In exchange, the federal government would hand over ownership of key portions of the water system south of Silicon Valley to water users and to the state. The facilities to be transferred include San Luis Dam and Reservoir. Farmers also would be assured of getting more reliable water supplies and would be forgiven $490 million in debt for dams, canals and pumps. Critics of the deal said it overstates the environmental benefits because farmers rarely get the 400,000 acre-feet of water to which they would relinquish claims in expiring contracts. "If they're willing to take 400,000 off (a more modest claim), then you can have a conversation," said Tom Graff, regional director for Environmental Defense in Oakland. At issue is how to dispose of tainted runoff from some of the 600 farms in the sprawling Westlands Water District, which lies just east of Interstate 5 and stretches from the Fresno County towns of Firebaugh and Mendota south to Kettleman City. Runoff from western San Joaquin Valley farms was blamed for gross bird deformities at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge in the 1980s. After that disaster, the wildlife refuge was closed, farm drains were plugged and the Westlands district was left without a place to dispose of its water. The federal government is now under court order to provide drainage service and has considered buying out farmers and fallowing land, piping the runoff into the Delta near Antioch or to Morro Bay or treating the water. All of those options have proved difficult. Tom Birmingham, Westlands' general manager, said the district would resolve the drainage problems by reducing the amount of runoff and allowing the rest to evaporate. This would be done by first retiring 100,000 acres of the 600,000-acre Westlands district and then improving water-use efficiency on the rest of the district's cropland. The remaining runoff would be reused to irrigate salt-tolerant crops such as pistachios and some forage grasses. Finally, the runoff from those fields would be sprinkled on gravel beds instead of evaporation ponds so that birds would not be attracted and exposed to contaminants. The drainage improvements would be financed by payments that farmers would otherwise make to the government, in part to repay the $490 million owed to taxpayers that would be forgiven if the plan is approved. "We see this as an opportunity to implement in a timely manner a viable solution to the drainage without having to rely on federal appropriations," Birmingham said. He said the proposal is a good deal for taxpayers because the reclamation bureau has estimated the cost of draining the district at more than $2 billion. But Graff, of Environmental Defense, said farmers might be obligated to repay the government for any drainage improvements. In any case, turning over key facilities now owned by the federal government to resolve that problem is certain to be controversial. "It's being suggested now that one of the most significant environmental problems in the history of western water can be resolved by privatizing a major piece of the largest water project in the West," Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, said in a statement. "This would be an unprecedented development, to say the least, and you have to give them an A for creativity." Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, whose district includes the Westlands district, said he supports the proposal. "It's not like the Bureau of Reclamation can just walk away from this. It's a far better deal for the taxpayers," Costa said. # http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/email/news/16712996.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Sat Feb 17 11:00:23 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 11:00:23 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fresno Bee CVP Facilities Transfer Feb 17 2007 Message-ID: <002001c752c5$e932e450$0301a8c0@optiplex> Water facilities transfer isn't easy Cleaning up drainage raises complex tangle of legal, finance issues. By Michael Doyle and Mark Grossi / The Fresno Bee 02/17/07 03:46:27 Serious political and pragmatic obstacles block a new proposal to shift vast San Joaquin Valley irrigation facilities into farmers' hands. Capitol Hill skeptics hold key leadership positions. Congress is already booked up with another big Valley water plan to restore the San Joaquin River. Technical solutions are complicated. And history, if it's any guide, suggests it's extremely hard to transfer federal water projects -- especially ones serving California. "A proposal like this will always face challenges," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, conceded Friday. "This is not a unanimous consent item." Costa, nonetheless, said he finds promise in the new notion to deliver into local control the San Luis Reservoir and more than 100 miles of canals and associated pumping plants. He represents much of the 600,000-acre Westlands Water District. Under the proposal, Westlands would join with the San Luis Water District and other districts in taking over the federal facilities. The state of California also would play a role. The water districts would become responsible for resolving the irrigation drainage problems now afflicting almost 400,000 acres of the Valley's west side. In exchange, the federal government would forgive the districts' $489.6 million construction debt. "This is an attempt, I think, to think out of the box," Costa said. Supporters consider the proposal aired this week better than other drainage options estimated to cost as much as $2.6 billion. The government's preferred drainage option was supposed to be announced Friday, but officials delayed it to discuss the new proposal. Environmental critics question whether the new idea will really save taxpayer money. If the government remains liable for drainage, irrigation districts would eventually have to repay the federal Bureau of Reclamation for a drainage fix. Bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken responded that taxpayers still would be providing the upfront funds. The government would allow interest-free payback over 50 years. This amounts to a taxpayer subsidy. "The reimbursement wouldn't begin until after the facilities for drainage are complete," McCracken added. But even the 20-page conceptual paper now circulating on Capitol Hill acknowledges numerous difficulties. Area lawmakers like Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, still must get their potential concerns addressed. The feds and the farmers, for instance, concede they don't yet agree on the "full scope" of how the government might be shielded from future lawsuits. The farmers originally sued over the government's failure to provide promised drainage. Without drainage, selenium-tainted farm runoff has accumulated -- most infamously during the 1980s in the poisoned Kesterson Reservoir in western Merced County. The written proposal acknowledges other uncertainties, including: Efforts to understand the financial implications of the transfer are "ongoing," while identifying the dollar value of the water and facilities is "a difficult question to answer." Farmers and federal officials disagree over the "outstanding" issue of who is responsible for dam safety. The potential effect on California bond and credit ratings "has not yet been addressed." Impacts on pumping plant operations are "highly dependent" upon final negotiations. And then there's the salt. Many millions of tons of salt have come to the western San Joaquin Valley in irrigation water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which is where the ocean meets the state's two longest rivers. "Where will all this salt go?" asked Clovis resident Lloyd Carter, an attorney and environmentalist. The salt will eventually damage the land unless there is some way to remove it, experts say. Simply changing the owner won't remove the salt. "Is this new plan really in the best interest of the taxpayers?" asked Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. Miller's skepticism is telling. He is one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's chief lieutenants. Her chief of staff, John Lawrence, formerly handled Western water issues for Miller. Her chief administrative officer, Dan Beard, likewise worked for Miller and then ran the Bureau of Reclamation during the Clinton administration. All were around the last time California farmers and their congressional allies tried to seize the Central Valley Project. In 1995, lawmakers led by Rep. John Doolittle, R-Granite Bay, sought to sell the CVP as part of a larger budget bill. That proposal to sell off the entire Redding-to-Bakersfield water network was far more ambitious than the new idea. Still, its fate is instructive. One of the big proponents of the 1995 sell-the-CVP idea was Jason Peltier, then representing Central Valley Project customers. Peltier now is a senior official in the Interior Department, which helped craft this week's proposal. The 1995 idea eventually died, with Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein cautioning then that "there are a lot of points that I think need a major hearing." This week, Feinstein said she needs time to analyze the new proposal. Congress this year is already being asked to approve an ambitious plan to restore the San Joaquin River, raising questions of how much California water out-of-state lawmakers are prepared to deal with. Michael Doyle reports from The Bee's Washington Bureau. The reporters can be reached at mdoyle at mcclatchydc.com and (202) 383-0006, and -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Feb 22 09:47:11 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 09:47:11 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Public salmon informational meeting Message-ID: <00d601c756a9$90d26dc0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Topic: Public salmon informational meeting where: Humboldt Area Foundation conference room, 373 Indianola Rd., Bayside (off hwy 101 between Arcata and Eureka) when: February 28th, 7-9:30 pm Information: The CA Department of Fish and Game will be hosting this meeting for the purpose of reviewing the 2006 ocean salmon fishery and returns of fall chinook to the Klamath Basin. We will also be presenting 2007 stock projections for Klamath fall chinook. The Department will be soliciting input from the public regarding 2007 fishing regulations. Contacts: Larry Hanson (530) 225-2866 Wade Sinnen (707) 822-5119 Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District 5341 Ericson Way Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-5119 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Feb 22 11:47:32 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:47:32 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] GROUPS WANT PACIFICORP HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR TOXIC DISCHARGES Message-ID: <018701c756e4$33c3f140$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> NEWS RELEASE Klamath Riverkeeper Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations Karuk Tribe of California FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 20, 2007 Contacts: Regina Chichizola, Klamath Riverkeeper: 541-951-0126 Glen Spain, PCFFA: 541-689-2000 Craig Tucker. Karuk Tribe: 530-627-3446 x3027 GROUPS WANT PACIFICORP HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR TOXIC DISCHARGES Riverkeeper, Karuk Tribe, and Commercial Fishermen Petition CA Water Boards to Control Toxic Discharges from Klamath Dams SACRAMENTO, CA- Today the Klamath Riverkeeper, the Karuk Tribe of California, and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Association (PCFFA) jointly petitioned for the California State Water Board to hold PacifiCorp accountable for dangerously high blooms of toxic blue green algae in Klamath reservoirs. Since 2005, Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs have seen some of the most toxic blooms of the toxic algae Microcystis aeruginosa ever recorded in the United States (see http://www.karuk.us/press/06-08-08%20toxic%20reservoirs.pdf for details). Health experts warn that even modest exposure to the toxin produced by the algae, called microcystin, can lead to skin rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea. High doses of the toxin, such as those found in the Klamath reservoirs each summer, could lead to massive liver failure and even death in humans. Microcystin also can poison and kill fish and wildlife. We want the California Water Board to hold PacifiCorp accountable for their dams pollution before someone gets sick,said Klamath Riverkeeper Regina Chichizola. According to the petitioners, the State water boards not only have the authority but the mandate to protect the public from toxins like these in water bodies. PacifiCorp is clearly in violation of Californias Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act and its the responsibility of the California State Water Boards to hold corporate polluters like PacifiCorp accountable and require them to clean it up,said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations (PCFFA). The Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs, behind the Klamath dams, have not only become toxic algae factoriesthat generate microcystin, as set forth in the petition, but also have caused deteriorating water quality. Petitioners say the toxic releases have made many people not use the Klamath River. For Karuk ceremonial leaders and participants, the toxic blooms also constitute an infringement on their freedom to practice their religion. During certain ceremonies, participants bath in the river for long periods of time making them especially susceptible to exposure. This is one of the ways that companies like PacifiCorp are complicit in the genocide of Native American Cultures,said Leaf Hillman, a Karuk Ceremonial leader and tribal Vice-chairman. PacifiCorps dams provide optimal growth conditions for the toxic algae by trapping nutrient rich water in shallow warm reservoirs. Last year the microcystin toxin levels behind the Klamath dams exceeded World Health Organization guidelines for a moderate health riskby nearly 4,000 fold. Neither the United States EPA nor the State of California as yet have independent guidelines for these toxins. The Klamath dams are owned by Portland-based PacifiCorp, which in turn is owned by Billionaire Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Company. Although the Buffett family has a reputation for philanthropy, particularly among Native American causes, they have shown little interest in addressing the negative impacts their own company has had on the Klamath River Tribes and the West Coast salmon fishery. Tribes, commercial and sport fishermen, Humboldt County, many river-based businesses, conservation groups, several state and federal agencies, and the Governors of California and Oregon have all called for the removal of the dams as a means to restore sustainable runs of salmon to what was once the third most productive salmon river in America. The human health impacts of the reservoirs have also been held up as a reason for dam removal. According to Chichizola, its hard to imagine how a guy like Warren Buffett can ignore the devastating impacts his company is having on the rural communities of the Klamath Basin and the economies of west coast fishing communities. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Feb 26 10:46:42 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:46:42 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Sacramento Bee Editorial Message-ID: <002101c759d6$79b99f70$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CLEANUP: Editorial: Unsolved drainage mess; Should feds cut deal with San Joaquin farms? Sacramento Bee - 2/26/07 Congress and the federal Bureau of Reclamation set in motion an environmental mess when the bureau began supplying irrigation water in the 1960s to the western San Joaquin Valley. The soils are both highly productive and highly problematic. While they grow some of the biggest almond crops on the planet and spectacular fields of lettuce, the ground contains high concentrations of salts and selenium. This particular element can literally kill wildlife that comes in contact with it. When the federal government started draining the runoff from the west valley's farm fields into a wildlife refuge known as Kesterson, the birds in the refuge began hatching mangled offspring that belonged in a horror movie. The feds stopped draining the water into Kesterson, but they never solved the problem. Instead, they essentially put a plug at the bottom of a bathtub. This has trapped this salty runoff underground or let it leach into the troubled San Joaquin River. Now this bathtub needs a drain and a decontamination system. But what? Welcome to another California water conflict, where all the options are expensive, controversial and complicated beyond human description. And the political solution will involve the kind of bipartisan cooperation that isn't usually in the state's political gene pool. The bureau's Central Valley Project is lauded in textbooks as a monument to the federal government's ability to reshape the West by damming a mighty river (the Sacramento at Mount Shasta) and diverting the water (via a canal far downstream in the Delta) to the San Joaquin Valley. The CVP truly did transform the Valley, turning desert into endless fields of crops. But desert agriculture demands a sophisticated drainage system. If the water applied to the crops stays underground, it accumulates the salts in the soil and can kill the next crop if the groundwater rises to the root zone. The original solution -- building a drain to send this soup to the delicate Delta -- has been a nonstarter for years. So what's the solution? Many environmental activists have long called for massive retirements of farmland on the west side. The farmers say they plan to retire some lands, but want to stay in business, and you can see their point. They are some of the most sophisticated, productive growers on the planet. Besides, the U.S. government (as in us, the taxpayers) is on the hook for devising the drainage solution, thanks to a controversial ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Bureau of Reclamation hasn't unveiled that solution, but preliminary ideas suggest that the project could be comparable to the agency's entire annual budget. How likely is that? And then consider this: How likely is another lawsuit by the farmers against the federal government if it were to ignore that legal obligation to clean up the lands? Is your head hurting yet? Good. Welcome to San Joaquin's version of "West Side Story." The bureau, in a "concept paper," is suggesting a strategic retreat from the San Joaquin Valley: The farmers get a big piece of the Central Valley Project -- part ownership of a big dam (San Luis), ownership of a million acre-feet of water rights (nearly as much as Southern California's share of the Delta) and forgiveness of about a half-billion dollars in back payments to build the CVP. In exchange, the farmers clean up their own lands. This idea was hatched in an ultra secret process that involved no public input and no public meetings. But this project is the property of the United States, as are the water rights. Any solution must find the necessary votes in Congress and the support of the farmers, who have the courts on their side. It's another thorny problem for California's premiere water leader, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to add to a growing list. This won't be solved by a classic backroom water deal, but with diplomacy demanded by every interest that deeply cares about the Valley and the Delta. A chance to finally solve this problem shouldn't go down the drain. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Vina_Frye at fws.gov Wed Feb 28 11:39:50 2007 From: Vina_Frye at fws.gov (Vina_Frye at fws.gov) Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:39:50 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group Meeting Notice for March 2007 Message-ID: Hi Folks, The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) meeting notice for March 19-20 was published in the Federal Register February 23, 2007. Best Regards, Vina Vina Frye U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata FWO 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 Telephone: (707) 822-7201 Fax: (707) 822-8411 vina_frye at fws.gov (See attached file: Federal Register March 2007.htm) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Mar 1 09:36:30 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2007 09:36:30 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Times Standard- Klamath salmon forecast bodes well Message-ID: <008001c75c28$266cf2f0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Some good news, for a change! http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5330270 Klamath salmon forecast bodes well John Driscoll The Times-Standard Article Launched: 03/01/2007 04:21:54 AM PST Salmon fishermen began to lay out their hopes for the upcoming season at a meeting that carried the encouraging theme that there will be fish to go around because of a bounceback in Klamath River stocks. Biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game explained the complicated modeling used to predict the abundance of Klamath salmon that will return to the river to spawn. The equation shows that more 3-year-old fall chinook salmon are thought to be swimming in the ocean than in any other year since 1985. That balances a precariously low number of 4-year-old fish -- the lowest in more than 20 years. ?That means we have more fish to fish on this season,? said Fish and Game biologist Melodie Palmer-Zwahlen at the Humboldt Area Foundation in Bayside. ?That's the good news.? Klamath stocks are a main constraint on how long ocean commercial and sport fishermen can fish, even though they make up only about 5 percent of the overall catch at sea. This year both Klamath salmon and other parameters that govern the season appear to be favorable, including Sacramento River stocks, the lion's share of the catch. Last year poor Klamath numbers essentially erased commercial fishing off the Humboldt and Del Norte county coasts and severely crimped it for hundreds of miles north and south. Klamath and Trinity river fishermen weren't allowed to keep a single adult chinook salmon in the fall, although fishing for jacks, 2-year-old fish, was excellent. Tribal fisheries were held to a minimum. Virginia Bostwick, a river sports fishing representative for the former Klamath Fishery Management Council, told the department staff that it's not acceptable to have no fishery in the river again this year. The typical 15 percent of the non-tribal allocation should be allotted, Bostwick said, and the river fishery should not be penalized for what commercial fishermen take above their allocation. The sentiment was echoed by fisherman Ed Duggan. ?We should at least have some semblance of a season for adults,? Duggan said. Fish and Game said it will be asking the Pacific Fishery Management Council -- which will craft allocations and seasons in April -- that any Klamath fish that can't be caught by ocean fishermen be added to the in-river fishery. Fish and Game will set a quota on the number of fish that can be caught in the river, and likely adopt the council's recommendation on ocean sport fishing out to 3 miles. John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll at times-standard.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Mar 2 08:49:41 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 08:49:41 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Yuroks to receive disputed $90 million fund Message-ID: <003a01c75cec$99512e20$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Yuroks to receive disputed $90 million fund John Driscoll/The Times-Standard Article Launched: 03/02/2007 04:24:46 AM PST Interior Department goes against Hoopa arguments over settlement act A massive fund in dispute for two decades will likely be released entirely to the Yurok Tribe, possibly ending the Hoopa Valley Tribe's hope that the $90 million might be split. The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday decided that the money it held in trust under the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act belongs with the Yuroks. The money comes from timber sales on the Hoopa Reservation, which was split in 1988. The Yuroks have long held that it should be compensated because its share of the reservation, a narrow swath of mostly privately owned land on either side of the Klamath River below Weitchpec, doesn't give them access to rich timber like that on the Hoopa Reservation. ?With this issue finally resolved, Yurok and Hoopa can put our differences aside,? said Yurok Chairwoman Maria Tripp in a statement. ?I am excited at the opportunity we have to work together, heal old wounds, and build a prosperous and healthy community in a spirit of mutual cooperation.? Hoopa Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall was traveling Thursday and was unable to be reached for comment. In a letter to the tribes from Ross Swimmer, Special Trustee for American Indians, the department writes that the Yurok Tribe can still submit an unconditional waiver of claims against the government. Once the tribe does that, Swimmer writes, the money will be released to the tribe. The decision is a turnaround from the Interior Department's earlier stance that because the Yurok Tribe sued over the settlement act, it forfeited its right to the funds. But Interior also held that the Hoopa Tribe was entitled to no more money than it had already received years ago -- about $34 million. In the Thursday letter, Swimmer writes that there is no time limit on the Yurok Tribe's being able to provide a waiver of its claims, unlike the argument the Hoopa Tribe made that the settlement act's authority has expired. ?Fundamentally, nothing in the act states that the Yurok Tribe's choosing to litigate its takings claim would cause the tribe to forfeit the benefits under the act,? Swimmer wrote. Tripp said that the Yurok Tribal Council will develop a strategy to use the money, and that any final plan would be voted on by the tribe's members. John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll at times-standard.com. Print Friendly View Email Article Return to Top -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: icon-print.gif Type: image/gif Size: 81 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: icon-email.gif Type: image/gif Size: 82 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: icon-uparrow.gif Type: image/gif Size: 75 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Mar 2 10:58:11 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 10:58:11 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fish farms linked to sea lice outbreak Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E1132EC@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Fish farms linked to sea lice outbreak Parasite found on farmed B.C. salmon infecting wild fish stocks, scientists say http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070227.BCLICE27/Email TPStory/National CATHRYN ATKINSON Special to The Globe and Mail VANCOUVER -- For the first time in Canada, scientists have used data from the world's largest aquaculture company to draw a link between sea lice from Atlantic salmon on British Columbia fish farms and soaring infection rates in wild salmon migrating nearby. After an infestation caused the near collapse of wild spring salmon stocks in the Broughton Archipelago in 2002, Craig Orr, executive director of the Watershed Watch Salmon Society, collected information from the Norwegian company Marine Harvest on sea lice at its fish farms in the region. "We had predicted 3.6 million [wild] salmon returning to the Broughton in 2002. What we got back, according to the [Department of] Fisheries and Oceans count, was 147,000 fish - a 97-per-cent crash that was only in the Broughton," said Dr. Orr, who is also the science co-ordinator for the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. Watershed Watch is a non-governmental organization that monitors B.C. water systems. Dr. Orr also studied a sea lice action plan brought in by the provincial government after the collapse -- the only time any such plan to curb sea lice population growth has occurred in B.C. -- in his search for growth patterns in the parasite's demographics. The results were published last week in an article for the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. Dr. Orr discovered that 12 active, open net-cage farms in the Broughton, which is composed of dozens of islands between the B.C. mainland and the northern tip of Vancouver Island, contained between one and five million Atlantic salmon and produced billions of lice eggs over an 18-month period in 2003 and 2004. Louse-egg production peaked during late winter in both years, just before the seaward migration of juvenile wild salmon. His article confirms that when lice-egg production was reduced by early harvesting of farmed salmon, infections on wild juvenile salmon near the farms declined dramatically -- including a 42-fold reduction near one emptied farm. "What we do now know is what's happening on these farms. And it's transparent, finally. And that's critical," Dr. Orr said. "We do hope that the [government] management agencies and the industry are willing to work towards reducing those peaks of lice just before the juvenile fish come out. That's why we're doing all this." He praised Marine Harvest for making the data available, something aquaculture companies have done in Europe but not yet in Canada. Dr. Orr said he wants to see a change in practices, especially from the provincial government, which oversees fish farming in British Columbia. "We are critical of government because they aren't producing data. They aren't making these companies share the data like they are in Europe, with the exception of Marine Harvest -- and they didn't make them. [Marine Harvest] volunteered it," Dr. Orr said. The migration of wild spring salmon usually begins in the first days of March. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Mar 2 13:56:14 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:56:14 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] TRRP phone service Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E11330C@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Good afternoon everyone, As some of you know, we lost power in most of Trinity County on Wednesday, Feb. 28. As a result, our voice mail feature didn't reboot properly and we haven't been able to get it serviced/restored. We have people working on it, but it probably won't be up and running until mid-late next week. So - if you call (our phones do work) and try to leave a voice message, it probably won't work. If the person you're trying to reach doesn't answer, please call Deanna at the front desk (623-1800) and she will take a written message. Some of us have cell phones, that is also an option. thanks for your patience, Doug ___________________________________ Douglas P. Schleusner, Executive Director Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main St. Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1800 Fax: (530) 623-5944 e-mail: dschleusner at mp.usbr.gov ___________________________________ From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Mar 5 09:07:01 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 09:07:01 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Water Wars Message-ID: <000f01c75f48$b1576fd0$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> CALIFORNIA WATER ISSUES: Guest Column: California Water Projects; It's time to end the water wars San Francisco Chronicle - 3/4/07 By Dave Codgill, represents Mariposa County and portions of Fresno, Madera, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties in the state Senate Water issues in California are divisive. Decades ago, water disputes were settled at the end of a gun, and even today policymakers use terms like "water wars." But what are we fighting over? So many of these battles are simply a natural result of dwindling supplies in the face of increasing needs. Environmentalists want water to restore habitats and protect endangered species. Builders want water to sustain development and growth. Farmers want water to grow their crops. Average Californians want water for their homes and watering their lawns. But what makes no sense is the fact that we are fighting over a completely renewable resource. Instead of fighting, we should develop a way to manage this resource responsibly and maximize the usage of the water resources we have. Enough water falls from the sky and drains into the ocean that if we managed it in an efficient manner, as has yet to be accomplished by CALFED, environmentalists, builders, farmers -- everybody who wants water -- could have an ample amount for their preferred purposes. Failure to come up with an effective management plan could leave us fighting over no more than a glass of water. According to the California Water Plan , water use will increase over the next 25 years by as much as 4 million acre-feet -- enough water to supply 8 million households. To put it another way, every new home would need seven swimming pools full of water to meet its annual demand. Unfortunately, the state has not been capturing rainfall or melting snowpack -- the most renewable water sources in California -- to increase supply. In fact, only two major surface storage projects have been built in the last 15 years: Diamond Valley Reservoir in Riverside County and Los Vaqueros Reservoir in Contra Costa County, together representing less than 3 percent of California's existing water storage. Both were built by local water agencies. The state has not built a reservoir since the State Water Project was halted more than 30 years ago. To put it simply, our existing water system cannot handle the increased demand it faces. Developing new groundwater storage requires a source of surplus surface water. That means expanding our reservoir capacity is crucial to expanding groundwater supplies in any significant way. A plan to build only surface water facilities or only groundwater is needlessly inefficient. There must be a mechanism to get the water into the ground -- spreading water on the surface, injecting it through wells, or "in lieu" recharge -- and to draw the water out of the ground for use. There are myriad other issues to be resolved, such as ensuring water quality, which requires careful consideration of levels of salt, bromides and organic carbon. That is why a bipartisan group of legislators and the governor are digging for a real solution with a comprehensive package of water bonds. The nearly $6 billion in proposed bonds would increase water storage by developing new groundwater and surface sites. The surface storage project, Sites, north of the bay delta in Glenn and Colusa counties, and Temperance Flat, northeast of Fresno, have already begun the approval process. They were selected because those areas are part of an agreement negotiated by CALFED, the state and federal agency created to restore the ecological health of the delta and improve water management that underwent considerable review by all stakeholders. Of the projects identified, these two carry the promise of providing the highest yield, while working within the goal of creating a comprehensive statewide water system. The proposal expands groundwater storage sites and improves conveyance to water users while addressing environmental concerns. It is the start to finding a balanced, manageable approach to the state's water needs that all Californians -- whether they are environmentalists, builders, farmers or families -- can all agree to. Done right, it may end the water wars. Guest Column: California Water Projects; New and broader role needed for Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco Chronicle - 3/4/07 By Thomas J. Graff, California Regional Director of Environmental Defense and Paul Harrison, Coastal Louisiana Project Manager at Environmental Defense California and Louisiana have much in common, and not just that both are internationally renowned tourist destinations. In both states, communities, industry and the environment bear significant risk from floods and poorly designed flood-control projects. Inefficient planning has exacerbated that risk. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Louisiana learned the hard way. If we can improve the way the federal government spends its flood-management funds, California can avoid a similar fate. At the federal level, flood protection responsibility falls to the Army Corps of Engineers, an agency that has been slow to change and learn from past mistakes. New leadership in Congress, including Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Greenbrae, will have the opportunity to change the way the Corps does its job. An improved Corps can provide better flood protection while simultaneously enhancing our rivers, estuaries and coastal wetlands. In Louisiana, federal projects have led to the loss of more than 2,000 square miles of forests and marsh -- an area the size of Marin and Sonoma counties combined -- that has left New Orleans and other Louisiana communities vulnerable to devastating flood damage like that wreaked by Katrina. For example, in 1958 Congress directed the Corps to build a shipping channel called the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet by slicing through the natural ridge that separated New Orleans from the Gulf of Mexico. Known locally as "Mr. Go," the channel allowed millions of gallons of saltwater to flow into the area's freshwater bayous and lakes, which in turn killed the wetlands that had protected the area from storms. This little-used shipping channel thus allowed storm surge from Hurricane Katrina to slam into the coast at full force and put unprecedented strain on manmade levees, several of which failed, inundating many of New Orleans' most vulnerable neighborhoods. In hindsight, we can see that poor decisions by Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers, such as building Mr. Go, result from federal policies that undervalue natural ecosystems, sacrifice science to politics, shortchange maintenance in favor of new construction and refuse to prioritize in favor of projects that benefit broad swaths of society versus those that benefit a few privileged developers looking to build in the floodplain. California is hobbled by the same federal policies. While hurricanes are not a threat to California, levees in the San Francisco Bay Delta estuary are subject to tidal surges that can be intensified by storm runoff. Like New Orleans, Sacramento is dependent on the levees that surround it. A levee failure could leave millions of East Bay and South Bay residents with only emergency supplies because their water supply delivery systems also depend on the levees. The state's ecosystems suffer as well. Federal flood control and navigation projects have damaged rivers throughout the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Delta estuary by channelizing free-flowing rivers and eliminating riparian habitat. Widely supported reforms to set back levees and open up floodways, which also have water storage and environmental benefits, have faltered as the Corps' efforts to develop a comprehensive flood-control plan for the Central Valley have resulted in no discernible change in its policies or practices. Sen. Boxer held a hearing last week in Louisiana to bring needed attention to the pressing problem of Louisiana's rapidly deteriorating wetlands. So far, post-Katrina federal action has been spotty and, although a football field's worth of protective wetlands disappears every 38 minutes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, Congress has authorized almost no new money for immediate wetlands restoration. The federal government created this problem, and it should step forward to fund and jump start wetlands restoration now. However, there is a bigger opportunity for Congress to establish a new way forward for all coastal states. The Army Corps of Engineers needs serious reform, as does the Water Resources Development Act that governs its activities, which is up for reauthorization this year. Much of Hurricane Katrina's damage would have been avoided if there had been a prioritization system that spends the Corps' budget where it is most needed. This system should be backed up by an independent and robust peer review of the Corps' scientific and engineering analysis on major projects and integrated with rewritten criteria for flood-control projects that stop encouraging development in flood-prone areas. The Corps should also be required to mitigate environmental harm it causes in the same way that private citizens must do so. It is not just Louisiana's future that is at stake. Making those reforms now will protect California's cities and restore its damaged bays and estuaries. Thomas J. Graff is the California Regional Director of Environmental Defense. Paul Harrison is the Coastal Louisiana Project Manager at Environmental Defense, a national nonprofit organization that links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Sat Mar 10 18:38:46 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2007 18:38:46 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] US Accused of Silencing Experts Message-ID: <000901c76386$67421520$0201a8c0@HAL> U.S. accused of silencing experts on polar bears, climate change Scientists told not to speak officially at conferences Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer Friday, March 9, 2007 The federal agency responsible for protecting Arctic polar bears has barred two Alaska scientists from speaking about polar bears, climate change or sea ice at international meetings in the next few weeks, a move that environmentalists say is censorship. The rule was issued last month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service but was made public this week. The federal government has proposed listing the polar bear as a threatened species, and the wildlife agency is receiving public comment on the proposal. "It's a gag order," said Deborah Williams, a former high-level Interior Department official in Anchorage, Alaska, who received documents on Wednesday from Alaska scientists who chose to remain unnamed. The documents make the subjects of polar bears, climate change and sea ice off limits to all scientists who haven't been cleared to speak on the topics. Two of the memos are copies of those prepared for Craig Perham and Janet E. Hohn, who are traveling to Russia and Norway this month and in April. The scientists "will not be speaking on or responding to these issues'' of climate change, polar bears and sea ice, the memos say. Before any trip, such a memo must be sent to the administrator of the Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington. According to the memos, agency scientists must obtain a memorandum designating which official, if any, is allowed to respond to questions, particularly about polar bears, and include "a statement of assurance that these individuals understand the Administration's position on these issues.'' Tina Kreisher, communications director of the Interior Department, which oversees the wildlife agency, said in an interview Thursday that the government isn't trying to prevent scientists from talking about their findings -- but doesn't want them to make policy statements. At a news conference, Fish and Wildlife Director H. Dale Hall denied that the memos were a form of censorship. He described the content of the documents as part of a policy to establish an agenda and the appropriate spokesperson for international meetings. Considering the high-profile nature of climate change and the issues that might come up, it was prudent to know ahead of time what everyone was going to discuss, he said. "We are not gagging scientists,'' said Hall. They can speak with other scientists at international gatherings in conversations or at dinner but may not speak for the United States government in a formal setting, he said. The agency would frown on their going to news conferences in a host country, he added. When asked for the administration's position with which the Alaska scientists would have to be familiar, Hall said, "The Earth is warming, and we have to understand how to deal with that and to slow down greenhouse gases and manage the changes that will occur.'' The agency has taken steps to evaluate whether the polar bear should be listed and has significant questions about scientific studies, including those dealing with when sea ice will melt and the effects on the bear, he said. Environmentalists who petitioned for the new protections for polar bears hope that a listing would force mandatory limits to greenhouse gases. At present, the administration prefers voluntary programs to cut emissions and has taken the position that carbon dioxide, the predominant greenhouse gas, can't be regulated as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that submitted the petition to list the polar bear, said muzzling of scientists at international meetings isn't appropriate. "That type of memo might be appropriate for the State Department and purely political issues," he said. "What we're dealing with here is science. How many polar bears are there? Why are they going extinct? What is the cause of the ice melting? It's completely inappropriate to ban scientists from talking about science.'' Williams, an attorney who received the documents about rules for scientists' speech, was special assistant to the secretary of the Interior under the Clinton administration for six years. She now heads an environmental consulting firm, Alaska Conservation Solutions. "I worked very closely with Fish and Wildlife and other Interior agencies, and a memo like this is truly inconceivable," she said. "This is an issue of international significance, and you want your professional public servants to be able to discuss these issues. It is unconscionable to gag them.'' The Bush administration has been under fire for several years for allegedly trying to curb the speech of government scientists who produce studies that contradict the administration's positions, particularly on global warming. Scientists in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been chastised for speaking to reporters, and some have been asked to submit papers and lectures to high-level managers for review. Political appointees at NASA have turned down journalists' requests for interviews with scientists, and the Minerals Management Service has allowed journalists to interview scientists, including on polar bear observations, only if the agency could record them. The agencies challenged scientists over studies revealing negative effects of oil development on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the drownings of polar bears possibly associated with shrinking sea ice. The beloved furry Arctic animal has become a symbol for the dire effects of a warming world. The plight of the bears, including the deaths of polar bears observed floating in Arctic Ocean waters that may be attributed to the long swim from the diminishing sea ice to land, were reported by The Chronicle last year and captured worldwide attention in former Vice President Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth.'' E-mail Jane Kay at jkay at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_globalwarm_alaska_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5969 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Sun Mar 11 13:02:20 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 13:02:20 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] From Too Few To Too Two Many Message-ID: <006901c76418$30dd4a30$0201a8c0@HAL> FROM TOO FEW TO TOO MANY Aleutian goose's rebound a problem for agriculture Glen Martin, Chronicle Environment Writer Sunday, March 11, 2007 More... (03-11) 04:00 PDT Humboldt County -- It was a cool, clear dawn, and the sky was full of Aleutian geese, a bird long known as one of America's most endangered species. Mitch Farro and Dave Steiner, supine in camouflaged blinds near a pond surrounded with goose decoys, hoped to kill a few. A flock of yelping geese wheeled over the decoys. Farro put a goose call to his lips, returned their cries, and the birds dipped lower. As they cupped their wings and prepared to settle on the pond, Steiner fired, knocking down two of them. "That's a pretty bird," said Steiner, as he took one of the geese from his Labrador retriever, Maude. He pinched the goose's sternum. "Very fat. Been eating lots of grass." A few years ago, Steiner and Farro would have faced heavy fines -- perhaps some jail time -- for shooting Aleutians, one of the smaller members of the Canada goose complex, which contains two species and at least six subspecies. In the 1970s, the Aleutian goose population was below 1,000. The bird was declared endangered in 1967, under a special designation that predated the 1971 U.S. Endangered Species Act. But a long-term program to revive the Aleutian goose proved so successful that it was removed from the endangered species list in 2001. Their numbers have exploded, now exceeding 100,000, and during the past decade the population has been growing as much as 20 percent a year. The geese, who spend fall and early winter in the San Joaquin Valley before heading to California's North Coast in late winter and early spring, have become so numerous that they are causing widespread agricultural damage, stripping Humboldt and Del Norte counties' pastures of the grass farmers need for their cattle. While state and federal agencies have allowed hunters to take the birds during the fall waterfowl season since Aleutian geese were removed from the endangered list, this month's hunt in the two counties was the first of its kind: a special late-winter season intended to force the birds off farms to nearby refuges and public lands. Farro, a project manager with the Pacific Coast Fish, Wildlife and Wetlands Restoration Association, said the geese nest on the Aleutian Islands, spend most of the winter in California's Central Valley and migrate en masse to the North Coast, where they fatten on grass until mid-April and return to their Alaskan breeding grounds. "When we only had a few hundred geese (on the North Coast), it wasn't a problem," said Farro, who helped arrange the negotiations between government regulators and land owners that led to the special hunt. "But as their numbers kept climbing, it became obvious they were having a significant impact on local farms." Aleutians are consuming forage valued at $240,000 to $400,000 each year in Humboldt County, Farro said. Fred and Sandy Hanks, ranchers who raise about 200 cattle on 500 acres near Arcata (Humboldt County), said the geese cost them about $14,000 in lost forage and hay last year. "They like pastures that already have been grazed (by cattle), because the new shoots that come up in early spring are sweet and have the highest protein content," said Sandy. "So they key in on private pastures, not the ungrazed public lands." Fred Hanks said he and his wife don't mind supporting some geese on their land, "but when things get to this point, something has to be done. We can't take those kinds of losses, year in and year out." The Hanks worry that the situation will only get worse if goose numbers expand, as many biologists expect. "So there's 100,000 now," said Fred. "What happens to agriculture around here when there's 500,000? A million?" Aleutian geese were once widespread along the Pacific Flyway, but their numbers began declining in the early 20th century as escaped foxes from Aleutian Island fur farms began harrying them on their nesting grounds. After the species was declared endangered, biologists began the arduous process of wiping out the foxes on four islands. Meanwhile, rigorous restrictions were enforced along the bird's migratory stops, ensuring that none would be shot during the waterfowl hunting season. Farro said federal and state wildlife officials may have to change management plans for some refuge lands to accommodate the geese. Private landowners and government regulators have been working on plans that could turn Humboldt County pastures that were reclaimed from estuarine marshes back into wetlands, he said. But Aleutian geese don't like salt marshes -- and unless refuge managers allow more public land to be used as pastures for the geese, Farro said, there will be little incentive for private participation in wetland habitat restoration. "It's going to be a matter of balance," he said. "There are some projects that will be critical, such as restoration of streamside wetland complexes that support endangered or threatened fish. For other properties that don't have such high potential, it may make more sense to keep it in actively grazed pasture." Jimmy Smith, a Humboldt County supervisor and waterfowl hunter, said the special hunt seems to have succeeded in its primary goal: Pushing the geese to public lands. "But these kinds of hunts won't have any affect on their basic numbers," he said. "Geese are smart. You shoot once, and they go someplace where no one is hunting them. We'll maybe kill a few hundred geese during this limited hunt. That will do absolutely nothing in terms of reducing the population." Eric Nelson, director of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said continued growth of the Aleutian goose population seems likely. "There's not much they face in the way of biological bottlenecks," Nelson said. "They have plenty of nesting habitat in the Aleutians they haven't begun to exploit. There's lots of midwinter habitat for them in the Central Valley, and the same goes for the late winter and early spring habitat they need here on the North Coast." Most biologists think 60,000 is the optimum size for the Aleutian goose population -- big enough to ensure the survivability of the species and small enough to minimize later winter damage to cattle pastures. While some wildlife experts fear the rapid growth of Aleutians will continue, other scientists think the geese can be controlled by adjusting fall hunting seasons and bag limits. "With goose management, it can be a Goldilocks situation," said Dan Yparraguirre, a California Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist and an authority on Aleutian geese. "Either too hot or too cold -- or rather, too few or too many. But by carefully monitoring the populations and adjusting hunting regulations year by ayear, we can achieve general goals." E-mail Glen Martin at glenmartin at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_geese01_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4314 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_geese_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5853 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_geese_02a_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4861 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_geese_9206_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 3853 bytes Desc: not available URL: From awhitridge at snowcrest.net Mon Mar 12 08:10:36 2007 From: awhitridge at snowcrest.net (Arnold Whitridge) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:10:36 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] TAMWG agenda for March 19-20 Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20070312075500.02d6d3c8@mail.snowcrest.net> env-trinity population, Here's the proposed agenda for the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group's March 19-20 meeting, which of course is open to the public. Arnold Whitridge, TAMWG chair 530 623-6688 Draft Agenda TRINITY ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, Weaverville, CA Monday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Time Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action on: Presenter Monday, March 19 1. 1:00 pm Adopt agenda; approve December minutes 2. 1:15 Election of TAMWG officers for 2007 3. 1:30 Open forum; public comment 4. 1:40 Fish run size estimates and predictions Wade Sinnen/Larry Hanson 5. 2:30 Salmon disease and mortality studies Nina Hemphill 6. 3:00 2007 flow schedule John Klochak 7. 3:30 CVPIA review processes Shana Kaplan/Mike Heaton 8. 4:30 Executive Director's report Doug Schleusner 5:00 adjourn for the day Tuesday, March 20 9. 8:30 a.m. Integrated Assessment Plan Rod Wittler (endorsement of Part 1; process for Part 2) 10. 9:45 Science Symposium report Rod Wittler 11. 10:00 TRRP Budget for FY2008 Doug Schleusner noon Lunch 1:00 pm continued discussion of TRRP budget, as needed 12. 4:00 Designated Federal Officer topics Randy Brown 13. 4:45 Tentative date and agenda topics for next meeting 5:00 Adjourn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hupafish at pcweb.net Mon Mar 12 17:16:46 2007 From: hupafish at pcweb.net (George Kautsky) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:16:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [env-trinity] TAMWG agenda for March 19-20 In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.2.20070312075500.02d6d3c8@mail.snowcrest.net> References: <5.1.0.14.2.20070312075500.02d6d3c8@mail.snowcrest.net> Message-ID: <3085.76.80.98.193.1173745006.squirrel@mail.pcweb.net> Arnold, HVT reps are open to adding a brief discussion of the TRRP Legislation being developed. Would that be of interest? George Kautsky > env-trinity population, > > Here's the proposed agenda for the Trinity Adaptive Management Working > Group's March 19-20 meeting, which of course is open to the public. > > Arnold Whitridge, TAMWG chair > 530 623-6688 > > > Draft Agenda > TRINITY ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP > Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, Weaverville, CA > Monday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 20, 2007 > > > Time Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action > on: Presenter > Monday, March 19 > > 1. 1:00 pm Adopt agenda; approve December minutes > > 2. 1:15 Election of TAMWG officers for 2007 > > 3. 1:30 Open forum; public comment > > 4. 1:40 Fish run size estimates and predictions Wade Sinnen/Larry > Hanson > > 5. 2:30 Salmon disease and mortality studies Nina Hemphill > > 6. 3:00 2007 flow schedule John Klochak > > 7. 3:30 CVPIA review processes Shana Kaplan/Mike Heaton > > 8. 4:30 Executive Director's report Doug Schleusner > > 5:00 adjourn for the day > > > Tuesday, March 20 > > 9. 8:30 a.m. Integrated Assessment Plan Rod Wittler > (endorsement of Part 1; process for Part 2) > > 10. 9:45 Science Symposium report Rod Wittler > > 11. 10:00 TRRP Budget for FY2008 Doug Schleusner > > noon Lunch > > 1:00 pm continued discussion of TRRP budget, as needed > > 12. 4:00 Designated Federal Officer topics Randy Brown > > 13. 4:45 Tentative date and agenda topics for next meeting > > 5:00 Adjourn > > > > _______________________________________________ > env-trinity mailing list > env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us > http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity > From snaman at yuroktribe.nsn.us Mon Mar 12 18:56:09 2007 From: snaman at yuroktribe.nsn.us (Seth Naman) Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:56:09 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] submerged cables Message-ID: Trinity River enthusiasts, This email is to make you aware of underwater cables that are located near the cableway approx 300 yards upstream of old Lewiston Bridge. They are clearly marked, both in an out of the water with flagging. Rafts, kayaks and drift boats can pass, but oars and paddles should be kept up. Swimmers and snorkelers must portage. The cables are part of a PIT-tag antenna array which will be removed before flows come up in the beginning of May. Please forward this email to those you know that might be using the river near the cableway, or floating through the area. The antenna will be submerged further into the water column than in the picture, roughly 4-6 inches under the surface. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions. Seth Seth W. Naman Fisheries Biologist Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program Office: 530-625-4130 Fax: 530-625-4148 Cell: 707-498-8236 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: stream antenna.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 341892 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Mar 13 09:16:13 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:16:13 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Two Klamath Articles Message-ID: <001701c7658a$f2125b50$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> KLAMATH RIVER: Klamath dam removal study questioned; Utility says projections of savings wrong Associated Press - 3/13/07 By Jeff Barnard, staff writer GRANTS PASS, Ore. - PacifiCorp told federal dam regulators Monday that it might actually save money by upgrading four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River to protect salmon, contrary to a widely circulated report that estimated it made economic sense to remove the dams. In a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Portland-based utility said it had commissioned a review of a report done for the California Energy Commission by M. Cubed consultants of Davis, Calif., which had found PacifiCorp could save $101 million by removing the dams and buying replacement power. Christensen Associates Energy Consulting, LLC, of Madison, Wis., found problems with the economic model used to make the initial estimate, as well the data fed into the model. Problems were such that no good estimate could be reached. But when data fed into it was corrected, the model came up with an estimate that PacifiCorp would save $46 million by upgrading the dams and continuing to operate them, Christensen Associates Vice President Dan Hansen said. The M. Cubed report only looked at removing all four dams, the review added. Looking at the dams individually, the model indicates it makes sense to remove the Iron Gate Dam, but Copco No. 2 and J.C. Boyle would be profitable. ''The CEC report is clearly not an appropriate tool to help us and other interested stakeholders make any of these very difficult decisions,'' PacifiCorp energy President Bill Fehrman said in a statement. The California Energy Commission received a copy of the Christensen Associates review, but had not yet had a chance to go over it fully, commission spokeswoman Susanne Garfeld said. Richard McCann of M. Cubed did not immediately return telephone calls for comment. PacifiCorp, which serves 1.6 million customers in six Western states, is seeking a new license to operate the dams for up to 50 years. Indian tribes, commercial fishermen and conservation groups have been trying to convince PacifiCorp to remove the dams to expand habitat and improve water quality for salmon struggling to survive in the Klamath River. PacifiCorp has said it would be willing to remove the dams if it could be done in a way that benefits its customers. It has also said it is willing to spend $300 million to upgrade the dams, arguing they are an important source of electricity free of the carbon emissions blamed for global warming. http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/nation/16892789.htm Owner of Klamath River dams attacks study; PacifiCorp disputes claims that it would be cheaper to remove the barriers blocking the migration of endangered salmon than to keep them Los Angeles Times - 3/13/07 By Eric Bailey, staff writer SACRAMENTO - The power company that owns four Klamath River dams blocking the migration of imperiled salmon launched a counterattack Monday against a recent government study that declared it cheaper to remove the structures than to keep them. Officials at Portland-based PacifiCorp said the study released by the California Energy Commission failed to account for certain unavoidable costs that could dramatically increase the price of demolition. Bill Fehrman, president of PacifiCorp Energy, said the true costs of purchasing electricity to replace what would be lost if the dams were removed could cause the price of decommissioning the dams to skyrocket. The commission study relied on a financial model that was "riddled with errors," making it unreliable, Fehrman said. "We want good science, and we want good economic analysis," he said, adding that the study "is lacking on both counts." The Klamath, which emerges from the Cascade Range in Oregon and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Eureka, once was the nation's third-most productive salmon river, with up to 1.2 million salmon and steelhead trout joining an epic annual migration to spawn. Today, the river's coho salmon are on the endangered species list, and its chinook salmon have suffered such a steep decline that the 2006 commercial season was virtually shut down on the West Coast. Activists favor decommissioning four towering hydroelectric dams on the Klamath, a move that would reopen more than 300 miles of river that have been blocked to migrating salmon for more than half a century. Their position was buoyed by the energy commission's study, released in December, which found that decommissioning the dams could cost $100 million less than operating them for another generation. That study concluded that the cost of demolishing the dams and buying market-rate electricity to offset the lost hydropower over the next three decades would be far less than installing the vast infrastructure and making the improvements needed for the dams to win license renewal. But PacifiCorp executives say that finding was based on faulty assumptions used to evaluate future energy costs. Citing a study by Christensen Associates Energy Consulting LLC, the company said the commission's review was marred by errors and inconsistencies in the pricing of replacement power, failure to include future carbon emission taxes as part of replacement-energy costs and an inappropriate discount rate for financing. "Removal of a project the size of Klamath would be unprecedented in North America and, to our knowledge, in the world," Fehrman said. "This is complex. It's not a simple matter of removing some concrete slabs." Susanne Garfield, a spokeswoman for the California Energy Commission, said officials at that agency had just begun reviewing PacifiCorp's report. "I'm sure this won't be the end of it," Garfield said, given that negotiations over the fate of the dams are continuing with Indian tribes, fishermen and environmentalists. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Mar 13 09:53:43 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 09:53:43 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] From Oregon Wild Message-ID: <002a01c76590$28cbf660$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Howdy folks, Oregon Wild and Earthjustice are putting together a sign-on letter to Congress on disaster relief for commercial fishing communities hit by the Klamath closures, and $$ to support fish and wildlife restoration efforts in the Klamath Basin. We'd love to get as much support from Oregon and northwest groups as possible (draft letter is attached). If you'd like to sign your organization on, please get back to me or to Kate Freund ( kfreund at earthjustice.org) before close of business on Tuesday. Please feel free to forward to other groups that may be interested. Background -- several of our champions are looking at Klamath legislation this year. Last year Congress authorized relief money, and instructed NOAA Fisheries to develop a coho recovery plan, but did not actually appropriate any money to support these efforts. Now we have much more fish-friendly folks running the relevant committee's in DC, and good chance to get the wheels moving on restoration in the Klamath Basin. Unfortunately, there is a pretty tight time-line to get this done (a group of enviro's and commercial fishermen are back in DC next week lobbying on the Klamath, and we'd like to get the letter in ASAP). Steve Pedery Conservation Director, Oregon Wild (formerly Oregon Natural Resources Council) (503) 283-6343 ext. 212 www.oregonwild.org Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Draft Klamath disaster letter-Congress-2007-ej edits1.doc Type: application/msword Size: 34304 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Mar 13 10:08:17 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 10:08:17 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmon is Everything Message-ID: <000901c76592$37aec660$6501a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> _____ Salmon is Everything A play presented by HSU Sunday, March 18th at 3:00 pm Yurok Tribal Office in Klamath All are welcome to attend this free presentation! Kevin McKernan Director, Yurok Tribe Environmental Program P.O. Box 1027 Klamath, CA 95548 (707) 482-1350 xt. 355 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 93656 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Fri Mar 16 10:33:02 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:33:02 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trapping Summary, Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap mainstem Trinity River Message-ID: To whom it may concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?March 16, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The site utilizes multiple eight foot diameter rotary screw traps. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007 and a third trap will be installed the week of March 19th, river flow permitting. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through March 13th, 2007. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are steadily increasing (Table 1), and have been captured each day sampling occurred. All fish captured during this time period are less than 45 mm, and appear to be in good condition. Weekly mean Fulton?s K values are near 1.0. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts are low (Table 1), but present in the catch. No steelhead young-of-the-year have been captured this sampling year. All steelhead smolts captured appear to be in good condition, except for one which had a fungal infection. One of the steelhead smolts captured was marked with a purple photonic mark from the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department trapping operation at the Pear Tree site. Weekly mean Fulton?s K values are slightly higher than 1.0. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low (Table 1), but present in the catch. Only one coho salmon smolt has been captured to date, and it was in good condition with a Fulton?s K value of 1.2. All coho salmon young-of-the-year appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values near 1.0. Table 1. Raw catch of juvenile salmonids at the Willow Creek downstream migrant trapping site as of March 13, 2007. NC = no clip (no hatchery mark). |-------------+--------+--------+------------+-----------+--------+------------| | Dates | Julian | Trap | Chinook | Steelhead | Coho | Coho | | | Week | Days | Age 0 NC | Smolts NC | Age 0 | Smolts NC | |-------------+--------+--------+------------+-----------+--------+------------| | 3/5 to 3/11 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |-------------+--------+--------+------------+-----------+--------+------------| | 3/12 to 3/18| 11 | 2 | 32 | 5 | 9 | 1 | |-------------+--------+--------+------------+-----------+--------+------------| Please let me know if you have any questions, Bill (See attached file: WCT_2007_update_3_15_07_narrative.doc) William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_2007_update_3_15_07_narrative.doc Type: application/msword Size: 32256 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Mar 16 12:51:10 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:51:10 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Board denies Klamath algae pleas Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E799@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Board denies Klamath algae pleas John Driscoll The Times-Standard Article Launched: 03/16/2007 04:21:05 AM PDT http://times-standard.com/local/ci_5450958 Federal energy law pre-empts regional water quality officials' regulation of blue-green algae in the Klamath River's reservoirs, officials said Thursday in denying requests by the Karuk Tribe and fishing and environmental groups for strict limits on Pacificorp's hydropower operations. The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board agreed with its counsel that the Federal Power Act trumps its authority, and that the restriction on the production of toxic algae would have to come through state certification of the federal license Pacificorp is seeking. In that process, Board Executive Officer Catherine Kuhlman said, state regulators are bound to follow existing parameters in the North Coast Basin Plan. The Karuk Tribe, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and Klamath Riverkeeper asked the board to impose waste discharge requirements on Pacificorp's project. Michael Lozeau, an attorney for the tribe, argued that the state and federal processes don't address the need to take action on the algae problem now. "The operation itself is producing the problem," Lozeau said. "It's not flowing in from somewhere else." He said that the federal Clean Water Act preserves the state's right to veto any hydropower license, and gives it the authority to take interim measures to deal with the algae problem. The blue-green algae is prolific in Pacificorp's reservoirs, and can produce a liver toxin that the World Health Organization identifies as a moderate risk -- even in concentrations thousands of times less than water quality sampling has shown in some summer months in recent years. Pacificorp attorney Robert Donlan said that the state's role is through the license certification process. He also claimed that characterizing the reservoirs as in violation of state law is premature, although he admitted that the project stretch is impaired. The company also argued that the petition goes too far in claiming the algae is "waste" produced by the project, which triggers state water quality restrictions. "I think it's fair to say that there are impairments," Donlan said, "but they're being worked on." The State Water Resources Control Board is working on a certification for the 30- to 50-year license renewal the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is considering issuing to Pacificorp. Others characterized the algae problem as becoming steadily worse. Biologist Pat Higgins described the reservoirs as "engines of nutrient pollution," and said California should develop guidelines like Oregon's which shut reservoirs to recreational use when they contain such high levels of the toxic algae. Ron Reed, a biologist and Karuk ceremonial leader, said diarrhea and rashes at camps during summer ceremonies in which participants spent days in the water are common. He implored the board to take immediate action. "We are not a Third World community," Reed said, "so we shouldn't be treated like one." Prior to rejecting the petition, board member Heidi Harris told the group that laws aren't written with feelings, although she sympathized -- as a Trinity River resident -- with not being able to use the river at times. "Remember we can only do what we can do," Harris said. The board voted unanimously to direct its staff to come to its April meeting with recommendations for clarifying existing basin plan standards for algae, which will be provided to the State Water Resources Control Board as it drafts its water quality certification for the hydropower project. John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll at times-standard.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Mar 22 10:53:46 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:53:46 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Draft TMC Agenda for March 28-29 Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7A8@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Good morning, Please review the attached draft agenda for next week's meeting. Mike Long and I have been working on this together, trying to fit everything in that needs to be accomplished. As you know from the last TMC meeting, the FY2008 budget and the IAP Part 1 are the two main topics. Please note that it will start at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday 28, at the Arcata City Council Chambers on 736 F Street. Other worthy items have been suggested (such as Wade Sinnen's TAMWG presentation on fish run-size estimates), but we don't think we can squeeze any more topics into the agenda and still do justice to the two main items. Topics that didn't make this agenda could be top priorities for the June meeting? We also know that Klamath Settlement talks are scheduled in Portland for the same time period, and that several TMC members would like to be in both places at the same time. Given the importance of the budget discussion, however, both Mike Orcutt and Dave Hillemeier have said they plan to be at the Arcata meeting. I am not sure of Irma Lagomarsino's schedule at this time. (Curtis Anderson will not attend due to the imminent arrival of a new family member, but Larry Hanson will be filling his role as alternate for the State). If there are any major concerns with the content of this agenda, please contact me and Mike Long immediately. For minor adjustments, I think those could be handled under the first item of regular business. Looking forward to seeing many of you next week, Doug ___________________________________ Douglas P. Schleusner, Executive Director Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main St. Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1800 Fax: (530) 623-5944 e-mail: dschleusner at mp.usbr.gov ___________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: TMC Agenda March 07draft_22March.doc Type: application/msword Size: 58880 bytes Desc: TMC Agenda March 07draft_22March.doc URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Mar 22 11:43:47 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:43:47 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Reporter: Trinity Management Council to meet Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7A9@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity Management Council to meet 3/20/2007 http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=21857 The Trinity Management Council will hold its public quarterly business meetings in Arcata to discuss its Integrated Assessment Plan and the fiscal year 2007-08 budget. The council will meet in the Arcata City Council Chamber in Arcata from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 28 and again from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 29. The Trinity Management Council is comprised of representatives from the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe, California Resources Agency and Trinity County. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Mar 22 17:42:33 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:42:33 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: The Passing of Patrick Garrison Message-ID: <010801c76ce4$25ccf1c0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Larry Hanson" To: Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 11:11 AM Subject: The Passing of Patrick Garrison > All, > It is my sad duty to inform you that early Monday morning March 19, > 2007 Patrick Garrison had a heart attack and passed away. Patrick was in > Lake Tahoe on a brief vacation with close friends at the time. > > Patrick started State service as a Scientific Aid in July of 1996, he > attained permanent status as a Fisheries Biologist in May of 1999. He > has worked for the SRAMP and AFRMP Functions that are headquartered in > Arcata for the duration of his career. His work duties focused on > anadromous fishery monitoring projects in the upper Trinity River, and > appropriately, his memorial services will be held Saturday March 24, > 2007 on the banks of the Trinity. > > I have attached the obituary that his family has graciously provided. > Details for those that wish to attend his memorial services or send > donations to his daughters benefit fund are included. Also attached is a > photograph taken March 1, 2007 of Patrick (center) with colleagues doing > what he loved, a snorkel survey of the Trinity River. For those of you > that wish to send cards or letters expressing condolences please address > them to our DFG Weaverville Office, P.O. Box 1185, Weaverville, Ca. > 96093-1185, care of John Hileman. John will make sure they are delivered > to Patrick's family. Please pass this message along to those friends and > associates of Patrick's not on the distribution list. > > Larry Hanson > Senior Biologist Supervisor > California Department of Fish and Game > Northern Region > Klamath Trinity Program > (530)-225-2866 > lkhanson at dfg.ca.gov > > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: PATRICK STEVEN GARRISON.doc Type: application/msword Size: 26112 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Patricksnorkel survey.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 263792 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Liz.Murguia at mail.house.gov Thu Mar 22 17:56:13 2007 From: Liz.Murguia at mail.house.gov (Murguia, Liz) Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:56:13 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Invitation to Trinity River Meeting Message-ID: Congressman Mike Thompson requests your attendance at a meeting to consider legislation for the Trinity River Restoration Program. The meeting will be held from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on Tuesday, March 27th , at the Humboldt Bay Harbor District Conference Room, Woodley Island Marina in Eureka. The purpose of the meeting is to consider the development of legislation to provide additional funding for restoration programs on the Trinity River, specifically as outlined in the Trinity River Record of Decision (ROD). There may be an opportunity this year to provide additional funds for implementation of the ROD. In that instance, Congressman Thompson wants to move a bill forward with broad consensus and stakeholder input. * Kevin Wolf has been invited to facilitate the meeting. * State and federal agency participants are invited to provide resource information. * An Agenda will be forwarded to you before the meeting. * RSVP by email or to the number listed below. If you have questions, please contact me. Liz Elizabeth Murguia, District Representative Congressman Mike Thompson 317 3rd St., Suite 1 Eureka, CA 95501 (707) 269-9595 (707) 269-9598 FAX Email: liz.murguia at mail.house.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Mar 26 09:43:15 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 09:43:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] DWR has 60 days to get CESA permits for Delta pumps, or else... Message-ID: <006001c76fc5$da897370$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Ruling on delta protects fish, jeopardizes California water deliveries - Associated Press Deadline set on permits for delta pumping; Judge threatens a halt unless the state gets permission to kill endangered fish. Officials cite the economic effect of a shutdown - Los Angeles Times JUDGE ORDERS STATE: STOP KILLING DELTA FISH; Agency told to obey law in 60 days or shut down pumps that send water to Southern California - San Francisco Chronicle Water agency put on notice - Contra Costa Times Pump ruling may cut water to south state - Sacramento Bee State has 60 days to get permits or stop pumps - Stockton Record Water decision a blow to Kern farming - Bakersfield Californian Future of Delta smelt may carry consequences - Stockton Record Ruling on delta protects fish, jeopardizes California water deliveries Associated Press - 3/23/07 By Samantha Young, staff writer SACRAMENTO -- In a decision that could cripple state water deliveries, a judge has ordered the state to halt pumping water out of the delta within 60 days unless it complies with environmental laws that protect endangered fish. The ruling pleased sport fishing groups that have long criticized the state's operation of the enormous pumps, which suck in and kill salmon and other fish. "It's certainly an earthshaking decision," Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said Friday. His group had sued the state. Thursday's ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch found that the state Department of Water Resources lacks the proper permits to run a key station that pumps water from the delta into the California Aqueduct. Specifically, Roesch said the water agency should apply for permits that would allow it to kill spring and winter runs of salmon and Delta smelt, which are protected under the California Endangered Species Act. At issue is the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant west of Stockton, which funnels 10,688 cubic feet per second of delta water through 11 pumps into the 444-mile long aqueduct. The heart of the State Water Project, the pumping station sucks in and kills significant quantities of fish. Water for more than 23 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland passes through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The decision also has implications for federal water deliveries in the Central Valley. About 5 percent of water that is part of the federal Central Valley Project flows through the Banks pumping station. "There is a coordinated operation between the two projects. We'll have to analyze the indirect effects," said Thomas Birmingham, general manager of the Westlands Water District, which supplies water to about 600,000 acres of farmland in western Fresno and Kings counties. The Department of Water Resources had argued in court that its pumping operations were authorized by a series of agreements struck over the past 20 years and by a 1997 state law. In his 34-page ruling, Roesch said those agreements "do not qualify as the carte-blanche authorization of incidental take" at the plant for all species of endangered fish. Department of Water Resources spokesman Ted Thomas said the state is expected to appeal the ruling. If that happens, pumping would continue while the ruling is being challenged, according to the order. Meanwhile, the spotlight will shift to the California Department of Fish and Game. Under the judge's ruling, the department would have to approve environmental permits for the state to operate the pumps. Those permits would require the state to minimize fish kills and could lead to a change in how much water is sent through the pumps and when much of the pumping would occur. Environmentalists have argued that the Department of Water Resources pumps too heavily during the winter months. They say that has led to declining populations of the Delta smelt because female fish that are sucked into the pumps die before their eggs are fertilized. The smelt, which average 3 inches long, are considered a key indicator of the health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. "This tale is only beginning," said Jennings, of the sportfishing alliance. # http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/24/news/state/17_32_083_23_07.txt Deadline set on permits for delta pumping; Judge threatens a halt unless the state gets permission to kill endangered fish. Officials cite the economic effect of a shutdown Los Angeles Times - 3/24/07 By Bettina Boxall, staff writer A Superior Court judge has given the state two months to get environmental permits in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or he will shut down the massive Northern California pumps that kill endangered fish in the process of supplying the Southland with much of its water. State officials vowed to fight the ruling, predicting dire consequences for the California economy if the pumping stopped. "It would be unacceptable to curtail all deliveries to the State Water Project," said Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow, adding that the project supports a $300-billion share of the state's economy. "That's a lot of farm jobs, industrial jobs and homes." The delta supplies 60% of the water distributed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region's major water wholesaler. Although the state will almost certainly find a way to keep the pumps operating at some level, Thursday's ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch could force reductions in the flow of water to the south. It is also likely to move the state another step closer to dramatically overhauling the way it manages water shipments between Northern and Southern California. "There are obviously things that are going to have to be done," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which filed the environmental lawsuit in which the judge ruled. "It's no longer business as usual." The judge agreed with the argument by Jennings' group that the Department of Water Resources has never gotten the necessary authorization from the California Department of Fish and Game to kill threatened and endangered fish at the delta's Harvey O. Banks pumping operation. The operation forms the heart of the State Water Project that supplies urban Southern California. The decision comes at a time of escalating concern over the fate of the delta east of San Francisco and its rapidly declining fish populations. The tiny, native delta smelt has sunk to record lows during the last three years, and introduced species and native salmon are also struggling. Research suggests that the pumping operation is a leading cause of the decline in fish, if by no means the only cause. Despite an elaborate, expensive screening process, fish die at the pumps. To keep salty San Francisco Bay water away from the pumps, the project has altered the delta's natural salinity levels. The pumps are so powerful that they can reverse the flow of water in the channels that crisscross the delta. Changes in the pumping regimen intended to protect spawning fish appear simply to have shifted mortality - killing smelt before they can spawn, or killing the young. Though the judge's warning does not signal an immediate crisis for water managers, they are taking it seriously. "We see this as a strong signal by the judge," said Jeffrey Kightlinger, the water district's general manager. The court order, he said, is another sign that "transporting water through the delta is simply not sustainable in the long run." Kightlinger said the water district could tap a large reserve if the pumping is stopped and would not have to resort to immediate rationing. But, he said, "We'd hate to use that up." Kightlinger added, "We will be working with the state very hard to try and make sure they do not shut the pumps." The judge's ruling is the latest development in more than a decade of environmental fights and government programs to fix the troubled delta, a sprawling area that is California's water crossroads. "This is a very important event. It really is," Barry Nelson of the Natural Resources Defense Council said, calling the opinion a landmark. State officials learned of the decision Friday and in a hastily called news conference said they would ask the judge to give them more time to meet his demands. They also disputed the judge's finding that they had never obtained the proper authorizations to kill fish under the state Endangered Species Act. # http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water24mar24,1,5930407.story?coll=la-headlines-california JUDGE ORDERS STATE: STOP KILLING DELTA FISH; Agency told to obey law in 60 days or shut down pumps that send water to Southern California San Francisco Chronicle - 3/24/07 By Glen Martin, staff writer The pumps that send water to 24 million Californians illegally kill endangered and threatened fish species and must be shut down, an Alameda County judge has decided. The judge's draft decision, released Friday, is far-reaching in scope, but nobody expects immediate rationing in the areas that receive the water -- the East Bay, the South Bay and Southern California. Judge Frank Roesch gave the state 60 days to figure out a way to comply with the law. Ultimately, the state Department of Water Resources could be forced to radically change the way it allocates water via a complicated set of canals and reservoirs known as the State Water Project. Changes could mean more water for the beleaguered Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and less for municipalities and Central Valley farms. The decision further undercuts the faltering consensus approach that has guided state water politics during the past decade, and it harks back to the 1970s and 1980s, when acrimony and litigation prevailed. Consequences of changing State Water Project operations are huge: The system is a major source of water for cities like Los Angeles and irrigates 775,000 acres of cropland. State officials say it is also directly responsible for a $300 billion portion of the California economy. At a minimum, complying with the judge's decision will force the state water agency to obtain a permit from the California Department of Fish and Game allowing the "incidental" killing of delta smelt and chinook salmon at the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant near Tracy as well as to develop a plan to aid in the recovery of the protected fish. Roesch's ruling was in response to a 2006 lawsuit over the killing of the fish. The suit was filed by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance against the California Resources Agency, which oversees the Department of Water Resources and the State Water Project. Officials have two weeks to provide more information, after which Roesch can either modify or maintain his order. "This was a bell ringer," said Bill Jennings, the executive director of the Alliance, a confederation of anglers based in Stockton. "We have a real likelihood now that the delta will receive more water," he said. Jennings said that the Water Resources Department ignored the California Endangered Species Act and state Fish and Game codes in operating its pumps, which have ground up large numbers of fish. The state's pumping station can transport 10,300 cubic feet of water a second, equivalent to a large river. The nearby pumps that sustain the federal Central Valley Project are much smaller, with a capacity of about 4,600 cfs. The Central Valley Project is not affected by Roesch's decision. The Water Resources Department maintained it was given a pass on state laws by virtue of five agreements concluded in the 1990s, including two negotiated by CalFed, the joint state and federal agency created to solve California's water disputes. Roesch ruled that the agreements did not constitute a permit to kill the salmon and smelt, as the state contended. The best that can be said of the five agreements, Roesch wrote, "is that (they) accept fish will be killed in the Henry O. Banks Pumping Plant operations and that the parties agree that mitigation measures will be undertaken." State officials expressed dismay at the decision. "We obviously strongly disagree with the court's proposed decision and will present additional information to challenge (it)," state Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said. Ryan Broddrick, the director of the California Department of Fish and Game, said conservation strategies of the kind Roesch requires are complicated and time-consuming. "We want to find solutions for the delta that have long-term sustainability," Broddrick said. "The (60-day) time frame offered is not sufficient." Lester Snow, the director of the Water Resources Department and the former director of CalFed, agreed with Broddrick and noted that the state recently authorized a $1 billion delta habitat conservation plan. Such a comprehensive and well-funded effort, Snow said, is preferable to fighting the matter out in court. "(Roesch's) response is devoid of any recognition of this conservation plan," he said. Snow also said that the consequences of curtailing Southern California water deliveries would be unacceptable. "The California gross product is $1.6 trillion," he said. "Of that, the State Water Project directly supports $300 billion. That's a lot of farm and industrial jobs." Water contractors also are concerned. "We get 80 percent of our water from the state project, so we find this very worrisome," said Jill Duerig, the general manager of the Zone 7 Water Agency, which serves the East Bay cities of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore. "It highlights the uncertainty and risks we face in securing our drinking water supplies," she said. But Jennings said Roesch's decision "blew away the smoke screen" that obscured many delta problems and underscored the general failure of CalFed. "Under CalFed, water exports from the delta have increased, and we've seen the general collapse of the region's ecosystem," he said. "It became clear to anglers that if we were going to have any fish left in the delta, we were going to have to step away from the backroom deals and hold the agencies accountable to the law." The State Water Project A look at major components of the system: By the numbers 24 million Number of Californians who get drinking water from the project 775,000 Acres of crops irrigated 29 Number of agencies served by the water system 1957 Year construction began on the first part of the State Water Project 4 million Amount of water, in acre-feet, that the system can deliver in wet years 5.8 million Amount of water, in acre-feet, that can be stored in the State Water Project 444 Length, in miles, of the California Aqueduct Southern California Water is transported around Southern California and stored in many lakes, including Lake Castaic and Pyramid Lake. Banks pumps Near Tracy, the state-operated pumps send water down the California Aqueduct. The pumping operations are blamed for killing endangered and threatened fish. Near here, a separate canal delivers some of the water to the South Bay. Lake Oroville One of the largest dams that make up the State Water Project. It holds about 3.5 million acre-feet of Feather River water. Sacramento River Supports weak migrations of winter- and spring-run chinook salmon, which are protected under state and federal law. Water from Lake Oroville eventually runs down this river. San Luis Joint-Use Complex Both federal and state water operators use this facility, which stores water for users located further south. Tehachapi pipes The Edmonston Pumping Plant lifts water up about 2,000 feet, over the Tehachapi Mountains, through 10 miles of tunnels. The Chronicle Declining delta smelt A small native fish long used as an indicator of the delta's biological health, the delta smelt has sustained steady declines over the past several years. Fresh water diversions from the delta to Southern California appear to be the leading cause, with smelt populations declining in general proportion to the amount of water shipped south. Smelt need brackish water to survive, and the brackish zone in the delta is decreased when fresh water is exported. The government pumps have also been implicated in directly destroying smelt by sucking them into their intakes. Breeding season: From late winter to early summer. Fast growing, with majority of growth within the first 7 to 9 months of life. Food: Small organisms called zooplankton Life span: 1-2 years Status: Threatened Size: 2-3 inches, but can reach 5 inches Habitat: Brackish waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/24/MNGCROR6P21.DTL Water agency put on notice Contra Costa Times - 3/24/07 By Mike Taugher, staff writer The state's largest water delivery system, serving millions of people from the Tri-Valley to Southern California, must shut down in 60 days unless its officials comply with the state's endangered species law, a judge ruled. The decision, which sent shock waves through water agencies up and down California on Friday, says state water officials failed to obtain a state permit to kill threatened or endangered salmon and Delta smelt. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that the Department of Water Resources was violating the California Endangered Species Act but said he would delay turning off the pumps for 60 days to allow state agencies to comply. The ruling also said the 60-day clock will not start ticking until it becomes final after a 15-day comment period. State officials said they would ask the judge to reconsider, arguing that they are trying to develop a long-term conservation strategy, and shutting off the pumps would deal a devastating economic blow. "I don't think it's possible to comply with what the judge says in 60 days," said water Resources director Lester Snow. Most major water agencies have sufficient backup supplies to get them through a short pumping shutdown. However, if the permit required by the court's decision further restricts pumping, it could reduce the amount of water those agencies get in the long term. At issue are massive pumps that supply water to more than 23 million people in Alameda County, Silicon Valley and Southern California. The pumps are powerful enough to alter the flow of rivers, disrupt fish movements and kill millions of fish each year. Among those fish are species such as Delta smelt, winter-run salmon and spring-run salmon that are protected under state and federal endangered species laws. The pumping plant has a permit from the federal government to harm endangered fish, but not from the state. Environmentalists say a state permit might force water supply cuts because the state law is more stringent than the federal law. The ruling does not affect smaller federal pumps that serve San Joaquin Valley farms. Stan Williams, chief executive officer of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, said groundwater and access to San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy aqueducts would provide short-term backup water supplies but a prolonged shutdown could cause problems. He added that he views the threat of a shutdown as plausible. "I think it's real," Williams said. The general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the state water pumps' biggest customer, said he was disappointed in the ruling but added that emergency water reserves can meet the summer needs of its 18 million customers. "What we need from Fish and Game is their best analysis of what they can do in 60 days and then see if that will satisfy the court," said Met general manager Jeff Kightlinger. "We're working rapidly on our contingency planning." Environmentalists, meanwhile, were elated. "It's a mind-buster. I'm stunned," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which filed the lawsuit last year. The ruling comes at a time of deepening disarray in California water policy. The state's major water source -- the Delta -- is laboring five years into an ecosystem collapse that many scientists say is at least partly due to the water pumps. The failure of state water officials to obtain a permit for the pumps was uncovered in 2005 by a state senate committee. That committee's investigation was in response to a report in the Times showing that in early 2005, just as the severity of the Delta's ecosystem crisis was becoming apparent, state and federal water officials twice overruled the advice of biologists appointed to enforce the federal endangered species law. State water officials argued that even though they lacked a formal permit, a series of agreements and other documents dating back to the 1980s formed a "patchwork" of compliance with the law. The judge strongly disagreed, saying the documents "do not qualify as carte-blanche authorization" to kill or harm endangered fish. Michael Lozeau, the lawyer who represented environmentalists in the lawsuit, said the state endangered species law is stricter than the federal version. Under state law, the water resources department would have to offset the death of every protected fish, possibly by dramatically reducing pumping or improving habitat elsewhere in the Delta, Lozeau said. "They have to replace every single fish," Lozeau said. Jennings said that opens the door to force the state water department to make up for years of illegal operations. "When you catch the embezzler, what do you do? You make them pay it back," Jennings said. # http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/16966833.htm Pump ruling may cut water to south state Sacramento Bee - 3/24/07 By Deb Kollars, staff writer An Alameda Superior Court judge has ruled that giant pumps sending vast amounts of drinking water to Central and Southern California must be turned off within 60 days unless the state complies with permit procedures designed to protect endangered fish, which are getting chewed up by the pumps. Turning off the pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta would cause drastic economic and environmental consequences, ranging from possible groundwater depletion to business interruptions, said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources. "It's certainly an earth-shaking decision," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the nonprofit California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which sued the state over the killing of fish in the pumps. About 25 million Californians depend on the State Water Project, as the north-south water-moving system is called, for at least a portion of their water needs. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, for example, is the state project's biggest customer, serving 18 million people; during normal water years, the district gets 16 percent of its overall water supply via the gigantic state delivery system. Snow said Friday that he plans to bring new information to the judge in the case, Frank Roesch, and ask him to reconsider the ruling during the 15-day period before the decision becomes final. "We strongly disagree with the decision," California Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said during a Friday afternoon telephone press briefing. The Department of Water Resources was sued in October by the "Water Enforcers," the legal arm of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. The fishing group said the agency never obtained the proper authorizations, known as "take permits," to kill certain fish while pumping water from the north state to the Bay Area, Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. The suit named three fish species: the endangered winter-run chinook salmon, the threatened spring-run chinook and the Delta smelt. The pumping site in the case, Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant, is west of Stockton near Byron. The plant, considered the heart of the State Water Project, runs 10,688 cubic feet per second of Delta water through multiple pumps and into the California Aqueduct system. In the process, many fish are sucked in and killed. On Thursday, Roesch agreed with the fishing group, ruling that DWR had failed to follow the permitting process required under the California Endangered Species Act. The permits are issued by the state Department of Fish and Game. The judge rejected an argument by DWR officials that they did not need the formal take permits because the department had authority to kill fish during water exports under several other pumping agreements made prior to 1997. The agreements, the judge wrote in his ruling, "do not qualify as the carte-blanche authorization of incidental take" of endangered fish at the pumping plant. Water resources officials reviewed the judge's opinion Friday and announced they will ask the judge to reconsider. Department spokesman Ted Thomas said the state is expected to appeal the ruling. Jennings said there is an easier fix for the state than trying to re-argue the case before the same judge or appealing: Apply for the proper permits, which would lay out the measures needed, such as reducing pumping volumes or installing different fish screens, to reduce the fish kills. "The political reality is that nobody is going to deprive the folks of Southern California their water," Jennings said. "It would behoove the state to start working on a permit and following the law." Snow said it would not be possible to get such a permit within 60 days. Jennings pointed out that the state would have 75 days if it got going immediately, before the 15-day grace period on the judge's ruling runs out, and that would be plenty of time. "We have gone through a decade where the state has basically done nothing," Jennings said. "They twiddled their thumbs and gazed at the ceiling." Snow said that rather than going through the narrow permitting process, the state instead has chosen to develop a broad new conservation plan for the Delta that would address numerous habitat and environmental issues in a more comprehensive manner. This week's ruling, he said, highlights the dire situation in the Delta, where environmentalists and state and local officials are grappling with everything from crumbling levees to rapid losses in the Delta smelt population. Neither side could say Friday how many salmon are being killed in the pumps. # http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/143329.html State has 60 days to get permits or stop pumps Stockton Record - 3/24/07 By Alex Breitler, staff writer TRACY - State officials have 60 days to avert a legally imposed shutdown of their massive export pumps, which kill threatened fish but also support a $300 billion economy. A judge's ruling released Friday says the Department of Water Resources has been incidentally killing fish at the pumps without proper environmental permits, in violation of state law. The state must shut down the pumps near Tracy if it cannot get the needed permits in time. "Potentially, this is a huge victory," said Stockton environmentalist Bill Jennings, whose California Sportfishing Protection Alliance sued the state last year. "This is just the opening chapter of a new book." State officials Friday afternoon said there's no way to get the needed permits in 60 days. "We're perplexed with the court's ruling in this case," said Lester Snow, head of the Department of Water Resources. "We find the prospect of curtailment of pumping to be unacceptable." Snow said the state has 15 days to comment on the ruling by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch and ask for more time to comply. A shutdown of the pumps is unlikely, Jennings said. However, getting a permit under state law to kill fish such as Delta smelt and salmon would require officials to find new ways to make up for that loss. That could include reducing exports or changing the timing of water deliveries to aid fish. State Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, said it was no mystery to San Joaquin County residents that the pumps are operated without the proper permits. State officials have claimed that a series of agreements up to two decades old were tantamount to having such a permit. "What this goes to show is that the ecosystem of the Delta is important and the state needs to follow its own laws," Machado said Friday. No one disputes that the pumps are important. Eighteen million people in Southern California receive water imported from two major sources: the Colorado River and Northern California. Drought on the Colorado has increased reliance on the Northern California flows, said Jeff Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. "This is a very serious issue," he said Friday. "We're hopeful we can work with the state to get it resolved over the next 60 days and not go through dramatic interruptions." The district has "tremendous" amounts of water in storage, but that's reserved for emergencies and could last only a year or two, Kightlinger said. State water is also delivered to the Bay Area, cities and farms in the southern San Joaquin Valley and parts of the coast near San Luis Obispo. Altogether, the pumps support $300 billion of the state's $1.6 trillion economy, said the state's Snow. The pumps also draw in threatened Delta smelt, which conservationists say are on the brink of extinction. They also harm juvenile salmon. "They have to come up with near-term and long-term measures" to protect fish, Jennings said. "And we're going to be looking over their shoulder." # http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070324/A_NEWS/703240321 Water decision a blow to Kern farming Bakersfield Californian - 3/23/07 By Vic Pollard, staff writer Like other customers of the State Water Project, Kern County Water Agency officials were stunned by the judge's action. "This is big," said David Baumstark, the agency's executive operations manager. He said late Friday afternoon the agency had little time to review the proposed decision and had no plan of action yet. However, a sudden shutdown in May of the California Aqueduct, which brings state project water to Kern County, would be a major financial blow to the Kern County farming industry at the height of the irrigation season. It wouldn't be the end of the world, Baumstark said, because Kern County has huge amounts of water stored underground in the Kern Water Bank area west of Bakersfield and other places. But groundwater is more expensive to use for irrigation than water from the aqueduct because of the costs of pumping it out of the ground. Baumstark said the State Water Project accounts for about 21 percent of all the water used in Kern County. The other major sources are the Kern River; the Central Valley Project, which brings water from the San Joaquin River near Fresno; and groundwater. # http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/106987.html Future of Delta smelt may carry consequences Stockton Record - 3/25/07 By Alex Breitler, staff writer TRACY - The pumps are the size of school buses. Delta smelt match up with your goldfish. The pumps are worth $300 billion for the economy. The smelt aren't worth the bait in a fisherman's tackle box. The pumps water crops for your garden salad. The smelt simply smell like cucumber. Last week, a judge ruled that immense pumps near Tracy must be shut down unless officials get a permit allowing them to kill smelt and other fish in the process of sending water to distant reaches of California. The case puts the smelt back in the headlines. It is in danger of extinction, conservationists say, and no fewer than 45 studies are chronicling the problem. And yet, when you ask your neighbor about the Delta smelt, he might wrinkle his nose and say something like, "Yeah, it DOES smell out there." Why should ordinary people care, or even know, about this rather ordinary fish? Sign of trouble The first thing most experts say is that the smelt is an "indicator" species. It tells us how the Delta is doing. If the smelt is suffering, so may be a number of other species which have more purpose to humans - striped bass, for example, a popular sport fish. Among other things, the smelt suffers from a declining supply of its major food source, plankton. Exotic clams introduced into the estuary two decades ago have robbed the water of much of these nutrients. Then there are toxins: anything from herbicides that drain off of farmers' fields to drugs that people pour down their drains at home. These kill the food that smelt and other fish need. Keep in mind, this is the same water that wets the taps of 23 million Californians. Stockton, too, plans to quench its thirst with Delta water in coming years. Endangered The smelt is legally protected from these dangers by a law that has aided more glamorous specimens such as the bald eagle. "We made a decision with the Endangered Species Act, saying we didn't want any species to go extinct, at least on our watch," said Peter Moyle, professor of fish biology at the University of California, Davis. "It becomes a question of where do you draw the line in terms of what you're going to let go and what you're not." There are about 35,000 smelt left, according to some estimates, compared to 800,000 in the 1960s and '70s. If the smelt disappears, a fish called the split-tail could be next, Moyle said. Unlike smelt, the split-tail is a dietary staple for Asian-Americans, including many in Stockton. On the other hand, if the smelt is recovered, maybe it could produce a commercial fishery someday not unlike its Japanese cousin, the wakasagi. "You never know what's going to be important to future generations," Moyle said. Money, money, money A recent California Department of Water Resources report updating the smelt's status catalogues dozens of strategies to bring back the fish. Most projects rely on public dollars; the total cost is unknown. As an example, experts want to construct mile-long floodways on Sherman Island to increase production of the plankton that smelt need. The cost could range from $5.5 million to $8.2 million. There also is talk of requiring the state to check all watercraft that enter California through major highways, a practice that was discontinued in 2003 because of budget cuts. This could detect the presence of invasive mussels which, if released, could further exacerbate problems in the Delta. The cost: Up to $4 million per year, and perhaps a headache for those whose boats are inspected. The pumps Theoretically, anyone who gets water from the pumps could benefit if the smelt recovers. It's not just Los Angeles - parts of the Bay Area, much of San Joaquin County and the coast may not have to worry so much about the pumps shutting down. Conversely, if smelt continue to struggle, farmers might face new restrictions on pesticide use, possibly making land less productive and losing income, state reports warn. Cities might pay more to reduce the number of contaminants they discharge. Debate continues over the pumps themselves and how many fish they chop up. Unknowns In the late 1990s, scientists discovered that the common western fence lizard may help prevent the spread of Lyme disease. Infected ticks that feed on the lizard's blood are then less likely to infect humans. This, conservationists say, is an example why the smelt and other less-interesting critters should be spared extinction. They may yet serve a purpose. "There's a lot we don't know," said Jeff Miller of the San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity, which has lobbied the government for greater smelt protections. "To lose a species before you even understand it is tragic." Why should you care about smelt? 1. The fish is an "indicator" species. Their situation offers insight into how the San Joaquin Delta as a whole is faring. 2. As an endangered species, the smelt's future is important to others creatures in the same boat. If the smelt don't make it, what's next? 3. Proposals to save the fish can carry with them million-dollar price tags that would likely require public funding. 4. Recovery of the smelt could provide benefits to anyone who gets water from the pumps in Tracy. Conversely, its continued struggle could carry negative effects for S.J. County farmers. 5. Besides known benefits, creatures can be beneficial in many yet-undiscovered ways. If the animal disappears, any benefits it might have held will be lost forever. # http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070325/A_NEWS/703250331 #### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Liz.Murguia at mail.house.gov Mon Mar 26 11:15:51 2007 From: Liz.Murguia at mail.house.gov (Murguia, Liz) Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:15:51 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Meeting, March 27, 2007 - AGENDA Message-ID: To: Invitees Re: Trinity River Legislative Meeting March 27, 2007 - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Woodley Island Marina Conference AGENDA 9:45 Pre-meeting coffee and conversation 10:00 Welcome - Liz Murguia with Congressman Thompson's staff. What is possible with this congress and why broad support is important. 10:05 Introductions 10:20 Facilitator to set forth meeting ground rules. 10:30 Discussion and agreement by group of whether a new authorization for the Program, in place of the current CVPIA authorization, is needed and/or desirable. 10:50 Based upon agreement above, discussion and agreement by group of total dollar amounts required annually for Program implementation by time periods, i.e,, construction phase and M&O phase, the latter including gravel introductions and watershed rehabilitation, principally, although some adaptive management activities may be required. 11:40 Presentation by Hoopa Valley Tribe of its suggestions for inclusion of language it advocates in proposed legislation beyond new authorization and funding amounts. 11:55 Questions and answers 12:10 Lunch 1:00 Discussion by Group of specific language of Hoopa Valley Tribe's proposed legislation. 15 minutes per section. Proposals first, then discussion, then call the question. Record level of support. 2:30 Break 2:45 Continue 3:30 Return to sections in which group was not close to consensus. 4:00 Next steps. Facilitator to set this forth. Results of consensus reached at meeting will be forwarded to Congressman Thompson. Any who dissent from consensus conclusions may write to the congressman (dissenter rules to be set forth by facilitator). 4:15 Set date of next meeting, if necessary. 4:25 Meeting Evaluation. 4:30 Adjourn. Elizabeth Murguia, District Representative Congressman Mike Thompson 317 3rd St., Suite 1 Eureka, CA 95501 (707) 269-9595 (707) 269-9598 FAX Email: liz.murguia at mail.house.gov Web: http://mikethompson.house.gov To receive Congressman Thompson's periodic email updates, sign up at http://mikethompson.house.gov/Email.asp. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Tue Mar 27 09:13:18 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick & Kathy) Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:13:18 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] PLT & Forest Safety Net Message-ID: <00dd01c7708a$d8d16db0$0201a8c0@HAL> All, Please write and call your Federal Reps and Senators today. Thanks for hanging in there. Kim K. Yamaguchi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Yejin Jang [mailto:YJang at naco.org] Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 5:44 AM To: Yamaguchi, Kim Subject: Senate to Vote on PILT and Forest County Safety Net Reauthorization Dear Supervisor, Chair Kim Yamaguchi, We have a once in a lifetime shot at full funding for PILT and reauthorization of the Forest County Safety Net (Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act or P.L. 106-393). A coalition of Western Democratic Senators have announced agreement on the broad outline of a plan to reauthorize the Forest County Safety Net and to fully fund the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for five years. For the first time since its 1994 reauthorization, PILT would be funded at its full authorized amount, beginning in FY 2008 and each year thereafter until FY 2011. The Senators also propose a new Safety Net formula starting in FY 2007. The new formula would distribute funding based partially on counties' historic revenue sharing receipts (as did the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 which expired last September), and partially on counties percentage of total National Forest acreage. Additionally, it would include a "need factor" to steer some added dollars to more economically distressed counties. In FY 2008 counties would see a one percent decrease and then a ten percent reduction each year until the program sunsets (or is reauthorized) in FY 2011. The Senators estimate that most forest counties nationwide will see significant increases under the new formula, especially when considered with a fully funded PILT program. Counties in Oregon, Washington and California, would however see significant decreases under the new formula. To soften that blow, the agreement calls for counties in the "Big Three" states to be held harmless in FY 2007 and then have their annual payments reduced by ten percent each year in FY 2008, 2009 and 2010 and then go to the new formula in 2011 (somewhat larger than ten percent reduction). The compromise breaks the deadlock between the Senators from the West Coast states who had received the most money under the 1908 revenue sharing and therefore received the most under the six years of the Safety Net and Senators from the Interior West who argued that a new Safety Net formula was needed to garner the votes needed to pass such significant spending legislation in the Senate. The new package was negotiated and announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) along with their colleagues Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). The Finance Committee, chaired by Senator Baucus, has jurisdiction over the offsets identified to pay for PILT and the new Safety Net. The eight Senators have been engaging in active outreach to other Senators, including their Republican colleagues. While details are still being worked out, according to staff, initial reactions seem to be positive and progress is being made. Senator Wyden plans to offer the package as an amendment to the Senate version of the FY 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation which is scheduled to be debated and voted on by the full Senate the week of March 26. The House passed its version of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriation on March 23, with a one year extension of the Safety Net included. Take Action! A vote is possible as early as Tuesday or Wednesday! Pass this information to your school districts and the education community- Distribute the call to action as widely as possible within your state and county! If your Senator is in the group of eight who negotiated the PILT/Forest County Safety Net package - THANK THEM for their hard work! If your Senator is NOT in the group of eight - urge them to support the Wyden amendment to the Emergency Supplemental to fully fund PILT and reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. Call or email your Representatives by logging onto http://capwiz.com/naco/home. Please leave feedback of your call through our website. Paul V. Beddoe, Ph.D. Associate Legislative Director Western Interstate Region ~ Public Lands National Association of Counties 25 Massachusetts Avenue NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 942-4234 - voice (202) 942-4281 - fax (202) 550-8946 - mobile NACo - The Voice of America's Counties -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Mar 30 11:05:23 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:05:23 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] New member of Trinity River Restoration Program Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7B7@mail3.trinitycounty.org> I'm pleased to announce the addition of a new member of the TRRP team. Lucy Anderson joined the program yesterday at 2:49 p.m. She is 21 inches long, 7 lb, 4 oz. Both Mom and Dad are doing well. Please join me in congratulating the Anderson family on their new addition. Best wishes to all. Perhaps she'll be able to help us finish the IAP when she gets older. Rodney J. Wittler, Ph.D., P.E. Senior Scientist Technical Modeling and Analysis Group Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300 or 1313 S. Main St. Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1800/1801 Office/Desk (530) 262-3670 Mobile (530) 623-5944 Fax rjwittler at mp.usbr.gov From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Mar 30 12:32:44 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2007 12:32:44 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmon & Steelhead Symposium in Redding Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7BB@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity River Enthusiasts, I just sent the one page flyer below to four fish bios here in Redding. It's not often you get a symposium announcement at a casino for just 3 hours and maybe one primary speaker.. I'll leave it at that. William A. Brock Fisheries Program Manager Shasta-Trinity National Forest 3644 Avtech Parkway Redding, CA 96002 530-226-2430 direct line 530-226-2500 front desk/page 530-941-1099 cell with message capability 530-226-2485 fax wbrock at fs.fed.us http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/recreation/st-main/st-fishing/inde x.shtl (See attached file: Salmon_Steelhead_Symposium[1].doc) -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Salmon_Steelhead_Symposium[1].doc Type: application/msword Size: 512512 bytes Desc: Salmon_Steelhead_Symposium[1].doc URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sat Mar 31 10:46:59 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 10:46:59 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Ruling inflames tribes' $90 million feud Message-ID: <002901c773bc$95b40f80$cc653940@trinitycounty.org> http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/147165.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruling inflames tribes' $90 million feud Dispute goes back to the 1950s, and a federal agency has revived legal fight. By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 31, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A4 Print | E-Mail | Comments (1) WASHINGTON -- Just when it seemed like a long-standing battle between two Northern California tribes couldn't be any more convoluted, the U.S. Department of Interior has issued a ruling adding a new layer to the mess. Not only did the ruling reverse what had been the position of the Interior Department in a heated dispute between the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the Yurok Tribe over more than $90 million, but it resolved nothing. Instead, the decision appears to have spawned a new legal battle that, in one way or another, has been raging for 50 years, with two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court and many others to Capitol Hill. At issue is a pot of money from logging on the Hoopa Valley Reservation dating back to the 1950s. That dispute spawned a lawsuit that went to the U.S. Supreme Court, after which Congress passed a peacemaking settlement act championed by former Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif. The 1988 settlement act divided the reservation, which until then both tribes had shared for more than a century. It also set up a $65 million settlement fund, using escrowed timber money, that would go equally to the two tribes if they agreed not to challenge the act in court. The Hoopa signed a waiver of their right to sue and took their cut in 1991. The Yurok tribe filed a lawsuit challenging the settlement. The lawsuit finally ran its course in 2001, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review lower court rulings against the Yurok. The end of the lawsuit merely thrust the fight over the money into the lap of the Interior Department. The Yurok said they had signed a "conditional waiver" that became final when the Supreme Court rejected their lawsuit. The money, now amounting to about $90 million even after the Hoopa had taken their $34 million slice, should go to them, the Yurok said. The Hoopa said the Yurok clearly weren't entitled to the money because they had done exactly what the settlement act's incentives were aimed at preventing. When the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on the dispute in 2002, Interior Department officials said they were in a quandary over what to do with the settlement money. But they felt it should not go to the Yurok, who clearly violated the terms of the settlement by filing suit. The department pleaded for "further instruction" from Congress. But Congress didn't want to decide between the two tribes. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, and the state's two Democratic senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, wrote the Interior Department in 2005, raising a series of questions, including one asking why the Interior Department couldn't just decide this on its own. The Interior Department's answer came earlier this month in a letter to the two tribes. To the utter shock of the Hoopa, the Interior Department said all the money should go to the Yurok. Ross Swimmer, special trustee for American Indians for the Interior Department, said the Yurok are now willing to sign the unconditional waiver that the act required for the tribe to receive its share of the proceeds. There was no time limit on when the waiver must be signed, Swimmer noted. The Yurok called the Interior Department's new position "monumental." "With this issue finally resolved, Yurok and Hoopa can put our differences aside," Yurok tribal Chair Maria Tripp said in a statement. The Hoopa responded last week by launching a new round of appeals. In its filing with the Interior Department's Board of Indian Appeals, the Hoopa called the department's about-face "absurd and unfair" and politically inspired. "Here we go again," said the tribe's longtime attorney, Thomas Schlosser. "The only thing the Interior Department has accomplished here is to create another round of litigation." About the writer: a.. The Bee's David Whitney can be reached at (202) 383-0004 or dwhitney at mcclatchydc.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 34303339366235623431666462616630?_RM_EMPTY_ Type: application/octet-stream Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Apr 4 15:18:16 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 15:18:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Supreme Court rules global warming exists, and EPA should protect states from it Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7C9@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Supreme Court rules global warming exists, and EPA should protect states from it In what may be a landmark environmental decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the EPA has the legal mandate to regulate the gases that contribute to global warming. Author: Dorothy Kosich Posted: Tuesday , 03 Apr 2007 http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page60?oid=18999&sn=Detail RENO, NV - Although the U.S. Congress can't pass the legislation to regulate it, and the Bush Administration refuses to admit it exists, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that global warming is real, and that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts lost valuable shoreline because of its effects. The issue was, pardon the pun, so hot, that it required one majority and two dissenting opinions to explain it. Remember this particular case citation: Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (549 U.S. 2007). Americans will be reading, interpreting and citing this one for years. It began as a simple question. Did the federal court of appeals have jurisdiction to weigh in on the fight between Massachusetts and the Environmental Protection Agency as to if EPA is legally mandated to regulate global warming? You betcha, answered Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote in the majority opinion of the Supreme Court. "A well-documented rise in global temperatures has coincided with a significant increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," Stevens declared to a nation that refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty. "Calling global warming 'the most pressing environmental challenge of our time, a group of States, local governments and private organizations, alleged in a petition for certiorari that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has abdicated its responsibility under the Clean Air Act to regulate the emissions of four greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide." "Specifically, the petitions asked us to answer two questions concerning the meaning of ?202(a)(1) of the Act: whether EPA has the statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles; and if so, whether its stated reasons for refusing to do so are consistent with the statutes," Stevens said. "In response, EPA supported by 10 intervening States and six trade associations, correctly argued that we may not address those two questions unless at least one petitioner has standing to invoke our jurisdiction under Article II of the Constitution." The high court ruled it definitely did have jurisdiction, reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded the case for further proceedings. In its arguments, the EPA claimed that, contrary to the opinion of its former general counsels, "the Clean Air Act does not authorize EPA to address global climate change...and that even if the agency had the authority to set up greenhouse gas emission standards, it would be unwise to do so at this time." Massachusetts argued that Congress ordered the EPA to protect Massachusetts when Congress enacted regulations applicable to controlling emissions of air pollutant from new motor vehicle engines. The state asserted that the rise in sea levels associated with global warming has already harmed and will continue to harm Massachusetts. The state contended that even more environmental damage in yet to come because the EPA refuses to regulate emissions contributing to global warming. As the Supreme Court concluded, "At a minimum, therefore, EPA's refusal to regulate such emissions contributes to Massachusetts' injuries." MINORITY OPINIONS Chief Justice John Roberts conceded in his dissension that global warming may "ultimately affect nearly everyone on the planet in some potentially adverse way, and it may be that governments have done too little to address it. It is not a problem, however, that has escaped the attention of policymakers in the Executive and Legislature Branches of our government, who continue to consider regulatory, legislative, and treated-based means of addressing global climate change." Roberts noted that the petitioners apparently came to the courts claiming broad injury because they really are dissatisfied with the progress of the issue in the elected branches. Nevertheless, he specified, "aside from a single conclusory statement, there is nothing in the petitioners' 43 standing declarations and accompanying an inference of actual loss of Massachusetts coastal land from 20th century global sea level increases. It is pure conjecture." He scolded his fellow justices, accusing them of ignoring "the complexities of global warming, and does so by now...using the dire nature of global warming itself as a bootstrap for finding causation and redressability." "In other words, do not worry that other countries will contribute far more to global warming than will U.S. automobile emissions; someone is bound to invent something, and places like the People's Republic of China or India will surely require use of the new technology, regardless of cost," Roberts declared with more than a hit of sarcasm. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Anton Scalia adamantly declared that he holds "that this Court has no jurisdiction to decide this case because petitioners lack standing." "The Court's alarm over global warming may or may not be justified, but it ought not distort the outcome of this litigation," Scalia asserted, adding "This is a straight-forward administrative-law case." "No matter how important the underlying policy issues at stake, this Court has no business substituting its own desired outcome for the reasoned judgment of the responsible agency," he concluded. REACTION Environmentalists called the decision a big victory for the plant and a "stunning rebuke to the Bush Administration." EPA Press Secretary Jennifer Woods told the Christian Science Monitor that the agency is reviewing the decision to determine its next course of action. The trade newspaper Argus Air Daily suggested that the decision "has far wider implications for the broader energy economy and upcoming regulation could incorporate the universe of U.S. carbon sources. With this 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court may have kicked down the door to greenhouse gas regulation in the United States and has added to the likelihood of broader legislative action on global warming in the near term." Chicago-based The Heartland Institute declared that "the U.S. Supreme Court today substituted its scientific judgment for that of USEPA scientists. ...Once past the rhetoric, however, all the Court did was order USEPA to issue a more 'reasoned explanation' for its refusal to regulate greenhouse gases." When the EPA does explain its reluctance to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, "the Supreme Court should refrain from imposing its lay views regarding global warming on EPA, Heartland Senior Fellow for Environmental Policy James M. Taylor concluded. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Fri Apr 6 11:25:02 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 14:25:02 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Group letter to NCPA cities re CVPIA Restoration Fund In-Reply-To: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7A8@mail3.trinitycounty.org> References: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7A8@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Message-ID: All: Attached is a group letter asking 13 members of NCPA (11 cities plus BART and the Port of Oakland) to support the CVPIA Restoration Fund at existing levels. Spreck Rosekrans Environmental Defense 5655 College Avenue, Suite 304 Oakland, CA 94618 510 658 8008 510 393 8131 (cell) -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Letter to NCPA Cities re CVPIA RF 04_04_07.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 1473508 bytes Desc: Letter to NCPA Cities re CVPIA RF 04_04_07.pdf URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Apr 6 11:37:35 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 11:37:35 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: Trinity River 2007 Release Schedule Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7D7@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Greetings everyone, The 2007 water year for the Trinity River has been classified as "Dry". This classification is based on the April 50% exceedence water year forecast from the California Department of Water Resources. The water allocation associated with a "dry" year is 453,000 acre-feet. The dry year release schedule calls for flow releases from Lewiston Dam to the Trinity River to remain at 300 cfs through April 26th. Releases will start increasing on April 27th and peak at 4,500 cfs on May 1st. The peak release of 4,500 cfs will be held for 5 days then flow will gradually decrease until summer baseflow releases of 450 cfs are reached on June 25th. The summer baseflows will be held at 450 cfs through October 15, 2007. Attached, please find the 2007 daily flow release schedule from Lewiston Dam to the Trinity River as approved by the Trinity Management Council on March 29, 2007. Visit the Trinity River Restoration Program website at www.trrp.net if you are interested in more information about the flow scheduling process or signing up to receive automated release change notices for Lewiston Dam. Please note that the it will take a few days to update the website to reflect the flow schedules for 2007 described in this email. Please feel free to contact John Klochak at 530-623-1810 if you have additional questions. Regards, John John R. Klochak Restoration Ecologist Technical Analysis and Modeling Group Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300 Weaverville, CA 96093 jklochak at mp.usbr.gov (530)623-1810 FAX: (530)623-5944 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2007_Trinity_Release_DRY.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 112128 bytes Desc: 2007_Trinity_Release_DRY.xls URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Apr 6 11:47:21 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 11:47:21 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Posting articles and information to the Trinity River List Serve Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7D9@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity River Enthusiasts, Please note that as a member of the list-serve, you can post anytime to it at env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us If the e-mail is 75kb or less, it will post automatically, since you are a member. If it's over 75kb or has an attachment, I will need to moderate it. Also note that the e-mail address should only have the list-serve address in the header because the system will bounce it back if it contains any others. Please take note for future postings. Thanks for your consideration. Joshua Allen Associate Planner PO Box 2819 60 Glen Road Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: (530)623-1351 ext. 3411 Fax: (530)623-1353 E-mail: jallen at trinitycounty.org Website: http://www.trinitycounty.org/Departments/Planning/natresources3.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Apr 6 18:43:05 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 18:43:05 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] CVP Water Association Monthly Reports for April 2007 Message-ID: <003101c778b6$22f040a0$0201a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Check out pp 2-4. Possible Trinity Restoration legislation. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Envir Report Apr 07.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 205248 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon Apr 9 09:06:16 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 09:06:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Firm faces obstacles on bid to open forests for building Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7E0@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Firm faces obstacles on bid to open forests for building By Jane Braxton Little - Bee Correspondent http://www.sacbee.com/288/story/150912.html Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, April 7, 2007 Story appeared in METRO section, Page B3 Print | E-Mail | Comments SUSANVILLE -- Officials in three Northern California counties have postponed action on requests from Sierra Pacific Industries to have nearly 20,000 acres of forests rezoned to designations that eventually could allow residential development. Land-use planners in Lassen, Plumas and Shasta counties are studying the proposed zoning changes to determine the extent of environmental impacts and what level of review the requests require. No decisions are expected for at least a month. The delays are disappointing but understandable, said Ed Bond, a spokesman for the timber company based in the Shasta County city of Anderson. "We'd like things to move along, but we want to make sure everybody's satisfied." Sierra Pacific's 1.6 million acres in California make it one of the largest private landowners in the nation. Most of its acreage is zoned for timber production, which prohibits development and offers property-tax reductions in exchange for a 10-year commitment to grow trees. The company hopes to get restrictions lifted on a total of 23,549 acres in Northern California -- nearly 37 square miles. The zoning requests signal its plan not to renew its 10-year commitment to timber production on those lands and to launch development projects. New zoning could allow both commercial centers and residential housing on lands historically managed as forests. The rezoning is part of a long-term process that would give counties more control over their land, said Bond. "This is one segment of a larger project." Trinity County officials already rezoned 3,620 acres, much of it in the Trinity Lake area. Sierra Pacific originally requested zoning for parcels as small as 1 acre, said county planner Jeanne Bonomini. But planning commissioners changed the zoning from timber production to open space, which does not allow for development. In Lassen County, the land Sierra Pacific wants rezoned for potential development includes 638 acres at Silver Lake adjoining Caribou Wilderness Area and 1,700 acres next to Mountain Meadows, a wetland that hosts eight threatened or endangered species. Two additional parcels are at the south end of Eagle Lake and west of Susanville near Lake Forest Estates. At a public hearing last month, company officials told Lassen County supervisors that, for all but the Silver Lake property, the rezoning question is exempt from environmental review. When Lassen County Counsel Craig Settlemire disagreed, the supervisors sent the proposal back to county planners for additional review. Shasta County officials continued a public hearing to June to get more information about how many residences could result from rezoning 6,443 acres, said associate county planner Lio Salazar. He estimated 55 new residences if the changes are approved. Plumas County officials are waiting for additional information from Sierra Pacific to determine the effects of rezoning 7,826 acres near Chester and north of Lake Almanor, said Planning Director Jonathan Schnal. They expect to do a full environmental review, he said. Schnal is concerned about the regional impact of converting 37 square miles of timberland to development. Because forests are a significant resource to California, state regulations may require planners in all affected counties to consider the cumulative effects of rezoning, he said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Mon Apr 9 16:20:09 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 16:20:09 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update Message-ID: To Whom it May Concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?April 9, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The site utilizes multiple eight foot diameter rotary screw traps. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through April 4th, 2007 and is presented as raw catch. No expansions have been calculated at this time. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred. Most Chinook salmon captured during this time period have been young-of-the-year, and appear to be in good condition. Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of young-of-the-year Chinook salmon are near 1.0. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts are low (see attached catch table), but present in the catch. Steelhead young-of-the-year have been starting to show up in daily catches. All steelhead smolts captured appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low (see attached catch table), but present in the catch. Coho salmon smolt catch indicates a possible peak in Julian Week 12 (March 19-25). Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts are higher than 1.0, indicating good condition. All coho salmon young-of-the-year appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values near 1.0. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Tue Apr 10 09:40:52 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:40:52 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update Message-ID: My apologies for not attaching the catch table. Here is a copy of the original e-mail with catch table attached. To Whom it May Concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?April 9, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The site utilizes multiple eight foot diameter rotary screw traps. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through April 4th, 2007 and is presented as raw catch. No expansions have been calculated at this time. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred. Most Chinook salmon captured during this time period have been young-of-the-year, and appear to be in good condition. Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of young-of-the-year Chinook salmon are near 1.0. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts are low (see attached catch table), but present in the catch. Steelhead young-of-the-year have been starting to show up in daily catches. All steelhead smolts captured appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low (see attached catch table), but present in the catch. Coho salmon smolt catch indicates a possible peak in Julian Week 12 (March 19-25). Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts are higher than 1.0, indicating good condition. All coho salmon young-of-the-year appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values near 1.0. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. (See attached file: WCT_CatchSummary_Apr_9_2007.pdf) Bill William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_CatchSummary_Apr_9_2007.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 15871 bytes Desc: not available URL: From sari at sisqtel.net Mon Apr 9 14:50:12 2007 From: sari at sisqtel.net (Sari Sommarstrom) Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2007 13:50:12 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: More Bad News for Arid West Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20070409133958.02fbada0@pop.sisqtel.net> >Permanent drought predicted for Southwest; Study says global warming >threatens to create a Dust Bowl-like period. Water politics could also get >heated > >Los Angeles Times - 4/6/07 > >By Alan Zarembo and Bettina Boxall, staff writers > > > >The driest periods of the last century - the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the >droughts of the 1950s - may become the norm in the Southwest United States >within decades because of global warming, according to a study released >Thursday. > >The research suggests that the transformation may already be underway. Much >of the region has been in a severe drought since 2000, which the study's >analysis of computer climate models shows as the beginning of a long dry >period. > >The study, published online in the journal Science, predicted a permanent >drought by 2050 throughout the Southwest - one of the fastest-growing >regions in the nation. > >The data tell "a story which is pretty darn scary and very strong," said >Jonathan Overpeck, a climate researcher at the University of Arizona who was >not involved in the study. > >Richard Seager, a research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at >Columbia University and the lead author of the study, said the changes would >force an adjustment to the social and economic order from Colorado to >California. > >"There are going to be some tough decisions on how to allocate water," he >said. "Is it going to be the cities, or is it going to be agriculture?" > >Seager said the projections, based on 19 computer models, showed a >surprising level of agreement. "There is only one model that does not have a >drying trend," he said. > >Philip Mote, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Washington who >was not involved in the study, added, "There is a convergence of the models >that is very strong and very worrisome." > >The future effect of global warming is the subject of a United Nations >report to be released today in Brussels, the second of four installments >being unveiled this year. > >The first report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was >released in February. It declared that global warming had become a "runaway >train" and that human activities were "very likely" to blame. > >The landmark report helped shift the long and rancorous political debate >over climate change from whether man-made warming was real to what could be >done about it. > >The mechanics and patterns of drought in the Southwest have been the focus >of increased scrutiny in recent years. > >During the last period of significant, prolonged drought - the Medieval >Climate Optimum from about the years 900 to 1300 - the region experienced >dry periods that lasted as long as 20 years, scientists say. > >Drought research has largely focused on the workings of air currents that >arise from variations in sea-surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean known >as El Ni?o and La Ni?a. > >The most significant in terms of drought is La Ni?a. During La Ni?a years, >precipitation belts shift north, parching the Southwest. > >The latest study investigated the possibility of a broader, global climatic >mechanism that could cause drought. Specifically, they looked at the Hadley >cell, one of the planet's most powerful atmospheric circulation patterns, >driving weather in the tropics and subtropics. > >Within the cell, air rises at the equator, moves toward the poles and >descends over the subtropics. > >Increasing levels of greenhouse gases, the researchers said, warms the >atmosphere, which expands the poleward reach of the Hadley cell. Dry air, >which suppresses precipitation, then descends over a wider expanse of the >Mediterranean region, the Middle East and North America. > >All of those areas would be similarly affected, though the study examined >only the effect on North America in a swath reaching from Kansas to >California and south into Mexico. > >The researchers tested a "middle of the road" scenario of future carbon >dioxide emissions to predict rainfall and evaporation. They assumed that >emissions would rise until 2050 and then decline. The carbon dioxide >concentration in the atmosphere would be 720 parts per million in 2100, >compared with about 380 parts per million today. > >The computer models, on average, found about a 15% decline in surface >moisture - which is calculated by subtracting evaporation from precipitation >- from 2021 to 2040, as compared with the average from 1950 to 2000. > >A 15% drop led to the conditions that caused the Dust Bowl in the Great >Plains and the northern Rockies during the 1930s. > >Even without the circulation changes, global warming intensifies existing >patterns of vapor transport, causing dry areas to get drier and wet areas to >get wetter. When it rains, it is likely to rain harder, but scientists said >that was unlikely to make up for losses from a shifting climate. > >Kelly Redmond, deputy director of the Western Regional Climate Center in >Reno, who was not involved in the study, said he thought the region would >still have periodic wet years that were part of the natural climate >variation. > >But, he added, "In the future we may see fewer such very wet years." > >Although the computer models show the drying has already started, they are >not accurate enough to know whether the drought is the result of global >warming or a natural variation. > >"It's really hard to tell," said Connie Woodhouse, a paleoclimatologist at >the University of Arizona. "It may well be one of the first events we can >attribute to global warming." > >The U.S. and southern Europe will be better prepared to deal with frequent >drought than most African nations. > >For the U.S., the biggest problem would be water shortages. The seven >Colorado River Basin states - Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, >Arizona and California - would battle each other for diminished river flows. > >Mexico, which has a share of the Colorado River under a 1944 treaty and has >complained of U.S. diversions in the past, would join the struggle. > >Inevitably, water would be reallocated from agriculture, which uses most of >the West's supply, to urban users, drying up farms. California would come >under pressure to build desalination plants on the coast, despite >environmental concerns. > >"This is a situation that is going to cause water wars," said Kevin >Trenberth, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in >Boulder, Colo. > >"If there's not enough water to meet everybody's allocation, how do you >divide it up?" > >Officials from seven states recently forged an agreement on the current >drought, which has left the Colorado River's big reservoirs - Lake Powell >and Lake Mead - about half-empty. Without some very wet years, federal water >managers say, Lake Mead may never refill. > >In the next couple of years, water deliveries may have to be reduced to >Arizona and Nevada, whose water rights are second to California. # > >http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-swdrought6apr06,0,7403662,full.st >ory?coll=la-home-headlines > >#### > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov Wed Apr 11 17:40:53 2007 From: BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov (Brandt Gutermuth) Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:40:53 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Indian Creek Final EA/EIR available on the web Message-ID: Hi Trinity River Supporters - The final EA/EIR for the Indian Creek Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River Mile 93.7 to 96.5 is available on the web at http://www.trrp.net/implementation/IndianCreek.htm Look to the bottom right "blue" block to find the final document. CEQA Certification of the EIR by Trinity County, and signing of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) by Reclamation, are expected to take place in early May. Construction is planned for this summer! Best Regards - Brandt ____________________________________________________________ More details follow: Trinity River Restoration Program and Trinity County Finalize the Indian Creek Rehabilitation Site Environmental Documents Under guidance of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP), the Bureau of Reclamation has acted as the federal lead agency in preparation of the Indian Creek Project Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Environmental Assessment (EA). The Trinity County Planning Department (Trinity County), in their role as the state lead agency, has prepared the Final Environmental Impact Report (Final EIR). This joint environmental document for the proposed Indian Creek Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River Mile 93.7 to 96.5 (FONSI-EA/Final EIR), meets National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements and fulfills evaluation needs stipulated under Executive Orders 11988 (floodplain management), 11990 (protection of wetlands), and 12898 (environmental justice). This mechanical channel rehabilitation project is one of those originally identified in the Interior Secretary's December 19, 2000 Record of Decision (ROD) as a necessary step towards restoration of the Trinity River's anadromous fishery. The purpose and need of the Project is to increase juvenile salmonid rearing habitat while reducing Trinity River flow impacts to structural improvements located adjacent to the river from implementation of Trinity River ROD flows. This Project is expected to not only increase fish habitat and to decrease water surface elevations locally, but also to improve healthy river functioning throughout the reach. Alternative 3, from the Supplemental EA/Recirculated Partial DEIR (SEA/RPDEIR), which minimizes in-channel construction during creation of floodplain habitat and reclaims onsite materials for use as spawning gravel at future project sites, has been found to meet the Project purpose and need, while minimizing environmental impacts. Construction of the project is planned for summer 2007. The FONSI-EA/Final EIR includes the EA/Draft EIR and SEA/RPDEIR (incorporated by reference), a list of persons and agencies commenting on the EA/Draft EIR, written comments, Lead Agency responses to comments, revised Draft EIR text, and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) for the proposed Project. Prior to approving the Project, Trinity County will certify that the Final EIR is in compliance with CEQA and Reclamation will sign the FONSI. After certification and signing of the FONSI in early May, the document will be used to support necessary permit applications as well as to identify and adopt appropriate monitoring and mitigation plans. Trinity County has received financial support for Project implementation from the California Department of Fish and Game's Fisheries Restoration Grant Program and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Targeted Watershed Grants Program. Trinity County is working as a partner agency under the EPA program with the Yurok Tribe and the Trinity County Resource Conservation District. All Project documents may be viewed at the TRRP's website at: http://www.trrp.net/implementation/IndianCreek.htm or on Reclamation's website at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2094. The documents may also be reviewed at the TRRP Office at 1313 South Main Street.(next to TOPS grocery); the Trinity County library, 211 North Main Street; or the Trinity County Planning Department, 60 Glen Road, all in Weaverville, California. For further information, please contact Trinity County Planner, Mr. Joshua Allen at 530-623-1351 (x3411), or email jallen at trinintyCounty.org; or Mr. Brandt Gutermuth, TRRP Environmental Specialist, at 530-623-1806 or bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov ___________________________________ Brandt Gutermuth, Environmental Specialist Trinity River Restoration Program PO Box 1300 (mailing) 1313 Main Street (physical address) Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1806 voice; (530) 623-5944 fax Bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov ___________________________________ From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon Apr 16 09:46:30 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:46:30 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Forest Service rehabilitates burned land Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7EC@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Forest Service rehabilitates land 4/12/2007 http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=22748 Land rehabilitation in the areas of the Trinity County Bar Complex and Junction fires continues after a devastating fire season in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Rehabilitation efforts are focused on reforestation, fuel reduction, slope and channel stabilization, road and trail restoration, public safety, invasive weeds, wildlife and riparian habitats, according to a U.S. Forest Service news release. Of the 3,126 acres burned in the Junction Fire on July 29, 2006, 303 acres were on National Forest Service System lands. "An emergency does not end when a fire is contained," said Trinity River Management Unit Ranger Joyce Andersen in the news release. "We have a lot of post-fire recovery work to do. So far, we have received $66,000 to begin our burned area emergency response on the Junction Fire." BAER dollars will go toward rehabilitating areas within the Junction Fire area. The Forest Service will use those dollars to complete numerous projects, including riparian stabilization in the area above Weaver Creek. Additionally, 35 tons of certified weed-free straw will be spread on both sides of State Highway 299 along the steeper slopes of Oregon Summit to stabilize soils, minimize deterioration in water quality and reduce sediment and debris movement. This week, Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials received $19,000 in national fire rehabilitation funds to reforest areas within the Junction Fire area. The Forest Service is also continuing restoration efforts on the Bar Complex Fires, which were started by lightning July 23, 2006, and burned slightly more than 100,000 acres. Officials have committed $98,000 to rehabilitate trails in wilderness areas impacted by the fires. While forest visitors will see the Forest Service responding to the needs of backcountry hikers and trail enthusiasts in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, they won't find officials removing fire-killed trees in the wilderness. Ninety-two percent of the land burned during the Bar Complex Fires is within congressionally designated wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act protects the wilderness values and precludes tree removal, unless there is an immediate danger to life, according to the news release. Almost all the remaining land burned is designated as roadless area. To remove fire-killed trees here requires approval from the state of California and the chief of the Forest Service, as well as an environmental impact statement. The Forest Service will remove hazard trees this summer along the Manzanita Ridge Road, east of Big Flat Campground, an area that provides access to a Trinity Alps Wilderness trailhead. The Forest Service has been meeting regularly with the Trinity County Board of Supervisors to collaboratively work through wildland fire issues. "We are working together to identify opportunities to reduce fuels in the county, including prescribed fire, mechanical fuel reduction treatments and thinning, which will reduce the impacts of a catastrophic wildfire," Andersen said. "One way for the public to reduce the risk from a wildfire is to create defensible space around their homes." In January 2005, a new state law became effective that extended the defensible space clearance around homes and structures from 30 feet to 100 feet. Research on a 1990 wildland fire that destroyed nearly 500 homes near Santa Barbara showed 78 percent of the houses with 30 feet of clearance survived, compared with 38 percent of those without any control. Proper clearance to the new 100-foot standard would dramatically increase the chance of a house surviving a wildfire, according to Forest Service officials. Firefighters say thinning the brush in the immediate vicinity of a home creates a "defensible space" where firefighters can make a stand against a blaze. For more information on defensible space and how to prepare for this year's fire season, visit the Shasta-Trinity National Forest Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity or contact the nearest Forest Service ranger station. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Apr 16 10:34:46 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 10:34:46 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Letter to Interior Secretary from Hoopa Valley Tribe on TRRP Funding Message-ID: <00ae01c7804e$9086b460$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent the attached letter to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on April 3, 2007. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Kempthorne Letter.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 114911 bytes Desc: not available URL: From RJWITTLER at mp.usbr.gov Mon Apr 16 15:35:36 2007 From: RJWITTLER at mp.usbr.gov (Rod Wittler) Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:35:36 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] TRRP Science Advisory Board comments on 1st Annual Science Symposium Message-ID: I received this letter belatedly today from the Science Advisory Board regarding the recently completed 1st Annual Science Symposium. - rjw Rodney J. Wittler Senior Scientist, Technical Modeling and Analysis Group Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300, or 1313 S. Main St. Weaverville, CA 96093 February 21, 2007 Dear Rod: Thank you for inviting us to your First Annual Science Symposium. We found it interesting, informative, and very well organized. As it was our first holistic view of the recent work in assessments and modeling, it allows us a chance to comment on the Program's science program as represented by the various presentations and our informal conversations with participants. The broad range in topics illustrates the comprehensive nature of the Program. This is especially so given the relatively narrow scope directed by the Record of Decision. The history of Trinity River efforts and longevity of many participants could have lead to a monolithic "group think" situation, but diverse experience from all involved maintains awareness of the enormous complexity involved with just increasing salmonids; other potentially impacted resources add to the complexity. Given this complexity, limited time, and funding, there will always be tension between focusing on the overall "experiment", i.e., increasing rearing habitat will increase returns of natural anadromous salmonids, and other factors that could affect these returns. As we see it, there are several working hypotheses besides the primary one involving rearing habitat. Even if there was enough funding to test every hypothesis, simultaneous testing is difficult or impossible because of the inherent experimental design: there is only one river, so most field-based treatments must be spread out over time unless their effects can be truly separated spatially. Given the limited amount of replication, the Program should be careful to weigh the benefits of additional tests and their impact on the primary test associated with the Record of Decision. We noted a wide range of relevance to the Program's mission and of scientific rigor in the work as presented. A justification process like the one in the draft Integrated Assessment Plan should screen out future, less-relevant projects, and rigor can be increased with input from Expert Review Panels. Projects with acceptable relevance can be conducted directly by staff or developed by cooperators. Although there is much expertise among the Program's staff, there may be limited time for them to develop all of the individual assessment projects ? especially their methods. For relevant projects, we suggest a focus on developing the ecological model and related hypotheses, identifying potential indicators and attributes, and keeping up with existing published information and data to prevent duplication of effort. There is no definite, exact way to prioritize the numerous assessments being considered, but an objective ranking system with input or review by independent experts should streamline the process. An assessment's priority depends partly on its cost, which is not fully known until the assessment is developed. Cost depends on the inherent variability of the attribute(s), the desired precision of the estimate, and the effort involved with obtaining it. If necessary, scaled-down pilot studies can provide insight into variability, and an ecological model should help define expected effect sizes or sensitivity to treatments. Again, we were impressed by the amount and diversity of the work and thinking seen at the Symposium, and it can only improve with a better process for selecting, developing, and conducting assessments. The IAP should greatly aid this process, and we look to seeing an updated IAP and any future work of the Program. Sincerely, Edmund Andrews, Josh Korman, and Michael Merigliano From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Apr 17 08:38:03 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 08:38:03 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Yurok environmental program honored Message-ID: <002601c78106$924809d0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5685845 Yurok environmental program honored The Times-Standard Article Launched: 04/17/2007 04:15:16 AM PDT KLAMATH -- The Yurok Tribe's Environmental Program will be honored this week with an award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ?The Environmental Achievement Award is a marker of the environmental program staff's recent accomplishments in ecological and cultural protection,? said Maria Tripp, the tribe's chairwoman. YTEP is a multifaceted program, shaped to protect and restore the tribe's natural resources and maintain a high community health standard. The EPA gives this award to agencies that have accomplished significant achievements in the protection of public health or the environment and in advancing the agency's strategic goals. Among the criteria is an outstanding contribution to environmental protection through a single action, or by an ongoing action over an appreciable period of time. The tribe's environmental program focuses on water and air quality, solid waste management, cultural resource protection and information management. YTEP has made large strides in its responsibilities, a tribal press release said, including the creation of the first and most extensive network of real-time water quality monitoring stations in the Klamath Basin. ?The monitoring stations serve to inform a large group of stakeholders and the public of the effects of water management decisions made on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers,? said YTEP Director Kevin McKernan. The Yurok Tribal program has also developed real-time air quality monitoring stations to alert the region's residents of air quality hazards during the fire season. The tribe has also been the lead on successfully acquiring clean up funds from the U.S Department of Defense to assess and remediate underground storage tank contamination from an old air force base on the reservation currently occupied by the National Park Service. ?Without the tribe's involvement, this contamination would have existed for many more decades,? McKernan said. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed Apr 18 10:12:07 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:12:07 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath River interests to take dam concerns to Warren Buffett Message-ID: <006901c781f0$6d7d4990$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> KLAMATH RIVER: Klamath River interests to take dam concerns to Warren Buffett Eureka Times Standard ? 4/18/07 By John Driscoll, staff writer American Indians, commercial fishermen and conservation groups plan to take their concerns about salmon-blocking dams on the Klamath River straight to the owner's ultimate chief -- billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Representatives from the North Coast will head to Omaha, Neb., in early May to plead with Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s CEO to take notice of the struggle over the fate of Pacificorp's dams. The company's shareholder meeting is the forum, and the tribes and fishermen plan to put on a brush dance in the vicinity of the gathering and perhaps bend the ear of investors. Berkshire Hathaway's MidAmerican Energy Holdings bought Pacificorp nearly two years ago, after the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk and Klamath tribes twice brought similar messages to previous owner Scottish Power. ?They didn't fix a damn thing,? said Hoopa Valley tribal member Merv George, who intends to bring a traditional redwood canoe to Omaha. ?They just sold it to someone else.? George said that he's optimistic that Buffett may only be uninformed about the effects his subsidiary's dams are having on Klamath salmon stocks. The mission to Omaha is an educational one, George said, that he hopes will spur Buffett to make decisions from the top. Pacificorp and MidAmerican, he said, have not been very helpful. The trip to the Midwest takes place as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission considers issuing another 30- to 50-year license for the hydropower dams. Settlement talks between the company and stakeholders along the Klamath River are also proceeding, but have yet to produce tangible results. Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation Commissioner Ronnie Pellegrini and her two daughters Eryn, 17, and Michaela, 14, are also making the trip. A fisherman's wife, Pellegrini said she hopes to bring a message that a healthy Klamath River is for the good of the fishing industry and others who depend on it. ?Everybody seems to want to take out the dams except Pacificorp,? Pellegrini said. ?Maybe we can go around Pacificorp and convince Warren Buffett of all the benefits of taking out the dams.? A spokesman for MidAmerican said that Pacificorp does inform its parent company of the status of negotiations and the relicensing process. Allan Urlis said Pacificorp is in charge of the negotiations. ?This is being managed and handled by Pacificorp,? Urlis said. He declined to say what the reaction of company leaders might be to the presence of the North Coast contingent in May. A call to Pacificorp was not returned by deadline. But the group is hoping to make an impression. ?We're going to take case to Berkshire: This subsidiary is not representing them very well,? said Karuk Tribe spokesman Craig Tucker. # http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5694054 #### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Apr 20 09:48:10 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:48:10 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Judge affirms ruling to shut delta pumps, protect fish Message-ID: <00e801c7836b$aec2a680$cf653940@trinitycounty.org> Judge affirms ruling to shut delta pumps, protect fish Associated Press ? 4/18/07 By Samantha Young, staff writer SACRAMENTO -- Brushing aside state objections, a judge Wednesday reaffirmed his March decision that California must stop pumping water out of the delta within 60 days unless it complies with environmental laws protecting fish. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch filed an order reiterating his position that the Department of Water Resources lacks the proper permits or authority to run a key station that pumps water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta into the California Aqueduct. "They submitted volumes of documents and declarations. The judge took one look at it, read it and said nothing has changed," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. The Department of Water Resources will appeal the decision, spokesman Ted Thomas said after the ruling became public. In court filings, the department said it had the authority to run the Harvey O. Banks pumping plant, a station west of Stockton that sends water to Southern California, the San Francisco Bay area and the Central Valley. Environmentalists and fishing groups have complained for years that the pumps suck in and kill threatened or endangered fish, including the chinook salmon and delta smelt, which are protected under the California Endangered Species Act. The smelt, which average 3 inches long, are considered a key indicator of the health of the delta. Their numbers have been dwindling over the past few years as pumping has increased. State officials have argued that the smelt are falling prey to other habitat changes and maintain that the department operates its pumps in a manner that does not lead to excessive fish kills. The water department also has applied for authorization from state wildlife officials to run the pumps. A decision is expected within the next month, which could satisfy the judge. If the pumps are shut down, state water deliveries couldn't continue without the Banks pumping station, according to the court order. It is the heart of the state water project and funnels 10,688 cubic feet per second of delta water through 11 pumps into the 444-mile long aqueduct. More than 23 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland get water that passes through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. State officials have warned any interruption of its water deliveries would cause severe economic harm. # http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/157225.html Ruling to shut down delta pumps affirmed San Francisco Chronicle ? 4/19/07 By Glen Martin, staff writer An Alameda County judge has affirmed his earlier decision that orders the state Department of Water Resources to comply with the California Endangered Species Act or shut down the huge water pumps that send water to 24 million Californians. Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ordered the agency to shut the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant near Tracy within 60 days unless it obtains authorization from the state Department of Fish and Game to kill winter-run Chinook salmon, spring-run Chinook salmon and delta smelt. The species are protected under state law. The pumps, which shunt Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta water south, have been blamed for destroying the beleaguered fish. On March 23, Roesch issued a draft ruling demanding the pump shut down in lieu of permits required by state law. The 60-day countdown will begin when the order is signed, which is expected no later than today. Water Resources Department spokesman Ted Thomas said agency officials could not comment on the ruling because they had not reviewed it. Fish and Game Department spokesman Steve Martarano said department officials were also reviewing the order. The court decision resulted from a lawsuit filed last year by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which wants more fresh water for the delta and its fisheries. Bill Jennings, the executive director of the sportfishing alliance, said the ruling "takes the albatross from (Water Resources) and puts it on Fish and Game." Jennings said the Fish and Game Department could declare the state rules comply with federal law or issue a permit to kill the fish. Either or both strategies could keep the pumps running. But such rulings would have to be based on firm scientific data showing no significant harm would be done to the fish, Jennings said. "We'll be sitting on their shoulder watching everything they do," he said. # http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/19/BAG52PB52J1.DTL Threat to key water supply reaffirmed; A judge's order over fish killed during pumping could halt the flow from the Bay Area delta to the Southland. A state official vows an appeal Los Angeles Times ? 4/19/07 By Bettina Boxall, staff writer A Superior Court judge has refused to back down from a ruling that in two months could virtually shut down the State Water Project, stopping the flow of Northern California water to Central Valley farms and 17 million Southern Californians. Over the objections of water officials, Alameda County Judge Frank Roesch this week reasserted a preliminary March ruling in which he found that the California Department of Water Resources had not obtained the proper state environmental permits to operate the huge pumps that siphon water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in the process killing threatened and endangered fish. The judge has given the department 60 days from the issuance of his final order to comply with the California Endangered Species Act, or he will turn off the pumps. Water officials have warned that a prolonged pumping shutdown would wreak havoc on the California economy and slash water deliveries to urban Southern California at a time when the region is experiencing what is on track to be the driest year on record. Water department Director Lester Snow said his agency would appeal the decision. "The 60-day clock starts ticking on what would be a devastating blow to the state's water system," he said. In the meantime, his agency is asking the state Department of Fish and Game to allow fish to be killed at the Harvey O. Banks Delta Pumping Plant, based on existing federal environmental permits. The pumps have long been a focal point of concern over the effect of huge water diversions from the delta, which is part of the largest estuary on the West Coast and has been severely degraded by farming, contaminants and water deliveries that have altered its natural tidal rhythms. The tiny native delta smelt, salmon and introduced sport fish have all been in steep decline. Recent years have brought an especially sharp drop in the population of smelt, which some scientists believe is headed for extinction. The escalating conflict between delta water deliveries and environmental protection is spurring a reexamination of whether the state should continue to use the sprawling delta northeast of San Francisco as the hub of its giant plumbing system or find some other ways of ferrying water between north and south. In the past the pumping has been briefly stopped, and water deliveries have also been reduced, to protect fish. But the possibility of a longer shutdown is sending ripples of anxiety throughout the State Water Project, which supplies about two out of three Californians, as well as irrigation water for 750,000 acres of farm land. Southern California water officials have said they have enough water in storage to avoid immediate rationing. But in court declarations, managers for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California warned that a shutdown of more than a year would empty their reservoirs, halt groundwater recharge programs and ultimately force mandatory rationing in the region. Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which filed the suit in which Roesch ruled, said it was unlikely the pumps would be turned off for long. "There's not a scare scenario here," he insisted. He argued that the water department could pursue a different tack to obtain a permit under the state Endangered Species Act to kill fish at the pumps. But, he said, that would probably involve reducing pumping levels to offset environmental harm caused by the water operation. However, state officials have said that permit process could take as long as 18 months. # http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-pumps19apr19,1,769555.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california Judge's ultimatum on delta pumps; ENDANGERED SPECIES AT HEART OF DISPUTE San Jose Mercury News ? 4/19/07 By Mike Taugher, MediaNews An Alameda County judge rejected last-minute pleas from state water officials and instead completed his order that they shut off massive Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta pumps in 60 days unless they can comply with the state law that protects endangered species such as delta smelt and salmon. The California Department of Water Resources said it would appeal Wednesday's ruling and warned of dire economic repercussions should the pumps be shut off. The State Water Project delivers water to 25 million people from the Bay Area to San Diego, but a shutdown would probably most severely affect Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. The Zone 7 Water Agency, which serves 200,000 people in those areas, gets 80 percent of its water from the state project and would have to impose a mandatory 20 percent reduction in the first year of a shutdown, said General Manager Jill Duerig. That would probably prohibit watering of lawns, carwashing and other activities, she said. "It would be water available for health and safety only," Duerig said. Some Livermore vineyards could be cut off entirely, she added. In the unlikely event that a shutdown extended into a second year, water use would have to be cut in half as water stored underground and in Lake Del Valle is used up. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch finalized his March 22 order and ruled the project lacks permits required under the California Endangered Species Act to kill delta smelt and protected salmon runs. Few expect the pumps to be turned off for any length of time, in part because it could cost the state economy hundreds of billions of dollars, state water officials say. Still, it has brought new urgency to the ongoing water crisis. The Department of Water Resources finds itself without a clear way to resolve the thorny legal predicament. Last week, the agency for the first time asked the Department of Fish and Game to formally review its operation by asking it to endorse federal endangered-species permits. If the Fish and Game Department agrees the federal permits are consistent with state law, the project would be in compliance and the shutdown threat would be averted. But the federal permits are widely perceived as flawed, and they are already being rewritten to address several shortcomings. # http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_5701604 State loses pumps ruling; It has 60 days before Delta water affected Stockton Record ? 4/19/07 By Hank Shaw, staff writer SACRAMENTO - Tick, tick, tick. The 60-day clock has begun on a court case that could result in the shutdown of the giant water pumps near Tracy that supply water to 25 million Californians. Alameda Superior Count Judge Frank Roesch ruled against the state Wednesday in a case brought against the departments of Water Resources and Fish and Game that argues the state has failed to follow its own laws - bringing a key species of fish to the brink of extinction as a result. Few expect the pumps to shut down, but the legal action, coupled with parallel litigation over the federal water pumps next to the state facility, could significantly curtail water pumping from the Delta. Water agencies from the Bay Area to the Central Valley and on into Southern California are beginning to develop emergency plans as a result. Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow said stopping the pumps would be a "devastating blow to the state's water system." State Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, said the state should have been following the law, even if it does mean less water for farms and communities elsewhere. "Everybody may have to step back and reassess what their expectations are," Machado said. At issue are the Delta smelt and the California Endangered Species Act. Smelt are viewed by biologists as a bellwether of the Delta's health, and they are dying. Scientists estimate only 35,000 smelt exist, down from 800,000 a few years ago. The die-off coincides with dramatically increased pumping at both the state and federal pumps. Killing threatened fish - or any other creature - requires a "take permit" issued by the Department of Fish and Game. The permit is designed to allow an entity to kill a few of the threatened creatures, so long as it does not harm the species as a whole. The Department of Water Resources has never requested such a permit, although Snow told a Senate hearing in 2005 he'd ask for one. Snow says a "patchwork" of internal rules effectively brings the department into compliance with the law. Roesch thought otherwise. He's given the state 60 days to follow the state Endangered Species Act or show it is acting consistently with the federal Endangered Species Act; if the state fails, he'll order the pumps shut down. A complicating factor is that the rules governing the federal pumps are likely to change as a result of another lawsuit; a hearing in that case is slated for next Thursday. Snow said the state will appeal Roesch's decision. Machado said he wants to hear from the department what it plans to do should it lose that appeal. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday. # http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070419/A_NEWS/704190325 Ruling Could Jeopardize State Water Supplies KCBS 740 AM ? 4/18/07 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A judge today reaffirmed a decision that California must stop pumping water out of the delta within 60 days unless it complies with environmental laws protecting fish. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch filed an order reiterating his position that the Department of Water Resources lacks the proper permits or authority to pump water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Department of Water Resources had asked him to reconsider his March 22 ruling. A department spokesman said the state will now appeal the decision. The state pumps water from its Harvey O. Banks facility to more than 23 million people in Southern California, the Bay Area and the Central Valley. If the pumps were shut down it would cripple state water supplies. The water department has applied for authorization from state wildlife officials to run the pumps. A decision is expected within the next month, which could satisfy the judge. # http://kcbs.com/pages/366919.php?contentType=4&contentId=422691 Water decision bad news for Kern Bakersfield Californian ? 4/18/07 SACRAMENTO -- It was more bad news for Kern County farmers and water officials when Alameda County Judge Frank Roesch finalized his order giving state water project managers 60 days to get a major environmental permit or shut down their pumps. Jim Beck, general manager of the Kern County Water Agency, said the agency and the state Department of Water Resources and other water users are "analyzing all our legal and political options." "From what I understand," Beck said, "we have 60 days to file our appeal." If the pumps are shut down in 60 days, it would halt flows in the California Aqueduct, which supplies more than 20 percent of the water used in Kern County, at the height of the summer irrigation season. That would be a severe blow to the county's biggest industry, costing farmers "millions and millions of dollars" and throwing many workers off their jobs, Beck has said. # http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/122806.html #### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Apr 20 09:49:24 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 09:49:24 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Editorial: A message Buffett needs to hear Message-ID: <00f101c7836b$da44cdb0$cf653940@trinitycounty.org> Editorial: A message Buffett needs to hear Eureka Times Standard ? 4/19/07 Warren Buffett is no dummy. The 76-year-old financial wizard of Omaha, Neb., didn't build a personal fortune of $52 billion by throwing at a dartboard. The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway knows a good investment when he sees one -- often when others don't -- and the market keeps a close eye on his every move. That's why the people who care about the Klamath River and its importance of the salmon fishery to the North Coast's economic and social health are smart to take their ?take out the dams? message to Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting in early May. Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings bought Pacificorp two years ago. American Indians, conservation groups and fishermen will make a plea that Pacificorp stop its efforts to re-license its salmon-blocking hydropower dams on the Klamath. The stakeholders -- including the Hoopa, Karuk and Klamath tribes -- will do a brush dance in an effort to education Buffett and others about the issues. The timing is right for a couple of reasons. First, the Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha draws a lot of attention from investors, much like the pronouncements of Apple's Steve Jobs are avidly followed by the technology world. And second, Buffett has been scratching his philanthropic itch by adding billions to Bill and Melinda Gates' foundation, which was built on their Microsoft fortune. He may be in a mood to listen to why decisions about his dams in the remote Pacific Northwest impact the lives of so many people. There is more and more evidence that taking out the dams actually would financially benefit Pacificorp. That is a message that Buffett needs to hear from some real people. # http://www.times-standard.com/allopinion/ci_5702756 #### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Apr 20 10:36:25 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:36:25 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] San Joaquin River Restoration Costs Message-ID: <003801c78372$77b32cd0$0501a8c0@optiplex> This also has implications potentially for legislation that might be introduced to provide a new funding authorization with increased funding for the Trinity River Restoration Program. Byron $500 million price put on river repair bill; The estimate delays action by Congress on plan to restore the San Joaquin and reintroduce salmon Sacramento Bee - 4/20/07 By Michael Doyle, staff writer WASHINGTON -- Legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a $500 million federal price tag, raising fresh problems for a delicate political compromise whose future remains in question. The newly estimated river restoration cost exceeds earlier predictions. It could force antsy lawmakers to raise taxes or cut other projects. Already, it is delaying congressional plans for fixing the San Joaquin. In other words, the new price tag poses a big headache for San Joaquin River bill supporters. For skeptics, it's an opportunity. For farmers, it's a reminder that if political compromise fails, a federal judge still could take charge of the river's future. "I think the costs are a lot higher than have been advertised, and that's a considerable problem for the bill," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, said Thursday. Alone among San Joaquin Valley lawmakers, Nunes publicly opposes the San Joaquin River restoration bill. He is seizing on the new Congressional Budget Office assessment as ammunition in his fight. Introduced by Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, the San Joaquin River bill would help restore water and salmon to a channel depleted of both decades ago. The money would fund improvements so more water could spill over Friant Dam, with salmon due to be introduced into the revived river before 2013. Congress requires budget office estimates for all bills. The long-awaited study predicts the San Joaquin River restoration bill would cost the federal government about $430 million over 10 years, and $500 million by the year 2026. "I don't think the CBO score will prevent this bill from being passed," Radanovich's press secretary, Spencer Pederson, said Thursday. "It's something they're going to have to work through." Still, the estimates do clarify the hurdles still remaining. In particular, House Democrats now require that new spending be balanced by additional revenues or new savings. The San Joaquin River bill is one of the first natural resources bills to confront the new pay-as-you-go budget requirements. Although the entire $500 million may not have to be offset, it can be hard to find programs to eliminate. "Good luck," Nunes said. "Who are they going to cut?" The legislation would help settle a lawsuit filed in 1988. Environmentalists charged in the suit that Friant Dam's construction and operation had dried up the once-thriving San Joaquin River. Facing a potentially strict judge's decision, Friant-area water districts on the San Joaquin Valley's east side agreed to settle. Currently, Friant Dam releases an average of 117,000 acre-feet of water annually, with farmers getting most of it. The river restoration plan calls for between 247,000 and 555,000 acre-feet of water to be released annually, depending on how much water is available. "(It) strives to bring life to a dormant river, while securing reliable water for fertile Valley farmlands which depend on the river," Radanovich said at a hearing last month. Nunes fears the settlement will drive farmers out of business. Originally, Friant-area water districts and environmentalists had hoped to get the legislation passed by last Dec. 31. They made little progress. Theoretically, either party can now back out of the settlement -- and throw future river decisions to the federal judge. Radanovich and his San Joaquin Valley allies reintroduced the river bill this year. Thursday was supposed to be the day for a House subcommittee to mark up the legislation and approve it. Anticipating progress, Friant Water Users Authority attorney Dan Dooley flew out from California. But the new budget questions thwarted those plans, forcing last-minute cancellation of the scheduled mark-up. Instead, Dooley and his allies spent part of this week trying to adapt new tactics. The cost estimate includes $215 million construction projects authorized in the bill over the next 10 years; for instance, levees needed to stop flooding. This was essentially expected based on the bill's explicit language. The cost estimate also includes upward of $217 million, covering additional spending that will be funded by fees paid by Friant farmers. Some bill proponents don't think this should be counted as a cost, since the money is already being provided. The budget office also notes the San Joaquin River work will cost the federal government some lost tax revenues, as a result of California issuing tax-exempt bonds to pay for river work. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Apr 20 10:40:40 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:40:40 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Suit argues to lift salmon protection Message-ID: <003d01c78373$103b54f0$0501a8c0@optiplex> Suit argues to lift salmon protection Thursday, April 19, 2007 JEFF BARNARD The Oregonian EUGENE -- Property rights advocates, farm groups and development interests asked a federal judge Wednesday to lift Endangered Species Act protections from all threatened and endangered salmon across the West, arguing that the government failed to count fish spawned in hatcheries. The federal government and conservation groups countered that the Endangered Species Act requires consideration of the best available science, which clearly indicates that depending on fish raised in hatcheries to boost salmon numbers will, over the long run, harm fish that spawn naturally in rivers. Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights public interest law firm based in Sacramento, brought the suit on behalf of the Building Industry Association of Washington, the Coalition for Idaho Water, farm bureaus in Idaho and Washington, the California State Grange and others. The lawsuit builds on U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan's 2001 ruling that the federal agency in charge of restoring dwindling salmon populations, violated the Endangered Species Act when it put wild and hatchery fish in the same group, but then protected only the wild fish. The plaintiffs want the court to lift threatened and endangered species listings for all 16 protected populations of salmon in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and California. If they win, some restrictions on logging, irrigation and urban development could eventually be lifted around the West. Restrictions on hydroelectric dam operations in the Columbia Basin would not be affected, because the case does not challenge 10 populations of steelhead, which overlap many of the protected salmon zones. Pacific Legal Foundation is challenging those listings, too, in U.S. District Court in Fresno, Calif. C2007 The Oregonian Fighting to save wild fish Richard Kennon Director Native Fish Society PO Box 19570 Portland, OR 97280-0570 tightlines at centurytel.net www.nativefishsociety.org tel: tel2: 360-686-3626 360-903-6095 cell Add me to your address book... Want a signature like this? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: attd1431.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2368 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NFSLOGO-small.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 15997 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: click_to_call.gif Type: image/gif Size: 345 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Apr 20 10:46:16 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:46:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity County Planning Department Phone Extension Update Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E7F3@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity River Enthusiasts, Please take not that the phone system for the Trinity County Planning Department, which is the agency Tom Stokely and I work under within the Natural Resources Division Trinity River Program, has changed. Unfortunately it is not as convenient as the last system in that you could just punch our extension in when the message came on. Now you will have to listen to multiple messages to punch in certain numbers to find us within the "tree". See below: Main Greeting: Welcome to the Trinity County Planning Department. Press 1 for Planning; Press 2 for Natural Resources; Press 3 for GIS Planning Division Greeting: Press 1 for General Information or Ruth Hanover Press 2, for Jeanne Bonomini Press 3, for Kathleen Hitt Press 4, for John Jelicich Natural Resource Division Greeting: Press 1 for the 5 Counties Program or Press 2 for the Trinity River Program 5 Counties Program Greeting: Trinity River Program Greeting: Press 1 for Mark Lancaster Press 1 for Tom Stokely Press 2 for Sandra Perez Press 2 for Josh Allen Press 3 for Christine Jordan If a caller makes a mistake, they'll be able to press -0- and connect with Ruth Thank you for taking note of this change. Joshua Allen Associate Planner PO Box 2819 60 Glen Road Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: (530)623-1351 ext. Message, press 2 - Message, press 2 - Message, press 2 Fax: (530)623-1353 E-mail: jallen at trinitycounty.org Website: http://www.trinitycounty.org/Departments/Planning/natresources3.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TBedros765 at aol.com Fri Apr 20 15:45:41 2007 From: TBedros765 at aol.com (TBedros765 at aol.com) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 18:45:41 EDT Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribe - $90 Million Rejection Message-ID: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ? April 20, 2007 HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE APPEALS DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR DECISION ON THE HOOPA-YUROK SETTLEMENT FUND Media Contacts: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 Tom Schlosser (206) 386-5200 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 Hoopa, Calif. ? In what the Hoopa Valley Tribe called a, ?reprehensible and lawless,? action the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) today handed $90 million of trust fund monies that originally came from Hoopa timber sales to the Yurok Tribe. ?This is reminiscent of faithless federal actions in the 19th Century when Indian agents would give the property of one tribe to another and hide from their responsibilities,? said Hoopa Tribal Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall. He was reacting to a letters sent to him today from Ross Swimmer, DOI Special Trustee who released the funds, and a second letter from DOI Deputy Solicitor Lawrence Jensen informing the Hoopa Valley Tribe that Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne would not refer the distribution decision to the Department of Interior Board of Indian Appeals. Marshall said the Hoopa Valley Tribe is considering its legal options including forcing the U.S. Treasury to pay damages for the loss of tribal trust monies. This is a result the Hoopa Valley Tribe has been trying to avoid. It is unclear how or whether the funds will be made available to the Yurok Tribe. If and when money is withdrawn from the trust account a damages claim will follow. The original monies in the HYSA Trust Fund came (98%) from timber sales on the Hoopa Valley Reservation. The tribe agreed to share the timber receipts money with the Yuroks as a condition of the l988 Congressional HYSA act that split the reservations. The Yuroks refused to accept the division of the reservation and the money. Their unsuccessful litigation for more money ended when the U.S. Supreme Court would not hear their case. ?The Settlement Act gave the Yurok Tribe until November 1993 to drop its litigation and obtain certain benefits; it refused to do so,? said Chairman Marshall. ?Now that they lost in the courts they have used lobbying tactics at the Department of Interior to reverse the last decade of legal and administrative decisions saying they could not access this money.? The Hoopa Valley Tribe had asked Congress to intervene and resolve this final fiscal chapter of the HYSA. Marshall said, ?Congress could have resolved this issue equitably for both tribes, but the Interior Department has chosen to amend the statute by itself.? - 30- ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Distribution PR.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 22814 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Apr 23 15:11:49 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:11:49 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Flow Increases Message-ID: <004e01c785f4$810b62f0$0501a8c0@optiplex> Project: Lewiston Dam - Trinity River Release Date Time From To 4/26/07 2000 300 400 4/26/07 2200 400 500 4/27/07 0000 500 700 4/27/07 0200 700 900 4/27/07 2000 900 1100 4/27/07 2200 1100 1300 4/28/07 0000 1300 1500 4/28/07 2000 1500 1750 4/28/07 2200 1750 2000 4/29/07 0000 2000 2500 4/30/07 0100 2500 3000 4/30/07 1300 3000 3500 4/30/07 2300 3500 4000 5/01/07 0100 4000 4500 5/06/07 0100 4500 4300 5/07/07 0100 4300 4100 5/08/07 0100 4100 3900 5/09/07 0100 3900 3750 5/10/07 0100 3750 3600 5/11/07 0100 3600 3450 5/12/07 0100 3450 3300 5/13/07 0100 3300 3150 5/14/07 0100 3150 3000 5/15/07 0100 3000 2900 Issued By: Tom Morstein-Marx USBR Comment: TRPP Flows - April 26 - May 15 portion. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Apr 24 18:28:04 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:28:04 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Sac Bee April 24 Message-ID: <000301c786d9$05197c50$0301a8c0@acer47253a5cc0> Democrats kill governor's dam-building plan By Judy Lin - Capitol Alert Last Updated 1:15 pm PDT Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Saying they preferred to champion water conservation and protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, Senate Democrats on Tuesday voted down Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $4 billion plan to put two dams on the 2008 ballot. Senate Bill 59 by Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, had Republican support, but couldn't muster the necessary five votes to pass out of the Democrat-led committee. SB 59 calls for voters to approve bonds to build one dam at Temperance Flat just above Friant Dam near Fresno, and the other on Sites reservoir in Colusa and Glenn counties. Republicans from the Central Valley argue there hasn't been new dam construction in the last 25 years while the state's population has grown by 15 million. In a statement, the governor said he would "continue to utilize all available means to push for a solution that includes surface storage, allowing California to implement a water plan to endure longer drought periods and higher flood peaks." Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, said no one questions the need for more water storage, but he questioned the cost and locations of the proposal. Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, said Democrats were putting their own solution forward in the form of Senate Bill 1002, which allocates bond money for water and conservation. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Apr 26 11:03:00 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:03:00 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: River Restoration Website and Shortcourse Update Message-ID: <00de01c7882d$65997490$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Kondolf" To: "Matt Kondolf" Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 4:06 AM Subject: River Restoration Website and Shortcourse Update > > We are pleased to announce the launch of a new website hosting > river-restoration research occurring at UCB and beyond ? > > restoration.ced.berkeley.edu > > The website includes links to: > > ? current restoration symposiums and conferences, > ? independent research and dissertations related to river restoration, > ? results of the California node?s research in the National River > Restoration Science Synthesis (NRSSS), > ? recently published papers on restoration science, > ? courses on and off-campus in watershed science and planning, and > ? jobs, grants, and post-doctoral opportunities in the field > > > Some spots are still available for the shortcourse: > GEOMORPHIC AND ECOLOGICAL FUNDAMENTALS FOR RIVER AND STREAM RESTORATION > > August 13-17, 2007 > Sagehen Creek Field Station near Lake Tahoe, California > > For more information and registration form: > restoration.ced.berkeley.edu/shortcourse or > http://landscape.ced.berkeley.edu/~kondolf/shortcourse/ > > For questions, please contact restoration_shortcourse at yahoo.com. > > This course consists of organized lectures, backed by lecture notes, a > reference text on measurement and analysis methods in fluvial > geomorphology, spreadsheets, and other relevant reading, field trips, > exercises, and discussions. The course includes several field trips to > rivers and streams in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the nearby Sierra Nevada > range, and Truckee River with their spectacular mountain scenery, diverse > fluvial environments, and range of human impacts (and their often very > visible consequences). The course includes workshops on geomorphic river > restoration problems faced by participants, who briefly present the > problem for discussion by instructors and colleagues in a workshop format, > for discussion and ideas on analytical approaches and resources. The > overall content of the course will be similar to the successful offerings > of previous years, with adaptations to the new environment that will be > updated on the website and in course information as it develops. > > Course instructors: Peter Wilcock, Johns Hopkins Univ; Matt Kondolf, Univ. > California Berkeley; Mary Power, Univ. California Berkeley; Jack Schmidt, > Utah State Univ, > Mitch Swanson, Swanson Hydrology/Geomorphology; Scott McBain, McBain & > Trush; > Chad Gourley, Otis Bay LLC; Mark Tompkins, CH2M HILL; Shannah Anderson, > Univ California Berkeley; Matt Kiesse, River Run Consulting; Jim > Litchfield, Truckee River Foundation; Tom Taylor, ENTRIX, Inc.; Ken Adams, > Desert Research Institute > > The course is ideal for anyone responsible for managing and restoring > rivers and streams, including those who have previously taken shortcourses > in the field, as this course offers insights and approaches unlike those > typically taken in many restoration projects today. Practitioners and > agency staff responsible for reviewing restoration proposals will benefit > from the high caliber of instruction and direct link to current research. > This course is a good choice for those seeking an understanding of > process-based river restoration in contrast to the form-based projects > commonly implemented. And this course is unique in offering the > opportunity to learn from such an extensive and growing data set of > post-project appraisals of restoration projects, and to learn how to > conduct effective post-project monitoring. The number of participants is > limited to 28 to provide opportunities for one-on-one instruction. > > Course details > The course fee of $1,980 includes tuition, continuing education credits > through UC Riverside Extension, field trip transportation, and course > materials, including printed copies of lecture notes, CD with PDF files of > additional papers and spreadsheets, and a copy of the reference work Tools > in Fluvial Geomorphology. The course fee also includes three meals per day > for five days, beginning Sunday dinner through Friday lunch, 12-17 August. > > LODGING FOR THE COURSE > Participants can make their own lodging arrangements among a choice of > hotels in Truckee (about 10 mi south of Sagehen, near Hwy I-80) or can > take advantage of comfortable, inexpensive accommodations on the beautiful > grounds of the research station. Lodging at the field station is $20/night > per person, which entitles you to a bunk bed in a cabin with 6-8 beds, and > clean, updated bathroom facilities. You can stay in the bunk bed in the > cabin or pitch your tent outside on the station grounds (and use the bunk > to store gear if you wish). > > OTHER SHORTCOURSES AVAILABLE > Most of the material presented in the 5-day shortcourse is presented by > some of the same instructors in two comparable shortcourses, offered in > Logan, Utah, and Baltimore, Maryland. Like the 5-day Sagehen (Tahoe) > course, these assume a basic understanding of stream reach > characterization. > > Ecological and Geomorphic Principles of Stream Restoration > June 4-8, 2007 Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore > http://www.palmerlab.umd.edu/ > (please note - website update coming soon) > > Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration > July 16-20, 2007 Utah State University, Logan > http://uwrl.usu.edu/streamrestoration/ > > An advanced class is offered in Logan in August. > Principles and Practice of Stream Restoration, Part II (Design Problem) > August 20-24, 2007 Utah State University, Logan, UT > http://uwrl.usu.edu/streamrestoration/ > > How These Courses Relate > The 5-day "principles" shortcourses (Ecological and Geomorphic > Fundamentals, Principles of Stream Restoration, and Geomorphic and > Ecological Fundamentals) share many of the same instructors, and are > designed to cover much the same material, although adapted to the specific > environments in which the courses are offered. > > The advanced 4-day course in sediment transport calculations and channel > design includes a full design problem, including hydraulic and sediment > transport modeling, site layout, and riparian planting. It is open to > students who have completed any of the 5-day shortcourses (in MD, UT, or > CA). > > From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Fri Apr 27 14:02:52 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2007 14:02:52 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update Message-ID: To Whom it May Concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?April 27, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The site utilizes multiple eight foot diameter rotary screw traps. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. As the river continues to drop, salmonid catches are increasing rapidly. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through April 22nd, 2007 and is presented as raw catch. No expansions have been calculated at this time. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred. Most Chinook salmon captured during this time period have been young-of-the-year, and appear to be in good condition. Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of young-of-the-year Chinook salmon are slightly higher than 1.0 with a possible slight increase in condition in Julian weeks 15 and 16. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts (age 1) are increasing. Steelhead young-of-the-year showed a small pulse in Julian Weeks 13-15. All steelhead smolts captured appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low, especially for natural smolts. Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts are higher than 1.0, indicating good condition. All coho salmon young-of-the-year appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values near 1.0. We have been catching good numbers of salmonids that were marked at the upstream Pear Tree Site, and this year may prove to have sufficient data to get precise calculations of migration rates between the two traps. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. (See attached file: WCT_CatchSummary_Apr_27_2007.pdf) William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_CatchSummary_Apr_27_2007.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 15524 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Apr 30 09:44:16 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:44:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Environmentalists' lawyers say U.S. Fish and Wildlife approved pumping of Delta water despite dwindling smelt Message-ID: <006001c78b49$2cdea250$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> DELTA ISSUES: Fish data ignored, groups contend; Environmentalists' lawyers say U.S. Fish and Wildlife approved pumping of Delta water despite dwindling smelt Contra Costa Times ? 4/27/07 By Mike Taugher, staff writer FRESNO -- The federal agency responsible for protecting endangered species ignored information that showed the Delta smelt population crashed to its lowest level before approving a plan to increase water pumping out of the Delta, lawyers for environmental groups charged Thursday. By disregarding that information, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allowed farms and cities across the state to take water that was needed to help prevent the fish from going extinct, environmentalists contend. The charge came during a court hearing in which environmentalists appeared to gain ground in their attempt to overturn a critically important permit that allows massive water-delivery projects near Tracy to operate, even though the pumps kill endangered smelt. In a separate lawsuit, they also are challenging a permit to kill salmon. Lawyers for state and federal water agencies contend the permit is valid and should be upheld. The hearing Thursday was the latest in a series of fast-moving court actions that are eroding the legal foundation upon which California's major water-delivery systems are allowed to operate. Earlier this month, a judge in Alameda County Superior Court ruled that the larger of the two water projects, the State Water Project, is operating illegally because it lacks smelt and salmon permits required under the state's endangered species law. Sensing that they are likely to lose another lawsuit, lawyers for water agencies urged U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger not to immediately revoke the permit for the operations of the state pumps and the federal Central Valley Project. "We would not like to see these two projects turned into a criminal enterprise because of the lack of an endangered species permit," said Gregory Wilkinson, a lawyer for the State Water Contractors, an association of water agencies that deliver water from the state-owned pumps to 25 million people from the East Bay to San Diego. Wanger hinted strongly that he would rule in favor of the environmental groups, but he added that he did not intend to do anything "draconian," perhaps signaling he would not immediately revoke the permit or order pumps to be shut down. Nevertheless, a finding that the federal permit is inadequate would deal a major blow to state water officials who are trying to stave off a looming court order in the Alameda County case that threatens to force them to cut off water deliveries around June 9. "If he says this thing is invalid, it will be very embarrassing" to state water officials, said Trent Orr, a lawyer representing the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmentalists in the lawsuit. The state's plan to avert the shutdown is to get a determination from the state Department of Fish and Game that federal endangered species permits are sufficient. But Fish and Game officials, who have said it will be difficult to endorse the federal permits because of widely acknowledged flaws, will have an even harder time if the federal permit is struck down. "What does it mean to say this thing is consistent with something a federal judge has said is invalid?" Orr said. Because of the phenomenal economic damage that would ensue, few believe the court actions will result in an extended cutoff of water deliveries. However, Thursday's hearing did appear to strengthen the hand of regulators if they want to obtain water for the Delta ecosystem that now goes to farms and cities. Outside court, Wilkinson said state regulators could still endorse the federal permits. In part, he said, they appear to be working better this year because of adjustments in water operations. That could justify such a move on the part of state regulators, he said. At the time the federal permit was issued in February 2005, biologists were circulating among themselves and to water managers information showing that Delta smelt and other fish in the Delta's open waters were in a worrying free fall. And, they were reporting, the pumps were believed to be at least part of the cause of the emerging ecological crisis, along with invasive species and pollution. Environmentalists also charged in the lawsuit that the permit did not take into account the future impact of climate change. And the permit relies too much on the discretion of agencies instead of imposing strict requirements to protect the fish, Orr argued. Water agencies argued Thursday that the flexibility allows agencies to conserve fish while balancing competing demands for water. But Wanger appeared skeptical. "It appears that what has been done hasn't been effective, and therefore the answer is trust us?" he asked. "Is that what the law calls for?" # http://origin1.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_5764443 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue May 1 10:18:45 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 10:18:45 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project Message-ID: <002301c78c14$c6d6f800$0501a8c0@optiplex> Bureau of Reclamation News Release Notice of Preparation Available and Scoping Meeting Scheduled for the Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken 916-978-5100 Released On: April 30, 2007 Under guidance of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP), the Bureau of Reclamation, Federal lead agency, and the Trinity County Resource Conservation District, State lead agency, announce the availability of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for the "Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project. The Draft EIR/EA will be a joint document prepared to meet the National Environmental Policy Act and California Environmental Quality Act requirements. The Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project is located along approximately 6.3 miles of the Trinity River upstream of the New Bridge on Trinity Dam Blvd. This project is one of several already implemented channel rehabilitation efforts and one of many planned for the next five years which will help enhance river processes and increase fisheries habitat downstream of Lewiston Dam, as described in the December 19, 2000, Record of Decision for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Environmental Impact Statement. A 30-day public scoping period will be held Tuesday, May 1 to Thursday, May 31, 2007, to elicit comments on the range of actions, alternatives, mitigation measures, and significant effects to be analyzed in the Draft EIR/EA. A public scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 6:30 p.m. Lewiston Community Center, 302 Texas Avenue, Lewiston, CA 96052 Map Project information will be presented and comments on the scope of the Draft EIR/EA will be accepted. The NOP and future project information is also available at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2697. For further information or to receive a copy of the NOP, please contact Mr. Brandt Gutermuth, Bureau of Reclamation, at 530-623-1806 or Mark Dowdle at Trinity County Restoration Conservation District, at 530-623-6004. Written comments may be sent to Mr. Gutermuth, Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, Weaverville, CA 96093, or e-mail bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov or Mr. Dowdle, Trinity County RCD, P.O. Box 1450, Weaverville, CA 96093, or e-mail mdowdle at tcrcd.net.# http://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=16741 Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue May 1 15:56:33 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 15:56:33 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Deputy Asst. Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Resigns Message-ID: <007501c78c43$f73854b0$0501a8c0@optiplex> ESWR Update (5/1/07) MacDonald resigns as Deputy Asst. Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Julie MacDonald, the DOI deputy assistant secretary who shared internal Fish and Wildlife Service documents with the California Farm Bureau Federation, the Pacific Legal Foundation, and an online gaming friend, has resigned, Endangered Species & Wetlands Report has learned. MacDonald submitted her resignation last night, sources told ESWR. The department has not responded to a request made today for a copy of the letter. MacDonald also cursed and yelled at FWS career employees, the report said. One FWS assistant director said MacDonald had been "abusive to her and had become a liability to FWS," according to the IG report. MacDonald was the subject of a recent Inspector General report that found she broke federal regulations by sharing non-public information outside the agency, and also by appearing to show preferential treatment. The report also provided details on a number of instances where MacDonald, an engineer by trade, overruled Fish and Wildlife Service scientists. The Interior Department said it would respond to the IG report by April 30. ESWR has not been able to obtain the reply. Copyright Poplar Publishing/Endangered Species & Wetlands Report 2007 Steve Davies, editor (stevedavies at eswr.com) http://www.eswr.com/aaeswr.htm Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout,Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 ph 415 383 9562 fx bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http:// www.fotr.org http:// www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu May 3 14:51:48 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 3 May 2007 14:51:48 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Group files suit against Pacificorp for alleged toxic blooms Message-ID: <010501c78dcd$9c94ad70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> KLAMATH RIVER DAMS: Klamath River people challenge dam owner Eureka Times Standard ? 5/3/07 By John Driscoll, staff writer The Klamath River's dams are a nuisance and create a threat to public health, American Indian and fishing interests are alleging in a major federal lawsuit against the dam's owner Pacificorp. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco Wednesday looks to stop the company from operating its dams in a way that proliferates toxic algae blooms and threatens the river's fisheries and people who swim or hold religious ceremonies in its water. The law firms of Kennedy and Madonna -- run in part by Robert Kennedy, Jr. -- and corporate law heavy hitter Joseph Cotchett of Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy filed the suit. The plaintiffs are members of the Yurok and Karuk tribes, a commercial salmon fisherman who runs a boat out of Half Moon Bay and a riverside business owner, as well as the nonprofit group Klamath Riverkeeper. They claim that Pacificorp and regulators have failed to reverse deteriorating water quality in the river and its reservoirs. Operation of the dams warms water and accentuates toxic algae blooms, they claim, which have crushed the river's fisheries and pose a serious threat to public health. ?We've been doing our due diligence trying to get authorities to deal with the issue,? said Leaf Hillman, vice chairman of the Karuk Tribal Council and a priest who spends long periods of time in the river for religious ceremonies each year. ?As time has gone on it's gotten a little more frustrating.? Hillman spoke by cell phone from Omaha, Neb. where tribal and fishing interests are protesting the Klamath dams at the shareholders meeting of Pacificorp parent company Berkshire Hathaway. The groups are asking Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett to push Pacificorp to remove the dams. Pacificorp spokeswoman Jan Mitchell said it's the company's policy not to comment on pending litigation. She said Pacificorp has been working with a group of stakeholders to come up with a resolution of the dispute over the river's hydropower dams, and has been working with federal regulators on a parallel course to relicense its operations. The Karuk Tribe recently asked the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to impose restrictions on the discharge of toxic algae from Pacificorp's reservoirs. The board turned down the request last month, saying its authority is trumped by the Federal Power Act. Board Executive Officer Catherine Kuhlman said mandatory closures of lakes or water bodies -- like those the state of Oregon imposes -- during big algae blooms would require state rule-making action. She said the board, the tribes and local health officials are coming out with voluntary guidelines meant to guard against exposure to harmful algae this summer. The suit says the dams unnaturally heat water in the reservoirs, prompting algae blooms and delaying cooling of the river as fall run chinook salmon begin their run to spawning grounds. It also claims that the reservoirs slow water from warming in the spring, stunting the growth of young salmon which can make them susceptible to parasites and predators. In 2004, the U.S. Geological Survey found the dams do the same thing, and suggested that removing the dams might make the river more friendly to salmon in the fall. Well-known trial lawyer Kevin Madonna said in a phone interview that the case is about standing up for people who are politically powerless against a company who has diminished the resource it profits from. ?It's a fundamentally undemocratic situation,? Madonna said. Madonna wouldn't comment on why the suit was brought by individual litigants instead of as a class action. Cotchett's firm is well-know for its huge lawsuits against corporations, savings and loan organizations, and even against Vice President Dick Cheney over the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name. # http://times-standard.com/local/ci_5808211 Editorial: Clean environment vs. clean environment Eureka Times Standard ? 5/3/07 For years, as the debate over the Klamath River's four hydroelectric dams has raged, the company has offered up lots of reasons why the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should relicense them for another 30 to 50 years. But none has approach the chutzpah of its latest argument: Keeping the dams will help fight global warming. It was probably inevitable, given that the overwhelming evidence of global warming has convinced everyone except the most diehard carbon-emission lovers. It's now politically correct for PacifiCorp to claim that even though the dams provide power to only a small fraction of its customers, the only viable alternatives to the river are building plants using coal or natural gas. Thus, the long tug of war -- clean environment vs. jobs, or vs. the automobile, or vs. urban sprawl -- takes on a whole new dimension: clean environment vs. clean environment. The Klamath has been sick for decades because of the dams. They block several hundred miles of potential spawning habitat for salmon. Low water flows cause the water to become too warm, causing thousands of salmon to die from disease. Reservoirs pollute the river by prompting toxic algae blooms, which can also be dangerous to people. The salmon fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest has been brought to its knees. PacifiCorp proposes to trap fish and haul them up above Upper Klamath Lake, then truck the young fish back down again. But state and federal studies have shown that decommissioning the dams could be tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than keeping them in place, while letting the salmon swim their way up and down. The trucking argument seemed ridiculous, but the global warming rationale takes the cake. Give it up, PacifiCorp -- take down the dams. # http://www.times-standard.com/allopinion/ci_5808212 Group files suit against Pacificorp for alleged toxic blooms Associated Press ? 5/2/07 By Sarah Skidmore, staff writer PORTLAND, Ore.- A group of Klamath River tribal leaders, commercial salmon fishermen, recreational business owners and the Klamath Riverkeeper Group sued in federal court in Northern California Wednesday claiming two PacifiCorp dams on the river cause massive toxic algae blooms. The lawsuit contends the reservoirs behind Iron Gate and Copco dams in Northern California are a toxic nuisance, threatening salmon fishing and posing a human health threat. The suit wants Portland-based PacifiCorp to stop operating the dams in a way that causes the blooms. PacifiCorp spokeswoman Jan Mitchell said the company does not comment on pending litigation. PacifiCorp is seeking a new operating license for a number of its dams. But numerous Indian tribes, commercial fisherman and conservation groups want the dams removed rather than relicensed?saying the dams hurt water quality, wildlife and cause other problems. The company contends removal would eliminate a source of renewable, low-cost power. PacifiCorp serves 1.6 million customers in six Western states. A collapse of wild salmon returns to the Klamath River triggered drastic cutbacks in salmon fishing off the coasts of Oregon and California last summer and prompted the governors of the two states to call a summit to consider removing the dams. The summit was delayed so the various parties could try to reach an agreement. PacifiCorp began settlement talks with 26 other parties affected by the dams as part of the relicensing process. Regina Chichizola with the Klamath Riverkeeper said none of the individuals named in the lawsuit are involved in the settlement talks. The individuals involved are part of a larger effort to draw attention to their concern and are headed for Omaha, Neb., this week where Berkshire Hathaway is holding a shareholders' meeting. PacifiCorp, is owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., which is controlled by billionaire Warren Buffet. Berkshire Hathaway is his investment group. They hope to capture Buffett's attention. "We believe Warren Buffet really does care about health issues and poverty issues, what PacifiCorp is doing is hurting the health and viability of (others)," Chichizola said. "By talking to Warren Buffet, we are hoping to appeal to those concerns." # http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_5802774 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon May 7 08:59:44 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 08:59:44 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Make Doug Schleusner Walk the Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E82B@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Hi All - Are you tired of the budget? We're meeting this Saturday (May 12) at the Lowden Park Pool - hoping to make the Executive Director of the Trinity River Restoration Program - walk the plank. If we raise $200 - Doug will be guided by young pirates from the Weaverville swim team, to Davy Jones' Locker. ALL proceeds from the fun go to save the community pool. There will also be raffle tickets, refreshments, and FUN at 3:45 by the Lowden Park Pool side. That's after the children's festival in the park. BE there. I'll lead off by placing $20 to see Doug walk. Just mail your check to the Lowden Aquatic Park Project (LAPP - a tax exempt organization) - and I'll add up the total. Make checks out to: LAPP PO Box 2881 Weaverville, CA 96093. Or drop checks (or cash) by the TRRP office and leave in the Treasure chest (for Doug's support of the pool) on Brandt's desk. Don't miss this chance to help save the Weaverville pool, to maintain your health and safety in Trinity County (via support of search and rescue training facilities), and to have fun with locals. Thanks for any support! All proceeds support the pool! Visit http://www.lowdenaquaticpark.org/ for more details, or call me in the evenings at (530) 623-2318. LAPP Treasurer - Brandt Gutermuth -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon May 7 09:51:39 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 09:51:39 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] LA Times- Fields of conflict in the Klamath Message-ID: <000301c790cd$138c0f70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Fields of conflict in the Klamath http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath7may07,1,400173.story?coll=la-headlines-california Activists say farmers are poised to solidify their presence in the basin's federal wildlife refuges. By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer May 7, 2007 Photo Gallery Farmland - and a wildlife haven TULE LAKE, CALIF. ? Under the rolling cloud-scape of the Klamath Basin, a curious rite of spring is underway. Migratory birds are flocking to the basin's necklace of federal wildlife refuges straddling Oregon and California ? one of the most important stops on the Pacific Flyway. As usual, the geese, mallards and terns are sharing the sanctuaries with tractors. Agriculture fields have elbowed onto what once were marshes and shallow inland seas, shrinking the basin's wetlands by nearly 80%. Environmentalists have long fought to stop that farming, saying the refuges belong to the birds. But now, activists say, farmers in the Klamath Basin appear poised to cement their presence on the refuges, the basin's most productive farmland. Farmers are gaining an edge in closed-door settlement talks over the fate of four dams on the Klamath River, which meanders across two states before pouring into the Pacific Ocean north of Eureka, Calif. Environmentalists universally support dam removal, which would let endangered salmon reach upriver spawning grounds blocked for nearly a century. Activists with a pair of Oregon-based groups, however, fear that a looming compromise backed by the Bush administration will come at an unacceptable cost: an agreement to forever allow farming in the refuges. The 23-page settlement proposes up to $250 million to ease soaring electricity costs for irrigation pumps and possibly finance a renewable energy plant. Farmers and other big landowners could also be shielded from endangered-species restrictions invoked to revive imperiled fish species: the salmon, two types of suckerfish in Upper Klamath Lake and the bull trout, which is found in upstream tributaries. "The Bush administration has hijacked these talks about dam removal to advance unrelated policy goals bad for the environment and bad in the long term for the Klamath Basin," said Steve Pedery of Oregon Wild, a Portland nonprofit. At this point, that resolute stand is a lonely one. Other participants in the talks, including several national environmental groups, say it's too early to go to the mat over a deal that's anything but done. "If folks are talking about one thing or another being sold out, we think that's very premature," said Amy Kober of American Rivers. "There's still plenty to be worked out." The administration's top negotiator declined to discuss details but rejected any notion of pressure from Washington. "I've had a free rein to do whatever I felt was right," said Steve Thompson, California-Nevada manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I haven't felt any pressures, other than that Klamath is controversial from all sides." Forging a consensus on the Klamath has proved extraordinarily complicated. Compromises, experts say, will be inevitable for the proposal to get federal and state support. "It's a huge stretch to imagine that commercial agriculture is benefiting wildlife populations in the long run," said Nancy Langston, a University of Wisconsin environmental studies professor who has studied the Klamath crisis. "But getting buy-in from as many people in the basin as possible is critical in the long run." After more than two years of discussions, 26 of the 28 groups ? U.S. water and wildlife agencies, the states of California and Oregon, fishermen, four tribes and an array of environmental groups ? have agreed to push forward to settle details in the agreement. Meanwhile, Oregon Wild and WaterWatch of Oregon, the two groups vocally objecting to what they describe as concessions to farmers, have "essentially been voted off the island," said John DeVoe, WaterWatch's executive director. In addition to pushing for reduced water demand in the basin and higher river flows, the two groups ran aground in their quest to protect the refuges ? and lighten the footprint of agriculture. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 29599673.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3060 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: photoicon.gif Type: image/gif Size: 374 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon May 7 12:21:20 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 12:21:20 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Indian Creek Rehabilitation Project Notice of Determination, Findings, and Resolution Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E82D@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity River Enthusiasts, Attached to this e-mail are Adobe Acrobat copies of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Notice of Determination (NOD), CEQA Findings of Fact, and Trinity County Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 2007-45 certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Indian Creek Rehabilitation Project (Project). The NOD will be submitted to the State of California Governor's Office of Planning & Research this afternoon and has been posted at the County of Trinity's Clerk Recorder office as of May 7, 2007 located at the Trinity County Courthouse, 101 Court Street in Weaverville. The Project is a joint project between the County of Trinity as State CEQA Lead and the Bureau of Reclamation Trinity River Restoration Project (TRRP) as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Lead. The NEPA portion of the environmental documentation is being implemented as a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) under an Environmental Assessment (EA). Documentation relating to the FONSI-EA/FEIR can be found online at http://www.trrp.net/implementation/IndianCreek.htm and physical copies are located at the TRRP office at 1313 South Main Street in Weaverville and at the Trinity County Planning Department office at 60 Glen Street in Weaverville. Funding for the Project will come from the TRRP Rehabilitation and Implementation Group funding as designated by the Trinity Management Council and significant funding and support has been contributed by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Funding from DFG will be contributed from the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program. Funding from the USEPA will be contributed from the Targeted Watersheds Grant Program and is being implemented in partnership with the Yurok Tribe and Trinity County Resource Conservation District who will be implementing other restoration projects in the Trinity River watershed in conjunction with the Indian Creek Rehabilitation Project. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Thank you. Joshua Allen Associate Planner PO Box 2819 60 Glen Road Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: (530)623-1351 ext. 222 Fax: (530)623-1353 E-mail: jallen at trinitycounty.org Website: http://www.trinitycounty.org/Departments/Planning/natresources3.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Signed Resolution for Indian Creek Rehab Project FEIR.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 57816 bytes Desc: Signed Resolution for Indian Creek Rehab Project FEIR.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Indian Creek CEQA Findings (00004134)_signed version.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 366762 bytes Desc: Indian Creek CEQA Findings (00004134)_signed version.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Signed and Stamped NOD for Indian Creek Rehab Project.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 970659 bytes Desc: Signed and Stamped NOD for Indian Creek Rehab Project.pdf URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon May 7 14:25:32 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 7 May 2007 14:25:32 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Pump doubts raised years ago Message-ID: <011501c79186$bc9deca0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Note: The State Water Project's Delta Pumps are sometimes used to pump CVP (including some Trinity) water, and there are (or were?) plans to use the SWP pumps more in the future to increase CVP deliveries south of the Delta. Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org Pump doubts raised years ago Contra Costa Times ? 5/6/07 By Mike Taugher, staff writer State water officials four years ago inquired about getting approval to kill imperiled fish at the massive water pumps near Tracy, according to internal government e-mails obtained by the Times. But the Department of Water Resources never got that approval, and as a result the pumps are now operating under a legal cloud and the threat of a court-ordered shutdown. The department, which insists it has the legal authority it needs, nevertheless was making inquiries about getting a state endorsement as early as 2003, indicating that officials knew there was a possibility they could run afoul of the California Endangered Species Act. "We knew people had expressed concerns," said department deputy director Jerry Johns. But, Johns said, to his knowledge the water agency never made a formal request for approval from the Department of Fish and Game. "For reasons I don't know, we didn't move forward," he said. The e-mails show the water department was asking state biologists to endorse federal permits that allow the agency to run the huge pumps even though protected fish, including Delta smelt and salmon, are killed in the process. That endorsement is the simplest way to comply with the state endangered species law. The Fish and Game Department never issued an endorsement and never issued a permit of its own. "It's almost as if the agencies came to loggerheads and DWR decided to tuck its head down and hope no one noticed they didn't have CESA (state Endangered Species Act) compliance," said Andrea Treece, a lawyer representing environmental groups that sued to overturn the federal permits. "It really seems like politics has been driving this whole process," she added. "It seems like scientists have been raising flags, saying, 'We have problems with this project.' And they've just been rolled." The legal underpinning of the state's major water delivery projects is being challenged as scientists are trying to figure out why several open-water fish species, including Delta smelt, are in a steep and alarming decline. Most experts say Delta pumps are at least partly to blame, but invasive species, especially a voracious clam, and pollution also are suspected. Last month, an Alameda judge ruled that the State Water Project, which delivers water to 25 million Californians from the East Bay to San Diego, is operating in violation of state law because it has neither a state permit nor permission to rely exclusively on the federal permit. The judge gave state water officials 60 days to comply or shut off the pumps. State water officials have vowed to appeal the court order, saying a prolonged shutdown would be economically catastrophic given how much cities and farms rely on the Delta water. Johns said that although he did not know why his agency never formally requested approval from state regulators, it may have been because the water agency says that a patchwork of existing agreements and documents is enough to satisfy the law. But Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch rejected that position. And the e-mails indicate that state officials were considering ways to shore up their position as long as four years ago. "They were clearly aware they didn't have the necessary permits. They were seeking them, but they were seeking them in a way Fish and Game could not (approve)," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, which brought the lawsuit. To avoid a shutdown, state water officials have now asked state biologists to endorse the federal permits that allow the killing of protected Delta smelt and the spring and winter salmon runs. A decision is due Wednesday. The disclosure that the state's water management agency in 2003 and 2004 inquired about, but did not get, regulatory approval under the California Endangered Species Act raises several questions. Namely, why did the agency seek regulatory approval if it believed it already had the appropriate authority? Why was no approval granted? What changed that might allow state regulators to issue approvals now when they did not before? And, finally, if state regulators concluded that water operations did not comply with the state endangered species law, did they have an obligation to do something about it? Department of Fish and Game spokesman Steve Martarano declined to answer those questions, saying only that one of the e-mails obtained by the Times dealt with the narrower issue of whether species such as the yellow-billed cuckoo and bank swallow -- protected only under state, as opposed to federal, law -- could also be covered along with smelt, salmon and other species covered by the federal permit. "We're looking to what is happening in the future," Martarano said. "Those e-mails are not the same as what's taking place today." The state endangered species law is stricter in some ways than its federal counterpart. That means obtaining state approval could lead to tougher limitations on water operations and, as a result, less water for California's cities and farms. The internal e-mails show that water agency officials began contacting wildlife regulators at least as early as 2003 about obtaining regulatory endorsements, called "consistency determinations," of the federal permits. At that time, state and federal water officials were developing a comprehensive reworking of how the state's plumbing is operated through a document called the Operations Criteria and Plan, or OCAP. That document spells out how state and federal water agencies coordinate operations of major reservoirs in Northern California and massive Delta pumps. In a 2003 e-mail, an official at the state wildlife agency told colleagues that a water agency official asked for a meeting "to go over how we expect to deal with the consistency determination requirement." He complained that biologists were getting only a "symbolic opportunity" to review an early draft of the water planning document. "This OCAP business has always been one of our biggest challenges, and our record is weak," the Fish and Game official, Jim White, wrote. In the e-mail, White emphasized to colleagues that they needed to figure out what requirements would have to be met to protect fish under state law, then work with federal regulators to ensure that the federal permits were strict enough to meet those requirements. But the following year, another e-mail showed that state salmon biologists had concerns about the OCAP's proposed relaxation of cold-water standards in the Sacramento River. The change, which has since been approved, "will have a far reaching effect on the movement and distribution of salmonids in the upper Sacramento River," the e-mail said. In another e-mail under the subject heading "revisions to (California Endangered Species Act) OCAP letter," a water department lawyer told a colleague that "we want DFG (the Department of Fish and Game) to find that the entire federal opinion is sufficient to meet state requirements." The lawyer, Cathy Crothers, wrote that she had revised a departmental letter "so that DWR can meet CESA obligations for all listed species by requesting DFG consistency based on the federal opinions." A leading critic of the water agency said that by not disclosing the apparent difficulties that water officials were having in complying with the state endangered species law, the state agencies hampered efforts to fix the ailing Delta, which has since gotten worse. "That would have brought the parties together to say, What can we do to make it better?" said state Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden. Instead, Machado said, the agencies kept those difficulties under wraps and discussed them behind closed doors. "Now we've pulled back the curtain and see what it is," Machado said. "This is a total abdication of responsibility." # http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_5832356 ##### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed May 9 11:03:57 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 11:03:57 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Final Redd Scour Report Message-ID: <002001c79264$6a365900$0501a8c0@optiplex> I have posted the final report for the Redd Scour study on our FTP site. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please download it from: ftp://ftp.usbr.gov/TRRP/redd_scour/ Regards, Andreas __________________________________ Andreas Krause, P.E. Physical Scientist Trinity River Restoration Program P.O. Box 1300 (mailing address) 1313 South Main St. (physical address) Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: 530-623-1807; Fax: 530-623-5944 Website: www.trrp.net Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed May 9 11:06:14 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 9 May 2007 11:06:14 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Flow Schedule Message-ID: <002d01c79264$bbefac60$0501a8c0@optiplex> Project: Lewiston Dam - Trinity River Release Date Time From To 5/16/07 0100 2900 2800 5/17/07 0100 2800 2700 5/18/07 0100 2700 2550 5/19/07 0100 2550 2450 5/20/07 0100 2450 2350 5/21/07 0100 2350 2250 5/22/07 0100 2250 2150 5/23/07 0100 2150 2050 5/24/07 0100 2050 1950 5/25/07 0100 1950 1850 5/26/07 0100 1850 1750 5/27/07 0100 1750 1700 5/28/07 0100 1700 1600 5/29/07 0100 1600 1550 5/30/07 0100 1550 1500 5/31/07 0100 1500 1450 6/1/07 0100 1450 1400 6/2/07 0100 1400 1300 6/3/07 0100 1300 1250 6/4/07 0100 1250 1200 6/5/07 0100 1200 1150 6/6/07 0100 1150 1100 6/7/07 0100 1100 1050 6/8/07 0100 1050 1000 6/9/07 0100 1000 950 6/10/07 0100 950 900 6/11/07 0100 900 850 6/13/07 0100 850 800 6/14/07 0100 800 750 6/16/07 0100 750 700 6/18/07 0100 700 650 6/20/07 0100 650 600 6/21/07 0100 600 550 6/23/07 0100 550 500 6/25/07 0100 500 450 Issued By: Tom Morstein-Marx Comment: TRPP Flows Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri May 11 15:29:48 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 15:29:48 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: FRGP deadline extended to May 24, 2007 Message-ID: <000301c79423$8b48aab0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Helen Birss" To: "Helen Birss" Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 12:55 PM Subject: Fwd: FRGP deadline extended to May 24, 2007 > To: All Prospective Applicants > > This e-mail is to inform you that the due date for proposals submitted > to the Department of Fish and Game Fisheries Restoration Grant Program > (FRGP) and Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp Program (BDSFES), > has been extended to May 24, 2007. We encourage you to submit your > proposals at any time prior to the due date. > > The 2007 Proposal Solicitation Notice (Solicitation) with the new > deadline date is available on our web page at > www.dfg.ca.gov/nafwb/fishgrant.html. > > In order to be considered for 2007/2008 funding, proposals submitted by > mail must have a U.S. POSTAL SERVICE POSTMARK no later than May 24, > 2007. Proposals delivered by any other means (FEDEX, U.P.S., > electronically, etc.), including hand delivery, must be delivered no > later than May 24, 2007, at 3:00 p.m. > > This extension will allow the Solicitation to be posted on the > Department of General Services Contracts Register (CSCR) website > (http://www.cscr.dgs.ca.gov/cscr/) to reach the broadest group of > potential applicants. > > We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you have > questions, please contact me at (916) 327-8842, or email: > hbirss at dfg.ca.gov. > > > Sincerely, > Helen Birss > Fisheries Restoration Grant Program > Fisheries Branch > Department of Fish and Game > > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Addendum 1_1.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 148261 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon May 14 11:23:50 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 11:23:50 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] NorthCoast Journal- Mission to Omaha Message-ID: <005a01c79655$056d3c60$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> There is an interesting article on the trip to Omaha by the Klamath River Basin Coalition to visit Warren Buffet in the May 10 issue of the North Coast Journal at: http://www.northcoastjournal.com/051007/cover0510.html Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Mon May 14 12:21:51 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 12:21:51 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] 2007 Lower Trinity River Juvenile Salmonid Outmigrant Monitoring In-Season Report Message-ID: To Whom it May Concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?May 14, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The site utilizes multiple eight foot diameter rotary screw traps. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. As the river continues to drop, salmonid catches are increasing rapidly. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through May 6th, 2007 and is presented as raw catch (see attached catch summary). No expansions have been calculated at this time. Data entry is not complete for Julian Week 18, April 30th to May 6th. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred. Most Chinook salmon captured during this time period have been young-of-the-year, and appear to be in good condition. Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of young-of-the-year Chinook salmon are slightly higher than 1.0 with a possible slight increase in condition from Julian weeks 15 through 18. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts (age 1) are increasing. Steelhead young-of-the-year showed a small pulse in Julian Weeks 13-15. All steelhead smolts captured appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low, especially for natural smolts. Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts are higher than 1.0, indicating good condition. All coho salmon young-of-the-year appear to be in good condition with weekly mean Fulton?s K values near 1.0. Coho salmon smolt catches, both natural and hatchery, in Julian Week 17 increased coincident with the increased water releases from Lewiston Dam. We have been catching good numbers of salmonids that were marked at the upstream Pear Tree Site, and this year may prove to have sufficient data to get precise calculations of migration rates between the two trap sites. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. (See attached file: WCT_CatchSummary_May_14_2007.pdf) Bill William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_CatchSummary_May_14_2007.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 15876 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue May 15 16:39:08 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 16:39:08 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] SWRCB Notice of Public Workshop - Suction Dredge Mining Message-ID: <003101c7974a$3e150ed0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> This may be of interest to persons in the Trinity River basin. Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org ----- Original Message ----- From: To: "Tom Stokely" Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 4:21 PM Subject: SWRCB Notice of Public Workshop - Suction Dredge Mining Please find attached the Notice of Public Workshop on Suction Dedge Mining to commence on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at the Resources Building. The comment deadline is June 22, 2007 by noon. Song Her, Clerk to the Board State Water Resources Control Board 1001 "I" Street, 24th Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone (916) 341-5600 Fax (916) 341-5620 sher at waterboards.ca.gov -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is a message from the State Water Resources Control Board. > ________________________________________________________________ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > _________________________________________________________________________________ > You are currently subscribed to board_workshops as: > tstokely at trinityalps.net > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > leave-board_workshops-1480N at swrcb18.waterboards.ca.gov > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: suction_dredge_mining.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 42245 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed May 16 15:34:13 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 15:34:13 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Dan Westermeyer's Going Away Party Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E849@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Hello All, There is a going away party for Dan Westermyer, who is the Watershed Coordinator for the Trinity Watershed Group & Project Implementation Coordinator at the Trinity County RCD, this Saturday at Lowden Park (see flyer). If you can attend, please bring your own BBQ item and side dish to share as well as drinks. Please distribute as appropriate. Mark -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Dan Invite.ppt Type: application/vnd.ms-powerpoint Size: 141824 bytes Desc: Dan Invite.ppt URL: From JVorpage at dfg.ca.gov Fri May 18 16:48:00 2007 From: JVorpage at dfg.ca.gov (Jane Vorpagel) Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 16:48:00 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] unsuscribe Message-ID: <464DD8C0020000BB00002172@dfg.ca.gov> Please take me off this list. Thanks, Jane Jane Vorpagel Staff Environmental Scientist Department of Fish and Game (530) 225-2124 (530) 225-2381 Fax From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Sat May 19 13:20:18 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 16:20:18 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Byron with the Governor Message-ID: Do enough surfing and you never know what will pop up. Civic Center Groundbreaking, May 25, 1966. Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Byron W. Leydecker stands at the podium while California Governor Edmund G. Brown stands to his right. Photograph by Ken Molino Photography >From the Marin County archives www.co.marin.ca.us/.../2004fair/flw/flw24.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Byron.gif Type: image/gif Size: 186582 bytes Desc: Byron.gif URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon May 21 10:19:27 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 10:19:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] SALMON 'RIVER ORIGIN' OCEAN TRACKING PROGRAM EXPANDS Message-ID: <013901c79bcc$302ba9b0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> SALMON 'RIVER ORIGIN' OCEAN TRACKING PROGRAM EXPANDS Posted on Friday, May 18, 2007 (PST) A successful pilot program launched last year that used genetics to determine the river origin of chinook salmon caught off Oregon's central coast will begin its second season this month and expand to the entire coast off Oregon as well as to northern California waters. The hope is to discover more about the distribution of salmon in the ocean so that fisheries managers can make in-season decisions and allow the harvest of healthy stocks while mitigating the harvest of weakened runs. The ultimate goal is to avoid shutting down the entire coastal fishery -- as happened in 2006 to protect weakened runs from the Klamath River, say Oregon State University researchers who are leading the study. "Every piece of the project that we experimented with last year worked," said Gil Sylvia, director of OSU's Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and a co-principal investigator on the project. "We have the protocols down. We know we can identify with a high degree of certainty the origin of wild or hatchery fish caught offshore -- and do it within roughly 24 hours. "Now our goals are to learn whether Klamath stocks are aggregated within a specific area at a certain time, and whether there are differences in the catch composition close to shore and outside of six miles," he added. Dubbed Project CROOS (Collaborative Research on Oregon Ocean Salmon), the effort is a unique collaboration among scientists, commercial fishermen and fisheries managers. The 2006 pilot study was funded by a grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and coordinated by the Oregon Salmon Commission and researchers at OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. During the field studies, 72 Oregon fishing vessels took part and provided 2,567 viable tissue samples from fresh-caught salmon to an OSU genetics laboratory in Newport, Ore. Of that total, OSU geneticists were able to assign a probability of 90 percent or more in determining river origin to 2,097 fish -- meaning they could determine with a high degree of certainty the hatchery, river basin, or coastal region of origin of about four out of every five fish. Confirmation for their protocol came from traditional research methods, pointed out Michael Banks, an OSU geneticist and co-principal investigator on the study. "Thirty-one of the fish had coded wire tags attached, listing their hatchery of origin," Banks said. "We ran our genetic profile on the tissue samples without knowing what the coded wire tags said and correctly identified the hatchery of origin for all 31 fish. That's pretty good confirmation that the testing works." The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board has provided another grant, totaling $590,000, for the 2007 work, which will run from Astoria to Brookings encompassing all four of Oregon's offshore salmon regions. A portion of the grant will fund an expected 70-90 fishermen who will provide fins and other tissue samples to the OSU researchers, who hope to analyze more than 9,000 samples this year. "The challenge is to figure out how to corral the fishermen into the right areas at the right time so that we can collect an estimated 1 percent sample of the stock at a given time," Banks said. "We're aiming for 200 samples every week, in all four regions." The National Marine Fisheries Service is providing another $400,000 to help offset costs of participating fishermen and the genetic testing of the samples at the OSU laboratory in Newport and in two NMFS laboratories. This funding will help support the new research in California, which is establishing its own pilot study this year based on the Oregon model. During a four-week period beginning this week, the California Salmon Council hopes to collect about 1,600 tissue samples provided by 16 California fishermen who are working the waters north and south of Point Arena, according to David Goldenberg, CEO of the council. "The goals are very similar to what Oregon is trying to accomplish with the Klamath River runs, but we're a year behind," Goldenberg said. "This is a pilot project for us, to get the kinks worked out, get the sampling procedures under our belts, and to hopefully secure federal funding for next year. We'd like to involve 100 to 150 boats next year. "The other objective is to spread the word among the fleet that this research is not something to be afraid of," Goldenberg added. In Oregon, the fishing industry has gotten the message loud and clear and welcome the research, Sylvia said. Many of the fishermen are particularly interested in some of the oceanographic data the researchers gathered last year, using buoys and programmable undersea gliders to determine the ocean's temperature, salinity, chlorophyll level and dissolved oxygen content in the areas the fish were caught. "I started fishing in 1970 and this is the most optimistic I've been about any kind of research relating to salmon," said Paul Merz, one of the project's fisherman who fishes out of Charleston. "I'm still a cynic when it comes to management decisions. But this is the science that has been missing in all of the policy arguments -- and it's something where you can see the immediate results." Two other new initiatives will be part of Project CROOS in 2007, according to Sylvia. The OSU researchers will work with fishery managers to create a trial management simulation model for ocean salmon fishing. "Before the science can realistically lead to new management protocols, we need to start thinking about the logistics of such a system," Sylvia said. "Right now, we don't even know all of the questions to ask. But if we start looking at such a management system -- even in its roughest form -- some of the challenges and opportunities will become clear." A second development will be the creation of a 24-hour website that will be part of the decision-making model. But it also will include a variety of data accessible to fishermen, and information about fresh-caught individual salmon that will be available to consumers. "Think about going into a seafood market in Portland, or in New York City, for that matter, and buying a salmon caught off Oregon, and tracking down the day it was caught, the location, and the river of origin," Sylvia said. "Then you can click on another link and read about the fishing vessel that caught the salmon, and the crew that works the boat. "Some of the fishermen are as excited about the marketing potential of the research as they are with the management potential," he added. The researchers hope to have the new website operational by late summer. * Related Stories from the CBBs MembersArchives: --- (8/4/2006) RESEARCH USES DNA TO IDENTIFY OCEAN SALMONS HOME http://www.cbbulletin.com/Archive/08042006/176433.aspx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov Mon May 21 15:01:50 2007 From: BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov (Brandt Gutermuth) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 15:01:50 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehab Project - Public presentation on the web Message-ID: The Trinity River Restoration Program held a public scoping meeting to discuss and receive input on our planned Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project on May 15, 2007 at 6:30 pm at the Lewiston Community Center (302 Texas Ave). If you were unable to attend or would like to look at the slide presentation from the meeting, please take a look at the Trinity River Restoration Program website at: http://www.trrp.net/documents/DarkGulch/LewDkGPublicMtg_May15,2007.pdf or the Trinity County Resource Conservation District's website at: http://www.tcrcd.net/pdf/Lewiston-Dark_Public-Presentation_2007-05-15.pdf The official pre-project scoping period goes through May 31, 2007 but don't hesitate to provide valuable input until the DRAFT EA/EIR is released in approximately Sept 2007. If you have any questions, please give me a call or email. Best Regards - Brandt An ad from the Trinity Journal is included below: Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project Public Scoping Meeting May 15, 2007: 6:30 pm Lewiston Community Center Under guidance of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP); the Bureau of Reclamation, Federal lead agency, and the Trinity County Resource Conservation District, State lead agency, announce the availability of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Environmental Assessment (EA) for the ?Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project: Trinity River Mile 105.4 to 111.7? The Draft EIR/EA will be a joint document prepared to meet California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act requirements. The Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project is located along approximately 6.3 miles of the Trinity River from upstream of the New Bridge on Trinity Dam Blvd to just upstream of the Bucktail Bridge on Browns Mountain Road. This project is the 4th channel rehabilitation project built or in the planning stages, that will work together to enhance river processes and increase fisheries habitat downstream of Lewiston Dam, as described in the December 19, 2000, Record of Decision for the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Environmental Impact Statement. Habitat quality and complexity will be enhanced via construction of slow water refuge habitats, placement of structures (e.g., large woody debris), and introduction of gravel into the river?s floodplain. A 30-day public scoping period will be held May 1 to May 31, 2007, to solicit comments to assist the lead agencies in identifying the range of actions, alternatives, mitigation measures, and significant effects to be analyzed in the Draft EIR/EA. A public scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2007, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lewiston Community Center, 302 Texas Ave, Lewiston, CA.. Project information will be presented and comments on the scope of the Draft EIR/EA will be accepted. Project information is also available at: http://www.tcrcd.net or www.trrp.net For further information or to receive a copy of the NOP, please contact Mr. Mark Dowdle at TCRCD, at 623-6004 or Mr. Brandt Gutermuth, Bureau of Reclamation, at 623-1806. Comments may be sent to: Mr. Mark Dowdle, Trinity County RCD, P.O. Box 1450, Weaverville, Ca 96093 or e-mail mdowdle at tcrcd.net or Mr. Brandt Gutermuth, c/o Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, Weaverville, CA 96093, or e-mail bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov. ___________________________________ Brandt Gutermuth, Environmental Specialist Trinity River Restoration Program PO Box 1300 (mailing) 1313 Main Street (physical address) Weaverville, CA 96093 (530) 623-1806 voice; (530) 623-5944 fax Bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon May 21 15:33:00 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 15:33:00 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Channel Projects Message-ID: <000801c79bf7$fd281b80$0201a8c0@optiplex> The Trinity River Restoration Program held a public scoping meeting to discuss and to receive input on the planned Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project on May 15, 2007 at 6:30 pm at the Lewiston Community Center. Those projects will be initiated this year. A slide presentation outlined the project and provided maps (charts) on other issues, recent projects and background information on the Restoration Program. If you'd like to learn more about Trinity River restoration projects, go to the following link on the Restoration Program's website. It is quite informative. http://www.trrp.net/documents/DarkGulch/LewDkGPublicMtg_May15,2007.pdf Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon May 21 18:02:27 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 18:02:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Miller Press Release Message-ID: <11C0FB9952A24C368B84218E72301F26@ByronsLaptop> NEWS Congressman George Miller, California's 7th District Monday, May 21, 2007 Danny Weiss, 202-225-2095 Miller and Rahall Launch Inquiry into New Conflict of Interest at Interior Department Senior lawmakers press Bush Administration on manipulation of science in a California endangered species decision WASHINGTON, DC - Two senior House Democrats launched an inquiry today into reports that a Bush Administration political appointee may have improperly removed a California fish from a list of threatened species in order to protect her own financial interests. According to an investigative report published Sunday by the Contra Costa Times, Julie MacDonald, who resigned this month as Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, was actively involved in removing the Sacramento Splittail fish from the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time that she was profiting from her ownership of an 80-acre farm in Dixon, CA that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish. MacDonald's financial disclosure statement shows that she earns as much as $1 million per year from her ownership of the 80-acre active farm. Federal law bars federal employees from participating in decisions on matters in which they have a personal financial interest. The Sacramento Splittail, a small fish found only in California's Central Valley, depends on floodplain habitat and has been described by the Fish and Wildlife Service as facing "potential threats from habitat loss." Today, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Interior Secretary Kempthorne requesting a full accounting of MacDonald's role in the Sacramento Splittail decision, an explanation of her apparent conflict of interest, and a thorough review of the science underlying the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the threatened species list. "It looks like another Bush Administration official was protecting her own bottom line instead of protecting the public interest," said Miller, a senior member and former chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and a long-time proponent of the Endangered Species Act and Bay-Delta fish and wildlife issues. "We are going to fully investigate this matter and determine whether public policy was improperly altered because of personal conflicts of interest. "This news raises serious questions about the integrity of the Interior Department and its policy decisions," Miller added. "The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has enough problems without political appointees at scientific agencies cooking the books. Who thought it was acceptable for a Deputy Assistant Secretary to change a major policy decision to exempt her own million-dollar enterprise from the Endangered Species Act even though federal law prohibits such conflicts?" Rahall, who has served on the Natural Resources Committee since 1976 and became its chairman in January, called on the Department to fully explain what happened. "Time and again, this Administration has demonstrated a complete disregard for scientists and their work," Rahall said. "Political appointees at the Interior Department have been allowed to overrule biologists and to work more closely with special interests than with their own staff. The Interior Department must explain its deputy assistant secretary's actions in this very troubling case, which is apparently the latest in a long line of efforts to undercut species recovery." The letter from Miller and Rahall comes just two weeks after a May 9 Committee hearing at which Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett was questioned about recent controversies in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Her prepared testimony did not mention a report by the Department's Inspector General on an investigation into MacDonald, nor did her testimony indicate awareness of the serious consequences of MacDonald's actions. In the course of the hearing, Scarlett affirmed that "where there is scientific manipulation, we want to correct that," but no specifics were provided. MacDonald resigned from the Interior Department just one week before Scarlett testified. The Endangered Species Act established a policy of protecting and recovering species in decline and their habitats. Fish, wildlife, and plants listed as "endangered" are in danger of extinction and the federal government is required to take action to recover them. Species are listed as "threatened" if it is determined that they may soon become endangered. Other threatened species in the Bay-Delta region include the green sturgeon and the delta smelt. The full text of the letter to The Hon. Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, is below. May 21, 2007 The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne Secretary Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20240 Dear Secretary Kempthorne: We are writing to reiterate the request we made at the House Natural Resources Committee's hearing on May 9, 2007, and subsequently in writing by Chairman Nick J. Rahall, II, for a complete accounting of how the Department of the Interior is responding to the Inspector General's investigation of Julie MacDonald. Yesterday's newspaper report in the Contra Costa Times on Julie MacDonald and her role in the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the list of threatened species demands an immediate response from the Department. This new information adds very serious charges to her record. The Contra Costa Times reports ("Decision on splittail raises suspicions") that the Fish and Wildlife Service, at MacDonald's direction, may have improperly ignored scientific evidence when deciding to eliminate the Sacramento Splittail's threatened species designation, and that MacDonald, a non-scientist, was heavily involved in the decision. By statute, as you know, listing and de-listing decisions can only be made on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available. More egregious still, the article demonstrates that MacDonald was profiting significantly from agricultural property in Sacramento Splittail habitat. It is our understanding that this is the first and only time that a fish species has been removed from the list of threatened species for reasons other than extinction. It is unacceptable that such an unprecedented policy decision may have been made because a Deputy Assistant Secretary had a direct and substantial personal financial interest. In light of this highly troubling new report, please provide us with a full accounting of former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald's role from 2002-2004 in the Sacramento Splittail decision, including but not limited to: 1. Details of her contacts with staff in the California and Nevada Operations Office and elsewhere within the Department regarding the Sacramento Splittail; 2. A complete accounting of the changes made by Julie MacDonald, and others, to the Sacramento Splittail listing documents after they were sent to Washington; and 3. Communications regarding the Sacramento Splittail, if any, between MacDonald and interests outside the Department, including the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, the State Water Contractors, or the California Farm Bureau. In addition, please provide us with a full account of former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald's apparent conflict of interest, including but not limited to: 1. Details of her participation in decisions affecting the management of fish and wildlife species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region, especially those on or near her property; 2. A description of Interior Department decisions, if any, from which she recused herself based on a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict; 3. A list of officials at the Department who were aware that she continued to own and profit from agricultural property in California while serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary; and 4. All advice or ethics opinions provided to her by the Department regarding these matters. In order to determine the Interior Department's role in overseeing MacDonald's activities, please provide a description of all formal or informal action taken by the Department in response to her 2004 decision to leak documents to the California Farm Bureau's lobbyist in an apparent attempt to undermine a scientific decision regarding the threatened Delta smelt. Finally, in order to address the significant policy implications of MacDonald's actions, we request that you direct the Fish and Wildlife Service to re-evaluate whether its decision to de-list the Sacramento Splittail was based solely upon the best available scientific and commercial data, as required by law, and to report these findings to the Congress. In addition, please provide us with the results of each of the three statistical methods employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the health of the Sacramento Splittail's population. Endangered species decisions must be based on accurate and reliable scientific analysis, not the conflict of interest of a senior departmental official. This is especially true for significant and sensitive decisions such as this one, which could affect the management of California's Bay-Delta and water operations. We appreciate your prompt attention to our request. Please contact Ben Miller with Rep. George Miller's staff at (202) 225-2095, or Lori Sonken with the Natural Resources Committee staff at (202) 225-6065, with any questions. Sincerely, _______________________ _______________________ GEORGE MILLER NICK J. RAHALL, II Member of Congress Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Mon May 21 17:53:03 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Mon, 21 May 2007 17:53:03 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Miller and Rahall Launch Inquiry into New Conflict of Interest at Interior Department In-Reply-To: <000801c79bf7$fd281b80$0201a8c0@optiplex> References: <000801c79bf7$fd281b80$0201a8c0@optiplex> Message-ID: <687726CD-8116-4ECC-A47F-15D15EE44E32@fishsniffer.com> NEWS Congressman George Miller, California's 7th District Monday, May 21, 2007 Danny Weiss, 202-225-2095 Miller and Rahall Launch Inquiry into New Conflict of Interest at Interior Department Senior lawmakers press Bush Administration on manipulation of science in a California endangered species decision WASHINGTON, DC - Two senior House Democrats launched an inquiry today into reports that a Bush Administration political appointee may have improperly removed a California fish from a list of threatened species in order to protect her own financial interests. According to an investigative report published Sunday by the Contra Costa Times, Julie MacDonald, who resigned this month as Interior Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, was actively involved in removing the Sacramento Splittail fish from the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time that she was profiting from her ownership of an 80-acre farm in Dixon, CA that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish. MacDonald's financial disclosure statement shows that she earns as much as $1 million per year from her ownership of the 80-acre active farm. Federal law bars federal employees from participating in decisions on matters in which they have a personal financial interest. The Sacramento Splittail, a small fish found only in California's Central Valley, depends on floodplain habitat and has been described by the Fish and Wildlife Service as facing "potential threats from habitat loss." Today, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Interior Secretary Kempthorne requesting a full accounting of MacDonald's role in the Sacramento Splittail decision, an explanation of her apparent conflict of interest, and a thorough review of the science underlying the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the threatened species list. "It looks like another Bush Administration official was protecting her own bottom line instead of protecting the public interest," said Miller, a senior member and former chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and a long-time proponent of the Endangered Species Act and Bay-Delta fish and wildlife issues. "We are going to fully investigate this matter and determine whether public policy was improperly altered because of personal conflicts of interest. "This news raises serious questions about the integrity of the Interior Department and its policy decisions," Miller added. "The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has enough problems without political appointees at scientific agencies cooking the books. Who thought it was acceptable for a Deputy Assistant Secretary to change a major policy decision to exempt her own million-dollar enterprise from the Endangered Species Act even though federal law prohibits such conflicts?" Rahall, who has served on the Natural Resources Committee since 1976 and became its chairman in January, called on the Department to fully explain what happened. "Time and again, this Administration has demonstrated a complete disregard for scientists and their work," Rahall said. "Political appointees at the Interior Department have been allowed to overrule biologists and to work more closely with special interests than with their own staff. The Interior Department must explain its deputy assistant secretary's actions in this very troubling case, which is apparently the latest in a long line of efforts to undercut species recovery." The letter from Miller and Rahall comes just two weeks after a May 9 Committee hearing at which Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett was questioned about recent controversies in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. Her prepared testimony did not mention a report by the Department's Inspector General on an investigation into MacDonald, nor did her testimony indicate awareness of the serious consequences of MacDonald's actions. In the course of the hearing, Scarlett affirmed that "where there is scientific manipulation, we want to correct that," but no specifics were provided. MacDonald resigned from the Interior Department just one week before Scarlett testified. The Endangered Species Act established a policy of protecting and recovering species in decline and their habitats. Fish, wildlife, and plants listed as "endangered" are in danger of extinction and the federal government is required to take action to recover them. Species are listed as "threatened" if it is determined that they may soon become endangered. Other threatened species in the Bay-Delta region include the green sturgeon and the delta smelt. The full text of the letter to The Hon. Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, is below. May 21, 2007 The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne Secretary Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20240 Dear Secretary Kempthorne: We are writing to reiterate the request we made at the House Natural Resources Committee's hearing on May 9, 2007, and subsequently in writing by Chairman Nick J. Rahall, II, for a complete accounting of how the Department of the Interior is responding to the Inspector General's investigation of Julie MacDonald. Yesterday's newspaper report in the Contra Costa Times on Julie MacDonald and her role in the decision to remove the Sacramento Splittail from the list of threatened species demands an immediate response from the Department. This new information adds very serious charges to her record. The Contra Costa Times reports ("Decision on splittail raises suspicions") that the Fish and Wildlife Service, at MacDonald's direction, may have improperly ignored scientific evidence when deciding to eliminate the Sacramento Splittail's threatened species designation, and that MacDonald, a non-scientist, was heavily involved in the decision. By statute, as you know, listing and de- listing decisions can only be made on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available. More egregious still, the article demonstrates that MacDonald was profiting significantly from agricultural property in Sacramento Splittail habitat. It is our understanding that this is the first and only time that a fish species has been removed from the list of threatened species for reasons other than extinction. It is unacceptable that such an unprecedented policy decision may have been made because a Deputy Assistant Secretary had a direct and substantial personal financial interest. In light of this highly troubling new report, please provide us with a full accounting of former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald's role from 2002-2004 in the Sacramento Splittail decision, including but not limited to: Details of her contacts with staff in the California and Nevada Operations Office and elsewhere within the Department regarding the Sacramento Splittail; A complete accounting of the changes made by Julie MacDonald, and others, to the Sacramento Splittail listing documents after they were sent to Washington; and Communications regarding the Sacramento Splittail, if any, between MacDonald and interests outside the Department, including the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, the State Water Contractors, or the California Farm Bureau. In addition, please provide us with a full account of former Deputy Assistant Secretary MacDonald's apparent conflict of interest, including but not limited to: Details of her participation in decisions affecting the management of fish and wildlife species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region, especially those on or near her property; A description of Interior Department decisions, if any, from which she recused herself based on a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict; A list of officials at the Department who were aware that she continued to own and profit from agricultural property in California while serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary; and All advice or ethics opinions provided to her by the Department regarding these matters. In order to determine the Interior Department's role in overseeing MacDonald's activities, please provide a description of all formal or informal action taken by the Department in response to her 2004 decision to leak documents to the California Farm Bureau's lobbyist in an apparent attempt to undermine a scientific decision regarding the threatened Delta smelt. Finally, in order to address the significant policy implications of MacDonald's actions, we request that you direct the Fish and Wildlife Service to re-evaluate whether its decision to de-list the Sacramento Splittail was based solely upon the best available scientific and commercial data, as required by law, and to report these findings to the Congress. In addition, please provide us with the results of each of the three statistical methods employed by the Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the health of the Sacramento Splittail's population. Endangered species decisions must be based on accurate and reliable scientific analysis, not the conflict of interest of a senior departmental official. This is especially true for significant and sensitive decisions such as this one, which could affect the management of California's Bay-Delta and water operations. We appreciate your prompt attention to our request. Please contact Ben Miller with Rep. George Miller's staff at (202) 225-2095, or Lori Sonken with the Natural Resources Committee staff at (202) 225-6065, with any questions. Sincerely, _______________________ _______________________ GEORGE MILLER NICK J. RAHALL, II Member of Congress Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue May 22 09:31:07 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 09:31:07 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] SF Chronicle- Delta smelt numbers plunge Message-ID: <007401c79ca1$d52bbe70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/22/BAG0NPV4411.DTL CALIFORNIA Delta smelt numbers plunge Debate over state's pumping of water after only 25 found Patrick Hoge, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, May 22, 2007 A rare delta fish that recently almost triggered a shutdown of the state's major water system has plummeted in number, bringing it perilously close to extinction, state and federal experts warn. Spring trawls aimed at measuring the size of the delta smelt's juvenile population found just 25 fish, the smallest number ever recorded and 93 percent fewer than the previous year. In most trawls, biologists caught no smelt at all. That has alarmed state and federal fish experts, who say the state should significantly cut the use of giant pumps that export water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for use by 24 million people and farmers. Some environmental groups have likened the Tracy-area pumps to huge vacuum cleaners that cause water to flow upstream, sucking the fish into the pumps or stranding them in areas where they are vulnerable to predators. In March, an activist group won a decision from an Alameda County judge who told the state to shut down the pumps or obtain permits to legally kill the threatened fish. State officials, who say the state would suffer economically if the water pumps are stopped, have appealed that ruling. Top officials with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration agreed Monday that the survey data from the Delta Smelt Working Group were extremely serious, and said pumping had been slowed. But they blamed use of pesticides for killing many smelt this spring in the Sacramento River, and said they might not be able to reach the Delta Smelt Working Group's goal of reducing pumping in the south delta so that fresh water actually flows toward San Francisco Bay. The Delta Smelt Working Group, which includes scientists from three federal and two state agencies, said water should not run backward in the south delta until later in the summer when water temperatures rise. Smelt typically migrate to Suisun Bay when water temperatures get hot. Department of Water Resources Deputy Director Jerry Johns said that stopping the pumps is not necessarily the answer and that the pumps have not been killing many fish recently. "We need to take a more holistic approach rather than just focusing on the pumps,'' he said. Chuck Armor, acting regional manager for the Department of Fish and Game's bay-delta region, agreed. He said water tests on the Sacramento River, where state officials tried to send baby smelt using pulses of fresh water from the south delta, showed that pesticides may have killed many of the fish this year. Johns said Schwarzenegger is seeking a comprehensive solution through the Delta Vision task force established in October. That group is supposed to come up with a plan for helping the delta by the end of 2008. In the meantime, Johns said, various actions have been taken to help fish, including cutting current pumping levels as much as possible without, for example, affecting supplies to users in the East Bay. Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, called Johns' assertions a smoke screen. His group sued the state over pumping operations and the effect on the smelt. "They're still in a state of denial,'' Jennings said. "Year after year, Jerry and company have been saying the same thing: 'We're addressing it.' And the numbers of fish have spiraled down, and the amount of water pumped has increased.'' Michael Lozeau, an attorney working with Jennings, said the smelt "are absolutely on the brink of extinction'' and state bureaucrats want "to sit around for a year basically pushing paper.'' Jennings said the Fish and Game Department could keep the pumps running by declaring that state rules comply with federal laws, or by issuing permits allowing the protected fish to be killed. But such findings would have to be based on scientific data showing no significant harm would be done to the species, and according to a memo from the Delta Smelt Working Group, there is virtually no likelihood that could happen, he said. "The delta smelt are an indicator species. They show the health of the delta,'' said Dan Bacher, editor of the Fish Sniffer, a publication for fishing enthusiasts, who is calling upon readers to put pressure on state officials. "If the smelt go extinct, other species are going to follow.'' According to the working group, five surveys caught only 25 juvenile smelt, about 7.7 percent of the 326 taken during the same time in 2006, and only 7.1 percent of the 2000-2006 average of 353. Kevin Fleming, a senior Fish and Game biologist who is with the smelt working group, said Monday that he was satisfied that state officials were responding appropriately to the latest information, even if they might not be able to achieve the group's recommendation. "I've attended all those meetings, and they are taking this very seriously,'' Fleming said. As to whether those efforts will be enough to save the smelt, Fleming was unsure. "I haven't a clue. Things don't look good, but at this point, what we have is a major concern,'' he said. E-mail Patrick Hoge at phoge at sfchronicle.com. This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dennel at suddenlink.net Tue May 22 22:56:58 2007 From: dennel at suddenlink.net (DENVER NELSON) Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 22:56:58 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] (no subject) Message-ID: <000001c79cff$32eced10$1702a8c0@HP5155> MY WORD DENVER NELSON The article in Saturday's Times-Standard: "Former Bush Cabinet deputy pleads guilty" illustrates the greatest problem with our government today. Billions of dollars are spent to influence our elected and appointed government officials. We here on the North coast have nowhere near enough money to be of significant influence. All of these crooks worked on Klamath River issues, and most of them came to the Klamath to "get our input on Klamath issues." Now that their true character has been exposed, their "work" on the Klamath appears to be hypocritical. Gale Norton Gale Norton resigned from being Secretary of Interior in March, 2006 as the Abramoff scandals were breaking. As Secretary of Interior, she invested much time and effort on Klamath issues including coming to Klamath Falls and opening the gates to divert water from the river to the irrigation projects. Norton and Italia Federici co-founded the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) in 1998 before Norton became Interior Secretary. Norton's ties to the group have pulled her into the Abramoff investigation. Norton attended a private dinner with Abramoff, his tribal clients and other Interior officials organized by the advocacy group's president, Italia Federici. Investigators believe Abramoff steered $500,000 in tribal donations to CREA to get access to top Interior officials, including Norton. She later approved casino deals favoring the tribal clients. J. Stephen Griles Griles is awaiting sentencing for lying about being Abramoff"s inside man for tribal clients who needed Interior Department actions. Griles and Abramoff met on March 1, 2001, through Italia Federici, cofounder of CREA. One week later, Griles, who had been serving on Bush's transition team for Interior, was nominated by the president as deputy to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. Second in rank only to Norton, Griles effectively was Interior's chief operating officer while at the agency between July 2001 and January 2005. Italia Federici Italia Federici, the president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy is also a former political aide to former Secretary of the Interior and CREA founder Gale Norton. She was sleeping with Griles while she was working for Abramhoff who got various tribes to give $500,000 to CREA. Abramhoff got a lot of tribal money and Griles got an attractive girlfriend. The tribes thought they were buying Interior Department rulings, but they probably got screwed also. Sue Ellen Wooldridge Sue Ellen Wooldridge came to the Klamath basin several times to get our input. Griles now lives in Falls Church, Va. with Sue Ellen Wooldridge who until January was an assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's environmental division. They began dating in February 2003, when Wooldridge was Norton's deputy chief of staff and counselor. Wooldridge became Interior's top lawyer and counseled Griles on ethics matters. The AP reported in February that Wooldridge, who became the nation's environmental prosecutor in November 2005, bought a $980,000 vacation home last year with Griles and Donald R. Duncan, the top Washington lobbyist for ConocoPhillips. Nine months later, she signed an agreement giving the company more time to clean up air pollution at some of its refineries. The suggestion that Wooldridge is linked to anything scandalous has come as a shock to those who knew her as a hard-working and committed public servant. "Everybody I've talked to is surprised," said Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance in Klamath Falls, Ore., who knows Wooldridge from two years of work as Norton's chief aide in the battle between fishermen and farmers over allocation of Klamath River water. Jack Abramoff To my knowledge Abramoff was not involved in Klamath River issues. The Klamath River tribes are too poor to afford such a high priced crook. Abramoff took at least 85 million dollars from multiple Indian tribes to lobby for them. He is currently in jail and facing further indictments for bribing multiple elected and appointed government officials. So there you have it; sex lies and vast sums of money with local connections to the Klamath River. With enough money you can turn anyone into a whore or a crook. My hero Teddy Roosevelt must be turning over in his grave. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3089 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 2159 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 2604 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1657 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image005.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3122 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Vina_Frye at fws.gov Wed May 23 11:45:26 2007 From: Vina_Frye at fws.gov (Vina_Frye at fws.gov) Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 11:45:26 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Federal Register notice for TAMWG meeting Message-ID: Hi Folks, The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) meeting notice for June 19, 2007 was published in the Federal Register on May 14, 2007. Best Regards, Vina Vina Frye U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata FWO 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 Telephone: (707) 822-7201 Fax: (707) 822-8411 vina_frye at fws.gov [Federal Register: May 14, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 92)] [Notices] [Page 27149] >From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr14my07-53] [[Page 27149]] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River (California) restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council. Primary objectives of the meeting will include discussion of the following topics: Habitat/geomorphic mapping, gravel augmentation planning, Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) budget, Integrated Assessment Plan, reimbursability of TRRP program costs, TAMWG communications with the Trinity Management Council, TAMWG membership/quorum/bylaws in regard to voting. Completion of the agenda is dependent on the amount of time each item takes. The meeting could end early if the agenda has been completed. The meeting is open to the public. DATES: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 19, 2007. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Weaverville Victorian Inn, 1709 Main St., 299 West, Weaverville, CA 96093. For more information, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521. For background information and questions regarding the Trinity River Restoration Program, please contact Douglas Schleusner, Executive Director, Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main Street, Weaverville, CA 96093. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy A. Brown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, telephone: (707) 822-7201. Randy A. Brown is the working group's Designated Federal Officer. For questions regarding the Trinity River Restoration Program, please contact Douglas Schleusner, Executive Director, telephone: (530) 623-1800. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), this notice announces a meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG).??? Dated: April 25, 2007. Randy A. Brown, Designated Federal Officer, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, Arcata, CA. [FR Doc. E7-9185 Filed 5-11-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue May 29 10:22:52 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 10:22:52 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] L A Times Editorial - Westlands Implications Message-ID: <462283B203514BE9AEF566FE2814869E@ByronsLaptop> Opinion: Preserving the imperiled California Delta; The fragile Northern California ecosystem from which L.A. gets much of its water can't wait very long for a plan to fix it Los Angeles Times - 5/26/07 By Bill Stall, contributing editor to the Opinion page DELTA AND DAWN, the wayward humpback whales stranded near Rio Vista, have taught thousands about the location of the California Delta, where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet and flow toward San Francisco Bay. It's about time: An estimated 23 million of us receive some or most of our water from the delta. And the delta is in trouble. Has been for at least 30 years. But this year, the juvenile population of the endangered delta smelt - an "indicator" species - dropped by 93%, a plunge toward extinction that could signal imminent disaster. Arresting that disaster could require a cut in water delivered to you and me. The delta is a 700-square-mile maze of river channels, sloughs, marshes and mostly artificial islands protected by a tenuous levee system. Two giant water-delivery systems - the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project - draw their water from the delta and send it southward in canals to the farms of the San Joaquin Valley and homes and businesses in Southern California. The problem is that extensive pumping over the last half a century has disrupted the environment of the delta. Fish sometimes end up in the machinery, and the pumping is so strong that it sometimes reverses the natural river-to-delta-to-bay water flow. Temperature, depth and salinity are affected. On top of that, increased irrigation using pumped delta water means increased irrigation runoff, which has reduced the overall quality of delta water. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Delta Vision task force recognizes the problem, and it is supposed to produce a comprehensive solution to a host of delta problems by the end of 2008. Good luck. Efforts to address the situation go back to the 1960s and the original State Water Project, which was supposed to deliver 4.2 million acre-feet of water a year to Kern County farms and urban Southern California (one acre-foot meets the needs of two families for a year). But the project was only half-built, and it delivers only half the water that was promised. The biggest missing piece is the "peripheral canal," meant to bypass the delta and deliver Sacramento River water directly to the pumps and the aqueduct, while still injecting enough fresh water downstream to maintain the ecosystem. In 1982, however, California voters voted down the peripheral canal because northerners feared a Southern California water grab. So the delta struggled along for another 20 years as the demand for water increased. Next came Cal-Fed, a consortium of state and federal agencies and a score of "stakeholders" (environmental groups, commercial fishermen, urban water users, irrigators, etc.) that attempted to negotiate an end to the state water wars. The process had a warm and fuzzy feel, and in 2001, we got a multiyear, $13-billion plan for more infrastructure, to be paid for by state and federal funds. Turns out, however, that consensus works best when it comes to "protecting the environment" and "serving the needs of people." This one fell apart over details like where to spend the money first and who would pay which bill. Each stakeholder wanted to come out ahead, but there's not enough water left in California for "win-win" solutions. It didn't help that the federal government never came up with its share of the cash. The delta doesn't have another 30 years for more warm and fuzzy negotiations. The state - beginning with Schwarzenegger's task force - must make tough decisions now. Once and for all, it has to build a canal or another conveyance to send Sacramento River water to the aqueduct without destroying the delta. This time, the design must allay northern fears of a water grab. And, like new reservoirs, dams and levees (which the system also needs), the project should be paid for by those who will benefit from it. That means irrigation districts and urban water districts must raise money and pass the costs to their customers. The state should immediately buy up thousands of acres of irrigated farmland on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and give it a rest. That land is laden with poisonous selenium; the more it's irrigated (with delta water), the more the tainted runoff pollutes the environment. And finally, California needs a tough water czar - a real enforcer with the authority to implement a broad plan and let the experts work out the details. The Times once proposed Bruce Babbitt, who worked water wonders as governor of Arizona and secretary of the Interior - and bent arms during the Cal-Fed negotiations - as the ideal candidate. Assuming he's available, it's still a good idea. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Tue May 29 10:39:04 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 10:39:04 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] L A Times Editorial - Westlands Implications In-Reply-To: <462283B203514BE9AEF566FE2814869E@ByronsLaptop> References: <462283B203514BE9AEF566FE2814869E@ByronsLaptop> Message-ID: <762D7F26-8017-4B58-A055-0AD0E77F9501@fishsniffer.com> Yikes... this is a gigantic plug for the Peripheral Canal! Dan On May 29, 2007, at 10:22 AM, Byron Leydecker wrote: > Opinion: Preserving the imperiled California Delta; The fragile > Northern California ecosystem from which L.A. gets much of its > water can't wait very long for a plan to fix it > > Los Angeles Times ? 5/26/07 > > By Bill Stall, contributing editor to the Opinion page > > > > DELTA AND DAWN, the wayward humpback whales stranded near Rio > Vista, have taught thousands about the location of the California > Delta, where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers meet and flow > toward San Francisco Bay. It's about time: An estimated 23 million > of us receive some or most of our water from the delta. > > And the delta is in trouble. Has been for at least 30 years. But > this year, the juvenile population of the endangered delta smelt ? > an "indicator" species ? dropped by 93%, a plunge toward extinction > that could signal imminent disaster. Arresting that disaster could > require a cut in water delivered to you and me. > > The delta is a 700-square-mile maze of river channels, sloughs, > marshes and mostly artificial islands protected by a tenuous levee > system. Two giant water-delivery systems ? the State Water Project > and the federal Central Valley Project ? draw their water from the > delta and send it southward in canals to the farms of the San > Joaquin Valley and homes and businesses in Southern California. > > The problem is that extensive pumping over the last half a century > has disrupted the environment of the delta. Fish sometimes end up > in the machinery, and the pumping is so strong that it sometimes > reverses the natural river-to-delta-to-bay water flow. Temperature, > depth and salinity are affected. On top of that, increased > irrigation using pumped delta water means increased irrigation > runoff, which has reduced the overall quality of delta water. > > Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Delta Vision task force recognizes the > problem, and it is supposed to produce a comprehensive solution to > a host of delta problems by the end of 2008. Good luck. > > Efforts to address the situation go back to the 1960s and the > original State Water Project, which was supposed to deliver 4.2 > million acre-feet of water a year to Kern County farms and urban > Southern California (one acre-foot meets the needs of two families > for a year). But the project was only half-built, and it delivers > only half the water that was promised. The biggest missing piece is > the "peripheral canal," meant to bypass the delta and deliver > Sacramento River water directly to the pumps and the aqueduct, > while still injecting enough fresh water downstream to maintain the > ecosystem. > > In 1982, however, California voters voted down the peripheral canal > because northerners feared a Southern California water grab. So the > delta struggled along for another 20 years as the demand for water > increased. > > Next came Cal-Fed, a consortium of state and federal agencies and a > score of "stakeholders" (environmental groups, commercial > fishermen, urban water users, irrigators, etc.) that attempted to > negotiate an end to the state water wars. The process had a warm > and fuzzy feel, and in 2001, we got a multiyear, $13-billion plan > for more infrastructure, to be paid for by state and federal funds. > > Turns out, however, that consensus works best when it comes to > "protecting the environment" and "serving the needs of people." > This one fell apart over details like where to spend the money > first and who would pay which bill. Each stakeholder wanted to come > out ahead, but there's not enough water left in California for "win- > win" solutions. It didn't help that the federal government never > came up with its share of the cash. > > The delta doesn't have another 30 years for more warm and fuzzy > negotiations. The state ? beginning with Schwarzenegger's task > force ? must make tough decisions now. > > Once and for all, it has to build a canal or another conveyance to > send Sacramento River water to the aqueduct without destroying the > delta. This time, the design must allay northern fears of a water > grab. And, like new reservoirs, dams and levees (which the system > also needs), the project should be paid for by those who will > benefit from it. That means irrigation districts and urban water > districts must raise money and pass the costs to their customers. > > The state should immediately buy up thousands of acres of irrigated > farmland on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and give it a > rest. That land is laden with poisonous selenium; the more it's > irrigated (with delta water), the more the tainted runoff pollutes > the environment. > > And finally, California needs a tough water czar ? a real enforcer > with the authority to implement a broad plan and let the experts > work out the details. The Times once proposed Bruce Babbitt, who > worked water wonders as governor of Arizona and secretary of the > Interior ? and bent arms during the Cal-Fed negotiations ? as the > ideal candidate. Assuming he's available, it's still a good idea. > > > > > > Byron Leydecker > > Friends of Trinity River, Chair > > California Trout, Inc., Advisor > > PO Box 2327 > > Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 > > 415 383 4810 > > 415 519 4810 cell > > bwl3 at comcast.net > > bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org > > http://www.fotr.org > > http://www.caltrout.org > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > env-trinity mailing list > env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us > http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue May 29 17:05:32 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 17:05:32 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Another judge agrees: Projects harm delta fish Message-ID: <01c901c7a24e$3e5a1bb0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Judge says better management of delta needed Associated Press ? 5/25/07 By Paul Elias, staff writer SAN FRANCISCO - The government's management of the Sacramento delta runs afoul of sound science and a new management plan is needed for a region that supplies most of the state's water, a federal judge ruled on Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno said federal and state water agencies have failed to adequately protect fish called smelt when pumping water from the delta. He said he wanted a new plan proposed within 30 days. "The Delta smelt is undisputedly in jeopardy as to its survival and recovery," Wanger wrote in tossing out a 2005 pumping plan developed by federal scientists, who found the current program didn't jeopardize the fish. That finding was "arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to law." Giant pumps are constantly sucking water out of the delta and sending most of it to thirsty Southern California cities via an aqueduct visible along long stretches of Interstate 5. Lowered water levels in the delta are bad news for the smelt because their habitat often becomes warmer and saltier than they are accustomed. The Fish and Wildlife Service in July 2004 said the Bureau of Reclamation's water management plans would not jeopardize endangered and threatened delta fish. It renewed the scientific opinion in February 2005. The Natural Resources Defense Council and five other environmental groups sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in February 2005. The action followed the federal agency's ruling that said increases in state and federal pumping from the delta to benefit farmers and Southern California cities would not harm federally protected delta smelt. The environmentalists asked a federal court to invalidate that opinion, which Wanger did late Friday. "I think it sends a pretty clear message to the agency that they can't treat the delta like a piece of plumbing," said Earthjustice attorney Andrea Treece, who represented many of the environmentalists who sued. # http://www.dailynews.com/search//ci_5991786 Judge rules against water system; Action is another win for environmentalists concerned about how delta pumping operations affect the threatened native smelt Los Angeles Times ? 5/26/07 By Bettina Boxall, staff writer For the second time this year, a judge has ruled that management of California's water system is illegally imperiling fish, making it increasingly likely that the state will have to pump less water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to Southern California cities and Central Valley farms. U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger issued the ruling Friday and ordered a hearing for next week at which he could issue a stay in the case, forestalling any immediate effect on the pumping operation. The ruling was another victory for environmentalists who have been attacking the state's delta operations on multiple legal fronts, arguing that water shipments are helping drive the once abundant native delta smelt to extinction. "I think it certainly demonstrates we need to take a pretty hard look at what we're doing to this system and find other ways of meeting water needs than 'Let's pump the delta dry,' " said Andrea Treece, associate attorney for Earthjustice, which won the ruling on behalf of a coalition of environmental and sport-fishing groups. "I don't think anyone is trying to get the pumps shut down. They're trying to save a species." Wanger invalidated a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opinion that had concluded that the federal and state water operations did not jeopardize the survival of the tiny smelt, which is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. "The delta smelt is indisputably in jeopardy as to its survival and recovery," Wanger wrote in a 120-page opinion. The "no-jeopardy finding is arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law." The fish and wildlife agency was already rewriting the opinion but is not expected to issue a new one until next year. In a separate case this spring, a state judge threatened to turn off the delta pumps after finding that the state Department of Water Resources had not received proper authorization under the California Endangered Species Act to operate the pumping. The state has obtained a stay in that case pending an appeal. Meanwhile, the smelt's fate has grown more precarious. When researchers went looking for larval smelt last week, they caught 25, compared with 300 last year. "The survey this year is much lower than we expected," said Jerry Johns, water resources deputy director. But Johns argued it was wrong to blame the smelt's plummeting numbers entirely on the water operations. "We've got to be looking at this from a broader standpoint," he said. Scientists suspect a number of factors besides the pumping are at play in the smelt's decline, including toxic contaminants in the delta and invasive species that are altering the waterway's food sources. Johns said toxic levels of pesticides were found in the smelt's spawning waters this year. "This is the first time we've seen a toxic event like this," he said. "You're going to get started on an immediate solution, but we need to turn the right knob. It's possible we turn the pumping knob and nothing happens to the delta smelt." The court rulings are placing increasing pressure on one of the largest water diversion projects in the world. The pumps are so powerful they can reverse flows in the delta's water channels and have changed the balance of salinity in the delta, which empties into San Francisco Bay. "I hope it's marking a turning point where we can force some real change in how this system is exploited," Treece said of the rulings. # http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-smelt26may26,1,6873589.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california Another judge agrees: Projects harm delta fish Contra Costa Times ? 5/26/07 By Mike Taugher, staff writer A federal judge Friday ruled that a permit allowing massive water delivery projects to be built in the delta is illegal because it fails to account for the risk posed to a species of tiny endangered fish. It is the second time in two months that a court has declared the state's water projects in violation of endangered species laws. The ruling comes the same week as a new study was released showing the delta smelt population has plunged closer to extinction. U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno did not immediately revoke water agencies' ability to operate, saying such a step would amount to a "draconian" impact on the state's farms and cities. However, his 120-page order seems likely to lead to cuts in the amount of water taken out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for use in the East Bay, Silicon Valley, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. At issue is a 2005 document issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that is supposed to analyze the impact the water projects have on delta smelt and then set limits on those projects to ensure the fish does not become extinct. Wanger ruled that the document failed to include information that showed smelt populations were in very bad shape, and that it opted for a voluntary approach instead of setting firm requirements to protect the fish. The order said the Fish and Wildlife Service's document was too lenient to satisfy the Endangered Species Act. "I think it sends a pretty strong signal that the agencies have to comply with the law rather than just skate by," said Andrea Treece, a lawyer for Earthjustice who argued the case for environmentalists. The ruling is the latest development on the future of the delta ecosystem and the state's ability to sustain massive water deliveries. A separate lawsuit challenges the water projects' authorization to harm protected salmon runs. Last month, an Alameda County judge ordered the state-owned pumps shut off because no permit was ever issued under the state endangered species law. That order has been put on hold pending appeal. A spokesman for the federal water agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said a new permit was in the works and scheduled to be completed by July 2008. "I don't know what happens in the meantime. We've never been here before," said the spokesman, Jeff McCracken. The state Department of Water Resources, which has now been told by two different courts that its water operations are in violation of both state and federal endangered species laws, had no comment. Wanger wrote in his order that he would hold a hearing on how to remedy the situation within 30 days. Treece, the lawyer, said environmentalists would press the judge and the water agencies to follow recommendations from scientists about how to protect the fish. "Maybe the agencies will start listening to their scientists now," she said. # http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_5994242 Judge: Smelt left unprotected; Delta pumping plan criticized in ruling Fresno Bee ? 5/26/07 By John Ellis, staff writer Environmentalists are claiming victory after a federal judge in Fresno on Friday found a key opinion on the effects of water pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta on the endangered delta smelt fish was "legally flawed." U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger declined to impose any remedies until after environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service confer on his decision. Still, Andrea Treece, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council -- the lead plaintiff in the case -- said "certainly reductions in [water] pumping are on the table." Wanger's decision will require the agency's opinion -- known as a "biological opinion" -- to be rewritten. That could affect those who depend on delta water deliveries, such as Southern California cities and the Westlands Water District. The Natural Resources Defense Council and five other environmental groups sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in February 2005 in response to the opinion by the agency. The opinion was assembled in response to a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation water management plan for the delta. In the 120-page decision, Wanger found the Fish and Wildlife Service didn't use the best-available scientific data or consider climate change in putting together its smelt impact report; failed to require any real-time protection for the tiny fish; failed to consider impacts to the smelt's habitat; and failed to analyze impacts on the smelt's overall population numbers. The decision wasn't absolute, however. In two areas, Wanger ruled against the environmentalists. "Overall, I think it certainly is a victory and hopefully a turning point in how agencies look at the delta and the way they approach its management," Treece said. "We hope this sends a very clear signal that they can't ignore the law anymore." Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Al Donner declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit because agency attorneys have yet to review it. Still, Donner said, the service has been working since last summer on an updated smelt impact report that it hopes to complete in the near future. In an April hearing on the matter before Wanger, lawyers for the environmental groups claimed the agency had ignored 2004 data -- which showed a steep decline in the delta smelt population -- in favor of more favorable 2003 data when it was preparing the biological opinion. At stake is a federal Endangered Species Act permit that allows both state and federal water-delivery projects to operate. Smelt are killed in the operation of pumps that send delta water southward. While the agency works to update the opinion, Donner said, it also is working to help the delta smelt. Recent surveys, he said, show very small numbers of juvenile smelt, which is a concern. As part of that, he said, water pumping is at a very low level, which he said "should be good for the smelt." Environmentalists also have a parallel lawsuit -- in which similar legal arguments are being made -- involving the effects of delta pumping on steelhead and salmon. # http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/50117.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed May 30 08:54:54 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 08:54:54 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Thinking Like a Region Land Trust Conference Message-ID: <005601c7a2d2$df9934a0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> >>> "Erik Wilson" 05/29/07 4:51 PM >>> Hi Doug, Following up from a message I just left you on your voicemail, attached is a schedule/registration pdf for a conference coming up June 15-16 down in Fortuna. Should be a good gathering, and may be relevant to the Trinity River Restoration Program, or other conservation orgs in your area. Give me a call with any questions. Erik Wilson, Projects Manager Northcoast Regional Land Trust PO Box 398, Bayside, CA 95524 T: 707.822.2242; F: 707.822.5210 www.ncrlt.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ThinkingLikeARegion schedule_and_registration.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 136896 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed May 30 10:03:07 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 10:03:07 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries E-Mail is down for a couple of days Message-ID: <00a901c7a2dc$8131d520$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> The Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department's e-mail system through pcweb.net is down for a couple of days until they can switch over to a new system. If you have time-sensitive messages for their staff, you should either call the department at 530-625-4267, or fax them at 530-625-4995. We will let you know when their e-mail is working again. Sincerely, Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed May 30 12:17:21 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 12:17:21 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 Message-ID: Dam the Salmon Shikha Dalmia. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). May 30, 2007. pg. A.19 Al Gore has been hectoring Americans to pare back their lifestyles to fight global warming. But if Mr. Gore wants us to rethink our priorities in the face of this mother of all environmental threats, surely he has convinced his fellow greens to rethink theirs, right? Wrong. If their opposition to the Klamath hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest is any indication, the greens, it appears, are just as unwilling to sacrifice their pet causes as a Texas rancher is to sacrifice his pickup truck. If anything, the radicalization of the environmental movement is the bigger obstacle to addressing global warming than the allegedly gluttonous American way of life. Once regarded as the symbol of national greatness, hydroelectric dams have now fallen into disrepute for many legitimate reasons. They are enormously expensive undertakings that would never have taken off but for hefty government subsidies. Worse, they typically involve changing the natural course of rivers, causing painful disruptions for towns and tribes. But tearing down the Klamath dams, the last of which was completed in 1962, will do more harm than good at this stage. These dams provide cheap, renewable energy to 70,000 homes in Oregon and California. Replacing this energy with natural gas -- the cleanest fossil-fuel source -- would still pump 473,000 tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. This is roughly equal to the annual emissions of 102,000 cars. Given this alternative, one would think that environmentalists would form a human shield around the dams to protect them. Instead, they have been fighting tooth-and-nail to tear them down because the dams stand in the way of migrating salmon. Environmentalists don't even let many states, including California, count hydro as renewable. They have rejected all attempts by PacifiCorp, the company that owns the dams, to take mitigation steps such as installing $350 million fish ladders to create a salmon pathway. Klamath Riverkeeper, a group that is part of an environmental alliance headed by Robert Kennedy Jr., has sued a fish hatchery that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife runs -- and PacifiCorp is required to fund -- on grounds that it releases too many algae and toxic discharges. The hatchery produces at least 25% of the chinook salmon catch every year. Closing it will cause fish populations to drop further, making the demolition of the dams even more likely. But the end of the Klamath won't mean the end of the dam saga -- it is the big prize that environmentalists are coveting to take their antidam crusade to the next level. "This would represent the largest and most ambitious dam removal project in the country, if not the world," exults Steve Rothert of American Rivers. The other dams on the hit list include the O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley that services San Francisco, Elwha River dam in Washington and the Matilija Dam in Southern California. Large hydro dams supply about 20% of California's power (and 10% of America's). If they are destroyed, California won't just have to find some other way to fulfill its energy needs. It will have to do so while reducing its carbon footprint to meet the ambitious CO2 emission-reduction targets that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set. Mr. Schwarzenegger has committed the Golden State to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 -- a more stringent requirement than even in the Kyoto Protocol. The effect this might have on California's erratic and overpriced energy supply has businesses running scared. Mike Naumes, owner of Naumes Inc., a fruit packing and processing business, last year moved his juice concentrate plant from Marysville, Calif., to Washington state and cut his energy bill in half. With hydropower under attack, he is considering shrinking his farming operations in the Golden State as well. "We can't pay exorbitant energy prices and stay competitive with overseas businesses," he says. Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club's deputy executive director and a longtime proponent of such a mandate, refuses to even acknowledge that there is any conflict in closing hydro dams while fighting global warming. All California needs to do to square these twin objectives, he maintains, is become more energy efficient while embracing alternative fuels. "We don't need to accept a Faustian bargain with hydropower to cut emissions," he says. This is easier done in the fantasy world of greens than in the real world. If cost-effective technologies to boost energy efficiency actually existed, industry would adopt them automatically, global warming or not. As for alternative fuels, they are still far from economically viable. Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University, has calculated that wind energy costs 6.64 cents per kWh and biomass 5.95 kWh -- compared to 4.37 cents for clean coal. Robert Bradley Jr., president of the Institute for Energy Research, puts these costs even higher. "Although technological advances have lowered alternative fuel prices in recent years, these fuels still by and large cost twice as much as conventional fossil fuels," he says. But suppose these differentials disappeared. Would the Sierra Club and its eco-warriors actually embrace the fuels that Mr. Hamilton advocates? Not if their track record is any indication. Indeed, environmental groups have a history of opposing just about every energy source. Their opposition to nuclear energy is well known. Wind power? Two years ago the Center for Biological Diversity sued California's Altamont Pass Wind Farm for obstructing and shredding migrating birds. ("Cuisinarts of the sky" is what many greens call wind farms.) Solar? Worldwatch Institute's Christopher Flavin has been decidedly lukewarm about solar farms because they involve placing acres of mirrors in pristine desert habitat. The Sierra Club and Wilderness Society once testified before Congress to keep California's Mojave Desert -- one of the prime solar sites in the country -- off limits to all development. Geothermal energy? They are unlikely to get enviro blessings, because some of the best sites are located on protected federal lands. Greens, it seems, always manage to find a problem for every environmental solution -- and there is deep reason for this. Since its inception, the American environmental movement has been torn between "conservationists" seeking to protect nature for man -- and "preservationists" seeking to protect nature for its own sake. Although early environmental thinkers such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir were sympathetic to both themes, Leopold was more in the first camp and Muir in the second. Leopold regarded wilderness as a form of land use; he certainly wanted to limit the development of wild areas -- but to "enlarge the range of individual experience." Muir, on the other hand, saw wilderness as sacred territory worthy of protection regardless of human needs. With the arrival on the scene of Deep Ecologists from Europe in the 1980s, Muir's mystical preservationist side won the moral high ground. The emphasis of Deep Ecology on radical species equality made talk about solving environmental problems for human ends illicit within the American environmental community. Instead, Arne Naess, the revered founder of Deep Ecology, explicitly identified human beings as the big environmental problem. "The flourishing of nonhuman life requires a decrease in human population," his eight-point platform to save Mother Earth serenely declared. This ideological turn, notes Ramachandra Guha, a left-leaning Indian commentator and incisive critic of Deep Ecology, has made American environmentalism irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst for the Third World, where addressing environmental issues such as soil erosion, water pollution and deforestation still remains squarely about serving human needs. By turning wilderness preservation into a moral absolute -- as opposed to simply another form of land use -- Deep Ecology has justified wresting crucial resources out of the hands of India's agrarian and tribal populations. "Specious nonsense about equal rights of all species cannot hide the plain fact that green imperialists . . . are dangerous," Mr. Guha has written. Besides hurting the Third World, such radicalism had made the environmental movement incapable of responding to its own self- proclaimed challenges. Since nature can't speak for itself, the admonition to protect nature for nature's sake offers not a guide to action, but an invitation to inaction. That's because a non- anthropocentric view that treats nature as non-hierarchical collapses into incoherence when it becomes necessary to calculate trade-offs or set priorities between competing environmental goals. Thus, even in the face of a supposedly calamitous threat like global warming, environmentalists can't bring themselves to embrace any sacrifice -- of salmons or birds or desert or protected wilderness. Its strategy comes down to pure obstructionism -- on full display in the Klamath dam controversy. Yet, if environmentalists themselves are unwilling to give up anything for global warming, how can they expect sacrifices from others? If Al Gore wants to do something, he should first move out of his 6,000 square-foot Nashville mansion and then make a movie titled: "Damn the salmon." --- Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst with Reason Foundation -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: _AVG certification_.txt URL: From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Wed May 30 13:18:56 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 16:18:56 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Note that the author has not done much research as Matilija Dam produces no hydropower. I find it to be a pretty annoying Op Ed but obviously an argument we need to deal with. My sound bite (pardon the provincialism-substitute your own examples): "Due to global warming, we will need to work harder to protect and restore our natural heritage across America and around the world. But we do not plan to dam the Grand Canyon or harness Old faithful in Yellowstone for its kilowatt hours. And we can still find ways to undertake important restoration projects, such as restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, as we reduce the emissions that cause global warming. ________________________________ From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of Byron Leydecker Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:17 PM To: fotr at mailman.dcn.org; Trinity List Subject: [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 Dam the Salmon Shikha Dalmia. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). May 30, 2007. pg. A.19 Al Gore has been hectoring Americans to pare back their lifestyles to fight global warming. But if Mr. Gore wants us to rethink our priorities in the face of this mother of all environmental threats, surely he has convinced his fellow greens to rethink theirs, right? Wrong. If their opposition to the Klamath hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest is any indication, the greens, it appears, are just as unwilling to sacrifice their pet causes as a Texas rancher is to sacrifice his pickup truck. If anything, the radicalization of the environmental movement is the bigger obstacle to addressing global warming than the allegedly gluttonous American way of life. Once regarded as the symbol of national greatness, hydroelectric dams have now fallen into disrepute for many legitimate reasons. They are enormously expensive undertakings that would never have taken off but for hefty government subsidies. Worse, they typically involve changing the natural course of rivers, causing painful disruptions for towns and tribes. But tearing down the Klamath dams, the last of which was completed in 1962, will do more harm than good at this stage. These dams provide cheap, renewable energy to 70,000 homes in Oregon and California. Replacing this energy with natural gas -- the cleanest fossil-fuel source -- would still pump 473,000 tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. This is roughly equal to the annual emissions of 102,000 cars. Given this alternative, one would think that environmentalists would form a human shield around the dams to protect them. Instead, they have been fighting tooth-and-nail to tear them down because the dams stand in the way of migrating salmon. Environmentalists don't even let many states, including California, count hydro as renewable. They have rejected all attempts by PacifiCorp, the company that owns the dams, to take mitigation steps such as installing $350 million fish ladders to create a salmon pathway. Klamath Riverkeeper, a group that is part of an environmental alliance headed by Robert Kennedy Jr., has sued a fish hatchery that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife runs -- and PacifiCorp is required to fund -- on grounds that it releases too many algae and toxic discharges. The hatchery produces at least 25% of the chinook salmon catch every year. Closing it will cause fish populations to drop further, making the demolition of the dams even more likely. But the end of the Klamath won't mean the end of the dam saga -- it is the big prize that environmentalists are coveting to take their antidam crusade to the next level. "This would represent the largest and most ambitious dam removal project in the country, if not the world," exults Steve Rothert of American Rivers. The other dams on the hit list include the O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley that services San Francisco, Elwha River dam in Washington and the Matilija Dam in Southern California. Large hydro dams supply about 20% of California's power (and 10% of America's). If they are destroyed, California won't just have to find some other way to fulfill its energy needs. It will have to do so while reducing its carbon footprint to meet the ambitious CO2 emission-reduction targets that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set. Mr. Schwarzenegger has committed the Golden State to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 -- a more stringent requirement than even in the Kyoto Protocol. The effect this might have on California's erratic and overpriced energy supply has businesses running scared. Mike Naumes, owner of Naumes Inc., a fruit packing and processing business, last year moved his juice concentrate plant from Marysville, Calif., to Washington state and cut his energy bill in half. With hydropower under attack, he is considering shrinking his farming operations in the Golden State as well. "We can't pay exorbitant energy prices and stay competitive with overseas businesses," he says. Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club's deputy executive director and a longtime proponent of such a mandate, refuses to even acknowledge that there is any conflict in closing hydro dams while fighting global warming. All California needs to do to square these twin objectives, he maintains, is become more energy efficient while embracing alternative fuels. "We don't need to accept a Faustian bargain with hydropower to cut emissions," he says. This is easier done in the fantasy world of greens than in the real world. If cost-effective technologies to boost energy efficiency actually existed, industry would adopt them automatically, global warming or not. As for alternative fuels, they are still far from economically viable. Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University, has calculated that wind energy costs 6.64 cents per kWh and biomass 5.95 kWh -- compared to 4.37 cents for clean coal. Robert Bradley Jr., president of the Institute for Energy Research, puts these costs even higher. "Although technological advances have lowered alternative fuel prices in recent years, these fuels still by and large cost twice as much as conventional fossil fuels," he says. But suppose these differentials disappeared. Would the Sierra Club and its eco-warriors actually embrace the fuels that Mr. Hamilton advocates? Not if their track record is any indication. Indeed, environmental groups have a history of opposing just about every energy source. Their opposition to nuclear energy is well known. Wind power? Two years ago the Center for Biological Diversity sued California's Altamont Pass Wind Farm for obstructing and shredding migrating birds. ("Cuisinarts of the sky" is what many greens call wind farms.) Solar? Worldwatch Institute's Christopher Flavin has been decidedly lukewarm about solar farms because they involve placing acres of mirrors in pristine desert habitat. The Sierra Club and Wilderness Society once testified before Congress to keep California's Mojave Desert -- one of the prime solar sites in the country -- off limits to all development. Geothermal energy? They are unlikely to get enviro blessings, because some of the best sites are located on protected federal lands. Greens, it seems, always manage to find a problem for every environmental solution -- and there is deep reason for this. Since its inception, the American environmental movement has been torn between "conservationists" seeking to protect nature for man -- and "preservationists" seeking to protect nature for its own sake. Although early environmental thinkers such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir were sympathetic to both themes, Leopold was more in the first camp and Muir in the second. Leopold regarded wilderness as a form of land use; he certainly wanted to limit the development of wild areas -- but to "enlarge the range of individual experience." Muir, on the other hand, saw wilderness as sacred territory worthy of protection regardless of human needs. With the arrival on the scene of Deep Ecologists from Europe in the 1980s, Muir's mystical preservationist side won the moral high ground. The emphasis of Deep Ecology on radical species equality made talk about solving environmental problems for human ends illicit within the American environmental community. Instead, Arne Naess, the revered founder of Deep Ecology, explicitly identified human beings as the big environmental problem. "The flourishing of nonhuman life requires a decrease in human population," his eight-point platform to save Mother Earth serenely declared. This ideological turn, notes Ramachandra Guha, a left-leaning Indian commentator and incisive critic of Deep Ecology, has made American environmentalism irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst for the Third World, where addressing environmental issues such as soil erosion, water pollution and deforestation still remains squarely about serving human needs. By turning wilderness preservation into a moral absolute -- as opposed to simply another form of land use -- Deep Ecology has justified wresting crucial resources out of the hands of India's agrarian and tribal populations. "Specious nonsense about equal rights of all species cannot hide the plain fact that green imperialists . . . are dangerous," Mr. Guha has written. Besides hurting the Third World, such radicalism had made the environmental movement incapable of responding to its own self- proclaimed challenges. Since nature can't speak for itself, the admonition to protect nature for nature's sake offers not a guide to action, but an invitation to inaction. That's because a non- anthropocentric view that treats nature as non-hierarchical collapses into incoherence when it becomes necessary to calculate trade-offs or set priorities between competing environmental goals. Thus, even in the face of a supposedly calamitous threat like global warming, environmentalists can't bring themselves to embrace any sacrifice -- of salmons or birds or desert or protected wilderness. Its strategy comes down to pure obstructionism -- on full display in the Klamath dam controversy. Yet, if environmentalists themselves are unwilling to give up anything for global warming, how can they expect sacrifices from others? If Al Gore wants to do something, he should first move out of his 6,000 square-foot Nashville mansion and then make a movie titled: "Damn the salmon." --- Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst with Reason Foundation -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From don at nrsrcaa.org Wed May 30 15:16:22 2007 From: don at nrsrcaa.org (Don Allan) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 15:16:22 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <465DF7B6.3050805@nrsrcaa.org> Hydro Power is not toally clean. There was a speaker (Peter McNulty?) at the River Rally (May 18-21, 2007) at the Skamaina Lodge in Washington State that gave a presentation on the CO2 released by reservoirs by things such as decaying vegetation (where the vegetation wasn't removed prior to flooding the reservoir) and the decay of algae and aquatic plants in shallow reservoirs. While the CO2 production per kilowatt hour is about 10% of a natural gas fired power plant, hydro is not always a carbon -free source of electricity. Don Allan Spreck Rosekrans wrote: > Note that the author has not done much research as Matilija Dam > produces no hydropower. I find it to be a pretty annoying Op Ed but > obviously an argument we need to deal with. > > My sound bite (pardon the provincialism-substitute your own examples): > "Due to global warming, we will need to work harder to protect and > restore our natural heritage across America and around the world. But > we do not plan to dam the Grand Canyon or harness Old faithful in > Yellowstone for its kilowatt hours. And we can still find ways to > undertake important restoration projects, such as restoring Hetch > Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, as we reduce the emissions > that cause global warming. > > *From:* env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us > [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] *On Behalf Of > *Byron Leydecker > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:17 PM > *To:* fotr at mailman.dcn.org; Trinity List > *Subject:* [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 > > * Dam the Salmon * > > Shikha Dalmia. > Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). > May 30, 2007. pg. A.19 > > Al Gore has been hectoring Americans to pare back their lifestyles to > fight global warming. But if Mr. Gore wants us to rethink our > priorities in the face of this mother of all environmental threats, > surely he has convinced his fellow greens to rethink theirs, right? > > Wrong. If their opposition to the Klamath hydroelectric dams in the > Pacific Northwest is any indication, the greens, it appears, are just > as unwilling to sacrifice their pet causes as a Texas rancher is to > sacrifice his pickup truck. If anything, the radicalization of the > environmental movement is the bigger obstacle to addressing global > warming than the allegedly gluttonous American way of life. > > Once regarded as the symbol of national greatness, hydroelectric dams > have now fallen into disrepute for many legitimate reasons. They are > enormously expensive undertakings that would never have taken off but > for hefty government subsidies. Worse, they typically involve changing > the natural course of rivers, causing painful disruptions for towns > and tribes. > > But tearing down the Klamath dams, the last of which was completed in > 1962, will do more harm than good at this stage. These dams provide > cheap, renewable energy to 70,000 homes in Oregon and California . > Replacing this energy with natural gas -- the cleanest fossil-fuel > source -- would still pump 473,000 tons of additional carbon dioxide > into the atmosphere every year. This is roughly equal to the annual > emissions of 102,000 cars. > > Given this alternative, one would think that environmentalists would > form a human shield around the dams to protect them. Instead, they > have been fighting tooth-and-nail to tear them down because the dams > stand in the way of migrating salmon. Environmentalists don't even let > many states, including California , count hydro as renewable. > > They have rejected all attempts by PacifiCorp, the company that owns > the dams, to take mitigation steps such as installing $350 million > fish ladders to create a salmon pathway. Klamath Riverkeeper, a group > that is part of an environmental alliance headed by Robert Kennedy > Jr., has sued a fish hatchery that the California Department of Fish > and Wildlife runs -- and PacifiCorp is required to fund -- on grounds > that it releases too many algae and toxic discharges. The hatchery > produces at least 25% of the chinook salmon catch every year. Closing > it will cause fish populations to drop further, making the demolition > of the dams even more likely. > > But the end of the Klamath won't mean the end of the dam saga -- it is > the big prize that environmentalists are coveting to take their > antidam crusade to the next level. "This would represent the largest > and most ambitious dam removal project in the country, if not the > world," exults Steve Rothert of American Rivers. The other dams on the > hit list include the O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy > Valley that services San Francisco , Elwha River dam in Washington and > the Matilija Dam in Southern California . > > Large hydro dams supply about 20% of California 's power (and 10% of > America 's). If they are destroyed, California won't just have to find > some other way to fulfill its energy needs. It will have to do so > while reducing its carbon footprint to meet the ambitious CO2 > emission-reduction targets that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set. > Mr. Schwarzenegger has committed the Golden State to cutting > greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 -- a more > stringent requirement than even in the Kyoto Protocol. > > The effect this might have on California 's erratic and overpriced > energy supply has businesses running scared. Mike Naumes, owner of > Naumes Inc., a fruit packing and processing business, last year moved > his juice concentrate plant from Marysville , Calif. , to Washington > state and cut his energy bill in half. With hydropower under attack, > he is considering shrinking his farming operations in the Golden State > as well. "We can't pay exorbitant energy prices and stay competitive > with overseas businesses," he says. > > Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club's deputy executive director and a longtime > proponent of such a mandate, refuses to even acknowledge that there is > any conflict in closing hydro dams while fighting global warming. All > California needs to do to square these twin objectives, he maintains, > is become more energy efficient while embracing alternative fuels. "We > don't need to accept a Faustian bargain with hydropower to cut > emissions," he says. > > This is easier done in the fantasy world of greens than in the real > world. If cost-effective technologies to boost energy efficiency > actually existed, industry would adopt them automatically, global > warming or not. > > As for alternative fuels, they are still far from economically viable. > Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University , has calculated > that wind energy costs 6.64 cents per kWh and biomass 5.95 kWh -- > compared to 4.37 cents for clean coal. Robert Bradley Jr., president > of the Institute for Energy Research, puts these costs even higher. > "Although technological advances have lowered alternative fuel prices > in recent years, these fuels still by and large cost twice as much as > conventional fossil fuels," he says. > > But suppose these differentials disappeared. Would the Sierra Club and > its eco-warriors actually embrace the fuels that Mr. Hamilton > advocates? Not if their track record is any indication. Indeed, > environmental groups have a history of opposing just about every > energy source. > > Their opposition to nuclear energy is well known. Wind power? Two > years ago the Center for Biological Diversity sued California 's > Altamont Pass Wind Farm for obstructing and shredding migrating birds. > ("Cuisinarts of the sky" is what many greens call wind farms.) Solar? > Worldwatch Institute's Christopher Flavin has been decidedly lukewarm > about solar farms because they involve placing acres of mirrors in > pristine desert habitat. The Sierra Club and Wilderness Society once > testified before Congress to keep California 's Mojave Desert -- one > of the prime solar sites in the country -- off limits to all > development. Geothermal energy? They are unlikely to get enviro > blessings, because some of the best sites are located on protected > federal lands. > > Greens, it seems, always manage to find a problem for every > environmental solution -- and there is deep reason for this. > > Since its inception, the American environmental movement has been torn > between "conservationists" seeking to protect nature for man -- and > "preservationists" seeking to protect nature for its own sake. > Although early environmental thinkers such as Aldo Leopold and John > Muir were sympathetic to both themes, Leopold was more in the first > camp and Muir in the second. Leopold regarded wilderness as a form of > land use; he certainly wanted to limit the development of wild areas > -- but to "enlarge the range of individual experience." Muir, on the > other hand, saw wilderness as sacred territory worthy of protection > regardless of human needs. > > With the arrival on the scene of Deep Ecologists from Europe in the > 1980s, Muir's mystical preservationist side won the moral high ground. > The emphasis of Deep Ecology on radical species equality made talk > about solving environmental problems for human ends illicit within the > American environmental community. Instead, Arne Naess, the revered > founder of Deep Ecology, explicitly identified human beings as the big > environmental problem. "The flourishing of nonhuman life requires a > decrease in human population," his eight-point platform to save Mother > Earth serenely declared. > > This ideological turn, notes Ramachandra Guha, a left-leaning Indian > commentator and incisive critic of Deep Ecology, has made American > environmentalism irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst for the > Third World, where addressing environmental issues such as soil > erosion, water pollution and deforestation still remains squarely > about serving human needs. By turning wilderness preservation into a > moral absolute -- as opposed to simply another form of land use -- > Deep Ecology has justified wresting crucial resources out of the hands > of India 's agrarian and tribal populations. "Specious nonsense about > equal rights of all species cannot hide the plain fact that green > imperialists . . . are dangerous," Mr. Guha has written. > > Besides hurting the Third World , such radicalism had made the > environmental movement incapable of responding to its own self- > proclaimed challenges. Since nature can't speak for itself, the > admonition to protect nature for nature's sake offers not a guide to > action, but an invitation to inaction. That's because a non- > anthropocentric view that treats nature as non-hierarchical collapses > into incoherence when it becomes necessary to calculate trade-offs or > set priorities between competing environmental goals. > > Thus, even in the face of a supposedly calamitous threat like global > warming, environmentalists can't bring themselves to embrace any > sacrifice -- of salmons or birds or desert or protected wilderness. > Its strategy comes down to pure obstructionism -- on full display in > the Klamath dam controversy. > > Yet, if environmentalists themselves are unwilling to give up anything > for global warming, how can they expect sacrifices from others? If Al > Gore wants to do something, he should first move out of his 6,000 > square-foot Nashville mansion and then make a movie titled: "Damn the > salmon." > > --- > > Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst with Reason Foundation > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >env-trinity mailing list >env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us >http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity > > From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed May 30 16:28:27 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 16:28:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] POWER DRAIN: BIG AG'S $100 MILLION ENERGY SUBSIDY Message-ID: <005d01c7a319$79270a20$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2007 CONTACT: Bill Walker or Renee Sharp, (510) 444-0973 POWER DRAIN: BIG AG'S $100 MILLION ENERGY SUBSIDY U.S. Taxpayers Foot Electricity Bills for Central Valley Agribusinesses OAKLAND - Some of America's richest and largest farms are paying pennies for the vast amounts of electricity needed to deliver irrigation water to California's arid Central Valley. In 2002 and 2003, agribusinesses in the Central Valley Project (CVP) paid only about one cent per kilowatt-hour for electricity to transport irrigation water, according to a 15-month investigation by Environmental Working Group (EWG). Compared to Pacific Gas & Electric's agricultural rate, that's an annual subsidy of more than $100 million from U.S. taxpayers. EWG's report is available at www.ewg.org. It shows both the price paid by each CVP irrigation district in the years studied and the amount of energy the district used. Every year the CVP, the nation's largest federally subsidized irrigation system., moves more than 2 trillion gallons of water through 1,500 miles of canals. The electricity needed to move water around the CVP would power every home in Chico for 18 months. But just as CVP contractors pay heavily subsidized rates for their water, they pay next to nothing for the power that delivers it. Through the federal Freedom of Information Act, EWG obtained U.S. Bureau of Reclamation documents that enabled us to calculate, for the first time, the rate paid by CVP agribusinesses and the value of their power subsidy. We found: a.. CVP power rates were 10 to 15 times lower than PG&E's industrial, agricultural or residential rates. b.. In Westlands Water District, the largest and most politically powerful irrigation district in the CVP, power subsidies in 2002 were worth about $165,000 per farm. c.. The CVP power sold to farms by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is essentially unregulated. No government agency, other than the Bureau itself, oversees its rates. "In an era when other Californians have been rocked by volatile electricity prices and the constant threat of rolling blackouts, a few thousand agribusinesses are guranteed dirt-cheap power, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers," said EWG Senior Analyst Renee Sharp, lead investigator for the report. "These subsidies are not helping small farms survive, but padding the profits of the biggest and richest farms." Cheap power is just the tip of the iceberg of federal subsidies to the CVP: a.. Department of Agriculture data show that from 1995 to 2004, CVP agribusinesses received more than $890 million in direct commodity payments, mostly for cotton and rice. b.. An earlier EWG investigation conservatively estimated the value of CVP water subsidies at $416 million in 2002. c.. In total, federal subsidies to the CVP easily top more than half a billion dollars a year and could well reach $1 billion ? all at taxpayers' expense. The report recommends that CVP agribusinesses should be required to pay prices approximating market rate for the power used to store and move irrigation water. A federal agency should regulate power rates to ensure system fairness, and should make these rates publicly available. CVP contractors, and contractors in other federal water projects, should not be allowed to "double-dip" and "triple-dip" on federal subsidies. # # # EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. The group's research on Power Subsidies is available online at http://www.ewg.org/reports/powersubsidies/. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Wed May 30 21:32:12 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 00:32:12 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] POWER DRAIN: BIG AG'S $100 MILLION ENERGY SUBSIDY In-Reply-To: <005d01c7a319$79270a20$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> References: <005d01c7a319$79270a20$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Message-ID: All: The points made in the press release below are certainly valid. The biggest beneficiaries of below-market CVP hydropower, however, are a handful of cities that operate their own utilities. For the most part they include Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the members of the Northern California Power Agency (see http://www.ncpa.com/our-members/47.html). SMUD, & NCPA along Westlands and other big ag interest initially all sued to block the Trinity restoration plan (though SMUD and some NCPA members pulled out after being lobbied to do so). In general such subsidies are bad for the environment and bad for the taxpayer. In the case of CVP hydropower, more subsidies go to cities than to Ag. -Spreck ________________________________ From: env-trinity-bounces+srosekrans=environmentaldefense.org at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces+srosekrans=environmentaldefense.org at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of Tom Stokely Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 4:28 PM To: env-trinity Subject: [env-trinity] POWER DRAIN: BIG AG'S $100 MILLION ENERGY SUBSIDY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2007 CONTACT: Bill Walker or Renee Sharp, (510) 444-0973 POWER DRAIN: BIG AG'S $100 MILLION ENERGY SUBSIDY U.S. Taxpayers Foot Electricity Bills for Central Valley Agribusinesses OAKLAND - Some of America's richest and largest farms are paying pennies for the vast amounts of electricity needed to deliver irrigation water to California's arid Central Valley. In 2002 and 2003, agribusinesses in the Central Valley Project (CVP) paid only about one cent per kilowatt-hour for electricity to transport irrigation water, according to a 15-month investigation by Environmental Working Group (EWG). Compared to Pacific Gas & Electric's agricultural rate, that's an annual subsidy of more than $100 million from U.S. taxpayers. EWG's report is available at www.ewg.org . It shows both the price paid by each CVP irrigation district in the years studied and the amount of energy the district used. Every year the CVP, the nation's largest federally subsidized irrigation system., moves more than 2 trillion gallons of water through 1,500 miles of canals. The electricity needed to move water around the CVP would power every home in Chico for 18 months. But just as CVP contractors pay heavily subsidized rates for their water, they pay next to nothing for the power that delivers it. Through the federal Freedom of Information Act, EWG obtained U.S. Bureau of Reclamation documents that enabled us to calculate, for the first time, the rate paid by CVP agribusinesses and the value of their power subsidy. We found: * CVP power rates were 10 to 15 times lower than PG&E's industrial, agricultural or residential rates. * In Westlands Water District, the largest and most politically powerful irrigation district in the CVP, power subsidies in 2002 were worth about $165,000 per farm. * The CVP power sold to farms by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is essentially unregulated. No government agency, other than the Bureau itself, oversees its rates. "In an era when other Californians have been rocked by volatile electricity prices and the constant threat of rolling blackouts, a few thousand agribusinesses are guranteed dirt-cheap power, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers," said EWG Senior Analyst Renee Sharp, lead investigator for the report. "These subsidies are not helping small farms survive, but padding the profits of the biggest and richest farms." Cheap power is just the tip of the iceberg of federal subsidies to the CVP: * Department of Agriculture data show that from 1995 to 2004, CVP agribusinesses received more than $890 million in direct commodity payments, mostly for cotton and rice. * An earlier EWG investigation conservatively estimated the value of CVP water subsidies at $416 million in 2002. * In total, federal subsidies to the CVP easily top more than half a billion dollars a year and could well reach $1 billion ? all at taxpayers' expense. The report recommends that CVP agribusinesses should be required to pay prices approximating market rate for the power used to store and move irrigation water. A federal agency should regulate power rates to ensure system fairness, and should make these rates publicly available. CVP contractors, and contractors in other federal water projects, should not be allowed to "double-dip" and "triple-dip" on federal subsidies. # # # EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. The group's research on Power Subsidies is available online at http://www.ewg.org/reports/powersubsidies/. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kevin at yuroktribe.nsn.us Thu May 31 09:12:06 2007 From: kevin at yuroktribe.nsn.us (Kevin McKernan) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 09:12:06 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] green energy??? Message-ID: <54037E008D2F0B47A8A4581529D2534F674645@exchsrvr.yuroktribe.nsn.us> Kevin McKernan Director, Yurok Tribe Environmental Program P.O. Box 1027 Klamath, CA 95548 (707) 482-1350 xt. 355 -----Original Message----- From: Don Allan [mailto:don at nrsrcaa.org] Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 3:16 PM To: Spreck Rosekrans Cc: fotr at mailman.dcn.org; Trinity List Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 Hydro Power is not toally clean. There was a speaker (Peter McNulty?) at the River Rally (May 18-21, 2007) at the Skamaina Lodge in Washington State that gave a presentation on the CO2 released by reservoirs by things such as decaying vegetation (where the vegetation wasn't removed prior to flooding the reservoir) and the decay of algae and aquatic plants in shallow reservoirs. While the CO2 production per kilowatt hour is about 10% of a natural gas fired power plant, hydro is not always a carbon -free source of electricity. Don Allan Spreck Rosekrans wrote: > Note that the author has not done much research as Matilija Dam > produces no hydropower. I find it to be a pretty annoying Op Ed but > obviously an argument we need to deal with. > > My sound bite (pardon the provincialism-substitute your own examples): > "Due to global warming, we will need to work harder to protect and > restore our natural heritage across America and around the world. But > we do not plan to dam the Grand Canyon or harness Old faithful in > Yellowstone for its kilowatt hours. And we can still find ways to > undertake important restoration projects, such as restoring Hetch > Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, as we reduce the emissions > that cause global warming. > > *From:* env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us > [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] *On Behalf Of > *Byron Leydecker > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:17 PM > *To:* fotr at mailman.dcn.org; Trinity List > *Subject:* [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 > > * Dam the Salmon * > > Shikha Dalmia. > Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). > May 30, 2007. pg. A.19 > > Al Gore has been hectoring Americans to pare back their lifestyles to > fight global warming. But if Mr. Gore wants us to rethink our > priorities in the face of this mother of all environmental threats, > surely he has convinced his fellow greens to rethink theirs, right? > > Wrong. If their opposition to the Klamath hydroelectric dams in the > Pacific Northwest is any indication, the greens, it appears, are just > as unwilling to sacrifice their pet causes as a Texas rancher is to > sacrifice his pickup truck. If anything, the radicalization of the > environmental movement is the bigger obstacle to addressing global > warming than the allegedly gluttonous American way of life. > > Once regarded as the symbol of national greatness, hydroelectric dams > have now fallen into disrepute for many legitimate reasons. They are > enormously expensive undertakings that would never have taken off but > for hefty government subsidies. Worse, they typically involve changing > the natural course of rivers, causing painful disruptions for towns > and tribes. > > But tearing down the Klamath dams, the last of which was completed in > 1962, will do more harm than good at this stage. These dams provide > cheap, renewable energy to 70,000 homes in Oregon and California . > Replacing this energy with natural gas -- the cleanest fossil-fuel > source -- would still pump 473,000 tons of additional carbon dioxide > into the atmosphere every year. This is roughly equal to the annual > emissions of 102,000 cars. > > Given this alternative, one would think that environmentalists would > form a human shield around the dams to protect them. Instead, they > have been fighting tooth-and-nail to tear them down because the dams > stand in the way of migrating salmon. Environmentalists don't even let > many states, including California , count hydro as renewable. > > They have rejected all attempts by PacifiCorp, the company that owns > the dams, to take mitigation steps such as installing $350 million > fish ladders to create a salmon pathway. Klamath Riverkeeper, a group > that is part of an environmental alliance headed by Robert Kennedy > Jr., has sued a fish hatchery that the California Department of Fish > and Wildlife runs -- and PacifiCorp is required to fund -- on grounds > that it releases too many algae and toxic discharges. The hatchery > produces at least 25% of the chinook salmon catch every year. Closing > it will cause fish populations to drop further, making the demolition > of the dams even more likely. > > But the end of the Klamath won't mean the end of the dam saga -- it is > the big prize that environmentalists are coveting to take their > antidam crusade to the next level. "This would represent the largest > and most ambitious dam removal project in the country, if not the > world," exults Steve Rothert of American Rivers. The other dams on the > hit list include the O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy > Valley that services San Francisco , Elwha River dam in Washington and > the Matilija Dam in Southern California . > > Large hydro dams supply about 20% of California 's power (and 10% of > America 's). If they are destroyed, California won't just have to find > some other way to fulfill its energy needs. It will have to do so > while reducing its carbon footprint to meet the ambitious CO2 > emission-reduction targets that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set. > Mr. Schwarzenegger has committed the Golden State to cutting > greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 -- a more > stringent requirement than even in the Kyoto Protocol. > > The effect this might have on California 's erratic and overpriced > energy supply has businesses running scared. Mike Naumes, owner of > Naumes Inc., a fruit packing and processing business, last year moved > his juice concentrate plant from Marysville , Calif. , to Washington > state and cut his energy bill in half. With hydropower under attack, > he is considering shrinking his farming operations in the Golden State > as well. "We can't pay exorbitant energy prices and stay competitive > with overseas businesses," he says. > > Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club's deputy executive director and a longtime > proponent of such a mandate, refuses to even acknowledge that there is > any conflict in closing hydro dams while fighting global warming. All > California needs to do to square these twin objectives, he maintains, > is become more energy efficient while embracing alternative fuels. "We > don't need to accept a Faustian bargain with hydropower to cut > emissions," he says. > > This is easier done in the fantasy world of greens than in the real > world. If cost-effective technologies to boost energy efficiency > actually existed, industry would adopt them automatically, global > warming or not. > > As for alternative fuels, they are still far from economically viable. > Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University , has calculated > that wind energy costs 6.64 cents per kWh and biomass 5.95 kWh -- > compared to 4.37 cents for clean coal. Robert Bradley Jr., president > of the Institute for Energy Research, puts these costs even higher. > "Although technological advances have lowered alternative fuel prices > in recent years, these fuels still by and large cost twice as much as > conventional fossil fuels," he says. > > But suppose these differentials disappeared. Would the Sierra Club and > its eco-warriors actually embrace the fuels that Mr. Hamilton > advocates? Not if their track record is any indication. Indeed, > environmental groups have a history of opposing just about every > energy source. > > Their opposition to nuclear energy is well known. Wind power? Two > years ago the Center for Biological Diversity sued California 's > Altamont Pass Wind Farm for obstructing and shredding migrating birds. > ("Cuisinarts of the sky" is what many greens call wind farms.) Solar? > Worldwatch Institute's Christopher Flavin has been decidedly lukewarm > about solar farms because they involve placing acres of mirrors in > pristine desert habitat. The Sierra Club and Wilderness Society once > testified before Congress to keep California 's Mojave Desert -- one > of the prime solar sites in the country -- off limits to all > development. Geothermal energy? They are unlikely to get enviro > blessings, because some of the best sites are located on protected > federal lands. > > Greens, it seems, always manage to find a problem for every > environmental solution -- and there is deep reason for this. > > Since its inception, the American environmental movement has been torn > between "conservationists" seeking to protect nature for man -- and > "preservationists" seeking to protect nature for its own sake. > Although early environmental thinkers such as Aldo Leopold and John > Muir were sympathetic to both themes, Leopold was more in the first > camp and Muir in the second. Leopold regarded wilderness as a form of > land use; he certainly wanted to limit the development of wild areas > -- but to "enlarge the range of individual experience." Muir, on the > other hand, saw wilderness as sacred territory worthy of protection > regardless of human needs. > > With the arrival on the scene of Deep Ecologists from Europe in the > 1980s, Muir's mystical preservationist side won the moral high ground. > The emphasis of Deep Ecology on radical species equality made talk > about solving environmental problems for human ends illicit within the > American environmental community. Instead, Arne Naess, the revered > founder of Deep Ecology, explicitly identified human beings as the big > environmental problem. "The flourishing of nonhuman life requires a > decrease in human population," his eight-point platform to save Mother > Earth serenely declared. > > This ideological turn, notes Ramachandra Guha, a left-leaning Indian > commentator and incisive critic of Deep Ecology, has made American > environmentalism irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst for the > Third World, where addressing environmental issues such as soil > erosion, water pollution and deforestation still remains squarely > about serving human needs. By turning wilderness preservation into a > moral absolute -- as opposed to simply another form of land use -- > Deep Ecology has justified wresting crucial resources out of the hands > of India 's agrarian and tribal populations. "Specious nonsense about > equal rights of all species cannot hide the plain fact that green > imperialists . . . are dangerous," Mr. Guha has written. > > Besides hurting the Third World , such radicalism had made the > environmental movement incapable of responding to its own self- > proclaimed challenges. Since nature can't speak for itself, the > admonition to protect nature for nature's sake offers not a guide to > action, but an invitation to inaction. That's because a non- > anthropocentric view that treats nature as non-hierarchical collapses > into incoherence when it becomes necessary to calculate trade-offs or > set priorities between competing environmental goals. > > Thus, even in the face of a supposedly calamitous threat like global > warming, environmentalists can't bring themselves to embrace any > sacrifice -- of salmons or birds or desert or protected wilderness. > Its strategy comes down to pure obstructionism -- on full display in > the Klamath dam controversy. > > Yet, if environmentalists themselves are unwilling to give up anything > for global warming, how can they expect sacrifices from others? If Al > Gore wants to do something, he should first move out of his 6,000 > square-foot Nashville mansion and then make a movie titled: "Damn the > salmon." > > --- > > Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst with Reason Foundation > >----------------------------------------------------------------------- - > >_______________________________________________ >env-trinity mailing list >env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us >http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity > > _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: CopcoReservoir.JPG Type: image/jpeg Size: 512514 bytes Desc: CopcoReservoir.JPG URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu May 31 10:26:34 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 10:26:34 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard May 31 Message-ID: SALMON FISHING FUNDS: Thompson fights for speedy release of emergency salmon funds Eureka Times Standard - 5/31/07 North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, following the president's signature on emergency disaster relief for the Pacific salmon industry, has assembled members of Congress from California and Oregon to call for the prompt distribution of the funding. "The president's approval of this disaster relief is long overdue," said Thompson. "The administration's failed water policies resulted in our country's largest commercial salmon fishery disaster, and North Coast residents have suffered because of it. Our salmon fishermen and businesses will finally get the aid they desperately need." The $60.4 million in emergency funding will be distributed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, which has regulatory jurisdiction over the nation's fishing industries. Thompson and members of the state congressional delegations formally invited William Hogarth, director of NOAA Fisheries, to a meeting in Washington, D.C. to discuss how and when those affected by the disaster will receive aid. "We've been working for the past two years to get this funding, and now that we have it, we can't waste another minute getting it to our salmon fishermen and related-businesses," said Thompson. In other business, Thompson, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence, has embarked on a five-day intelligence oversight trip to the United Kingdom and Sweden. The purpose, according to his office, is to examine the growth of religious extremism in Europe and the threat that this trend poses to the U.S. and our allies. In addition, Thompson will meet with local officials to discuss how the U.S. and European countries can better coordinate counterterrorism measures and the sharing of intelligence. "Strong intelligence is our best weapon for fighting terrorism," said Thompson. "And close collaboration with our allies and partners is critical given that many of these extremist groups operate in multiple countries. We need to share information with our allies and learn from each others' experiences if we are to counter the threats posed by these dangerous groups." Thompson, a Vietnam combat veteran, will also spend a day with wounded soldiers at the Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. This is his second visit to the hospital since fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu May 31 11:24:35 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 11:24:35 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmonid Restoration Foundation Message-ID: <4F7DD63950E0495BBF3D470E852E8444@ByronsLaptop> The Salmonid Restoration Federation is once again hosting the Spring-run Chinook Symposium. This year we are thrilled to be working with the Salmon River Restoration Council, the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council and others to dovetail the Chinook Symposium with the annual Salmon River Spring-run Chinook and Steelhead Survey. Running for four days, July 24 -27, this event includes snorkel surveys, workshops, field tours and presentations on Spring-run Chinook restoration. We encourage participants to stay and enjoy the Jammin' for the Salmon benefit concert, Friday evening and Saturday (July 27-28). Please find attached a small PSA and a longer article about this fun and informative event. I have also, for your convenience, pasted these documents in the body of this email. Please see below. If you have a calendar, newsletter or e-newsletter, would you please consider posting either the short PSA or longer article? Otherwise please distribute this information to your constituents that may be interested in participating in this educational symposium. If you only have space or inclination for a one-sentence mention, please use the following: "The 2nd Annual Spring-run Chinook Symposium will be held in concert with the annual Salmon River Dives, July 24-27, 2007 at Nordheimer Campground on the (Cal) Salmon River and at the Panamnik Building in Orleans, California. For more information, please see www.calsalmon.org or call the Salmonid Restoration Federation at 707-923-7501." PSA: Salmon River Dives and Spring-run Chinook Symposium, July 24-27 Nordheimer Campground, Salmon River, California Salmonid Restoration Federation is proud to join with the Salmon River Restoration Council in offering the 2nd Annual Spring-run Chinook Symposium in concert with the Salmon River Spring Chinook Dives. Please join us on the beautiful Salmon River July 24-27 for training and dives, workshops, field tours and presentations on challenges and tools specific to Spring-run Chinook restoration in California, including fish identification, snorkel surveys, fish habitat improvement and fish passage barrier removal projects. Renowned fisheries biologist, Peter Moyle, will offer a presentation on Spring-run Chinook recovery efforts. Stay Saturday July 28 for the Jammin' for the Salmon benefit concert. For more information or to register, please contact SRF at (707)923-7501 or srf at calsalmon.org. Article: Salmon River Dives and Spring-run Chinook Symposium, July 24-27 Nordheimer Campground, Salmon River, California The Salmonid Restoration Federation is proud to join with the Salmon River Restoration Council and the Mid-Klamath Watershed Council in offering the 2nd Annual Spring-run Chinook Symposium in concert with the Salmon River Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead Dives. This year's event will take place July 24-27 on the beautiful (Cal) Salmon River. SRF is pleased to offer this opportunity for local landowners, restorationists, fisheries biologists and agency staff to participate in the Salmon River Dives and the Chinook Symposium including workshops, field tours and presentations on problems and solutions specific to Spring-run Chinook. The Spring-run Chinook Symposium offers restoration practitioners training and networking opportunities on issues affecting California's threatened Spring-run Chinook populations. This Symposium will offer workshops and tours on such topics as fish identification, snorkel surveys, fish habitat improvement structures, fish barrier removal projects and Klamath dam removal, bioengineering, macro-invertebrate sampling and technical assistance for landowners and watershed groups. This year the Spring-run Chinook Symposium will coincide with the annual Salmon River Spring Chinook and Summer Steelhead Dives. A locally organized event, the dives bring together a coalition of agency personnel, tribal members, and concerned citizens who form small teams to dive the entire Salmon River within a couple days, in order to get a good estimate of the salmonids holding in the Salmon River. The Salmon River Surveys are a focal point in the effort to protect and restore Klamath Spring Chinook, bringing together communities, tribes, academia and agencies in a cooperative approach to recovery. Holding the Chinook Symposium in concert with the dives will allow an educational cross-over for both events. So come for the Dives and the Symposium and stay Saturday, July 28th for the Jammin' on the Salmon benefit concert. For more information about this exciting event please check out the Salmonid Restoration Federation website at www.calsalmon.org or call (707) 923-7501. If you have any questions, please call me at 707-923-7501. Heather Reese Project Coordinator Salmonid Restoration Federation PO Box 784 Redway, California 95560 (707) 923-7501 heather at calsalmon.org Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Thu May 31 12:05:24 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:05:24 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] 2007 Willow Creek Downstream Migrant In-Season Trapping Update Message-ID: To Whom it May Concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?May 31, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through May 31st, 2007 and is presented as raw catch. No expansions have been calculated at this time. Data entry is not complete for Julian Weeks 21 and 22, May 21st to June 3rd. Heavy debris load from the increased dam releases created problems for the rotary screw traps during Julian Weeks (JW) 18?20, and resulted in less than 21 trap days per week (7 days per week x 3 traps= 21 trap days per week). See attached catch summary for details of this narrative. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred and most have been young-of-the-year (YOY). Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of YOY Chinook salmon are slightly higher than 1.0 with a possible increase in condition from JW 15-22 compared to JW 10-14. Chinook salmon catches decreased coincident with increased flows during JW 18 (accounting for fewer trap days) and higher catches in JW 19-20 are consistent with the theory that juvenile Chinook salmon ?hunker down? during flow increases and resume emigration on the descending limb of the hydrograph. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts (age 1+) peaked coincident with the increased flow in JW 17 and have tapered off since; total steelhead smolt catch appears to be around average compared to the past 5 years. No age 2 steelhead occur on the catch summary because steelhead scales have not been aged this year; once aging is complete some age1 steelhead will be moved to the age 2 column. Steelhead smolts captured JW 10-19 had weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0; values dropped below 1.0 in JW 20-22 possibly indicating that the smolting process is occurring. Steelhead YOY catches showed a small pulse in JW 13-15 and appear to be increasing in the past few weeks. Normal peaks in YOY steelhead catch occur in mid-June to early July. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low compared to the past 5 years, especially for natural smolts. Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts were higher than 1.0 in JW 11-18, but have decreased below 1.0 in JW 19-22; possibly indicating that the smolting process is occurring. Coho salmon smolt catches, both natural and hatchery, in JW 17 increased coincident with the increased water releases from Lewiston Dam. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. (See attached file: WCT_CatchSummary_May_31_2007.pdf) William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_CatchSummary_May_31_2007.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 16360 bytes Desc: not available URL: From mbelchik at snowcrest.net Thu May 31 13:15:43 2007 From: mbelchik at snowcrest.net (Michael Belchik) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 13:15:43 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] WSJ editorial Message-ID: <00a101c7a3c0$77ee6930$8300a8c0@yuroktribe.nsn.us> I don't usually respond to these posting on the Trinity List Serve, but I thought I'd weigh in here. This error-filled editorial from the Wall Street Journal (see below), and published on May 30, 2007, was written by the Reason Foundation. The "Reason" Foundation is a corporate-funded group who's primary focus before now was to debunk global warming and to argue against regulations on corporations. Their primary funders are big corporations, and they have received nearly $400,000 from Exxon-mobile in the past 10 years. (don't you love the Internet?) http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=63 Ironic how the Reason Foundation now uses the threat of global warming to argue against taking these dams out. FYI: the dams produce methane as a result of anaerobic decay in the lower water column, which is 20x as strong as CO2 as a greenhouse gas. Thus, this Hydroelectric Project is not nearly as "green" as it appears. In fact, the only thing that's "green" about the Klamath Hydroelectric Project is the toxic algae that brews and festers in the summer sun before making its way downstream to poison the Klamath River. Also note that the effort to get the dams out is entirely attributed to the radical left environmental movement (and Al Gore himself!!) rather than the groundbreaking coalition of Tribes, farmers, and other citizen's groups in the Klamath. This truth must have been too inconvenient for Ms. Dalmia. Mike Belchik Yurok Tribe _____ From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of Byron Leydecker Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 12:17 PM To: fotr at mailman.dcn.org; Trinity List Subject: [env-trinity] Wall Street Journal May 30 Dam the Salmon Shikha Dalmia. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). May 30, 2007. pg. A.19 Al Gore has been hectoring Americans to pare back their lifestyles to fight global warming. But if Mr. Gore wants us to rethink our priorities in the face of this mother of all environmental threats, surely he has convinced his fellow greens to rethink theirs, right? Wrong. If their opposition to the Klamath hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest is any indication, the greens, it appears, are just as unwilling to sacrifice their pet causes as a Texas rancher is to sacrifice his pickup truck. If anything, the radicalization of the environmental movement is the bigger obstacle to addressing global warming than the allegedly gluttonous American way of life. Once regarded as the symbol of national greatness, hydroelectric dams have now fallen into disrepute for many legitimate reasons. They are enormously expensive undertakings that would never have taken off but for hefty government subsidies. Worse, they typically involve changing the natural course of rivers, causing painful disruptions for towns and tribes. But tearing down the Klamath dams, the last of which was completed in 1962, will do more harm than good at this stage. These dams provide cheap, renewable energy to 70,000 homes in Oregon and California. Replacing this energy with natural gas -- the cleanest fossil-fuel source -- would still pump 473,000 tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. This is roughly equal to the annual emissions of 102,000 cars. Given this alternative, one would think that environmentalists would form a human shield around the dams to protect them. Instead, they have been fighting tooth-and-nail to tear them down because the dams stand in the way of migrating salmon. Environmentalists don't even let many states, including California, count hydro as renewable. They have rejected all attempts by PacifiCorp, the company that owns the dams, to take mitigation steps such as installing $350 million fish ladders to create a salmon pathway. Klamath Riverkeeper, a group that is part of an environmental alliance headed by Robert Kennedy Jr., has sued a fish hatchery that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife runs -- and PacifiCorp is required to fund -- on grounds that it releases too many algae and toxic discharges. The hatchery produces at least 25% of the chinook salmon catch every year. Closing it will cause fish populations to drop further, making the demolition of the dams even more likely. But the end of the Klamath won't mean the end of the dam saga -- it is the big prize that environmentalists are coveting to take their antidam crusade to the next level. "This would represent the largest and most ambitious dam removal project in the country, if not the world," exults Steve Rothert of American Rivers. The other dams on the hit list include the O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley that services San Francisco, Elwha River dam in Washington and the Matilija Dam in Southern California. Large hydro dams supply about 20% of California's power (and 10% of America's). If they are destroyed, California won't just have to find some other way to fulfill its energy needs. It will have to do so while reducing its carbon footprint to meet the ambitious CO2 emission-reduction targets that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set. Mr. Schwarzenegger has committed the Golden State to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 -- a more stringent requirement than even in the Kyoto Protocol. The effect this might have on California's erratic and overpriced energy supply has businesses running scared. Mike Naumes, owner of Naumes Inc., a fruit packing and processing business, last year moved his juice concentrate plant from Marysville, Calif., to Washington state and cut his energy bill in half. With hydropower under attack, he is considering shrinking his farming operations in the Golden State as well. "We can't pay exorbitant energy prices and stay competitive with overseas businesses," he says. Bruce Hamilton, Sierra Club's deputy executive director and a longtime proponent of such a mandate, refuses to even acknowledge that there is any conflict in closing hydro dams while fighting global warming. All California needs to do to square these twin objectives, he maintains, is become more energy efficient while embracing alternative fuels. "We don't need to accept a Faustian bargain with hydropower to cut emissions," he says. This is easier done in the fantasy world of greens than in the real world. If cost-effective technologies to boost energy efficiency actually existed, industry would adopt them automatically, global warming or not. As for alternative fuels, they are still far from economically viable. Gilbert Metcalf, an economist at Tufts University, has calculated that wind energy costs 6.64 cents per kWh and biomass 5.95 kWh -- compared to 4.37 cents for clean coal. Robert Bradley Jr., president of the Institute for Energy Research, puts these costs even higher. "Although technological advances have lowered alternative fuel prices in recent years, these fuels still by and large cost twice as much as conventional fossil fuels," he says. But suppose these differentials disappeared. Would the Sierra Club and its eco-warriors actually embrace the fuels that Mr. Hamilton advocates? Not if their track record is any indication. Indeed, environmental groups have a history of opposing just about every energy source. Their opposition to nuclear energy is well known. Wind power? Two years ago the Center for Biological Diversity sued California's Altamont Pass Wind Farm for obstructing and shredding migrating birds. ("Cuisinarts of the sky" is what many greens call wind farms.) Solar? Worldwatch Institute's Christopher Flavin has been decidedly lukewarm about solar farms because they involve placing acres of mirrors in pristine desert habitat. The Sierra Club and Wilderness Society once testified before Congress to keep California's Mojave Desert -- one of the prime solar sites in the country -- off limits to all development. Geothermal energy? They are unlikely to get enviro blessings, because some of the best sites are located on protected federal lands. Greens, it seems, always manage to find a problem for every environmental solution -- and there is deep reason for this. Since its inception, the American environmental movement has been torn between "conservationists" seeking to protect nature for man -- and "preservationists" seeking to protect nature for its own sake. Although early environmental thinkers such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir were sympathetic to both themes, Leopold was more in the first camp and Muir in the second. Leopold regarded wilderness as a form of land use; he certainly wanted to limit the development of wild areas -- but to "enlarge the range of individual experience." Muir, on the other hand, saw wilderness as sacred territory worthy of protection regardless of human needs. With the arrival on the scene of Deep Ecologists from Europe in the 1980s, Muir's mystical preservationist side won the moral high ground. The emphasis of Deep Ecology on radical species equality made talk about solving environmental problems for human ends illicit within the American environmental community. Instead, Arne Naess, the revered founder of Deep Ecology, explicitly identified human beings as the big environmental problem. "The flourishing of nonhuman life requires a decrease in human population," his eight-point platform to save Mother Earth serenely declared. This ideological turn, notes Ramachandra Guha, a left-leaning Indian commentator and incisive critic of Deep Ecology, has made American environmentalism irrelevant at best and dangerous at worst for the Third World, where addressing environmental issues such as soil erosion, water pollution and deforestation still remains squarely about serving human needs. By turning wilderness preservation into a moral absolute -- as opposed to simply another form of land use -- Deep Ecology has justified wresting crucial resources out of the hands of India's agrarian and tribal populations. "Specious nonsense about equal rights of all species cannot hide the plain fact that green imperialists . . . are dangerous," Mr. Guha has written. Besides hurting the Third World, such radicalism had made the environmental movement incapable of responding to its own self- proclaimed challenges. Since nature can't speak for itself, the admonition to protect nature for nature's sake offers not a guide to action, but an invitation to inaction. That's because a non- anthropocentric view that treats nature as non-hierarchical collapses into incoherence when it becomes necessary to calculate trade-offs or set priorities between competing environmental goals. Thus, even in the face of a supposedly calamitous threat like global warming, environmentalists can't bring themselves to embrace any sacrifice -- of salmons or birds or desert or protected wilderness. Its strategy comes down to pure obstructionism -- on full display in the Klamath dam controversy. Yet, if environmentalists themselves are unwilling to give up anything for global warming, how can they expect sacrifices from others? If Al Gore wants to do something, he should first move out of his 6,000 square-foot Nashville mansion and then make a movie titled: "Damn the salmon." --- Ms. Dalmia is a senior analyst with Reason Foundation Michael Belchik Senior Fisheries Biologist Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program Weitchpec Route PO Box 196 Hoopa, CA 95546 (530)625-4130 x 228 (office) (707)834-3891 (cell) mbelchik at snowcrest.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu May 31 16:22:09 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 16:22:09 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fish threatened with extinction shuts Delta water pumps Message-ID: <010f01c7a3da$8373a260$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/201222.html Fish threatened with extinction shuts Delta water pumps By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer Last Updated 3:49 pm PDT Thursday, May 31, 2007 Print | E-Mail | Comments (0)| Digg it | del.icio.us State water officials Thursday morning stopped exporting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the threatened Delta smelt, a tiny native fish that appears to be on the brink of extinction. The action, announced in a press release by the California Department of Water Resources, could mean water shortages for some cities and farms served by the California Aqueduct, which conveys water exported by the state's Delta pumps near Tracy. But it was not clear Thursday afternoon who will be affected and for how long. Some users will be able to continue drawing water already in the aqueduct. The Delta supplies 23 million Californians with a portion of their drinking water, as well as to 5 million acres of farmland. The action follows bad news from a recent population survey for smelt. Preliminary results from the annual spring survey turned up only 25 smelt at regular survey points in the Delta, down from a seven-year average of 353 fish. On May 14, state officials also began finding dead smelt in the pumping system. This is a routine event, but had not occurred previously this year. DWR decided to halt the massive pumps when numbers of smelt in the pumping system began to increase. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu May 31 17:04:31 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 17:04:31 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Sacramento Bee - Delta Pumps Shut Down Message-ID: <5476E3999ABB463F802B6D762FE71E68@ByronsLaptop> The Sacramento Bee (Breaking News) Delta water pumps shut down State water officials Thursday morning stopped exporting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the threatened Delta smelt, a tiny native fish that appears to be on the brink of extinction. The action, announced by the California Department of Water Resources, could mean water shortages for some cities and farms served by the California Aqueduct. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu May 31 18:24:42 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 18:24:42 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Significant Delta Action Message-ID: <5DB024AC140C4C5184B99E4AFE4D8894@ByronsLaptop> Department of Fish and Game NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 07:045 May 31, 2007 Contact: Greg Hurner, Senior Adviser to the Director (916)653-6719 Ceasing Operation of State Water Project, Other Actions Requested Sacramento * The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today asked the Department of Water Resources to stop pumping at State Water Project Delta facilities to protect threatened smelt. This request, which will be extended to other south Delta water diverters, was made after substantial reductions from the State Water Project failed to prevent the salvage of Delta smelt due to high tidal influences expected through June 3. "Recent surveys indicate that Delta smelt abundance is at an all time low," said DFG Director L. Ryan Broddrick. "These further extraordinary actions are necessary to protect Delta smelt that are currently extremely vulnerable to diversions in the south Delta." DFG will contact other water diverters in the south Delta to request their cooperation in reducing or eliminating water diversions during this critical period. Up to 1,800 large and small diversions in the south Delta could be impacted. Broddrick also announced that DFG will suspend all non-essential scientific collections of Delta smelt and work with scientists and other state and federal agencies to expand the use of brood stock to provide Delta smelt for scientific research purposes. This measure will not affect monitoring of the abundance or location of Delta smelt as this data allows the fishery agencies and independent scientists to be informed of potential actions to protect Delta smelt, such as those requested today. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Thu May 31 20:52:08 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 20:52:08 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] A Victory for the Fish: State Stops Pumping to Protect Delta Smelt! In-Reply-To: <010f01c7a3da$8373a260$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> References: <010f01c7a3da$8373a260$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Message-ID: A Victory for the Fish: State Stops Pumping to Protect Delta Smelt! By Dan Bacher In a move heralded as a huge victory by fishing and environmental groups, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced it will stop pumping at State Water Project (SWP) facilities in the Delta to provide ?maximum protection? for Delta smelt, a species listed under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts. DWR halted operation of the massive water export pumps this morning after Ryan Broddrick, director of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), asked DWR to stop the pumps to prevent any further ?take? of the threatened smelt. DFG made this request, which will be extended to other south Delta water diverters, after reductions from the State Water Project failed to prevent the salvage of smelt due to high tidal influences expected through June 3, according to a DFG press release. ?Recent surveys indicate that Delta smelt abundance is at an all time low,? said Broddrick. ?These further extraordinary actions are necessary to protect Delta smelt that are currently extremely vulnerable to diversions in the south Delta.? This action follows the observed entrainment of increasing numbers of juvenile smelt between May 25 and May 31 at the Harvey O. Banks pumping plant facility in the South Delta. The move occurs at a time when Delta smelt have declined to record lows, as evidenced by a recent DFG survey that found only 25 juvenile smelt throughout the entire Delta. ?Drastic times call for drastic measures,? said DWR Director Lester Snow. ?While there are clearly many factors at play in the current decline of smelt in the Delta, we must act on the one that is within our control.? ?DWR saw the handwriting on the wall,? stated Bill Jennings, chairman of the Watershed Enforcers, a project of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. ?Given the massacre of Delta smelt and other species that is taking place at the pumps, the state knew we would file a request with Alameda County Superior Court Frank Roesch to take emergency action to save the fish.? The judge in March ordered DWR to get a ?take permit? for the smelt, spring run chinook and winter run chinook salmon that it kills in the massive state water export facilities, but the state appealed the decision. The state apparently took preemptive action, realizing that the ?body count? of smelt was 168 smelt at the state facilities and 216 at the federal pumps by Wednesday, a total of 384 fish, according to Jennings. The Delta Smelt Working Group, a group of federal and state biologists, recently warned that the ?species has become critically imperiled and an emergency response is warranted.? They recommended that reverse flows in the South Delta caused by excessive water exports be eliminated as soon as possible to protect the remaining smelt at a critical time in their life history. The State Water Project supplies water to 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. Some water deliveries will be made to South San Francisco Bay users from water supplies already in the aqueduct. "Our actions to save the smelt will place a real hardship on some water users in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California,? said Snow. ?However, given the concerns about the Delta smelt, this is a prudent action at this time." Snow challenged other public agencies with jurisdiction over activities affecting Delta smelt, including the federal government, to take ?aggressive actions? to protect the species. ?Scientific studies indicate that pelagic fish are affected by many stressors. Water project operations can affect fish. However, invasive species, toxics, and diversion by many other water users in the south Delta have dramatic effects on these fish,? DWR stated. In early 2005, state and federal scientists working on the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) first identified the decline in four once abundant pelagic fish species ? Delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad and juvenile striped bass. Since then, state and federal scientists have conducted extensive studies to determine the causes for the decline in pelagic fish productivity in the Bay/Delta Estuary. The scientists originally pinpointed changes in water exports, toxic chemicals and invasive species as the three most likely causes of the pelagic organism decline (POD). More recently, both agency and independent scientists, although considering the toxics and invasive species to still be factors, have concluded that increases and changes in state and federal water export operations to be the key factor in the collapse of Delta smelt and other species. Water exports have increased dramatically ? by an average of 1,000,000 acre-feet of water each year since 2002. Today?s action occurs within the context of a series of recommendations issued by the POD (Pelagic Organism Team) in March that emphasize the need for reduced Delta exports and other actions to save Delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, juvenile striped bass and other species. Although environmental justice advocates are encouraged by today?s action, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Campaign Director of Restore the Delta, questioned why this action occurred only when the smelt were on the verge of extinction. ?Is this action too little too late for the Delta smelt?? she asked. ?Did the Department of Water Resources continue sitting idle over the last four years when earlier actions could have kept the Delta from reaching this point of crisis?? Parrilla and other Delta advocates are also asking whether the federal government will respond with similar actions to protect the Delta smelt and other imperiled species. Federal Judge Oliver Wanger ruled on May 26 that a controversial government assessment of the risk to delta smelt from the state pumps is illegal and must be rewritten. It is expected that environmental and fishing groups will go back to federal court to obtain an emergency order forcing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to also cease its pumping operations to protect delta smelt. ?The smelt is the Delta?s canary in the coal mine,? said Jennings. ?It was historically one of the most abundant, if not the most abundant Delta species. Now it is on the precipice of extinction and has been reduced to a level where you can name each one that is left.? The Delta smelt is an indicator species of the health of the ecosystem. If the Delta smelt becomes extinct, splittail, longfin smelt, spring run chinook, winter run chinook and other species are expected to follow. Hopefully, the federal government will quickly follow the state in ceasing operation of its Delta water export facilities. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Thu May 31 20:54:19 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 20:54:19 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] A Victory for the Fish: State Stops Pumping to Protect Delta Smelt! In-Reply-To: <5DB024AC140C4C5184B99E4AFE4D8894@ByronsLaptop> References: <5DB024AC140C4C5184B99E4AFE4D8894@ByronsLaptop> Message-ID: <3D4DFFE5-A660-408B-ADF7-DCC9B3119B9F@fishsniffer.com> A Victory for the Fish: State Stops Pumping to Protect Delta Smelt! By Dan Bacher In a move heralded as a huge victory by fishing and environmental groups, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced it will stop pumping at State Water Project (SWP) facilities in the Delta to provide ?maximum protection? for Delta smelt, a species listed under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts. DWR halted operation of the massive water export pumps this morning after Ryan Broddrick, director of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), asked DWR to stop the pumps to prevent any further ?take? of the threatened smelt. DFG made this request, which will be extended to other south Delta water diverters, after reductions from the State Water Project failed to prevent the salvage of smelt due to high tidal influences expected through June 3, according to a DFG press release. ?Recent surveys indicate that Delta smelt abundance is at an all time low,? said Broddrick. ?These further extraordinary actions are necessary to protect Delta smelt that are currently extremely vulnerable to diversions in the south Delta.? This action follows the observed entrainment of increasing numbers of juvenile smelt between May 25 and May 31 at the Harvey O. Banks pumping plant facility in the South Delta. The move occurs at a time when Delta smelt have declined to record lows, as evidenced by a recent DFG survey that found only 25 juvenile smelt throughout the entire Delta. ?Drastic times call for drastic measures,? said DWR Director Lester Snow. ?While there are clearly many factors at play in the current decline of smelt in the Delta, we must act on the one that is within our control.? ?DWR saw the handwriting on the wall,? stated Bill Jennings, chairman of the Watershed Enforcers, a project of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. ?Given the massacre of Delta smelt and other species that is taking place at the pumps, the state knew we would file a request with Alameda County Superior Court Frank Roesch to take emergency action to save the fish.? The judge in March ordered DWR to get a ?take permit? for the smelt, spring run chinook and winter run chinook salmon that it kills in the massive state water export facilities, but the state appealed the decision. The state apparently took preemptive action, realizing that the ?body count? of smelt was 168 smelt at the state facilities and 216 at the federal pumps by Wednesday, a total of 384 fish, according to Jennings. The Delta Smelt Working Group, a group of federal and state biologists, recently warned that the ?species has become critically imperiled and an emergency response is warranted.? They recommended that reverse flows in the South Delta caused by excessive water exports be eliminated as soon as possible to protect the remaining smelt at a critical time in their life history. The State Water Project supplies water to 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. Some water deliveries will be made to South San Francisco Bay users from water supplies already in the aqueduct. "Our actions to save the smelt will place a real hardship on some water users in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California,? said Snow. ?However, given the concerns about the Delta smelt, this is a prudent action at this time." Snow challenged other public agencies with jurisdiction over activities affecting Delta smelt, including the federal government, to take ?aggressive actions? to protect the species. ?Scientific studies indicate that pelagic fish are affected by many stressors. Water project operations can affect fish. However, invasive species, toxics, and diversion by many other water users in the south Delta have dramatic effects on these fish,? DWR stated. In early 2005, state and federal scientists working on the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) first identified the decline in four once abundant pelagic fish species ? Delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad and juvenile striped bass. Since then, state and federal scientists have conducted extensive studies to determine the causes for the decline in pelagic fish productivity in the Bay/Delta Estuary. The scientists originally pinpointed changes in water exports, toxic chemicals and invasive species as the three most likely causes of the pelagic organism decline (POD). More recently, both agency and independent scientists, although considering the toxics and invasive species to still be factors, have concluded that increases and changes in state and federal water export operations to be the key factor in the collapse of Delta smelt and other species. Water exports have increased dramatically ? by an average of 1,000,000 acre-feet of water each year since 2002. Today?s action occurs within the context of a series of recommendations issued by the POD Team in March that emphasize the need for reduced Delta exports and other actions to save Delta smelt, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, juvenile striped bass and other species. Although environmental justice advocates are encouraged by today?s action, Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Campaign Director of Restore the Delta, questioned why this action occurred only when the smelt were on the verge of extinction. ?Is this action too little too late for the Delta smelt?? she asked. ?Did the Department of Water Resources continue sitting idle over the last four years when earlier actions could have kept the Delta from reaching this point of crisis?? Parrilla and other Delta advocates are also asking whether the federal government will respond with similar actions to protect the Delta smelt and other imperiled species. Federal Judge Oliver Wanger ruled on May 26 that a controversial government assessment of the risk to delta smelt from the state pumps is illegal and must be rewritten. It is expected that environmental and fishing groups will go back to federal court to obtain an emergency order forcing the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to also cease its pumping operations to protect delta smelt. ?The smelt is the Delta?s canary in the coal mine,? said Jennings. ?It was historically one of the most abundant, if not the most abundant Delta species. Now it is on the precipice of extinction and has been reduced to a level where you can name each one that is left.? The Delta smelt is an indicator species of the health of the ecosystem. If the Delta smelt becomes extinct, splittail, longfin smelt, spring run chinook, winter run chinook and other species are expected to follow. Hopefully, the federal government will quickly follow the state in ceasing operation of its Delta water export facilities. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jun 1 11:40:38 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 11:40:38 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Delta Pump Shutdown Message-ID: Links to several articles on Delta pump shutdown: Associated Press http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070531-1803-ca-troubleddelta.html Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-delta1jun01,1,2655894.story?coll=la- headlines-california North County Times http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/06/01/news/top_stories/40_21_266_1_07.t xt Bakersfield Californian http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/154639.html Riverside Press Enterprise http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_pumps01.3dfbaf7.h tml San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/01/BAGD4Q5TJK1.DTL Inside Bay Area http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_6036506 San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/lifestyle/ci_6035871?nclick_check=1 Sacramento Bee and Fresno Bee http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/201715.html KCRA Channel 3 (Sacramento) http://www.my58.com/news/13424830/detail.html Stockton Record http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070601/A_NEWS/70601032 0 Lodi News Sentinel http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2007/05/31/update/delat-update.txt Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jun 1 13:02:25 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 13:02:25 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] CalTrout and International Rivers Network Comments on WSJ Op-Ed Message-ID: <622F23594C3F4880BAF0A21BFC62BAD3@ByronsLaptop> June 1, 2007 Shikha Dalmia's commentary (Dam the Salmon, May 30, 2007) grossly mischaracterizes two complex issues-the global warming impact of hydropower reservoirs and the restoration of the Klamath River. Ms. Dalmia seems to think that reservoirs do not release greenhouse gases. This is quite wrong. Because of the rotting of flooded organic matter, dams worldwide are an important source of global warming pollution - according to the latest research causing 4-5% of the total human impact on our climate. No measurements have been made of gases released from the Klamath. Yet the water quality in the reservoirs is extremely poor - usually an indicator of elevated emissions, especially of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Hence the greenhouse gas pollution from hydropower production on the Klamath may be significant. The Klamath dams have been analyzed in depth over the past 7 years as the five-dam project owned by Warren Buffet's PacifiCorp is under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review for a new hydropower license. This analysis has uncovered a project that is economically shaky, provides a small fraction of PacifiCorp's hydroelectric power, and contributes to water quality problems that are a threat to human health. The Klamath dams have all but extinguished tribal rights to fish for salmon and collapsed the commercial salmon fishing industry along 700 miles of coastal Oregon and California. As the California Energy Commission notes, the retirement of inefficient generation facilities with high environmental impacts is a standard feature of the power generation industry. The small capacity of the Klamath River hydroelectric project---160 MW capacity but low flows mean that it operates at only half of this potential---results in meager power benefits that are outweighed by the far reaching economic, social and environmental costs of the dams A large contingent of tribes, federal, state and local government agencies, environmental groups and local farmers are working to address the many issues surrounding the removal of dams on the Klamath River. This roll-up-your sleeves approach to solving complex resource issues is the hope for the future in addressing climate change, large scale restoration projects, and especially the situation in the Klamath Basin. Brian Stranko, Executive Director, California Trout Patrick McCully, Executive Director, International Rivers Network California Trout has been involved in the Klamath River dams relicensing negotiations since 2000. www.caltrout.org International Rivers Network has published several reports on greenhouse gas emissions from dams and reservoirs. www.irn.org Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Jun 1 14:27:56 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 14:27:56 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: List server info response to WSJ opinion piece Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E87F@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Josh: Please post to the list server. Thanks, Tom ----------------------- CalTrout and International Rivers Network response to WSJ opinion piece June 1, 2007 Shikha Dalmia's commentary (Dam the Salmon, May 30, 2007) grossly mischaracterizes two complex issues-the global warming impact of hydropower reservoirs and the restoration of the Klamath River. Ms. Dalmia seems to think that reservoirs do not release greenhouse gases. This is quite wrong. Because of the rotting of flooded organic matter, dams worldwide are an important source of global warming pollution - according to the latest research causing 4-5% of the total human impact on our climate. No measurements have been made of gases released from the Klamath. Yet the water quality in the reservoirs is extremely poor - usually an indicator of elevated emissions, especially of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Hence the greenhouse gas pollution from hydropower production on the Klamath may be significant. The Klamath dams have been analyzed in depth over the past 7 years as the five-dam project owned by Warren Buffet's PacifiCorp is under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review for a new hydropower license. This analysis has uncovered a project that is economically shaky, provides a small fraction of PacifiCorp's hydroelectric power, and contributes to water quality problems that are a threat to human health. The Klamath dams have all but extinguished tribal rights to fish for salmon and collapsed the commercial salmon fishing industry along 700 miles of coastal Oregon and California. As the California Energy Commission notes, the retirement of inefficient generation facilities with high environmental impacts is a standard feature of the power generation industry. The small capacity of the Klamath River hydroelectric project---160 MW capacity but low flows mean that it operates at only half of this potential---results in meager power benefits that are outweighed by the far reaching economic, social and environmental costs of the dams A large contingent of tribes, federal, state and local government agencies, environmental groups and local farmers are working to address the many issues surrounding the removal of dams on the Klamath River. This roll-up-your sleeves approach to solving complex resource issues is the hope for the future in addressing climate change, large scale restoration projects, and especially the situation in the Klamath Basin. Brian Stranko, Executive Director, California Trout Patrick McCully, Executive Director, International Rivers Network California Trout has been involved in the Klamath River dams relicensing negotiations since 2000. www.caltrout.org International Rivers Network has published several reports on greenhouse gas emissions from dams and reservoirs. www.irn.org Thomas J. Weseloh Northcoast Manager, California Trout 1976 Archer Rd. McKinleyville, CA 95519 707 839-1056 phone 707 839-1054 fax www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From blisterriver at gmail.com Fri Jun 1 22:07:34 2007 From: blisterriver at gmail.com (Blister) Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 22:07:34 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] env-trinity Digest, Vol 40, Issue 25 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <34ee3cb00706012207g67fca3c5x274e9b3ea2b158fc@mail.gmail.com> An alternative sound bite might be: "Shikha Dalmia is just another wing-nut baying at the moon from the Wall Street Journal opinion page. In American journalism, widely recognized as the mother of all clown shows. Just because she stumbled onto the topic of Klamath River dam removal doesn't mean that anyone needs to start taking her or the WSJ Opinion Page seriously." From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jun 5 11:42:33 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 11:42:33 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER NOW HIRING:Klamath Riverkeeper Development and Outreach director Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E888@mail3.trinitycounty.org> KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER NOW HIRING: Klamath Riverkeeper Development and Outreach director The Klamath Riverkeeper is a non-profit dedicated to Klamath water quality and fisheries. Position responsibilities include: grant writing, budgeting, and cultivating high donors, along with managing newsletters, events, mailers, membership, volunteers, and a website. Excellent research, organizational, computer and writing skills needed. Prior environmental and social activism experience preferred. Applicant must have a collage degree or prior non-profit experience, and be self-motivated. Applicant must be able to work with Native Americans, labor organizations, and rural communities. Legal, bookkeeping, graphic design or scientific background preferred. For a full description check klamathriver.org, or email Klamath at riseup.net. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Jun 5 17:00:29 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 17:00:29 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Hoopa Fisheries E-mails Message-ID: <01e201c7a7cd$b3f6f8f0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "George Kautsky" To: "'Nina Hemphill'" Cc: "'Doug Schleusner'" ; "'Tom Stokely'" Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 4:11 PM Subject: Hoopa Fisheries E-mails > Hi all: > > > > Just in case you have not yet been advised of new e-mail addresses for > Hoopa > Valley Tribal Fisheries Department staff: > > (Tom, I tried to send this out to list server, apparently did not succeed. > Please post there if you can.) > > > > Name ~ address > > > > Mike Orcutt ~ director at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Leslie Hunt ~ lhunt at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Clyde Matilton ~ cmatilton at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Esther Colegrove ~ ecolegrove at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Paul Petros ~ ppetros at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Billy Matilton ~ bmatilton at hoopa-nsn.gov > > George Kautsky ~ hupafish at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Robert Franklin ~ fishwater at hoopa-nsn.gov > John Dillon ~ jdillon at hoopa-nsn.gov > > Andrea Davis ~ andreadavis at hoopa-nsn.gov > > > > Please contact George Kautsky for further if needed, > > > > Thanks, > > > > 530.625.4267 xt.15 > > > > > From allen at buttecreek.org Thu Jun 7 09:22:58 2007 From: allen at buttecreek.org (Allen Harthorn) Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:22:58 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] [FOTR] CalTrout and International Rivers Network Comments on WSJ Op-Ed In-Reply-To: <622F23594C3F4880BAF0A21BFC62BAD3@ByronsLaptop> References: <622F23594C3F4880BAF0A21BFC62BAD3@ByronsLaptop> Message-ID: <466830E2.4080102@buttecreek.org> Even really small hydro is not so green. PGE's Centerville Powerhouse outside of Chico is rated at 5.8 MW. As we all know that is a misnomer since during the critical low water period of summer, it rarely produces more than 2 MW. When you you realize that prior to 1992 the minimum flow in the prime salmon holding and spawning areas was 20cfs in normal years and 10 in dry years, Centerville was a major fish killer for a paltry amount of power (http://buttecreek.org/documents/SpringRunNumbers.pdf). Even today PGE struggles to maintain temperature in the low flow section (now with a 40cfs normal year and 20 cfs dry year flow since 1992) because they try to squeeze out a few more KW's. 2002 and 2003 saw major fish kills (7000 and 11,000 prespawn endnagered salmon) that were characterized as natural loss due to high temperatuere. Never mind that PGE controls the temperature in the low flow section. Recent temperature data from the relicensing of the project show great benefits to shutting down the Centerville Powerhouse (at least during summer) and running all the water down the creek. Please join me in requesting PGE to shut down the Centerville Powerhouse and let the creek run free. We have nearly 20,000 endangered spriing run salmon this summer and they will be hard pressed to make it thorugh the summer with only 40cfs. Normal summer flow ranges from 80 to 120cfs. PGE would like to spend 40 million to replace the powerhouse which would buy a nice solar generating plant anywhere. For more information on Butte Creek visit www.buttecreek.org Allen Harthorn, Executive Director Friends of Butte Creek Byron Leydecker wrote: > June 1, 2007 > > > > Shikha Dalmia's commentary (Dam the Salmon, May 30, 2007) grossly > mischaracterizes two complex issues--the global warming impact of > hydropower reservoirs and the restoration of the Klamath River. > > > > Ms. Dalmia seems to think that reservoirs do not release greenhouse > gases. This is quite wrong. Because of the rotting of flooded organic > matter, dams worldwide are an important source of global warming > pollution - according to the latest research causing 4-5% of the total > human impact on our climate. > > > > No measurements have been made of gases released from the Klamath. Yet > the water quality in the reservoirs is extremely poor - usually an > indicator of elevated emissions, especially of methane, a powerful > greenhouse gas. Hence the greenhouse gas pollution from hydropower > production on the Klamath may be significant. > > > > The Klamath dams have been analyzed in depth over the past 7 years as > the five-dam project owned by Warren Buffet's PacifiCorp is under > Federal Energy Regulatory Commission review for a new hydropower > license. This analysis has uncovered a project that is economically > shaky, provides a small fraction of PacifiCorp's hydroelectric power, > and contributes to water quality problems that are a threat to human > health. The Klamath dams have all but extinguished tribal rights to > fish for salmon and collapsed the commercial salmon fishing industry > along 700 miles of coastal Oregon and California. > > > > As the California Energy Commission notes, the retirement of > inefficient generation facilities with high environmental impacts is a > standard feature of the power generation industry. The small capacity > of the Klamath River hydroelectric project---160 MW capacity but low > flows mean that it operates at only half of this potential---results > in meager power benefits that are outweighed by the far reaching > economic, social and environmental costs of the dams > > > > A large contingent of tribes, federal, state and local government > agencies, environmental groups and local farmers are working to > address the many issues surrounding the removal of dams on the Klamath > River. This roll-up-your sleeves approach to solving complex resource > issues is the hope for the future in addressing climate change, large > scale restoration projects, and especially the situation in the > Klamath Basin. > > > > Brian Stranko, Executive Director, California Trout > > Patrick McCully, Executive Director, International Rivers Network > > > > California Trout has been involved in the Klamath River dams > relicensing negotiations since 2000. www.caltrout.org > > International Rivers Network has published several reports on > greenhouse gas emissions from dams and reservoirs. www.irn.org > > > > > > Byron Leydecker > > Friends of Trinity River, Chair > > California Trout, Inc., Advisor > > PO Box 2327 > > Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 > > 415 383 4810 > > 415 519 4810 cell > > bwl3 at comcast.net > > bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org > > http://www.fotr.org > > http://www.caltrout.org > > > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >FOTR mailing list >FOTR at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us >http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/fotr > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jun 8 16:03:54 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2007 16:03:54 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hearing request on crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Message-ID: <002101c7aa21$59d6f1d0$0301a8c0@optiplex> Letter attached. June 8, 2007 The Hon. Grace F. Napolitano, Chairwoman Subcommittee on Water and Power 1522 Longworth House Office Building Fax: (202) 226-6953 Dear Chairwoman Napolitano: We are writing to request that the Water & Power subcommittee hold an oversight hearing on the ongoing crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. As you know, both the state and federal water projects - which supply water to homes, farms, and commercial and industrial entities throughout the state - have recently been temporarily shut down in response to the Delta fisheries' collapse and court rulings that the agencies have violated state and federal law. Because the dramatic decline of the Bay-Delta estuary has serious ramifications for California's water management, which in turn has such important implications for our state's economy and our environment, we are requesting an oversight hearing to look into two specific issues: 1. The current scientific understanding of the health of the estuary and its native fisheries, including the threatened Delta smelt; and (2) How the federal and state agencies are responding to the problem to promote the estuary's recovery, to ensure that future actions do not exacerbate the Delta's problems, and to help water users throughout the state conserve and recycle water to mitigate against the effects of the pump shutdown. Thank you for your attention to this serious matter, and for your continued efforts on behalf of our state's water future. Sincerely, ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ GEORGE MILLER ELLEN O. TAUSCHER MIKE HONDA Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ MIKE THOMPSON LYNN C. WOOLSEY TOM LANTOS Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Bay-Delta letter to W&P 6-8-07.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 48745 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Sat Jun 9 10:52:36 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 10:52:36 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Laura Ellen Hopper Message-ID: <008d01c7aabe$f86ed630$0201a8c0@HAL> Laura Ellen Hopper -- founded KFAT, KPIG Edward Guthmann, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, June 8, 2007 Laura Ellen Hopper, a Santa Cruz radio personality who pioneered the "Americana" format of American roots music, has died from complications of lung cancer. Ms. Hopper was 57 when she died May 28. She founded alternative country station KFAT in Gilroy in 1975 and eclectic KPIG in Santa Cruz in 1988, and throughout her career retained a commitment to FM radio as a meeting ground for alternative ideas, music and community. Ms. Hopper was the program director at KPIG, as well as being the midday DJ -- offering an eclectic mix of bluesmen, singer/songwriters, and folk, country and rock musicians. She championed such artists as Robert Earl Keen, Iris DeMent, Paul Thorn and Todd Snider, and seasoned the station's renegade, alt-music vibe with parodies of radio commercials and political sound bites. Under her watch, KPIG also became the first radio station in the country to stream online at KPIG.com, beginning in 1995. The station is broadcast over 107.5 FM in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, and 1510 AM in the Bay Area. "It was Laura's vision to keep FM radio in its purest form," said KPIG marketing manager Ed Monroe. "She wanted on-air personalities to really be on-air personalities -- to pick their own music and segue between songs that might be of different genres, but have similar lyrical content and a similar texture." Ms. Hopper was "the glue that held the station together," said KPIG sales manager Travis Connell. "She was the leader without any doubt. She was very tough and really fought for the station against a lot of corporate owners over the years." At one point, Monroe said, a former owner wanted to turn the station into a rock 'n' roll classics station with prerecorded playlists. Ms. Hopper stood up to him and, with the support of a large e-mail campaign by listeners, managed to protect her vision. "She was small in stature but big in direction and big in focus," Monroe said. "She wouldn't back down from anyone." Ms. Hopper was born in 1950 in Illinois and grew up in Webster Groves, Mo. She started her radio career in 1969 as a volunteer in St. Louis. She is survived by her husband, Frank Capistra of Watsonville, who is KPIG's operations manager; daughter, Elsie Lansman of Watsonville, also a KPIG DJ; parents, Gordon and Dorothy Hopper of Las Cruces, N.M.; and four sisters. This article appeared on page B - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle for those interested in learning more about the development of alt radio, see the links below: http://www.ralphmag.org/BU/jeremy-lansman.html http://ralphmag.org/orderradio.html http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Papers-Kchu-Essays-Transmission-Twenty-Five/dp/0917320190 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_hopper06_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4772 bytes Desc: not available URL: From awhitridge at snowcrest.net Thu Jun 14 08:52:04 2007 From: awhitridge at snowcrest.net (Arnold Whitridge) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:52:04 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] TAMWG June 19 agenda Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20070614084621.035c7690@mail.snowcrest.net> Here's the agenda proposed for the June 19 meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group. All TAMWG meetings are open to the public. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions about the meeting, or about this federal advisory committee. Arnold Whitridge, TAMWG chair (530) 623-6688 Draft Agenda TRINITY ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, Weaverville, CA Tuesday, June 19, 2007 Time Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action on: Presenter 1. 9:00 a.m. Adopt agenda; approve March minutes 2. 9:10 Open forum; public comment 3. 9:20 Current TAMWG membership; quorum; bylaws re voting 4. 9:30 Channel rehabilitation design, process, & status RIG & TMAG staff 5. 10:15 Habitat/Geomorphic/Riparian mapping; "baseline" status TMAG staff 6. 11:00 Gravel augmentation planning TMAG staff 7. 11:30 Integrated Assessment Plan (IAP) update Tim Hayden noon Lunch 8. 1:00 pm Reimbursability of TRRP costs Jerry Toenyes, NCPA 9. 1:45 TRRP budget Doug Schleusner 10. 3:15 Executive Director's report Doug Schleusner 11. 3:30 TAMWG relationship with TMC group discussion 12. 4:15 Integrated Information Management System (IIMS) Andreas Krause 13. 4:35 Designated Federal Officer topics Randy Brown 14. 4:50 Tentative date and agenda topics for next meeting 5:00 Adjourn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jun 14 09:51:36 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 09:51:36 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] New York Times June 14 Message-ID: <001b01c7aea4$5693e0f0$0201a8c0@optiplex> Only Wild Fish Matter in 'Endangered' Count, Judge Rules By FELICITY BARRINGER Published: June 14, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO, June 13 - A federal district judge in Spokane, Wash., on Wednesday nullified a Bush administration policy that counts hatchery fish along with wild fish when making decisions about which species should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. This counting method, the judge, John C. Coughenour, wrote, "departs from the law's central purpose, which is to promote and conserve naturally self-sustaining populations." Judge Coughenour also noted that six years ago, a federal judge in Eugene, Ore., endorsed the opposite interpretation and called on the federal government to count genetically similar hatchery fish with their wild relatives. In his order Wednesday, Judge Coughenour indicated he would welcome the "happy result" of a review by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to settle the matter. A 2004 decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which protects migrating fish that spend part of their lives in rivers and part in the ocean, was roundly condemned by environmental groups, especially advocates for wild salmon, as a fundamental distortion of the endangered-species law. In the 1990s, when most of the 27 Northwestern salmon species currently protected under the act were being evaluated, the fisheries service made its decisions on the status of the naturally spawning fish. Depending on how many generations a fish species have spent in the hatchery and what other stocks they have mingled with, they can be genetically identical to the wild stocks or significantly different. Several environmental groups, including Trout Unlimited, American Rivers and the Sierra Club, filed suit after one species of salmon, the Upper Columbia steelhead, was downgraded to threatened from endangered under the new policy. The judge agreed with their major points. To commingle the numbers of hatchery and wild populations when deciding on protections, he wrote, "is, in fact, contrary to the best available scientific evidence." "A healthy hatchery population is not necessarily an indication of a healthy natural population," he said. Jan Hasselman, a lawyer with Earthjustice, which handled the case for the other groups, said in a statement Wednesday, "Hatcheries never were meant to be a replacement for self-sustaining populations of salmon in healthy streams." Kaitlin Lovell of Trout Unlimited said in the same statement that "we should strengthen legal protections and accountability for wild salmon, not weaken them." D. Robert Lohn, regional administrator of the fisheries service's Northwest office, said in an interview that his office's policy was "managing for and protecting the naturally spawning fish." "To the extent that we can use hatchery fish to assure the survival or help rebuild the populations, we would take them into consideration," Mr. Lohn said. Sonya D. Jones, a lawyer with the Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights group that has for years pressed the government to count hatchery stocks when determining whether a salmon species should be protected, said the group believed that Wednesday's decision and the 2001 ruling, by Judge Michael R. Hogan, were "in direct contrast" and that it expected to appeal the latest one. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Jun 14 13:43:39 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:43:39 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Funding so far saved for North Coast water quality work Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8A7@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Funding so far saved for North Coast water quality work The Times-Standard Article Launched: 06/14/2007 04:17:01 AM PDT http://times-standard.com/local/ci_6138701 The Budget Conference Committee of the state Legislature has come to an agreement that so far preserves funding to help with North Coast water quality issues. The compromise arose out of a proposal from Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa. "We need to accelerate the development of water quality standards," Evans said. "Delays have occurred because of staff shortages. We need to help the regional board help us. That's what this funding is about." The conference committee works to resolve differences between the budgets passed by each house of the Legislature before the budget is subject to a vote. It moved to provide the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board with two additional staff for three years to develop clean water standards for waterways protected under the federal Clean Water Act. This was a compromise -- the original Assembly proposal called for five additional staff members. "The state needs to put more resources towards the development of water quality standards," Evans adds. "Public health, environmental protection, and municipal discharges all depend on the development of these standards." Within the regional board's jurisdiction, 47 waterways are protected under the federal Clean Water Act due to nutrient and pollutant concentrations. The regional board is tasked with developing concentration standards for these waterways, called total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs. There are 85 individual TMDLs scheduled for completion but only 29 have been completed. Water quality standards are established on a watershed basis and cover an entire watershed for all listed pollutants. The process to create them is lengthy from start to finish. The ultimate TMDL, usually enumerated as parts per million, is a baseline for watershed management. Evans said she secured the funding with the help of the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, among other local groups, along with the help of state Sen. Pat Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, among others. Various stems of the Eel River, Elk River, Freshwater Creek, Klamath River, Humboldt Bay, Jacoby Creek, Mad River, Trinity River and Van Duzen River are listed on the regional board's TMDL project list. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Jun 15 11:38:21 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:38:21 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] HR 2733 Introduced by Reps. Thompson and Miller Message-ID: <00a001c7af89$5a371c50$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Representatives Thompson and Miller introduce HR 2733 yesterday in the House of Representatives. It's a bill to establish the Trinity River Restoration Fund and other purposes. You can download federal legislation at http://thomas.loc.gov/ Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Jun 18 15:24:15 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:24:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Jason Peltier Returns to California as Westlands' Chief Deputy Manager Message-ID: <00e001c7b1f7$a7207870$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Westlands Water District On Friday, Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham said that effective June 25, 2007, Jason Peltier will be the District?s Chief Deputy General Manager. "I am thrilled!," says Brirmingham "Each of us is aware that Jason has been interested in returning home after six years of dedicated service in Washington, and Westlands was the agency that was lucky enough to hire him. The District?s water users, indeed all water users who rely on water conveyed through the Delta, will benefit from Jason?s experience, judgment and advocacy. Jason?s primary responsibility will be dealing with issues in the Delta, and he will be based out of Sacramento. Please join me in welcoming home Jason." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Tue Jun 19 12:12:29 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:12:29 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] 2007 Lower Trinity River Juvenile Salmonid Outmigrant Monitoring In-Season Report Message-ID: To Whom it May Concern: Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?June 20, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through June 8th, 2007 and is presented as raw catch. No expansions have been calculated at this time. Data entry is not complete for Julian Weeks 21 through 23, May 21st to June 10th. Heavy debris load from the increased dam releases created problems for the rotary screw traps during Julian Weeks (JW) 18?20, and resulted in less than 21 trap days per week (7 days per week x 3 traps= 21 trap days per week). See attached catch summary for details of this narrative. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred and most have been young-of-the-year (YOY). Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of YOY Chinook salmon are slightly higher than 1.0 with a possible increase in condition from JW 15-22 compared to JW 10-14. Chinook salmon catches of natural fish peaked JW 19 and tapered off until the arrival of hatchery Chinook salmon in JW 23. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts (age 1+) peaked coincident with the increased flow in JW 17 and have tapered off with a few smaller peaks in catch. No age 2 steelhead occur on the catch summary because steelhead scales have not been aged this year; once aging is complete some age1 steelhead will be moved to the age 2 column. Steelhead smolts captured JW 10-19 had weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0; values dropped below 1.0 in JW 20-23 possibly indicating that the smolting process is occurring. Steelhead YOY catches showed a small pulse in JW 13-15 and appear to be increasing in the past few weeks. Normal peaks in YOY steelhead catch occur in mid-June to early July. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low compared to the past 5 years, especially for natural smolts. Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts were higher than 1.0 in JW 11-18, but have decreased below 1.0 in JW 19-23; possibly indicating that the smolting process is occurring. Coho salmon smolt catches, both natural and hatchery, in JW 17 increased coincident with the increased water releases from Lewiston Dam. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Tue Jun 19 12:18:11 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:18:11 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] 2007 Lower Trinity River Juvenile Salmonid Outmigrant Monitoring In-Season Report Message-ID: Here's the copy with the attachment Willow Creek Downstream Migrant Trap Site 2007 In-Season Trapping Update ?June 20, 2007 Synopsis: The 2007 Downstream Migrant trapping season at the Willow Creek Trap Site (river kilometer 34) is being conducted jointly by the USFWS Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office (AFWO) and the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program (YTFP) on the mainstem Trinity River near Willow Creek, California. The season began March 5, 2007 with the installation of one trap. A second trap was installed March 15, 2007, and a third trap was installed April 4th, 2007. This summary includes data from March 6th, 2007 through June 8th, 2007 and is presented as raw catch. No expansions have been calculated at this time. Data entry is not complete for Julian Weeks 21 through 23, May 21st to June 10th. Heavy debris load from the increased dam releases created problems for the rotary screw traps during Julian Weeks (JW) 18?20, and resulted in less than 21 trap days per week (7 days per week x 3 traps= 21 trap days per week). See attached catch summary for details of this narrative. Raw daily catches of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) have been captured each day sampling has occurred and most have been young-of-the-year (YOY). Weekly mean Fulton?s K values of YOY Chinook salmon are slightly higher than 1.0 with a possible increase in condition from JW 15-22 compared to JW 10-14. Chinook salmon catches of natural fish peaked JW 19 and tapered off until the arrival of hatchery Chinook salmon in JW 23. Raw daily catches of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts (age 1+) peaked coincident with the increased flow in JW 17 and have tapered off with a few smaller peaks in catch. No age 2 steelhead occur on the catch summary because steelhead scales have not been aged this year; once aging is complete some age1 steelhead will be moved to the age 2 column. Steelhead smolts captured JW 10-19 had weekly mean Fulton?s K values slightly higher than 1.0; values dropped below 1.0 in JW 20-23 possibly indicating that the smolting process is occurring. Steelhead YOY catches showed a small pulse in JW 13-15 and appear to be increasing in the past few weeks. Normal peaks in YOY steelhead catch occur in mid-June to early July. Raw daily catches of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) are low compared to the past 5 years, especially for natural smolts. Weekly mean Fulton?s K value of natural coho salmon smolts were higher than 1.0 in JW 11-18, but have decreased below 1.0 in JW 19-23; possibly indicating that the smolting process is occurring. Coho salmon smolt catches, both natural and hatchery, in JW 17 increased coincident with the increased water releases from Lewiston Dam. If you have any questions regarding this summary, don't hesitate to contact Bill Pinnix at (707) 822-7201. (See attached file: WCT_CatchSummary_June_19_2007.pdf) William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_CatchSummary_June_19_2007.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 16554 bytes Desc: not available URL: From TBedros765 at aol.com Tue Jun 19 15:54:57 2007 From: TBedros765 at aol.com (TBedros765 at aol.com) Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:54:57 EDT Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Tribe Supports Trinity River Legislation Message-ID: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE LAUDS LEGISLATION FOR PROTECTION OF TRINITY RIVER RESTORATION Media Contacts: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 ext. 161 Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 Hoopa, Calif. ? The Hoopa Valley Tribe lauded north coast Congressman Mike Thompson for his introduction Thursday of a bill to adequately fund the restoration of the Trinity River, which bisects the tribe?s reservation, and has been the focal point of decades of fishery restoration studies, litigation and bureaucratic short-changing. Thompson decided to introduce the bill (H.R. 2733) after a Hoopa delegation visited him to express concern that Trinity River restoration funding was being diminished by a plan to restore the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. ?The Hoopa Valley Tribe is supportive of river restoration throughout California, but legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a funding plan that will significantly reduce environmental restoration funding from the Central Valley Project restoration fund,? said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. ?The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to alert Congressman Thompson of the potential harm to the fishery based communities dependent on the Trinity River, and he reacted to our concerns.? Marshall anticipates working with San Joaquin River restoration advocates to support tandem legislation to benefit both rivers. ?We will gladly be part of a coalition to restore both rivers, but after three decades of legislation, litigation and cooperative studies that have produced the solid science for restoring the river, we cannot agree to new legislation that will undermine the federal government?s promise to restore the Trinity River.? Marshall said the Trinity River, which is the largest tributary to the Klamath River, is the ? workhorse? that produces more than 50 percent of the fall Chinook salmon in the Klamath River basin. The loss of habitat and dramatically declining fish populations in the rivers caused the federal government to declare a commercial fishing moratorium this year along 700 miles of the California and Oregon coasts. President Bush recently signed Congressman Thompson?s legislation to provide financial relief to north coast fishermen. In past decades the Hoopa Valley Tribe has been a leading supporter of restoration of the Trinity River. ?Our tribe has been linked to the river for 10,000 years, but this river is important to many others. ?With Mike Thompson?s leadership and the support of long-time Trinity River advocate, Congressman George Miller, the north coast community has never had a better opportunity to bring the Trinity River back,? said Marshall. Thompson?s bill would be a building block towards a permanent financial foundation for Trinity River restoration, according to Mike Orcutt, Director of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department. ?The Trinity River has not been adequately funded in past years. Even though the restoration program is supported by decades of science and has survived years of litigation, we still have had difficulty attaining enough federal funding to accomplish the restoration. I hope this legislation opens a new chapter for the river?s restoration,? he said. - 30 - ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: HR 2733.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 23326 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Jun 20 16:12:47 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:12:47 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] News -- Miller: Congressional Hearing on Bay-Delta Crisis July 2 Message-ID: <5947C77535FB4125A1929B069E4AC016@ByronsLaptop> NEWS <<...OLE_Obj...>> Congressman George Miller, California's 7th District <<...OLE_Obj...>> Contact: Daniel Weiss 202-225-2095 Miller: Congressional Hearing on Bay-Delta Crisis July 2 WASHINGTON -- A congressional panel will travel to California next month to investigate the causes of the Bay-Delta ecosystem collapse, Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez) announced Monday. Miller and several of his Bay Area colleagues requested the hearing. The hearing will focus on the disappearing native fish populations of the Bay-Delta and the responsibility of federal agencies to prevent species extinction and properly manage California's water for homes, businesses, and farms. The hearing will be conducted by the House Natural Resources Committee's Water and Power Subcommittee, led by Chairwoman Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk). It will be held in Vallejo on July 2. "We have an emergency on our hands," said Miller, a long-time champion of Bay-Delta fish and wildlife issues and Congress' leading expert on California water issues. "California's economy and its environment need a water policy that is not predicated on sacrificing the Delta. Right now state and federal agencies are lurching from crisis to crisis and failing to adapt to old problems and new challenges alike. This hearing will be an important step in establishing a more sustainable course before the whole system is taken over by the courts, to the detriment of both our economy and our environment." California's two main fresh water systems, one operated by state Department of Water Resources and the other the federal Bureau of Reclamation, supply water to homes, farms, and commercial and industrial entities throughout California. They were both temporarily shut down recently in response to the Delta fisheries' collapse and court rulings that federal and state agencies have violated endangered species law. The recent court actions, coupled with new scientific reports, have drawn increased attention to the decline of the native fish populations of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, especially the threatened delta smelt, which scientists say is in increasing peril. The pumps have since restarted at lower levels than usual and with no certainty as to how long they will remain on. On June 8, Miller led a congressional request for the hearing. Miller was joined by five other Bay-Delta area Members of Congress - Reps. Tauscher, Honda, Thompson, Woolsey, and Lantos - asking that the subcommittee examine the science of the failing estuary and determine how the federal and state agencies are responding to the crisis. WHAT: House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power Hearing on "Extinction is not a Sustainable Water Policy: The Bay-Delta crisis and the implications for California water management" WHEN: Monday, July 2, 2007 9:00 a.m., PST WHERE: Vallejo City Council Chambers 555 Santa Clara Street Vallejo, California 94590 ### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: _AVG certification_.txt URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Jun 20 16:13:27 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:13:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hearing on the Delta Message-ID: <5BC8254169F14B1686C10C57ABE252F8@ByronsLaptop> June 18, 2007 ? ? ? Field Hearing Notice ? ? ? Memorandum To: Members, Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water and Power From: Honorable Grace F. Napolitano, Chairwoman Subject: Oversight Field Hearing on ?Extinction is not a Sustainable Water Policy: The Bay-Delta Crisis and the Implications for California Water Management? The Subcommittee on Water and Power will hold an oversight field hearing on ?Extinction is not a Sustainable Water Policy: The Bay-Delta Crisis and the Implications for California Water Management? on Monday, July 2, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. at the Vallejo City Council Chambers, in Vallejo, CA. This hearing will focus on the current crisis in California's Bay-Delta estuary, the largest estuary on the West Coast and the water supply for 25 million people. The hearing will review the scientific understanding of the ongoing fisheries decline. In addition, the hearing will examine how state and federal agencies intend to resolve this crisis, meet legal obligations to protect species listed under the Endangered Species Act, and provide water in a sustainable manner. Witnesses will be by invitation only. If you need further information, please call Steve Lanich, Staff Director, Camille Calimlim, Legislative Staff, or Emily Knight, Clerk, at x5-8331. ________________________________________________________________________ The use of cellular telephones is prohibited on the Committee dais or in the Committee hearing rooms during a meeting of the Committee pursuant to Rule 3(k) of the Committee Rules. Accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including assistive listening systems, interpreters, and materials in alternate formats, may be arranged by contacting the Committee in advance of the scheduled event (4 business days notice is requested) at (202) 225-6065; fax (202) 225-1931; e-mail: resources.committee at mail.house.gov; or 1324 Longworth House Office Building (HOB), Washington, D.C. 20515-6201. Emily Knight, Clerk Committee on Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee 1522 Longworth HOB 202.225.8331 p 202.226.6953 f Emily.Knight at mail.house.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WP Field Hearing Notice_7.2.07.doc Type: application/msword Size: 31744 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: _AVG certification_.txt URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Jun 21 11:06:15 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 11:06:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fish-kill alert for Klamath Message-ID: <00a501c7b43c$715aec10$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Fish-kill alert for Klamath Eureka Times-Standard ? 6/21/07 John Driscoll The Times-Standard Fishery biologists are on alert for signs of salmon dying on the Klamath River as temperatures rise and rain grows ever more unlikely. A group of state and federal agencies, tribes and environmental organizations is fine -tuning water quality and disease-monitoring efforts after raising their alert level to yellow earlier this month. The Klamath Fish Health Assessment Team is a group of field-level biologists that will stay in close touch over the coming months, said California Department of Fish and Game biologist Sara Borok. ?I'd rather be crying wolf than be unprepared,? Borok said. The team was created in 2003, the year after 68,000 adult chinook salmon died in a low, warm Klamath River. In recent weeks, diseases are also become more prevalent in young salmon, and dead juvenile fish have been showing up in some traps on the river. In the past several years, infections in young salmon have become recognized as routine, and in some areas of the river they claim the majority of salmon. Nat Pennington with the Salmon River Restoration Council said in a trap on the Klamath just above Weitchpec, about half of the 50 young fish caught Wednesday were dead. ?We had a respite a couple of weeks ago when it rained,? he said. ?It seems like things are getting bad again.? Of equal concern are conditions expected this fall. With little snowpack, both the Klamath and Trinity rivers are being managed under guidelines for a ?below average? year. By this fall, when thousands of chinook salmon begin to migrate from the ocean into the river, flows will be low and the river probably warm. In 2002, a large run of salmon estimated at 160,000 crowded into the mouths of cooler tributaries but still succumbed to deadly diseases. Temperatures of 73 to 75 degrees were registered that year, and the river above Klamath Glen on the lower river was running at only about 1,800 cubic feet per second. This year, the run is expected to be about 121,000, and flows could easily drop to below 2,000 by the time fall salmon begin to run. Tribal, fishing and conservation groups said removing the Klamath River dams is a necessary step in stemming disease problems on the river and important to restoring healthy fish runs. # http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6194042 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jun 22 16:31:01 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:31:01 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Wade Sinnen - Weir Count Data Message-ID: We have completed our first week of trapping salmonids at our Junction City weir site. The trapping totals are included in the attached spreadsheet. We plan to commence operations at our Willow Creek weir site in late August and Trinity River Hatchery recovery operations in early September. Please note that all trapping totals are provisional and subject to change. Trapping totals only reflect our catch and are not population estimates. Population estimates are made following the end of the run year and are based on mark-recapture methods. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 23552 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jun 26 10:58:07 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 10:58:07 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmon farmers warned on antibiotic use Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8BC@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Salmon farmers warned on antibiotic use http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/salmon-farmers-warned-on-antibiotic- use/2007/06/22/1182019367389.html Andrew Darby in Hobart June 23, 2007 THE use of antibiotics on Australia's favourite farmed fish, Atlantic salmon, has risen disturbingly as diseases flare in their sea pens. The increase has raised strong private concerns from the Tasmanian Government, which said it was nearly double the amount expected. It was a threat to human health, the environment, and salmon's clean market image, the Primary Industries Minister, David Llewellyn, warned in documents obtained by the Herald. The antibiotics are appearing in wild fish near farms, and the Government has called for an end to the use of one drug, amoxicillin, also used on humans. The $250 million-a-year industry, which produces 22,000 tonnes of the fish, is insisting on continued access to antibiotic treatments. >From 12 kilograms a year a decade ago, the antibiotics used at salmon and trout farms totalled almost eight tonnes in the first three months this year, according to departmental figures. The Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority permitted the industry to use the most common antibiotic, oxytetracycline (OTC) and the proprietary medicine, Aquaflor after a risk assessment. "It is disturbing ... that the industry has used nearly double the amount of OTC than was anticipated in the permit application," Mr Llewellyn said in a letter to the Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association. The farms maintain a holding period to allow antibiotics to pass through the fish before they are harvested, but Mr Llewellyn said there was a potential public health impact if OTC entered the human food chain through consumption of wild fish that might have eaten medicated feed outside pens, or treated salmon that escaped. Salmon also regularly escape from sea pens. In the latest incident, 9000 mature fish swam free of a pen at Strahan last month, triggering an amateur netting spree over the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Mr Llewellyn said a further concern was the use of the human treatment amoxicillin. He threatened to prohibit its use after the state Director of Public Health, Roscoe Taylor, told him of concerns about potential allergic reactions, and the effect on the drug of antibiotic resistant bacteria already in the sea. The industry defended the increased use of antibiotics, mostly to treat "flare-ups" of the infection marine Aeromonas, and salmon rickettsia, which can swell internal organs and lead to mass deaths. The executive officer of the Tasmanian Salmonid Growers' Association, Pheroze Jungalwalla, said that in the long term animal husbandry and vaccinations would improve, but it was critical to keep access to antibiotics, and the industry had notified the authority of a predicted increased usage of 10 tonnes a year. The industry takes part in a national residue survey program run by the Federal Department of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries. Mr Jungalwalla said: "These independent, random, surveys have never found salmon that reaches the consumer to reach or exceed maximum permissible residue limits of antibiotics." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jun 26 13:46:38 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:46:38 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Oak Woodland Planner's Workshop Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8C0@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Oak Woodland Planner's Workshop http://danr.ucop.edu/ihrmp/oakworkshop/index.html August 9 , 2007 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Redding, California Holiday Inn, 1900 Hilltop Drive Purpose: This meeting will provide those involved, or interested, in planning decisions in oak woodlands an opportunity to learn about new state laws affecting oak woodland planning (AB 242 and SB 1334) and how to best implement them. Showcased will be a relatively new publication by the IHRMP, A Planner's Guide for Oak Woodlands which is designed to facilitate a better understanding of the relationships between oak biology, ecology and public policy. Its ultimate goal is to promote sound planning decisions that will lead to the conservation of California's oak woodlands and the myriad values they provide. Featured will be presentations and discussions on SB 1334, which was passed in 2004 and requires that if a county determines that there may be a significant effect to oak woodlands from a project, then the county shall require one or more of several mitigation alternatives. Determining what constitutes a "significant effect" is not clearly identified in the legislation, so we will discuss approaches for making these determinations, as well as how to best choose appropriate mitigation. Topics to be Addressed: * SB 1334 and AB 242 * Population growth projections for the state and their effects on natural resources * Oak woodland planning in Santa Clara County * The critical ecological values woodlands provide * How conservation easements can help protect vital resources in the foothills Future Workshops: This is the fourth in a series of workshops to be held throughout the state with a meeting planned for S. California. Audience: While these meetings are targeted primarily at city and county planners and their staffs, anyone interested in planning in oak woodlands, including consultants, agency personnel, representatives from local governments and environmental organizations, and the general public are encouraged to attend. Registration Registration fee is $25. Add $5 if postmarked after August 1. Fee includes: morning refreshments, lunch, packet of course materials and A Planner's Guide for Oak Woodlands book. Directions: >From I-5, take exit 678 for Hilltop Dr/CA-44 toward Lassen Park for .3 mile. Follow signs for Hilltop Drive. Turn right onto Hilltop Drive and travel .1 mile. The Holiday Inn is on the right Questions: Registration Questions: Sherry Cooper, 530-224-4902, slcooper at nature.berkeley.edu Greg Giusti, 707-463-4495, gagiusti at ucdavis.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acousins at tcrcd.net Tue Jun 26 16:11:15 2007 From: acousins at tcrcd.net (Alex Cousins) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:11:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Watershed Council Meeting Message-ID: <46819D13.3090605@tcrcd.net> The Trinity County RCD has received funding for the Watershed Coordinator position and I will be filling in for Dan Westermeyer who has since moved on. As many of you know, RAC has been funded for this coming year. There is a subcommittee for roads/watersheds proposals due July 16th and we should get together to review and discuss projects that would be eligible for funding. The Trinity County PUD conference room is reserved for July 10 from 9 to 12. In addition to discussing RAC funding, it will be a good time to schedule our regular meeting date and time so please give that some thought. I hope to see you there. I have attached two documents that might help with the process of getting us going. Just a reminder, the projects must be on Forest Service land. Alex -- Alex Cousins Trinity County RCD PO Box 1450 Weaverville, CA 96093 530-623-6004 Phone 530-623-6006 Fax acousins at tcrcd.net -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Copy of TCRCDNRCS Matching TRRP Fund Request.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 24064 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Draft memo on 2007 TRRP Watershed Program v 3.doc Type: application/msword Size: 52736 bytes Desc: not available URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Wed Jun 27 10:59:24 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:59:24 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Washington Post: Dick Cheney Engineered Klamath River Fish Kill In-Reply-To: <425687f15ba00171af70664ff88249f2@gmail.com> References: <425687f15ba00171af70664ff88249f2@gmail.com> Message-ID: <3A9F2BD9-2ECB-40E0-9255-4B956D2198E4@fishsniffer.com> Good Morning This story from the Washington Post discloses how Dick Cheney engineered the Klamath Fish Kill of 2002, a move that inflicted irreparable harm on the lives of thousands of commercial fishermen, tribal fishermen and recreational anglers, as well as on the economy of Northern California and Oregon. While an angler will get cited for keeping a coho salmon or using a hook that isn't considered barbless enough, corrupt officials like Cheney and his underlings can kill thousands and thousands of fish with impunity. It is absolutely disgusting - and shows you how horribly corrupt the Bush administration is. Dan http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney/chapters/leaving_no_tracks/ index.html Leaving No Tracks By Jo Becker and Barton Gellman Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, June 27, 2007; Page A01 Sue Ellen Wooldridge, the 19th-ranking Interior Department official, arrived at her desk in Room 6140 a few months after Inauguration Day 2001. A phone message awaited her. "This is Dick Cheney," said the man on her voice mail, Wooldridge recalled in an interview. "I understand you are the person handling this Klamath situation. Please call me at -- hmm, I guess I don't know my own number. I'm over at the White House." Wooldridge wrote off the message as a prank. It was not. Cheney had reached far down the chain of command, on so unexpected a point of vice presidential concern, because he had spotted a political threat arriving on Wooldridge's desk. In Oregon, a battleground state that the Bush-Cheney ticket had lost by less than half of 1 percent, drought-stricken farmers and ranchers were about to be cut off from the irrigation water that kept their cropland and pastures green. Federal biologists said the Endangered Species Act left the government no choice: The survival of two imperiled species of fish was at stake. Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in. First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers. Because of Cheney's intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River. Characteristically, Cheney left no tracks. The Klamath case is one of many in which the vice president took on a decisive role to undercut long-standing environmental regulations for the benefit of business. By combining unwavering ideological positions -- such as the priority of economic interests over protected fish -- with a deep practical knowledge of the federal bureaucracy, Cheney has made an indelible mark on the administration's approach to everything from air and water quality to the preservation of national parks and forests. It was Cheney's insistence on easing air pollution controls, not the personal reasons she cited at the time, that led Christine Todd Whitman to resign as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, she said in an interview that provides the most detailed account so far of her departure. The vice president also pushed to make Nevada's Yucca Mountain the nation's repository for nuclear and radioactive waste, aides said, a victory for the nuclear power industry over those with long-standing safety concerns. And his office was a powerful force behind the White House's decision to rewrite a Clinton-era land-protection measure that put nearly a third of the national forests off limits to logging, mining and most development, former Cheney staff members said. Cheney's pro-business drive to ease regulations, however, has often set the administration on a collision course with the judicial branch. The administration, for example, is appealing the order of a federal judge who reinstated the forest protections after she ruled that officials didn't adequately study the environmental consequences of giving states more development authority. And in April, the Supreme Court rejected two other policies closely associated with Cheney. It rebuffed the effort, ongoing since Whitman's resignation, to loosen some rules under the Clean Air Act. The court also rebuked the administration for not regulating greenhouse gases associated with global warming, issuing its ruling less than two months after Cheney declared that "conflicting viewpoints" remain about the extent of the human contribution to the problem. In the latter case, Cheney made his environmental views clear in public. But with some notable exceptions, he generally has preferred to operate with stealth, aided by loyalists who owe him for their careers. When the vice president got wind of a petition to list the cutthroat trout in Yellowstone National Park as a protected species, his office turned to one of his former congressional aides. The aide, Paul Hoffman, landed his job as deputy assistant interior secretary for fish and wildlife after Cheney recommended him. In an interview, Hoffman said the vice president knew that listing the cutthroat trout would harm the recreational fishing industry in his home state of Wyoming and that he "followed the issue closely." In 2001 and again in 2006, Hoffman's agency declined to list the trout as threatened. Hoffman also was well positioned to help his former boss with what Cheney aides said was one of the vice president's pet peeves: the Clinton-era ban on snowmobiling in national parks. "He impressed upon us that so many people enjoyed snowmobiling in the Tetons," former Cheney aide Ron Christie said. With Cheney's encouragement, the administration lifted the ban in 2002, and Hoffman followed up in 2005 by writing a proposal to fundamentally change the way national parks are managed. That plan, which would have emphasized recreational use over conservation, attracted so much opposition from park managers and the public that the Interior Department withdrew it. Still, the Bush administration continues to press for expanded snowmobile access, despite numerous studies showing that the vehicles harm the parks' environment and polls showing majority support for the ban. Hoffman, now in another job at the Interior Department, said Cheney never told him what to do on either issue -- he didn't have to. "His genius," Hoffman said, is that "he builds networks and puts the right people in the right places, and then trusts them to make well-informed decisions that comport with his overall vision." 'Political Ramifications' Robert F. Smith had grown desperate by the time he turned to the vice president for help. The former Republican congressman from Oregon represented farmers in the Klamath basin who had relied on a government-operated complex of dams and canals built almost a century ago along the Oregon- California border to irrigate nearly a quarter-million acres of arid land. In April 2001, with the region gripped by the worst drought in memory, the spigot was shut off. Studies by the federal government's scientists concluded unequivocally that diverting water would harm two federally protected species of fish, violating the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Bureau of Reclamation was forced to declare that farmers must go without in order to maintain higher water levels so that two types of suckerfish in Upper Klamath Lake and the coho salmon that spawn in the Klamath River could survive the dry spell. Farmers and their families, furious and fearing for their livelihoods, formed a symbolic 10,000-person bucket brigade. Then they took saws and blowtorches to dam gates, clashing with U.S. marshals as water streamed into the canals that fed their withering fields, before the government stopped the flow again. What they didn't know was that the vice president was already on the case. Smith had served with Cheney on the House Interior Committee in the 1980s, and the former congressman said he turned to the vice president because he knew him as a man of the West who didn't take kindly to federal bureaucrats meddling with private use of public land. "He saw, as every other person did, what a ridiculous disaster shutting off the water was," Smith said. Cheney recognized, even before the shut-off and long before others at the White House, that what "at first blush didn't seem like a big deal" had "a lot of political ramifications," said Dylan Glenn, a former aide to President Bush. Bush and Cheney couldn't afford to anger thousands of solidly Republican farmers and ranchers during the midterm elections and beyond. The case also was rapidly becoming a test for conservatives nationwide of the administration's commitment to fixing what they saw as an imbalance between conservation and economics. "What does the law say?" Christie, the former aide, recalled the vice president asking. "Isn't there some way around it?" Next, Cheney called Wooldridge, who was then deputy chief of staff to Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton and the woman handling the Klamath situation. Aides praise Cheney's habit of reaching down to officials who are best informed on a subject he is tackling. But the effect of his calls often leads those mid-level officials scrambling to do what they presume to be his bidding. That's what happened when a mortified Wooldridge finally returned the vice president's call, after receiving a tart follow-up inquiry from one of his aides. Cheney, she said, "was coming from the perspective that the farmers had to be able to farm -- that was his concern. The fact that the vice president was interested meant that everyone paid attention." Cheney made sure that attention did not wander. He had Wooldridge brief his staff weekly and, Smith said, he also called the interior secretary directly. "For months and months, at almost every briefing it was 'Sir, here's where we stand on the Klamath basin,'" recalled Christie, who is now a lobbyist. "His hands-on involvement, it's safe to say, elevated the issue." 'Let the Water Flow' There was, as it happened, an established exemption to the Endangered Species Act. A rarely invoked panel of seven Cabinet officials, known informally as the "God Squad," is empowered by the statute to determine that economic hardship outweighs the benefit of protecting threatened wildlife. But after discussing the option with Smith, Cheney rejected that course. He had another idea, one that would not put the administration on record as advocating the extinction of endangered or threatened species. The thing to do, Cheney told Smith, was to get science on the side of the farmers. And the way to do that was to ask the National Academy of Sciences to scrutinize the work of the federal biologists who wanted to protect the fish. Smith said he told Cheney that he thought that was a roll of the dice. Academy panels are independently appointed, receive no payment and must reach a conclusion that can withstand peer review. "It worried me that these are individuals who are unreachable," Smith said of the academy members. But Cheney was firm, expressing no such concerns about the result. "He felt we had to match the science." Smith also wasn't sure that the Klamath case -- "a small place in a small corner of the country" -- would meet the science academy's rigorous internal process for deciding what to study. Cheney took care of that. "He called them and said, 'Please look at this, it's important,'" Smith said. "Everyone just went flying at it." William Kearney, a spokesman for the National Academies, said he was unaware of any direct contact from Cheney on the matter. The official request came from the Interior Department, he said. It was Norton who announced the review, and it was Bush and his political adviser Karl Rove who traveled to Oregon in February 2002 to assure farmers that they had the administration's support. A month later, Cheney got what he wanted when the science academy delivered a preliminary report finding "no substantial scientific foundation" to justify withholding water from the farmers. There was not enough clear evidence that proposed higher lake levels would benefit suckerfish, the report found. And it hypothesized that the practice of releasing warm lake water into the river during spawning season might do more harm than good to the coho, which thrive in lower temperatures. [Read the report.] Norton flew to Klamath Falls in March to open the head gate as farmers chanted "Let the water flow!" And seizing on the report's draft findings, the Bureau of Reclamation immediately submitted a new decade-long plan to give the farmers their full share of water. When the lead biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service team critiqued the science academy's report in a draft opinion objecting to the plan, the critique was edited out by superiors and his objections were overruled, he said. The biologist, Michael Kelly, who has since quit the federal agency, said in a whistle-blower claim that it was clear to him that "someone at a higher level" had ordered his agency to endorse the proposal regardless of the consequences to the fish. Months later, the first of an estimated 77,000 dead salmon began washing up on the banks of the warm, slow-moving river. Not only were threatened coho dying -- so were chinook salmon, the staple of commercial fishing in Oregon and Northern California. State and federal biologists soon concluded that the diversion of water to farms was at least partly responsible. Fishermen filed lawsuits and courts ruled that the new irrigation plan violated the Endangered Species Act. Echoing Kelly's objections, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit observed that the 10- year plan wouldn't provide enough water for the fish until year nine. By then, the 2005 opinion said, "all the water in the world" could not save the fish, "for there will be none to protect." In March 2006, a federal judge prohibited the government from diverting water for agricultural use whenever water levels dropped beneath a certain point. Last summer, the federal government declared a "commercial fishery failure" on the West Coast after several years of poor chinook returns virtually shut down the industry, opening the way for Congress to approve more than $60 million in disaster aid to help fishermen recover their losses. That came on top of the $15 million that the government has paid Klamath farmers since 2002 not to farm, in order to reduce demand. The science academy panel, in its final report, acknowledged that its draft report was "controversial," but it stood by its conclusions. Instead of focusing on the irrigation spigot, it recommended broad and expensive changes to improve fish habitat. "The farmers were grateful for our decision, but we made the decision based on the scientific outcome," said the panel chairman, William Lewis, a biologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder. "It just so happened the outcome favored the farmers." But J.B. Ruhl, another member of the panel and a Florida State University law professor who specializes in endangered species cases, said the Bureau of Reclamation went "too far," making judgments that were not backed up by the academy's draft report. "The approach they took was inviting criticism," Ruhl said, "and I didn't think it was supported by our recommendations." 'More Pro-Industry' Whitman, then head of the EPA, was on vacation with her family in Colorado when her cellphone rang. The vice president was on the line, and he was clearly irked. Why was the agency dragging its feet on easing pollution rules for aging power and oil refinery plants?, Cheney wanted to know. An industry that had contributed heavily to the Bush-Cheney campaign was clamoring for change, and the vice president told Whitman that she "hadn't moved it fast enough," she recalled. Whitman protested, warning Cheney that the administration had to proceed cautiously. It was August 2001, just seven months into the first term. We need to "document this according to the books," she said she told him, "so we don't look like we are ramrodding something through. Because it's going to court." But the vice president's main concern was getting it done fast, she said, and "doing it in a way that didn't hamper industry." At issue was a provision of the Clean Air Act known as the New Source Review, which requires older plants that belch millions of tons of smog and soot each year to install modern pollution controls when they are refurbished in a way that increases emissions. Industry officials complained to the White House that even when they had merely performed routine maintenance and repairs, the Clinton administration hit them with violations and multimillion-dollar lawsuits. Cheney's energy task force ordered the EPA to reconsider the rule. Whitman had already gone several rounds with the vice president over the issue. She and Cheney first got to know each other in one of the Nixon administration's anti-poverty agencies, working under Donald H. Rumsfeld. When Cheney offered her the job in the Bush administration, the former New Jersey governor marveled at how far both had come. But as with Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, another longtime friend who owed his Cabinet post to Cheney, Whitman's differences with the vice president would lead to her departure. Sitting through Cheney's task force meetings, Whitman had been stunned by what she viewed as an unquestioned belief that EPA's regulations were primarily to blame for keeping companies from building new power plants. "I was upset, mad, offended that there seemed to be so much head-nodding around the table," she said. Whitman said she had to fight "tooth and nail" to prevent Cheney's task force from handing over the job of reforming the New Source Review to the Energy Department, a battle she said she won only after appealing to White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. This was an environmental issue with major implications for air quality and health, she believed, and it shouldn't be driven by a task force primarily concerned with increasing production. Whitman agreed that the exception for routine maintenance and repair needed to be clarified, but not in a way that undercut the ongoing Clinton-era lawsuits -- many of which had merit, she said. Cheney listened to her arguments, and as usual didn't say much. Whitman said she also met with the president to "explain my concerns" and to offer an alternative. She wanted to work a political trade with industry -- eliminating the New Source Review in return for support of Bush's 2002 "Clear Skies" initiative, which outlined a market-based approach to reducing emissions over time. But Clear Skies went nowhere. "There was never any follow-up," Whitman said, and moreover, there was no reason for industry to embrace even a modest pollution control initiative when the vice president was pushing to change the rules for nothing. She decided to go back to Bush one last time. It was a crapshoot -- the EPA administrator had already been rolled by Cheney when the president reversed himself on a campaign promise to limit carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming -- so she came armed with a political argument. Whitman said she plunked down two sets of folders filled with news clips. This one, she said, pointing to a stack about 2-1/2 inches thick, contained articles, mostly negative, about the administration's controversial proposal to suspend tough new standards governing arsenic in drinking water. And this one, she said as she pointed to a pile four or five times as thick, are the articles about the rules on aging power plants and refineries -- and the administration hadn't even done anything yet. "If you think arsenic was bad," she recalled telling Bush, "look at what has already been written about this." But Whitman left the meeting with the feeling that "the decision had already been made." Cheney had a clear mandate from the president on all things energy-related, she said, and while she could take her case directly to Bush, "you leave and the vice president's still there. So together, they would then shape policy." What happened next was "a perfect example" of that, she said. The EPA sent rule revisions to White House officials. The read-back was that they weren't happy and "wanted something that would be more pro-industry," she said. The end result, which she said was written at the direction of the White House and announced in August 2003, vastly broadened the definition of routine maintenance. It allowed some of the nation's dirtiest plants to make major modifications without installing costly new pollution controls. By that time, Whitman had already announced her resignation, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family. But the real reason, she said, was the new rule. "I just couldn't sign it," she said. "The president has a right to have an administrator who could defend it, and I just couldn't." A federal appeals court has since found that the rule change violated the Clean Air Act. In their ruling, the judges said that the administration had redefined the law in a way that could be valid "only in a Humpty-Dumpty world." Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jun 28 10:06:03 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 10:06:03 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Press Release -- Rahall to Continue Probe of Politicization of Endangered Species Act Message-ID: <1E2A580542B94436946E9A889D0BC1B1@ByronsLaptop> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Allyson Ivins Groff June 28, 2007 202-226-9019 Rahall to Continue Probe of Politicization of Endangered Species Act Klamath River Basin to be on agenda Washington, D.C. - Late Wednesday evening, U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, received a letter from 36 House Democrats from California and Oregon calling for an oversight hearing on the alarming role Vice President Dick Cheney may have played in Klamath River Basin decisions. As reported by the Washington Post on June 27, 2007, Cheney's intervention in the development of a 10-year water plan for the Klamath River resulted in a 2002 die-off of around 70,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border - the largest adult salmon kill in the history of the West. Today, Rep. Rahall released the following statement in response to the request from House Democrats: "This Committee has already begun examining the penchant for this Administration to favor politics over science in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, which was highlighted during a May 9th hearing and in the resignation of the Interior Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks over the fiasco. "In light of the revelations being made over the situation in the Klamath River Basin, it is my intention to again convene the Committee to delve into the issues raised by the Members of Congress from California and Oregon. It certainly appears this Administration will stop at nothing to achieve political gain from natural resources disasters. Ultimately, it will be hardworking Americans and their healthy environment that will lose if we fail to act." -30- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 18177 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: _AVG certification_.txt URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jun 29 16:36:16 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 16:36:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Mark Limbaugh Departure Message-ID: <008901c7baa6$49f774c0$0301a8c0@optiplex> Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science, Mark Limbaugh, has resigned his position effective July 13. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon Jul 2 09:15:17 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 09:15:17 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Special Weather Statement: Trinity Basin Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8C8@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Special Weather Statement http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/warnings.php?wfo=eka&zone=CAZ004&pil=XXXSPSEKA&p roductType=Special+Weather+Statement SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EUREKA CA 356 PM PDT SUN JUL 1 2007 CAZ003-004-076-022300- NORTH COAST INTERIOR-UPPER TRINITY RIVER-MENDOCINO INTERIOR- 356 PM PDT SUN JUL 1 2007 ...TEMPERATURES INCREASING INTO THE TRIPLE DIGITS BY MIDWEEK.. A STRENGTHENING HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE GREAT BASIN WILL BUILD AND EXPAND TOWARD CALIFORNIA BY MID WEEK. HIGH TEMPERATURES OVER THE INLAND VALLEYS ARE EXPECTED TO EXCEED THE 100 DEGREE MARK...WITH SOME OF THE HOTTEST INLAND VALLEYS APPROACHING 110 DEGREES WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THE FOLLOWING HEAT RELATED SAFETY TIPS ARE IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: ...DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS...AVOID ALCOHOLIC AND CAFFEINATED BEVERAGES. ...STAY OUT OF THE SUN...OR REMAIN INDOORS IN A COOL WELL VENTILATED ROOM...ESPECIALLY ONE WITH AIR CONDITIONING IF AVAILABLE. ...USE WET CLOTHS OR ICE PACKS ON THE FACE...WRISTS OR NECK FOR A QUICK COOL-DOWN. ...TAKE IT EASY. AVOID DOING STRENUOUS TASKS DURING THE WARMEST TIME OF THE DAY. ...REMEMBER YOUR PETS...THEY NEED FRESH DRINKING WATER AND NEED TO BE PROTECTED FROM THE HEAT AS WELL. ...CHECK ON RELATIVES OR ELDERLY NEIGHBORS DURING PERIODS OF HEAT. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATER UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION. $$ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Jul 2 15:04:02 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 15:04:02 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Junction City Weir trapping summary for June 25- July 1, 2007 Message-ID: <0CB1337B401142C188A7CF1DDCB5A6C5@ByronsLaptop> >From Wade Sinnen: To interested parties, Attached is a trapping summary for the Junction City Weir. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weirTRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 24576 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Jul 2 15:59:07 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 15:59:07 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Congressional Sub-Committee Hearing Message-ID: <5A402E476A16466687F311BDAC27DE8A@ByronsLaptop> One interesting disclosure at today's Hearing: Inspector General Investigating Allegations of Politics Over Delta Species Proactive cooperation needs true science Vallejo, CA - At a Congressional field hearing today regarding the environmental crisis in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, a Department of Interior official could not tell Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) whether scientists at Interior were pressured by the Bush Administration to manipulate science because the matter was currently under investigation. The Interior official, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Operations Manager for the California/Nevada Office Steve Thompson, said he could not answer Congressman Thompson's question regarding political influence because the Department's Inspector General is currently investigating the potential manipulation of scientific evidence from the Delta. Steve Thompson did say that the investigation involves the former Deputy Assistant Secretary. "This is exactly the type of situation we are trying to avoid," said Congressman Thompson. "We learned the hard way how political manipulation can impact an ecosystem on the Klamath River; when politics trumped science and 80,000 salmon were killed, closing down the entire commercial salmon fishing season to California and Oregon last year." The San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, also known as the Bay-Delta, is an expansive inland river delta in Northern California. It is formed at the western edge of the Central Valley by the Sacramento River at its confluence with the San Joaquin River just east of where the river enters Suisun Bay. The Bay Delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast, covering 738,000 acres of land interlaced with hundreds of miles of waterways. Much of the land is below sea level and relies on more than 1,000 miles of levees for protection against flooding. This March, biologists counted only 25 juvenile Delta Smelt; a fish found only in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta and is a keystone species for many other types of fish, including salmon. Extensive evidence demonstrates that over the past two years, the populations of delta smelt have been at record lows. The decline of the Delta Smelt is primarily due to water diversions south of the Delta. "If there really is an Inspector General's investigation going on, it calls into question the data being used for future Delta management," said Congressman Thompson. "As a government, we need to work together to fix the Delta's deteriorating levees, recover its endangered species and provide safe drinking water. Of the original 29 indigenous fish species in the Delta, 12 have either been entirely eliminated or are currently threatened with extinction. Once one of the most common and abundant of the pelagic fishes in the delta, the delta smelt population is estimated to have declined approximately 90 percent in the last 20 years. The focus of today's hearing was, "Extinction is not a Sustainable Water Policy: The Bay-Delta Crisis and the Implications for California Water Management." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Jul 3 10:04:37 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2007 10:04:37 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Congressional Delta Hearing Message-ID: <479F959BA59D48338D9E262AD8110FBA@ByronsLaptop> News stories on the Congressional Sub-Committee Delta Hearing in Vallejo yesterday appearing in today's Los Angeles Times, Tri Valley Herald and Fairfield Republic are linked below. As you know, 53 percent of Trinity's water passes through the Delta to Western San Joaquin Valley irrigators. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-delta3jul03,1,6509082.s tory?coll=la-news-politics-california http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_6288386 http://local.dailyrepublic.net/story_localnews.php?a=news05.txt Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jul 5 10:07:08 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 10:07:08 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fresno Bee Op-Ed Message-ID: <67CCC15457F04079B39118EFF7868679@ByronsLaptop> Trinity River water pumped from the collapsing San Francisco Bay Delta irrigates this land. LLOYD CARTER: Selenium poisoning is still a threat today By Lloyd Carter 07/05/07 04:24:00 It has been nearly a quarter of a century since federal scientists discovered that selenium in Western San Joaquin Valley farm drainwater was triggering massive embryo deformities in ducks and shorebirds and killing all the edible fish at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge. The fish die-off and deformities or embryo deaths in more than half the Kesterson nests were caused by selenium that had been leached from the western Valley soils by irrigation practices and then dissolved in subsurface drainwater funneled to the "refuge." Scientists would rediscover that selenium, while a micro nutrient, is the most toxic of all biologically essential elements in mammals. Officials of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which built the federal irrigation facilities on the west side, and political appointees at the parent Department of Interior initially claimed the Kesterson selenium poisoning was an isolated problem. But as investigations spread to other national wildlife refuges, selenium contamination was confirmed in the southern San Joaquin Valley (Tulare basin), Salton Sea, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona and Kansas. Now 25 years later, with hundreds of millions of dollars on studies and research spent, the Department of Interior still has no selenium safety standards for wildlife, although a committee was appointed in 1989 to adopt such standards. Yet the evidence continues to grow that selenium poisoning, caused by farming, mining, coal burning, oil refining and other industrial activities, is occurring all over America. According to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site or other Internet scientific sources: Six horses and between 200 and 300 sheep died from grazing on selenium-laced plants near phosphate mines in Idaho between 1996 and 2003. Phosphate mining of shale soils to make fertilizers generates large amounts of selenium-laced mining wastes, which contaminate waterways and land. Hay from western states high in selenium is suspected of causing selenium poisoning in horses in Missouri, according to University of Missouri veterinarians. Fish and ducks in San Francisco Bay have elevated selenium levels. Cutthroat trout are disappearing from streams along the Idaho-Wyoming border because of selenium contamination from phosphate mining. Shellfish and birds in the Great Lakes region have elevated selenium levels. Although drainage flows to Kesterson were halted in 1985 following intense media exposure of the problem, selenium-contaminated farm drainage continues to flow to many wildlife refuges in more than a dozen western states, and food chain levels of selenium in those refuges reveal a continuing threat to bird populations. Dennis Lemly, of the U.S. Forest Service, who is considered a premier expert in America on selenium poisoning of wildlife, has described the disappearance of fish in southeast Idaho as "an insidious ticking time bomb." Seventeen of 26 closed phosphate mines in Idaho have been designated Superfund sites by the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA officials say not a single closed phosphate mine has ever been cleaned up. The current Secretary of Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, formerly served as a public relations spokesman for one of those phosphate mining companies. Although Reclamation officials claimed they were surprised at Kesterson, it is only because they did not do their homework. Selenium poisoning of livestock and forage foods had been known for decades in the Dakotas and the southwest. High levels of selenium were confirmed in the Coast Range -- parent soil material of the western San Joaquin Valley -- in 1939. Time magazine complained in a 1933 article that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was "inclined to silence" about selenium poisoning of cattle fed wheat, corn and alfalfa grown on high selenium soils in the American Southwest dating back to the 19th century. The late David Love, "grand old man of Rocky Mountain geology," warned in a famous 1949 memorandum, which he later claimed was suppressed by the Department of Agriculture, that farming and irrigating high selenium soils in the American West would create an environmental disaster. And closer to home the Westlands Water District, which once funneled its selenium-laced waste waters to Kesterson, now faces a drainage disposal problem that may cost in excess of $2 billion. Surrealistically, Interior officials are suggesting the construction of more Kesterson-like evaporation ponds as a "solution" to the farm drainage problem. Federal irrigation districts north of Westlands now drain their selenium-laced waste waters into the polluted lower San Joaquin River and want to continue doing so. In 2007, with the Kesterson debacle a memory, the federal government is still "inclined to silence" about the extent and seriousness of the selenium problem. You don't hear politicians giving speeches about the selenium threat. Federal scientists tell me selenium impacts on bird reproductivity are still occurring here in the Valley and elsewhere in America where farming and mining on high selenium soils is slowly but surely contributing to the steady decline of bird and fish populations. Lloyd Carter, a Fresno lawyer, is director of the California Water Impact Network. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From acousins at tcrcd.net Thu Jul 5 14:56:27 2007 From: acousins at tcrcd.net (Alex Cousins) Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:56:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Watershed Council Meeting Message-ID: <468D690B.1090409@tcrcd.net> In order to avoid a conflict with the TRRP Design Team Meeting, the Watershed Council meeting that was sheduled for the 10th of July is canceled. I would like to reschedule for the week of the 16th. If Tuesday afternoon, July, 17th, works for most of you, that date would be preferable. I know that is the same day as the Board of Superviosors meets, and could be a conflict for anyone who has an item on the agenda, so please check you schedule. Please put on your calender a tentative date, to be confirmed early next week, for July 17th, at 2pm-5pm at the Trinity PUD. A few items to be discussed are: TRRP proposed 2007 projects TRRP funding process Long term plan for the Watershed Council Alex -- Alex Cousins Trinity County RCD PO Box 1450 Weaverville, CA 96093 530-623-6004 Phone 530-623-6006 Fax acousins at tcrcd.net From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Jul 6 09:47:18 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 09:47:18 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Indian Creek Project Contract Awarded Message-ID: <9EE92AC1C6CF4B3097F8D6327C464311@ByronsLaptop> The following has been provided by Doug Schleusner, Executive Director of the Trinity River Restoration Project. On June 28, 2007 a contract was awarded to Oregon Mountain Constructors, Inc. of Redding , California for implementation of the Indian Creek Channel Rehabilitation Project along the Trinity River near Douglas City, California. The contract award amount was $1,846,777.00. The work includes developing construction access, performing floodplain excavation and large wood placement, onsite processing of excavated floodplain materials and existing mine tailings, and trucking the processed materials to various locations along the Trinity River for coarse sediment augmentation. The contract performance period is 930 days. Construction will begin in late July. Work to be completed in calendar year 2007 includes the onsite processing and delivery of a total of 10,000 tons of coarse sediment to the Trinity River Hatchery gravel augmentation site and two other locations in the Lewiston area, and all the work associated with the channel rehabilitation components of the project. Work in 2008 and 2009 will involve processing and delivery of a total of 50,000 tons of coarse sediment to various locations along the Trinity River. Support for the project will be provided through a combination of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and California Department of Fish and Game funding. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Fri Jul 6 11:20:16 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007 11:20:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Indian Creek Project Contract Awarded In-Reply-To: <9EE92AC1C6CF4B3097F8D6327C464311@ByronsLaptop> References: <9EE92AC1C6CF4B3097F8D6327C464311@ByronsLaptop> Message-ID: <2B6E3476-9A6A-4C2D-A213-DC34696BFCD7@fishsniffer.com> EPA Issues Warning About Contact with Toxic Algae In Warren Buffett?s Klamath River Reservoirs By Dan Bacher The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office in San Francisco on July 5 issued a warning about body contact with the blue-green algae in Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California ?Due to its potential health risks, federal, state, local, and tribal agencies are urging swimmers, boaters and recreational users to avoid contact with the blue-green algae now blooming in Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs,? said Lisa Fasano, spokesperson for the EPA?s San Francisco office. California agencies including the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Water Resources Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and Department of Public Health and the Yurok and Karuk Tribes are urging residents and recreational users of the Klamath river to use caution or avoid getting in the water near these blooms, especially during the upcoming summer months. ?As blue-green algae can pose health risks, especially to children and pets, we urge people to be careful where they swim when visiting the reservoirs,? said Alexis Strauss, the EPAs Water Division Director for the Pacific Southwest region. ?Try to avoid swallowing or inhaling drops of water in an algal bloom area as well as skin contact with water by people or their pets.? The blooms of ?Microcystis aeruginosa? look like green, blue-green, white or brown foam, scum or mats floating on the water, according to Strauss. ?Recreational exposure to toxic blue-green algae can cause eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea, and cold and flu-like symptoms. Liver failure and death have occurred in rare situations where large amounts of contaminated water were directly ingested,? Strauss stated. ?This is a situation that anyone who comes into contact with water at Copco or Iron Gate should be aware of,? said Catherine Kuhlman, Executive Officer of the North Coast Regional Water Board. ?Vacationers and the public should adjust their activities accordingly. The precautions that we are recommending are reasonably simple and common sense.? Regina Chichizola, the Klamath Riverkeeper, said she was ?very glad? that the federal EPA and state agencies had issued warnings about bodily contact with the toxic algae, but was disappointed that nothing was being done about the toxic algae problem. ?The toxic algae violates four of the state?s water quality criteria, but the state refuses to do anything about stopping the pollution,? said Chichizola. ?We?re asking that the state required the operator of the dams, PacifiCorp, be required to apply for a waste discharge permit so the North Coast Regional Board could regulate the toxic discharge.? The microcystis algae is found in the Klamath all of the way down to the river mouth, but not in anywhere near the concentrations found in PacifiCorp?s Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs. The toxic algae requires still water to bloom - reservoirs are the perfect incubator for the algae to proliferate. ?From all of the available science, it is clear that that the dams are what is causing the toxic algae,? said Chichizola. ?There isn?t the problem with the algae above the dams. We believe that dam removal will deal with this issue.? This is the third consecutive year that Copco and Iron Gate Reservoirs have been found to have extremely high levels of the toxic blue-green algae since monitoring by the Karuk Tribe began in 2005. Tribal leaders, conservationists and recreational and commercial fishermen support dam removal as the solution to the toxic algae problem ? and to restoring salmon and steelhead to the Klamath above the dams. The reservoirs are located on the Klamath River near the Oregon border between Ashland, Oregon and Yreka, California. The dams are owned by PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Billionaire Warren Buffett?s Mid American Energy Holdings Company. ?Although Siskiyou County officials have the responsibility to inform and protect the public from exposure, it?s not their fault these blooms are occurring. Warren Buffett?s dams are to blame,? said Leaf Hillman, Vice Chair of the Karuk Tribe. Officials from the California Water Quality Control Board and the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment recently formed a Blue Green Algae (BGA) Work Group. The group published a document to provide guidance to local health officials dealing with toxic algae blooms. Samples taken recently from Klamath reservoirs contained cell counts approximately 100 times greater than the threshold at which the BGA Work Group?s document recommends posting alerts to the public. ?The blooms occur in the summer as the shallow, nutrient rich water trapped behind the dams heats up and thus provides an optimal environment for the algae to bloom,? explained Craig Tucker, Klamath Campaign Coordinator for the Karuk Tribe. ?For years, down river Tribes, fishermen, and conservation groups have called for the removal of the dams to restore runs of salmon that are in dramatic decline and alleviate the toxic blooms.? In May, the Klamath Riverkeeper and other affected community members filed a ?public nuisance? claim against PacifiCorp over the role the dams play in creating algae blooms and creating conditions lethal to salmon. Lawyers for the plaintiffs include nationally renowned environmental attorneys Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of the National Water Keeper Alliance and Joseph Cotchett. Tribal and state governments are not plaintiffs in the suit. Hillman and leaders from the Yurok and Hoopa Valley tribes joined with conservation groups and commercial fishermen in May to take their grievances straight to Buffett at ?Warrenpalooza,? the annual shareholders? meeting of Buffett?s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska. Unfortunately, Buffett declined to address the groups? appeal to remove the Klamath dams. ?PacifiCorp is destroying the most vital natural resource river and coastline communities have while poisoning us at the same time,? said Hilllman."In the end, PacifiCorp?s investors and ratepayers will hold its management accountable. Not only is removing these toxic waste factories the moral thing to do, it?s the economically sound decision as well." An economic analysis performed by the California Energy Commission concludes that PacifiCorp would save over $100 million by removing the dams instead of meeting the terms of a new operational license. Currently over two dozen Klamath Basin stakeholders are seeking to negotiate an agreement that would remove the dams as well as address issues of in stream flows and power needs of farmers. ?Everyone in the Klamath Basin is working on solutions to these problems,? said Hilllman. ?Its time for PacifiCorp to get real about removing these dams and stop exploiting Klamath communities and their own ratepayers.? The Statewide Guidance on Harmful Algal Blooms recommends the following: ? Avoid wading and swimming in water containing visible blooms or water containing algal scums or mats; If no algal scums or mats are visible, you should still carefully watch young children and warn them not to swallow the water. ? Do not drink, cook or wash dishes with untreated surface water under any circumstances. ? Consume fish only after removing guts and liver, and rinsing fillets in clean drinking water. ? Take care that pets and livestock do not drink the water or swim through heavy scums or mats, nor lick their fur after going in the water. ? Get medical treatment right away if you think that you, your pet, or your livestock might have been poisoned by blue green algae toxins. ? Be sure to alert the medical professional to the possible contact with blue green algae. "With proper precautions to avoid water contact, people can still visit Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs and enjoy activities such as camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, picnicking or other recreational activities excluding direct contact with the algae bloom scum,? according to the federal EPA. For more information, please visit: World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd Edition: www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3/en/index.html California Department of Public Health: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/ddwem/bluegreenalgae/index.htm State Water Resources Control Board: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/bluegreenalgae/index.html National Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/hab/cyanobacteria/facts.htm Siskiyou County Public Health Department: http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/phs/ (530) 841-2100 Yurok Tribe Real Time Water Quality and BGA Data http://exchange.yuroktribe.nsn.us/lrgsclient/stations/stations.html North American Lake Management Society: http://www.nalms.org/Resources/BlueGreenInitiative/Overview.htm From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jul 10 13:41:53 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:41:53 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath River ALERT From Keith Parker Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8D8@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Here's an alarming letter I just got from Keith Parker in Requa about the high water temperatures now occurring on the lower Klamath River. Dan Hi Dan, The salmon have showed up very late but in large numbers. We are knocking the heck out them in the estuary but upriver the large amount of moss and grass from the warm upriver water is making fishing difficult. WE ARE HEADED FOR DISASTER AGAIN THOUGH IF SOMETHING ISN'T DONE IMMEDIATELY! They cut our flows again which raised the water temperature even more. Unbelievably, the water temperature at midnight this morning hit 76.2 degrees F according to the real-time data from the Klamath Sensor Station (KNK) a few miles upriver from the mouth. As of 11:30 AM the sensor temp has cooled a little but still 73.3 degrees F. See the attached ten day temperature graph. This may become another lethal event for these salmon just now entering the river. Some guides are reporting hooking 13 and landing 10 salmon in the estuary, so the salmon are coming in thick. We need help now! Everyone needs to get on the telephone! Thanks, Keith Parker Yurok Tribal Member Requa, CA (for more info) Tel: 707-799-8771 Here are some phone numbers: Jeff McCracken - Bureau of Reclamation, Public affairs - Tel: 916-978-5100 or 5101 Pablo Arroyave, BOR Area Manager, Klamath Basin - Tel: 541-883-6935 Christine Karas - Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Falls - Tel: 541-880-2555 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Ten Day Temp Plot.gif Type: image/gif Size: 8753 bytes Desc: Ten Day Temp Plot.gif URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jul 10 13:42:08 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:42:08 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: EPA Issues Toxic Algae Warning for Warren Buffett's Klamath River Reservoirs Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8D9@mail3.trinitycounty.org> EPA Issues Toxic Algae Warning for Warren Buffett's Klamath River Reservoirs By Dan Bacher (San Francisco) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 5 issued a warning about bodily contact with the toxic blue-green algae in Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California "Due to its potential health risks, federal, state, local, and tribal agencies are urging swimmers, boaters and recreational users to avoid contact with the blue-green algae now blooming in Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs," said Lisa Fasano, spokesperson for the EPA's San Francisco office. California agencies including the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Water Resources Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and Department of Public Health and the Yurok and Karuk Tribes are urging residents and recreational users of the Klamath river to use caution or avoid getting in the water near these blooms, especially during the upcoming summer months. "As blue-green algae can pose health risks, especially to children and pets, we urge people to be careful where they swim when visiting the reservoirs," said Alexis Strauss, the EPAs Water Division Director for the Pacific Southwest region. "Try to avoid swallowing or inhaling drops of water in an algal bloom area as well as skin contact with water by people or their pets." The blooms of "Microcystis aeruginosa" look like green, blue-green, white or brown foam, scum or mats floating on the water, according to Strauss. "Recreational exposure to toxic blue-green algae can cause eye irritation, allergic skin rash, mouth ulcers, vomiting, diarrhea, and cold and flu-like symptoms. Liver failure and death have occurred in rare situations where large amounts of contaminated water were directly ingested," Strauss stated. "This is a situation that anyone who comes into contact with water at Copco or Iron Gate should be aware of," said Catherine Kuhlman, Executive Officer of the North Coast Regional Water Board. "Vacationers and the public should adjust their activities accordingly. The precautions that we are recommending are reasonably simple and common sense." Regina Chichizola, the Klamath Riverkeeper, said she was "very glad" that the federal EPA and state agencies had issued warnings about bodily contact with the toxic algae, but was disappointed that nothing was being done about the toxic algae problem. "The toxic algae violates four of the state's water quality criteria, but the state refuses to do anything about stopping the pollution," said Chichizola. "We're asking that the state require the operator of the dams, PacifiCorp, to apply for a waste discharge permit so the North Coast Regional Board could regulate the toxic discharge." The microcystis algae is found in the Klamath all of the way down to the river mouth, but not in anywhere near the concentrations found in PacifiCorp's Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs. The toxic algae requires still water to bloom - reservoirs are the perfect incubator for the algae to proliferate. "From all of the available science, it is clear that that the dams are what is causing the toxic algae," said Chichizola. "There isn't the problem with the algae above the dams. We believe that dam removal will deal with this issue." This is the third consecutive year that Copco and Iron Gate reservoirs have been found to have extremely high levels of the toxic blue-green algae since monitoring by the Karuk Tribe began in 2005. Tribal leaders, conservationists and recreational and commercial fishermen support dam removal as the solution to the toxic algae problem - and to restoring salmon and steelhead to the Klamath above the dams. The reservoirs are located on the Klamath River near the Oregon border between Ashland, Oregon and Yreka, California. The dams are owned by PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Billionaire Warren Buffett's Mid American Energy Holdings Company. "Although Siskiyou County officials have the responsibility to inform and protect the public from exposure, it's not their fault these blooms are occurring. Warren Buffett's dams are to blame," said Leaf Hillman, Vice Chair of the Karuk Tribe. Officials from the California Water Quality Control Board and the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment recently formed a Blue Green Algae (BGA) Work Group. The group published a document to provide guidance to local health officials dealing with toxic algae blooms. Samples taken recently from Klamath reservoirs contained cell counts approximately 100 times greater than the threshold at which the BGA Work Group's document recommends posting alerts to the public. "The blooms occur in the summer as the shallow, nutrient rich water trapped behind the dams heats up and thus provides an optimal environment for the algae to bloom," explained Craig Tucker, Klamath Campaign Coordinator for the Karuk Tribe. "For years, down river Tribes, fishermen, and conservation groups have called for the removal of the dams to restore runs of salmon that are in dramatic decline and alleviate the toxic blooms." In May, the Klamath Riverkeeper and other affected community members filed a "public nuisance" claim against PacifiCorp over the role the dams play in creating algae blooms and creating conditions lethal to salmon. Lawyers for the plaintiffs include nationally renowned environmental attorneys Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of the National Water Keeper Alliance and Joseph Cotchett. Tribal and state governments are not plaintiffs in the suit. Hillman and leaders from the Yurok and Hoopa Valley tribes joined with conservation groups and commercial fishermen in May to take their grievances to Buffett at "Warrenpalooza," the annual shareholders' meeting of Buffett's investment firm Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, Nebraska. Unfortunately, Buffett declined to address their appeal to remove the Klamath dams. "PacifiCorp is destroying the most vital natural resource river and coastline communities have while poisoning us at the same time," said Hilllman."In the end, PacifiCorp's investors and ratepayers will hold its management accountable. Not only is removing these toxic waste factories the moral thing to do, it's the economically sound decision as well." An economic analysis performed by the California Energy Commission concludes that PacifiCorp would save over $100 million by removing the dams instead of meeting the terms of a new operational license. Currently over two dozen Klamath Basin stakeholders are seeking to negotiate an agreement that would remove the dams as well as address issues of in stream flows and power needs of farmers. "Everyone in the Klamath Basin is working on solutions to these problems," said Hilllman. "It's time for PacifiCorp to get real about removing these dams and stop exploiting Klamath communities and their own ratepayers." The Statewide Guidance on Harmful Algal Blooms recommends the following: * Avoid wading and swimming in water containing visible blooms or water containing algal scums or mats; If no algal scums or mats are visible, you should still carefully watch young children and warn them not to swallow the water. * Do not drink, cook or wash dishes with untreated surface water under any circumstances. * Consume fish only after removing guts and liver, and rinsing fillets in clean drinking water. * Take care that pets and livestock do not drink the water or swim through heavy scums or mats, nor lick their fur after going in the water. * Get medical treatment right away if you think that you, your pet, or your livestock might have been poisoned by blue green algae toxins. * Be sure to alert the medical professional to the possible contact with blue green algae. "With proper precautions to avoid water contact, people can still visit Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs and enjoy activities such as camping, hiking, biking, canoeing, picnicking or other recreational activities excluding direct contact with the algae bloom scum," according to the federal EPA. For more information, please visit: World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 3rd Edition: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3/en/index.html California Department of Public Health: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/ddwem/bluegreenalgae/index.htm State Water Resources Control Board: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/bluegreenalgae/index.html National Center for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/hab/cyanobacteria/facts.htm Siskiyou County Public Health Department: http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/phs/ (530) 841-2100 Yurok Tribe Real Time Water Quality and BGA Data http://exchange.yuroktribe.nsn.us/lrgsclient/stations/stations.html North American Lake Management Society: http://www.nalms.org/Resources/BlueGreenInitiative/Overview.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Jul 11 09:51:54 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:51:54 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath and Trinity River Implications Message-ID: KLAMATH RIVER SALMON: Feds release Klamath coho recovery plan Eureka Times Standard - 7/11/07 By John Driscoll, staff writer The federal government has finished a plan to restore flagging populations of coho salmon in the Klamath River, calling bypassing barriers and completing restoration of its main tributary top priorities. The National Marine Fisheries Service plan is based largely on a massive plan developed in 2002 by the California Department of Fish and Game. The plan calls for incentives for private landowners and water users to help restore the threatened fish's access to tributaries and help boost flows to the Klamath. It also calls for improving forestry practices and road building and maintenance activities that degrade spawning habitat. And it deems completing the ongoing restoration of the Trinity River as key to boosting coho stocks. "Using up-to-date scientific information, this recovery plan provides prioritized actions for restoring coho salmon in the Klamath Basin," said fisheries service South West Region Administrator Rod McInnis in a news release. "But one thing is clear; coho recovery can best be accomplished through the formation of effective conservation partnerships among the diverse communities and interests to solve the many natural resource issues facing the Klamath River Basin." The coho salmon is particularly susceptible to poor conditions found in the Klamath River basin, since it spends longer periods in freshwater than its cousin, the chinook salmon. Early information from canneries suggests that hundreds of thousands of coho once ran up the river each year, according to the plan. But by the early 1980s, fewer than 20,000 made the run. Fish cannot reach spawning grounds above the lowermost of several dams, Iron Gate, and the river is particularly low and warm during dry years. Diseases are rampant, especially in juvenile salmon. Commercial and sport fishing for coho in California is off limits and in 1997, the fisheries service listed the population of coho in southern Oregon and Northern California as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act called for the fisheries service to complete a recovery plan for coho in the Klamath in six months. The draft plan calls for a variety of restoration projects along with disease and water quality monitoring. Removing skid trails and unneeded roads and improving efficiency of irrigation systems are also among priority projects listed. A copy of the recovery plan can be found at http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/klamath/index.htm or http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/salmon/MSRA_RecoveryPlan_FINAL.pdf. Editorial: If salmon could vote San Francisco Chronicle - 7/11/07 WHEN precious Klamath River water was steered to farmers in 2002, it was a convincing display of White House political muscle. Farmers in southern Oregon vote, and salmon, who died by the thousands, don't. What's new in this tale of water manipulation is that Vice President Dick Cheney may have pulled the levers, according to a Washington Post profile of his anti-environmental record. The report has led 36 Democratic House members in Oregon and California to call for a hearing. But demonizing Cheney for what ails the Klamath isn't enough. It's time that this powerful posse of elected leaders, whose party rules Congress, do more. The delegation should get together behind a plan that will assure steady water flows needed by salmon to survive. One option is removing the four dams near the Oregon border. These dams produce little electricity or downstream flood protection. Their chief accomplishment is to barricade salmon from spawning beds, which now lie under tons of silt. Taking out the dams and restoring the river would be a huge task, but one answer to restoring salmon runs. The hearing could underline this directive because the federal licensing of the four dams is up for renewal. One federal agency has mandated that costly new fish ladders be built, a condition that could doom the structures. Congress could work on the other essentials needed to revive the Klamath: timber-cut policies, development and water diversions needed by Oregon farmers. The White House has done its part to wreck the Klamath. Now it's up to Congress to move beyond this sad fact and begin the hard job of reviving a seriously stressed river. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Jul 11 10:46:18 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:46:18 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] San Luis Renewal Contracts Message-ID: <000f01c7c3e3$6322b540$0201a8c0@optiplex> Contract renewal for lands irrigated with Trinity water. Comment period ends September 7. Mid-Pacific Region Sacramento, Calif. Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken 916-978-5100 Released On: July 10, 2007 Proposed Interim Renewal Water Service Contracts for San Luis Unit Contractors Available for Review On April 23, 2007, the Bureau of Reclamation held a negotiation session for interim renewal water service contracts with San Luis Unit contractors including the City of Avenal (3,500 acre-feet), City of Coalinga (10,000 acre-feet), City of Huron (3,000 acre-feet), California Department of Fish and Game (10 acre-feet), Panoche Water District (94,000 acre-feet), San Luis Water District (125,080 acre-feet), and Westlands Water District (1,150,000 acre-feet). This session was held at Reclamation's South-Central California Area Office located in Fresno, California. The San Luis Unit contractors currently receive Central Valley Project (CVP) water under long-term water service contracts. The Westlands Water District contract expires on December 31, 2007, and the remaining long-term contracts expire at the end of 2008. Previously, Reclamation and each of these contractors negotiated proposed long-term renewal contracts (LTRCs), each of which was released for 60-day public review and comment periods between 2004 and 2005. However, because some of the San Luis Unit long-term water service contracts will expire prior to Reclamation completing its preparation and consideration of all appropriate environmental documentation and subsequent execution, Reclamation prepared the subject proposed interim renewal contracts. The LTRCs were used to develop Reclamation's form of proposed interim renewal contract from which changes were negotiated. Reclamation introduced this proposed form of interim renewal contract in redline/strikeout format at the April 23 negotiation session as exhibit "USBR SLU-IR-2007-01." Reclamation is making the negotiated material available, which may assist the public in understanding how the negotiated proposed form of interim renewal contract was derived. Three proposed contract forms, together with the proposed interim renewal contracts for each renewing San Luis Unit entity, are being made available. Although the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) allows for each contractor's initial interim renewal contract to be for a term of 3 years, the proposed term of these interim renewal contracts is 26 months beginning from the expiration date of their respective current long-term contracts. The 26-month term was negotiated in order to align these proposed interim renewal contracts with our March-February water allocation practices while staying within the bounds of CVPIA interim renewal contract term limits. The proposed form of interim renewal contract (Exhibit "USBR SLU-IR-2007-01"), the general form of interim renewal contract for "Municipal and Industrial," the general form of interim renewal contract for "Irrigation," and the proposed interim renewal water service contracts for these seven San Luis Unit contractors are available on Reclamation's website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvpia/3404c/lt_contracts/2007_int_cts/index.html. The 60-day public review and comment period for these proposed interim renewal contracts opens on Tuesday, July 10, 2007, and closes on Friday, September 7, 2007. If you encounter problems accessing documents on-line, please contact Ms. Lynnette Wirth at 916-978-5100 or lwirth at mp.usbr.gov. Please address written comments to Ms. Sheryl Carter, Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area Office, 1243 N Street, Fresno, CA 93721. Comments may also be e-mailed to scarter at mp.usbr.gov. For additional information or to request a copy of the documents referenced above, please contact Ms. Carter at 559-487-5299 (TDD 559-487-5933) or Mr. Richard Stevenson, Chief of Water Rights and Contracts, Mid-Pacific Region, Sacramento, at 916-978-5250 (TDD 916-978-5608). Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jul 12 09:59:52 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:59:52 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard and Santa Rose Press Democrat on Klamath Fisheries Message-ID: <2490F3D2F2FA457C877F1D5FF118196A@ByronsLaptop> KLAMATH RIVER: Klamath volunteers carve paths to cold streams for salmon Eureka Times Standard - 7/12/07 By John Driscoll, staff writer The Klamath River is getting hot -- killer hot, especially for young salmon that have struggled for years to survive diseases that set in during the summer. A group of Orleans area volunteers, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and the Karuk Tribe have moved rock and gravel from the mouths of creeks on the middle Klamath River in a stop-gap effort to open up cold-water refuges for the little fish. Last week, for example, volunteers working with the Mid Klamath Watershed Council wielded shovels to create passages between Ti and Stanshaw creeks and the Klamath. The work is not the solution to the many problems fish face on the Klamath, said Sandi Tripp, director of natural resources for the Karuk Tribe. But it's critical, she said, especially for threatened coho salmon that spend lots of time in the river before migrating to sea. "It's truly a killing zone for the fish out there in the river," Tripp said. "The only saving grace is to open small tributaries." As flows have dropped from Iron Gate Dam, and air temperatures have risen, parts of the river are now peaking at above 76 degrees. Small, cold tributaries that run though forests and are fed by springs and seeps can be 10 degrees cooler than that, providing significant relief for little fish. "Any fish that decides to go up there has a whole lot better chance of survival than staying in the river," said Gary Flosi, senior biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game. Coho and chinook salmon and steelhead use the refuges until the tributaries and the rivers begin to swell with fall rains. The initial work to create the makeshift passages for fish was experimental, Flosi said, but over time it was clear that the cool-water sanctuaries at the mouths of creeks were more important than first realized. Flosi, too, said the work is not a long-term solution, but may be one of the few viable options to protect young salmon while solutions to the complex problems of the Klamath are hashed out among the varied stakeholders in the basin. Other projects bring in Caltrans, Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service. Fish-blocking culverts are targeted for replacement, and road work is done to prevent landslides from clogging creeks. The volunteer efforts to do the work at the creek mouths have gained momentum in recent years. People in the mid-Klamath region are more and more bound together by river restoration projects -- something everyone can agree on, said Nancy Bailey, a project coordinator for the Mid Klamath Watershed Council. "More and more people are understanding the critical nature of the creeks," Bailey said. Editorial: Cheney link?; Thompson offers new motive for Klamath River fish kills Santa Rosa Press Democrat - 7/12/07 In the death of 68,000 Chinook salmon in 2002, it's not news that the Bush administration sided with Oregon ranchers to the detriment of the Klamath River fishery and North Coast fisherman. Until last month, however, no one connected the fish kill to Vice President Dick Cheney. The Washington Post reported that the largest loss of salmon in the history of the Western U.S. may be linked to the vice president's efforts to gain favor with Republican farmers in Oregon. The impact of that Post story wasn't lost on Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who has been fighting for federal support for the fishery and for relief for salmon fishermen who suffered when the 2006 salmon season was curtailed. Politics begets politics. Thompson is a Democrat eager to embarrass a Republican administration. As his approval ratings tumble, the secretive vice president represents the almost perfect villain. Still, a House investigation into Cheney's role will be welcome. Americans have a right to know if environmental rules and the economic interests of Californians were discounted because the vice president thought gaining political advantage in Oregon was more important. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jul 12 11:56:57 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:56:57 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmonid Restoration Federation Message-ID: <7EDB3F4557BF49F8835F9AE37BC7E898@ByronsLaptop> >From Heather Reese, Project Coordinator, Salmonid Restoration Federation: Hello, I would like to let you know about two exciting SRF events that are happening this summer. It would be wonderful if you could share this information with your staff and any constituents or post it to your web site or listserv. I have also attached articles and PSA about both events, for your forwarding convenience. Thank you to those who have already helped spread the word! ***First, this July 24 -27 we will have our Second Annual Spring-run Chinook Symposium on the gorgeous and wild (Cal) Salmon River. The Symposium will follow right on the heels of the annual Salmon River Spring-run Chinook and Summer Steelhead Dives, and will be immediately followed by the Jammin' for the Salmon music festival. Good times for all! We are thrilled to be coordinating this event with the fun and dedicated folks at the Salmon River Restoration Council and Mid-Klamath Watershed Council, who invest so much energy into this important California watershed and its associated salmonids. Symposium PSA: Salmon River Dives (July 24-25) and Spring-run Chinook Symposium (July 26-27) Nordheimer Campground, Salmon River, California Salmonid Restoration Federation is proud to join with the Salmon River Restoration Council in offering the 2nd Annual Spring-run Chinook Symposium in concert with the Salmon River Spring Chinook Dives. Please join us on the beautiful Salmon River July 24-27 for training and dives, workshops, field tours and presentations on challenges and tools specific to Spring-run Chinook restoration in California, fish identification, snorkel surveys, watershed education, life history investigations, limiting factors, FERC relicensing, fish disease, and conservation management. Renowned fisheries biologist, Peter Moyle, will offer a presentation on Spring-run Chinook recovery efforts. Stay Saturday July 28 for the Jammin' for the Salmon benefit concert. For more information or to register, please contact SRF at (707)923-7501 or srf at calsalmon.org. ***Then, August 17-19 we are teaming with Trees Foundation, Mattole Restoration Council, Mattole Salmon Group and Sanctuary Forest to produce the 10th Annual Coho Confab in the lovely Mattole watershed where it all began. The field tour, workshop and presenter line-up for this Confab are out-standing! And as a bonus, sweet-voiced Joanne Rand and the Rhythm of the Open Hearts Band will serenade all on Saturday evening. Confab PSA: 10th Annual Coho Confab August 17-19, 2007 in Petrolia, CA on the North Coast Salmonid Restoration Federation, Trees Foundation, Mattole Restoration Council, Mattole Salmon Group and Sanctuary Forest will sponsor the 10th annual Coho Confab August 17-19, 2007 in Petrolia on the North Coast of California. The Confab is a symposium to explore watershed restoration and learn techniques to enhance recovery of salmon and steelhead. Workshops include underwater fish identification, water flow monitoring, conservation easements and stories and songs of salmon. Field tours include site visits from the headwaters to the estuary of the Mattole watershed. The Confab brings together community members, landowners, activists, scientists, and restoration ecologists for a weekend of innovative skills-building workshops, hands-on tours of restoration projects, community networking, and fun. To learn more about this year's Confab or to inquire about scholarship opportunities, please visit www.calsalmon.org or call SRF at (707) 923-7501. We look forward to seeing you at these great events!! Heather Reese Project Coordinator Salmonid Restoration Federation PO Box 784 Redway, California 95560 (707) 923-7501 heather at calsalmon.org Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jay_glase at nps.gov Thu Jul 12 13:55:09 2007 From: jay_glase at nps.gov (jay_glase at nps.gov) Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:55:09 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard and Santa Rose Press Democrat on Klamath Fisheries In-Reply-To: <2490F3D2F2FA457C877F1D5FF118196A@ByronsLaptop> Message-ID: I'm curious to know if there's any monitoring program set up to see what kind of movement into tributaries does occur. This is something I observed in south fork tributaries when studying steelhead habitat use (yes, quite a while back) and assume if tribs are accessible it happens elsewhere. As I would guess everyone knows by now, when this type of effort works, it can be helpful, but data from this type of work is critical and can go a long way in making necessary changes in river management. A couple questions come to mind though. Feel free to answer them if you know. If river flow regimes aren't altered on the main Klamath, would tributaries in the Klamath maintain connection to the mainstem during low flow periods? If they do, then they'd be natural refugia that have probably been used for millenia. The flip side of course is if they're naturally disconnected during normal low flow periods, what kind of impact is there when they're opened to the mainstem? (another reason why this should be considered just a temporary measure). cheers jay Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 07/12/2007 09:59 AM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard and Santa Rose Press Democrat on Klamath Fisheries | >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| KLAMATH RIVER: Klamath volunteers carve paths to cold streams for salmon Eureka Times Standard ? 7/12/07 By John Driscoll, staff writer The Klamath River is getting hot -- killer hot, especially for young salmon that have struggled for years to survive diseases that set in during the summer. A group of Orleans area volunteers, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and the Karuk Tribe have moved rock and gravel from the mouths of creeks on the middle Klamath River in a stop-gap effort to open up cold-water refuges for the little fish. Last week, for example, volunteers working with the Mid Klamath Watershed Council wielded shovels to create passages between Ti and Stanshaw creeks and the Klamath. The work is not the solution to the many problems fish face on the Klamath, said Sandi Tripp, director of natural resources for the Karuk Tribe. But it's critical, she said, especially for threatened coho salmon that spend lots of time in the river before migrating to sea. ?It's truly a killing zone for the fish out there in the river,? Tripp said. ?The only saving grace is to open small tributaries.? As flows have dropped from Iron Gate Dam, and air temperatures have risen, parts of the river are now peaking at above 76 degrees. Small, cold tributaries that run though forests and are fed by springs and seeps can be 10 degrees cooler than that, providing significant relief for little fish. ?Any fish that decides to go up there has a whole lot better chance of survival than staying in the river,? said Gary Flosi, senior biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game. Coho and chinook salmon and steelhead use the refuges until the tributaries and the rivers begin to swell with fall rains. The initial work to create the makeshift passages for fish was experimental, Flosi said, but over time it was clear that the cool-water sanctuaries at the mouths of creeks were more important than first realized. Flosi, too, said the work is not a long-term solution, but may be one of the few viable options to protect young salmon while solutions to the complex problems of the Klamath are hashed out among the varied stakeholders in the basin. Other projects bring in Caltrans, Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service. Fish-blocking culverts are targeted for replacement, and road work is done to prevent landslides from clogging creeks. The volunteer efforts to do the work at the creek mouths have gained momentum in recent years. People in the mid-Klamath region are more and more bound together by river restoration projects -- something everyone can agree on, said Nancy Bailey, a project coordinator for the Mid Klamath Watershed Council. ?More and more people are understanding the critical nature of the creeks,? Bailey said. Editorial: Cheney link?; Thompson offers new motive for Klamath River fish kills Santa Rosa Press Democrat ? 7/12/07 In the death of 68,000 Chinook salmon in 2002, it's not news that the Bush administration sided with Oregon ranchers to the detriment of the Klamath River fishery and North Coast fisherman. Until last month, however, no one connected the fish kill to Vice President Dick Cheney. The Washington Post reported that the largest loss of salmon in the history of the Western U.S. may be linked to the vice president's efforts to gain favor with Republican farmers in Oregon. The impact of that Post story wasn't lost on Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who has been fighting for federal support for the fishery and for relief for salmon fishermen who suffered when the 2006 salmon season was curtailed. Politics begets politics. Thompson is a Democrat eager to embarrass a Republican administration. As his approval ratings tumble, the secretive vice president represents the almost perfect villain. Still, a House investigation into Cheney's role will be welcome. Americans have a right to know if environmental rules and the economic interests of Californians were discounted because the vice president thought gaining political advantage in Oregon was more important. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jul 12 14:25:19 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:25:19 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Mark Limbaugh to go work for the Ferguson Group, a lobby firm that advocates for several local and state water authorities before Interior Message-ID: <002901c7c4cb$262d32d0$0201a8c0@optiplex> Head of Interior Department conduct board joins lobbying firm By Kevin Bogardus and Mike Soraghan July 11, 2007 The senior Interior Department official who headed a conduct board crafted in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal is leaving the government to join a top firm that lobbies the department. Mark Limbaugh, Interior's assistant secretary for Water and Science, soon will leave the department for the Ferguson Group, a lobby firm that advocates for several local and state water authorities before Interior. "From my perspective, these are temporary jobs. You have to make a living," Limbaugh said. "When you are in a business like natural resources, you are not going out to work for a tire store." Before his departure was announced in late June, Limbaugh, a distant cousin of radio host Rush Limbaugh, led a "conduct accountability" board at Interior created by Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Ethics at Interior have been an issue for some time. Because it regulates Indian casinos, the agency was a focus for Abramoff, a onetime high-flying Washington lobbyist now in prison for bribing members of Congress. J. Steven Griles, a former deputy secretary at the department, was sentenced to 10 months in prison late last month for lying to a Senate committee about his relationship with Abramoff. In addition, deputy assistant secretary Julie MacDonald resigned after an Interior Inspector General report found she had released non-public information and altered scientific reports involved with the Endangered Species Act. Griles had left the department even before he lied to the Senate committee. But some officials with connections to Abramoff and Griles continue to work at top posts in the agency. Doug Domenech, an Interior aide, reportedly has been linked to Abramoff and a former president of the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, Italia Federici. James Cason was Griles's deputy and is still at the department. Kempthorne "has been rhetorically committed to an ethical workplace but has not brought in new brooms to sweep clean," the executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Jeff Ruch, said. Since November 2006, Limbaugh has headed the board at Interior. The body was designed to ensure fairness in managing discipline cases, according to a department-wide June 27 memo by Kempthorne. Two days later, the official announced his resignation. Limbaugh said the department is still finalizing procedures but the board has already handled some cases. Ruch said "it is awfully late in the day over there at the Interior Department" with Limbaugh departing for a lobby firm instead of continuing with the ethics post. In the same memo, Kempthorne laid out a 10-point plan he has implemented to make his department "a model of an ethical workplace" by hiring more ethics lawyers and strengthening penalties, such as for misusing government computers, among other actions. Limbaugh's departure comes on the heels of his deputy Jason Peltier's resignation. Peltier left the department in late June to join the Westlands Water District in California, which has interests before Interior, as its chief deputy general manager. Democrats have raised concerns about Peltier's and others' moves to Westlands from Interior. In a June 28 letter to Kempthorne, Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) asked for documentation behind Peltier's move, as well as for Susan Ramos, a former Bureau of Reclamation official also working with Westlands, due to potential conflicts of interest. Limbaugh said that Peltier recused himself from "California issues" and added he has done the same. "I have done the same thing as soon as I was approached and I recused myself from any matters involving clients of the Ferguson Group," the Interior official said. Limbaugh says he will adhere to federal rules and not lobby his old post during the one-year "cooling-off" period. The Ferguson Group lobbies the department. With $10.6 million in earned revenue for 2006, firm president Roger Gwinn estimates a third of that is derived from clients concerned over water resource issues. The ethics process at Interior in the past has offered little protection from allegations of wrongdoing. Several meetings between then-Secretary Gale Norton and Federici were approved by ethics officials. Federici since has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the Abramoff scandal. Limbaugh said this is his last week at the department. His first day at the Ferguson Group is July 23. According to an invite obtained by The Hill, the Interior official's farewell party is this Thursday. From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Jul 13 10:29:03 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 10:29:03 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] NMFS Klamath Coho Recovery Plan Message-ID: <002c01c7c573$65875f70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Thanks to Bill Brock for the following: NMFS prepared a recovery plan for Klamath River coho salmon under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act Provisions. federal register notice: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-13361.pdf MSRA coho recovery plan on NMFS SWR website: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/klamath/index.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From investme at ix.netcom.com Fri Jul 13 13:04:20 2007 From: investme at ix.netcom.com (Keith Parker) Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:04:20 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath River Alert - As it appears in the Fish Sniffer! Message-ID: <19581140.1184357060814.JavaMail.root@elwamui-lapwing.atl.sa.earthlink.net> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From investme at ix.netcom.com Fri Jul 13 13:10:48 2007 From: investme at ix.netcom.com (Keith Parker) Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:10:48 -0700 (GMT-07:00) Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath River Alert - As it appears in the Fish Sniffer! Message-ID: <15732659.1184357448899.JavaMail.root@elwamui-lapwing.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Attached -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Fishsniffer Letter.doc Type: application/msword Size: 30720 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Jul 16 16:55:55 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:55:55 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity Weir Counts Message-ID: <007001c7c804$d9bb65b0$0201a8c0@optiplex> Provided by Wade Sinnen: Attached is the trapping summary for Junction City weir. Also, as a reminder, the trapping totals for the weirs are not complete counts of fish migrating past the sites. We only trap a portion of the run which is used to generate a year end estimate. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weirTRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 27136 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Jul 17 09:19:29 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 09:19:29 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Your moderator guiding his 1st commercial trip over Hell's Hole... Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8E5@mail3.trinitycounty.org> This is your moderator on his first commercial run taking the Duby's from Palo Alto over Hell's Hole for Trinity River Rafting (I'm a weekend guide). I think that I'd rather be on the river than stuck behind this computer; but at least it's cloudy and about to rain here in Weaverville, so I'm not feeling too bad about having to work! You all should get out there when you get the chance. There are some nice looking fish holding in the holes to look at as well. Joshua Allen Associate Planner PO Box 2819 60 Glen Road Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: (530)623-1351 ext. 222 Fax: (530)623-1353 E-mail: jallen at trinitycounty.org Website: http://www.trinitycounty.org/Departments/Planning/natresources3.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 7-7-7 365_a.pdf Type: application/octet-stream Size: 661707 bytes Desc: 7-7-7 365_a.pdf URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Jul 18 08:33:25 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:33:25 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Representative Rahall Invites Dick Cheney to Testify on Klamath Salmon Kill Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E8F3@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Representative Rahall Invites Dick Cheney to Testify on Klamath Salmon Kill By Dan Bacher In the latest episode of the "Klamathgate" scandal now rocking the White House, Representative Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, has invited Vice President Dick Cheney to testify at a July 31 oversight hearing on his apparent role in influencing scientific and policy decisions at the Department of the Interior. "As reported in The Washington Post on June 27, 2007, Cheney's intervention in the development of a 10-year water plan for the Klamath River resulted in the 2002 die-off of an estimated 77,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border - and the subsequent collapse of the West Coast salmon-fishing industry," said Rahall in a press release on July 17. Rahall said the hearing will seek to examine the causes and consequences of political intervention in the decision-making process at the Interior Department. He said the hearing occurs within the context of "an alarming trend" the Committee began exploring at a May 9 hearing that delved into the role of the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in politicizing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In a letter to Cheney on Jul 12, Rahall said, "The Committee on Natural Resources will hold a hearing on July 31, 2007, to examine the role that elected officials and political appointees within the Administration have played in the scientific decision making processes under the Endangered Species Act and other laws governing the conservation and management of our nation's natural resources. I cordially invite you to testify at this hearing." Referring to the Washington Post piece, Rahall said, "The article alleges that your intervention in the development of a 10-year water plan for the Klamath River resulted in a 2002 die-off of around 70,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border - the largest adult salmon kill in the history of the West. We invite you, as a former member of this Committee, to offer your views on these reports and explain your role in this and other decisions." Rahall asked Cheney's staff to submit electronicallv statements of proposed testimony to Nancy Locke, Chief Clerk, no later than Friday, July 27, 2007. "Your oral testimony should not exceed five minutes and should summarize your written remarks," stated Rahall. "You may introduce into the record any other supporting documentation you wish to present in accordance with the enclosed guidelines." Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles said she supports Rep. Nick Rahall's invitation to Cheney to testify to the Committee on the role he played in orchestrating Klamath River diversions. These water diversions devastated the river's salmon runs and deeply hurt the fishermen and Indian Tribes that depend on them, causing over $60 million in damages to coastal economies. "Chinook salmon are the mainstay of west coast salmon fishing and provide the economic underpinnings of coastal communities from central California to the Canadian border," said Boyles. "Klamath River salmon were lost in 2002 and in the subsequent years under the Cheney water diversion plan until it was struck down by a lawsuit brought by Earthjustice on behalf of commercial fishermen and conservationists. The loss of this renewable natural resource that provides high quality, natural food was totally avoidable and hurt many of the people living on the West Coast." Boyle also encouraged Rahall to invite Jim Lecky of NOAA Fisheries to testify and explain why he overrode the expert scientific opinion of his own head Klamath scientist, Michael Kelly, who had warned that the Cheney plan posed danger to salmon. Rahall called for the hearing on June 28, the day after Representative Mike Thompson, (D-St. Helena) and 35 other House Democrats from California and Oregon requested the investigation. It will be interesting to see if Cheney accepts Rahall's invitation to testify before the House Natural Resources Committee. Regardless of whether Cheney does or not, it is crucial to the future of the Klamath River and the country's environment that this oversight hearing results in a thorough and relentless investigation of the alleged manipulation of science for political purposes by Cheney and other Administration officials. If the Washington Post's allegations are indeed true, Cheney and other officials must be held accountable for the damage they have caused to the Klamath River fisheries and the thousands of lives that depend upon the river for their survival. References: "Leaving No Tracks" Washington Post (6/27/07) http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney/chapters/leaving_no_tracks/index.h tml "Federal whistleblower quits, alleges politicization of science" - AP (5/19/04) http://foi.missouri.edu/whistleblowing/fedwquits.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Jul 18 08:44:19 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:44:19 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Associated Press - Cheney/Klamath Fish Kill Message-ID: Democrats set July 31 hearing into Cheney role in salmon die-off Tuesday, July 17, 2007 (07-17) 15:48 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee said Tuesday they will hold a July 31 hearing to look into the role Vice President Dick Cheney may have played in the 2002 die-off of about 70,000 salmon near the California-Oregon border. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the panel's chairman, said he has invited Cheney to appear at the hearing, but a spokeswoman for the vice president said he was not likely to attend. "I do not expect the vice president to testify before the committee," said Megan McGinn, a spokeswoman for Cheney. Democrats called the hearing last month after The Washington Post reported that Cheney played a key role in developing a 10-year water plan for the Klamath River that courts later called arbitrary and in violation of the Endangered Species Act. Rahall and other Democrats charged that Cheney's action resulted in the largest adult salmon kill in the history of the West. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1750 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Jul 20 08:52:15 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:52:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Miller and Rahall Press Interior For Response to Congressional Inquiry Over Interference with Delta Fish Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E902@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Miller and Rahall Press Interior For Response to Congressional Inquiry Over Interference with Delta Fish by Dan Bacher The Bush administration, facing a Congressional inquiry into Dick Cheney's role in the Klamath River fish kill of 2002, is also the hot seat over allegations that a former Department of Interior official, Julie A. MacDonald, politically interfered with decisions protecting delta smelt, splitttail and other fish species. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), on July 18 reiterated their request for information on the actions of MacDonald, a deputy assistant secretary at the United States Department of the Interior until her resignation on May 1. They claimed the Department has failed to answer the lawmakers' questions regarding her interference with endangered species decisions. This scandal comes at time at time when populations of four species of open water fish - Delta smelt, longfin smelt, striped bass and threadfin shad - have reached record lows because of huge increases in federal and state water exports from the California Delta in recent years. The California Department of Water Resources, under pressure from litigation by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, shut down the state Delta export pumps for a period of nine days in June, but then resumed the slaughter of hundreds of the remaining, imperiled 2 to 3 inch long fish when they ramped up pumping. The federal Bureau of Reclamation after temporarily reducing pumping to protect the smelt, resumed pumping at the same time as the state. The letter by Rahall and Miller describes a July 6 letter from the Department as "unresponsive" to their ongoing congressional oversight on the topic of political interference with endangered species decisions. "Their inquiry concerns Ms. MacDonald's potential conflict of interest, her alleged disclosure of nonpublic information regarding the threatened delta smelt and the Department's apparent failure to adequately respond to any of these questionable actions over several years," according to a press release from Miller's office. "The more we learn about Julie MacDonald's role at Interior, the more concerned I become," said Miller. "We have asked the Interior Department a series of questions, and so far the Department has failed to respond adequately to our concerns. There has been an epidemic of political interference at Interior. Congress and the public deserve to know why this political appointee was allowed to interfere in scientific decisions and in court cases to the detriment of the environment." MacDonald was actively involved in removing the Sacramento splittail, a native minnow, from the federal threatened and endangered species list at the same time that she was profiting from her ownership of a farm that lies within the habitat area of the threatened fish, according to an article written by investigative journalist Mike Taugher in the Conta Costa Times on May 20. This was a blatant conflict of interest. The Representatives' letter and a May 21 congressional inquiry follow a May 9 Natural Resources Committee hearing at which Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett was questioned about controversies in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. "The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has enough problems without political appointees at scientific agencies cooking the books," said Rep. Miller According to an October 2006 report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, MacDonald "personally reversed scientific findings, changed scientific conclusions to prevent endangered species from receiving protection, removed relevant information from a scientific document, and ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to adopt her edits." In March 2007, the Interior Department Inspector General, Earl E. Devaney, reported that MacDonald broke federal rules by giving non-public, internal government documents to oil industry and property rights groups, and manipulated scientific findings to favor Bush policy goals and assist land developers. " Through interviewing various sources, including FWS employees and senior officials, and reviewing pertinent documents and e-mails, we confirmed that MacDonald has been heavily involved with editing, commenting on, and reshaping the Endangered Species Program's scientific reports from the field," the report stated. "MacDonald admitted that her degree is in civil engineering and that she has no formal educational background in natural sciences, such as biology." Fishing and conservation groups are appalled by the tremendous damage to the country's endangered species and environment that MacDonald and other administration officials have caused. "It will be years before we discover the monumental scope of the harm that was done to biological habitat and waterways throughout California and the nation by MacDonald," said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. "If anybody should have a reserved spot in a federal penitentiary, it should be Julie MacDonald." Macdonald's manipulation of science to benefit wealthy agribusiness and corporate interests needs to be seen within the context of an administration that has repeatedly manipulated and broken the country's environmental laws for political purposes. The Natural Resources Committee has also scheduled a July 31 oversight hearing to which Vice President Dick Cheney has been invited to testify on his apparent role in influencing scientific and policy decisions at the Department of the Interior that led to the Klamath fish kill of 2002. Cheney spokeswoman Megan McGinn, in typical administration fashion, said he was not likely to attend, as quoted in an Associated Press article on July 18. "I do not expect the vice president to testify before the committee," McGinn stated. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Jul 20 16:48:10 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:48:10 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Ocean counts predict big year for little salmon Message-ID: <005a01c7cb28$6e350f90$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Counts predict big year for little salmon Ocean - Juveniles are flourishing so far in 2007, turning up in among the highest numbers in 10 years Friday, July 20, 2007 RICHARD L. HILL The Oregonian The number of juvenile salmon off the Northwest coast is among the highest that has been recorded since a yearly survey began a decade ago. Researchers hope it's a sign that adult salmon numbers may increase in the next two years. Scientists credit this year's rebound of juvenile coho and chinook to an early arrival from Alaskan waters of zooplankton, the tiny algae-eating animals that are the foundation of the Pacific Ocean food chain. "It's been a fabulous year so far," said Bill Peterson, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries oceanographer who conducts the annual survey from Newport to northern Washington. "But conditions can turn sour, and the salmon out there right now could perish in great numbers." The number of juvenile salmon caught in the coastal trawl surveys has been low the past few years because of warm ocean conditions and delayed upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water. This year's survey compares with high catches in 1999 and 2003. Counts of juvenile spring chinook in June are a good indicator of the return of adults two years later, so spring chinook landings should be above average in 2009, Peterson said. Larger numbers of juvenile spring coho mean that there may be more coho adults as early as next year. Juvenile salmon migrate from freshwater streams to the ocean, where they feed for one to four years before returning to spawn in the stream where they hatched. Peterson credits the increase in juvenile salmon to cooler water off Oregon, beginning last summer after nearly four years of warm ocean conditions. He speculates that the cooler ocean may be linked to a powerful climate cycle called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, a regional phenomenon in which the climate flip-flops every few years between wet-cool and dry-warm phases. "If it's moving to a cool phase, that would be good news for the fish, seabirds and a lot of other animals," Peterson said. "They've been beaten down and weakened the past four years because of lousy conditions, but they might be able to get their body fat back up if this trend keeps going." The zooplankton includes high numbers of northern copepod species that aren't often seen off Oregon. Fish, birds and whales feed on the copepods, tiny crustaceans that feed on phytoplankton blooms produced by summer upwelling. Northern species are nutritionally better for marine life because they have more fat than their southern cousins, which are more prevalent during warmer periods. Roy Lowe, manager of the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said he's pleased about the increase in plankton because he was concerned about the many dead seabirds this year. "But that doesn't instantly produce forage fish for birds and other animals," he said. "There's a lag time, so it's too early to say what effect this will have on getting these birds in better shape." The subarctic zooplankton began showing up in Northwest waters in March, one of the earliest arrivals on record, Peterson said. The only other years when the zooplankton arrived that early -- 1970 and 1972 -- were characterized by very high salmon survival, he noted. An upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water along the Oregon coast has stalled in the past few days, raising concerns that the rebound may fizzle, said Peterson, a courtesy professor at Oregon State University. He cautioned that the counts from research trawls in May and June are preliminary, and final results won't be available until a final survey in September. Richard L. Hill: 503-221-8238; richardhill at news.oregonian.com ?2007 The Oregonian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon Jul 23 07:45:17 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 07:45:17 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribe Fights for Water Funding for Trinity River Restoration Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E907@mail3.trinitycounty.org> July 22, 2007 For Immediate Release Media Contact: Danny Jordan Hoopa Valley Tribe (530) 625-4548 (707) 499-8366 HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE CAUTIONS CONGRESS ON CONFLICT BETWEEN SAN JOAQUIN AND TRINITY RIVERS' RESTORATION BILLS Hoopa, Calif. - The chief water negotiator for the Hoopa Valley Tribe has cautioned Congress that a bill to restore the San Joaquin River will drain funds from the Trinity River restoration project. In a public statement on behalf of the tribe, Tribal representative Danny Jordan noted in a public statement: "As early as next week, the House Natural Resources Committee could move a measure (H.R. 24) to settle water rights claims on the San Joaquin River a step closer to enactment. The Senate has a similar measure (S. 27) waiting in the wings. The Hoopa Valley Tribe opposes the bill in its present form because of its negative effect on the Trinity River and other restoration efforts. The San Joaquin and Trinity Rivers are bound together by a series of dams and canals that make up the Central Valley Project as well as the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) enacted in 1992. The CVPIA was enacted to correct 70 years of environmental damage caused by the development and operation of the Central Valley Project. The San Joaquin settlement proposal was first publicly unveiled in November, 2006. It became immediately apparent that the proposal included provisions to tap the already over-subscribed Restoration Fund of the CVPIA as one of its funding sources. In February, 2007, Department of the Interior officials agreed with the Tribe that the San Joaquin funding proposals would divert monies away from other CVP restoration activities. In March, the Tribe submitted written testimony before the House Resource Subcommittee that demonstrated how the San Joaquin legislation would negatively impact the Trinity River Restoration Program. Chairwoman Grace Napolitano promised that all third party interests would be addressed by her subcommittee. In June, we learned that, despite the Tribe's legal property rights in our water and fishery resources and the United States' trust obligations to protect them, we were not included on a list of third party interests whose rights were to be protected before the legislation could pass. We are deeply disappointed by Congress' apparent disregard for the San Joaquin bill's negative impacts on the CVPIA, Trinity River fishery restoration, and the United States' legal trust obligations to our Tribe. We are also disappointed that the House and Senate Democratic leaderships' unwavering support for the "blood oath" that no amendments be allowed to the San Joaquin settlement, even in light of its effect of undermining the CVPIA, which they so heroically and successfully championed in 1992. Maybe the negotiators originally had the best of intentions with the San Joaquin settlement, but they appear to have lost their perspective by isolating themselves and focusing only on the San Joaquin while neglecting the broader public interest in California water. Most notably, even the Federal agencies broke faith with the restoration of the Trinity River fishery and the trust obligations to our Tribe by promising to defend the "blood oath" even when doing so is in conflict with their environmental responsibilities and trust obligations to our Tribe. Passing the existing form of the San Joaquin legislation will mark the first step in march to reduce or eliminate the landmark provisions for environmental restoration embraced in the CVPIA. California is fortunate to have six of 10 members on the Water and Power Subcommittee: Chair, Grace Napolitano (D-38th), Jim Costa D-20th), George Miller (D-7th), Joe Baca (D-43d), Hilda Solis (D-32d) and Ken Calvert (R-44th). We ask all who read this to urge them to amend the San Joaquin bill to protect the Trinity River and all other environmental restoration programs in the CVPIA." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Jul 24 11:55:18 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:55:18 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Junction city weir trapping summary 7/17 - 7/22 Message-ID: <0BF1AE1C1D6E44B0911A80C6AC750599@ByronsLaptop> >From Wade Sinnen: To interested parties, Attached is the Junction City Weir trapping totals to date. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 25600 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: _AVG certification_.txt URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Jul 26 15:45:27 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:45:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Subcommittee Hearing on Trinity Legislation Message-ID: Attached is a letter from Chairwoman Napolitano to Representative Mike Thompson establishing a subcommittee hearing date for his Trinity legislation - Tuesday, September 18. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Chairwoman Napolitano_Rep. Thompson.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 410862 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Jul 27 09:41:41 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 09:41:41 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] It's Someones Birthday Today! Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E918@mail3.trinitycounty.org> HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE! Today is Dave Steinhauser's birthday. Dave, and his wife Dana, are the owners of Trinity River Rafting, and represent the rafting interests on the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG). Dave has been on the TAMWG for a number of years faithfully representing his stakeholder group, he is dedicated to the goal of restoring the Trinity River, and helps to get us office types out from behind our computers and onto the river. He is an excellent guide who takes people out on river to do the impossible! (See attachment) Trinity River Rafting: http://www.trinityriverrafting.com/ File attachment: raftin30secs2.exe The file attached to this email was removed because the file name is not allowed. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 69288 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 10054 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Jul 30 10:21:19 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:21:19 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] unction City weir trapping summary, July 22 - July 28 Message-ID: <0DAE4E569E9F4F83B86EA3D182A5FABA@ByronsLaptop> >From Wade Sinnen: To interested parties, Attached is the past weeks trapping data at Junction City weir. Also, please note that the 2006 comparable data is only for 1 week. Last year the weir was installed in late July compared to June 18th this year. Spring flows dictate when we can install the weir each year. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 26112 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: _AVG certification_.txt URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Jul 30 18:12:34 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:12:34 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Kirk Rodgers Stepping Down Message-ID: <004001c7d30f$e7e05f40$0301a8c0@optiplex> Attached is a message Kirk Rodgers apparently sent out today. While he will be working on some issues crucial to our state, personally I'm disappointed to see him leave as Regional Director. At the same time, I appreciate his thinking/reasons. He has been a strong advocate for Trinity restoration. He will be missed. Byron Dear Friends, Colleagues, Employees, and Acquaintances: I have decided to make some changes in my life. After nearly 35 years of Federal service, the last 11 having been served in the Regional Director's Office, I have decided to retire - but not quit. As most of you are aware, there has been a series of meetings regarding drainage solutions in the San Joaquin Valley. The result of those meetings was the direction to focus on the issues surrounding the drainage concept paper that has been under discussion since February. Additionally, it was agreed that restoration of the San Joaquin River and focus on the crisis in the delta were also high priorities. While in Washington recently, I presented Commissioner Johnson with a proposal that I step down as Regional Director and spend full-time working on these and a few other critical issues in the Region as I transition into retirement. This would have the positive effect of lightening my personal workload and allowing me to assist in critical areas while permitting a new Regional Director to spend time coming up to speed and attending to the entire region. My proposal is succession planning "with a twist," but I truly believe that making a smooth transition during these challenging times is important. I am pleased that we reached accord on the proposal. To that end, my last official day as Regional Director will be August 3, 2007. However, I will make a seamless transition and will be reporting directly to the Commissioner in my new capacity with the narrower scope of these important matters as my focus. The Commissioner asked me to announce that John Davis will be Acting Regional Director for at least the next 3 months. Words cannot properly express the satisfaction I have felt in serving as Regional Director for these past few years, and as Deputy Regional Director for a few years prior to that. Dealing with water and power issues in Oregon, Nevada and, particularly, California have stretched and challenged me beyond anything I could have imagined. I have met and worked with some of the most talented and dedicated people in the water business. I have also found that the civil servants at the Bureau of Reclamation are among the best and brightest and hardest working employees that I have had the pleasure to know. Reclamation has been good to me. I am very loyal to the mission and purpose. It is for these and other important reasons that I look forward to a continued relationship in the water and power community for some years to come. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Aug 1 08:54:03 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 08:54:03 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Ryan Broddrick Leaving DFG To Work For Water Agency Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E932@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Ryan Broddrick Leaving DFG To Work For Water Agency by Dan Bacher Ryan Broddrick, the current Director of the California Department of Fish and Game, will be leaving the agency on August 31 to work for the Northern California Water Agency. Broddrick was the rare exception among DFG directors in that he actually rose up through the ranks of the Department, rather than that being appointed from outside of the agency like most directors have been over the years. Broddrick had served as Director for the last 3.5 years, capping over 25 years of service to DFG and over 30 years of state service. He served 3 Governors in appointed positions over his career. His resignation occurs at a time when the agency is one of its biggest crises ever as populations of Delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad continue to collapse because of massive increases in Delta water exports in recent years. Many believe that his resignation was spurred by the frustration that he and other staff had in getting the Department of Water Resources to comply with the California Endangered Species Act by getting a court-ordered "incidental take permit" to kill endangered and threatened Delta smelt, winter run chinook and spring run chinook. However, in his letter to the Governor and staff, he gave no indication of any disappointment or frustration with the administration. "As most of you know I returned to DFG from retirement under unprecedented circumstances; a recall election and significant department deficit," he stated. "I committed to Governor Schwarzenegger to turn the lights back on, to celebrate our long tradition of resource management and set the stage for our continued success and leadership. Working on your behalf, representing DFG, and the State of California has taken me all over the nation and that experience has reinforced that DFG initiatives, people, and performance lead the nation in conservation." "It is bittersweet to leave you once again," he said. "However, an unexpected opportunity to serve as Executive Director of the Northern California Water Association coincided with extended family responsibilities and knowing that I could never serve as your Director without giving 150%, 24/7. In my heart I knew it was time to pass the mantle of leadership to the next generation." "I want to make it clear the support from the Governor and Secretary of Resources has been exceptional and it is critical that each of you commit to the changes we have undertaken and follow thru with the initiatives we have started. Remember those changes were developed internally and while endorsement came from me as your Director, they will serve the people, wildlife, and employees of DFG thru future generations. So do not slow down, do not let my departure be the excuse for inertia, do not wait for someone else to carry the torch, expecting the path will all of a sudden be less arduous," he continued. He said that he would complete the reorganization and selection of staff; review DFG initiatives to insure adequate resources and focus are brought to bear to produce lasting change. "I will work diligently to provide a transition document so that my successor has an appreciation of the incredible public service DFG provides and the incredible people that make it possible," he added. At press time, there was no announcement of a replacement for his position. His successor will have to be appointed by the Governor. Broddrick was hired in his latest position after leaving the DFG and going to work for Ducks Unlimited as the conservation director for three years. Staff I have spoken to praised him as a director. "He was the rare director who came up through the ranks," said Steve Martarano, spokesman for the DFG. "He was highly respected by the staff. If would be hard to find anybody who had something to say about him. He was a true Fish and Gamer - and people are not happy about the fact that he's leaving. What made him unique among directors was his Fish and Game background." Representatives of fishing and conservation organizations, although they came in conflict with him on a number of issues, including Marine Protected Areas and the spending of Bay Delta Stamp and Striped Bass Committee funds, were also sad to see him go. "I talked to him at the Recreational Fishing Alliance Dinner in May and it was clear that Broddrick was under a lot of strain," said John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, "so in a way his resignation was not a surprise. My perspective is that we lost one of the best directors that DFG ever had. The problem is that the Governor didn't let him do his job of directing." It was very clear, in spite of Broddrick's words praising the Governor and his staff in his memo to staff, that he was under a tremendous amount of pressure by the Governor to not comply with Oakland Superior Judge Frank Roesch's order requiring DWR to obtain an incidental take permit for killing endangered species in the state's export pumps in the South Delta. During a hearing of the State Senate Natural Resources Committee on March 28, Senator Mike Machado and other Senators grilled a clearly uncomfortable Broddrick about his failure to get the take permit. "The reality is you didn't take the step to try to enforce the law," said Machado. "Correct," Broddrick answered him. Beuttler noted that the Governor slashed $ 20 million from Broddrick's proposed budget, sending the Department into "permanent fiscal crisis." In spite of the budget shortfall, Broddrick managed to find money to cover the bases by his utilization of a great deal of know-how, resulting in fiscal recovery in 2006-2007. More recently, the Director issued a letter to DWR in "no uncertain terms" that the Department should stop export pumping to prevent the killing of additional Delta smelt in the state pumps. '"It's important to recognize that he took the stand that the pumps were a problem when the Department of Water Resources was saying that toxics, not export pumping, were killing Delta smelt," said Beuttler. "I think that the administration's lack of support for him demonstrates the failure of the administration to take advantage of the leadership of one of the most qualified directors in DFG history." I agree with Beuttler. Governor Schwarzenegger, under control of the corporate interests that funded his campaign, repeatedly put Broddrick in uncomfortable positions where he was forced into an untenable position between his responsibility for protecting the resource and following the orders of the Governor and his staff. I believe that Broddrick probably would have stayed with the DFG if the Governor had provided more support - and hadn't continually politically interfered with science-based fish and wildlife decisions. At the same time, I wish that Broddrick had made more of a public stand in opposition to the Governor's refusal to comply with a court order over protecting Delta smelt. I find it hard to believe Broddrick's statement that "support from the Governor and Secretary of Resources has been exceptional" when the Governor and Secretary of Resources put him in such a compromised position in regard to the Delta smelt crisis. I also find it curious that Broddrick, by accepting a position with the Northern California Water Agency, has gone from his position of DFG Director to work for the "other side" - a private water agency. Doesn't that appear to be a clear conflict of interest? More and more, political appointees in the federal and state governments are jumping back and forth between being protectors of the public trust and lobbyists for special interests often at odds with protecting fish and wildlife. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Aug 2 18:08:09 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 18:08:09 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 Message-ID: <035F234863D242F6AB2B06838459DC10@ByronsLaptop> Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. "(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials," said Thompson. "Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West." The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, "prioritize economic interests over protected fish." The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. "The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable," said Thompson. "Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. "I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest," Thompson said. "To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jay_glase at nps.gov Thu Aug 2 18:55:36 2007 From: jay_glase at nps.gov (jay_glase at nps.gov) Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 21:55:36 -0400 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 In-Reply-To: <035F234863D242F6AB2B06838459DC10@ByronsLaptop> Message-ID: The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly every time I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that sometimes it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) 80,000 don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the estimates have been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see that kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a horrific deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to 100,000 dead salmon, and credibility will be in question. Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 | >------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard ? 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. ?(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials,? said Thompson. ?Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West.? The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, ?prioritize economic interests over protected fish.? The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. ?The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable,? said Thompson. ?Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. ?I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest,? Thompson said. ?To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process.? Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Aug 6 13:10:52 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 13:10:52 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Will S.J. River plan slow the restoration of Trinity River? Message-ID: <00a301c7d866$3a5f5ae0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> RIVER RESTORATION FUNDING: Will S.J. River plan slow the restoration of Trinity River? Stockton Record ? 8/4/07 By Alex Breitler, staff writer The Hoopa Valley tribe has lived for thousands of years along far Northern California's tumbling Trinity River, only to see most of its water diverted east to farms in the Central Valley. A plan to restore the mountain stream is in place. But the Hoopa now fear that a more expensive project to resurrect the San Joaquin River may slow down progress along the Trinity. The tribe is fighting legislation that would authorize a settlement ending 18 years of legal battles over the San Joaquin River. The tribe fears money dedicated to the Trinity will be siphoned away to the San Joaquin, a project that according to some estimates could cost $1 billion or more. Conservationists who brokered the settlement say the tribe's fears are groundless. Nevertheless, Hoopa officials continue to criticize the San Joaquin plan. "Maybe the negotiators originally had the best of intentions, ... but they appear to have lost their perspective" by focusing only on the San Joaquin and neglecting the rest of California, tribal spokesman Danny Jordan said recently. At issue is a restoration fund to which water and power contractors contribute each year. The fund, usually about $40 million per year, is dedicated to projects lessening the environmental impacts of diverting water. The Hoopa worry that the expensive San Joaquin project will drain this fund. While language in the settlement calls for up to $2 million a year from the fund, the actual legislation contains no such cap. Both projects will need money in addition to what they get from the restoration fund, said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken. Indeed, last year the Trinity program's budget included $2 million from the restoration fund and $9.2 million from other sources. "There's a lot that's been done up there," McCracken said. "There are a lot of successes and a lot more water coming down the river." The Natural Resources Defense Council sued the government and farmers for diverting too much water from the San Joaquin River near Fresno, causing stretches of the river to dry up some years. Hal Candee, an attorney with the San Francisco-based resources group, said there's no conflict in restoring both streams. "We are a strong supporter of Trinity River restoration, and we believe the Interior Department and Congress should do more to support funding" for that cause, he said. It has been 11 months since farmers, conservationists and the government announced the San Joaquin settlement. The legislation, which must be passed to free up $250 million in federal funds, has been delayed several times and may see no action until September. But in the meantime, planning continues, Candee said. "We're not aware of any impact on the ground ... from the delays that have been experienced," he said. A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the senator remains hopeful that the legislation can be passed later this year. # http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070804/A_NEWS/708040323 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Aug 6 17:21:42 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 17:21:42 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Weir Trapping Numbers Message-ID: <000a01c7d888$ef18a4b0$0301a8c0@optiplex> Attached is the updated trapping summary at Junction City weir for the period ending August 3, 2007. Also, please note that the 2006 comparable data is only for 2 weeks. Last year the weir was installed in late July compared to June 18th this year. Until next week, Morgan Knechtle Fisheries Biologist California Department of Fish and Game Trinity River Project Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Aug 6 17:51:12 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 17:51:12 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Weir Trapping Numbers Message-ID: <001c01c7d88d$0df09f10$0301a8c0@optiplex> My apologies - I did not attach it to my previous email. Byron Attached is the updated trapping summary at Junction City weir for the period ending August 3, 2007. Also, please note that the 2006 comparable data is only for 2 weeks. Last year the weir was installed in late July compared to June 18th this year. Until next week, Morgan Knechtle Fisheries Biologist California Department of Fish and Game Trinity River Project Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH 8 6 07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 28160 bytes Desc: not available URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Fri Aug 3 07:40:51 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 07:40:51 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9355D3B7-0283-4E31-81B1-3565653A983A@fishsniffer.com> Jay The 35,000 figure was the preliminary estimate by DFG. After all of the data from the DFG, Tribes and federal government was in, the estimate was officially raised up to 68,000 fish. This latest figure is being used by Thompson's staff in all of his press releases. I'm going to call his office today and find where he got the latest figure. The problem is that nobody really knows the exact number of fish that died. In my articles, I say "an estimated 68,000 to 80,000 fish," to be safe. The 38,000 figure was the least accurate figure because it was only a preliminary estimate. Dan On Aug 2, 2007, at 6:55 PM, jay_glase at nps.gov wrote: > The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly > every time > I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that > sometimes > it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but > inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) > 80,000 > don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the > estimates have > been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see > that > kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a > horrific > deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to > 100,000 dead > salmon, and credibility will be in question. > > > Jay Glase > Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist > National Park Service > 800 E Lakeshore Dr > Houghton, MI 49931 > 906-487-7167 > > > > > |---------+----------------------------------------------> > | | "Byron Leydecker" | > | | | > | | Sent by: | > | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| > | | davis.ca.us | > | | | > | | | > | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | > |---------+----------------------------------------------> >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ---------------------------------------------------------| > > | > | > | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity > List" | > | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/ > NPS) > | > | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - > 8/2/07 > | >> --------------------------------------------------------------------- >> ---------------------------------------------------------| > > > > > Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference > Eureka Times Standard ? 8/2/07 > > After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources > Committee > hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in > order to > divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson > issued > a statement blasting that abuse of the process. > > ?(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process > behind > the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government > officials,? > said Thompson. ?Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water > plan that > contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West.? > > The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that > department > officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological > opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the > Klamath. > > The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of > the > Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 > spawning salmon. > > The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in > response > to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from > California and Oregon. > > They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice > President > Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the > Washington > Post stated in its June investigative report, ?prioritize economic > interests over protected fish.? > > The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be > diverted > from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the > farmers' votes. > > Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. > > ?The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is > despicable,? said > Thompson. ?Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. > Stakeholders in > the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover > the fish > and help the farmers who need water for their land. > > ?I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but > we must > ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest,? > Thompson said. ?To that end, I am committed to continuing this > investigation and improving the oversight process.? > > > Byron Leydecker > Friends of Trinity River, Chair > California Trout, Inc., Advisor > PO Box 2327 > Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 > 415 383 4810 > 415 519 4810 cell > bwl3 at comcast.net > bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org > http://www.fotr.org > http://www.caltrout.org > > > _______________________________________________ > env-trinity mailing list > env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us > http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity > _______________________________________________ > env-trinity mailing list > env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us > http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity From ctucker at karuk.us Fri Aug 3 22:00:27 2007 From: ctucker at karuk.us (Craig Tucker) Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 22:00:27 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <003101c7d654$6eaf5610$de5af604@GWLT6> It was the USFWS final report that increased the number from CA Fish and Game's early estimate of 35,000 to 68,000. Thus the inflation began. S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California office: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker at karuk.us www.karuk.us -----Original Message----- From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of jay_glase at nps.gov Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 6:56 PM To: Byron Leydecker Cc: FOTR List; Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly every time I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that sometimes it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) 80,000 don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the estimates have been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see that kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a horrific deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to 100,000 dead salmon, and credibility will be in question. Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 | >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. "(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials," said Thompson. "Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West." The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, "prioritize economic interests over protected fish." The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. "The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable," said Thompson. "Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. "I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest," Thompson said. "To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity From Guillen at uhcl.edu Tue Aug 7 11:17:40 2007 From: Guillen at uhcl.edu (Guillen, George J.) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 13:17:40 -0500 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 References: <003101c7d654$6eaf5610$de5af604@GWLT6> Message-ID: Craig et al. Unless I am becoming senile I think you have that backward. As the author of the FWS report back then we initially estimated the 33K Excerpt from Guillen, G. 2003. Klamath River Fish Die-off, Spetember 2002, Mortality Report, FWS. AFWO-01-03 34,056 total dead fish 33,527 salmonids, 97.1% fall run Chinook. CDFG effectively bumped it up later in their reported saying their analysis provided evidence that could double the original estimate i.e. 68K. Don't know where the latest 80K came from. GG ________________________________ From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us on behalf of Craig Tucker Sent: Sat 8/4/2007 12:00 AM To: jay_glase at nps.gov; 'Byron Leydecker'; Peter Brucker; Regina C Cc: 'Trinity List'; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us; 'FOTR List' Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 It was the USFWS final report that increased the number from CA Fish and Game's early estimate of 35,000 to 68,000. Thus the inflation began. S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California office: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker at karuk.us www.karuk.us -----Original Message----- From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of jay_glase at nps.gov Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 6:56 PM To: Byron Leydecker Cc: FOTR List; Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly every time I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that sometimes it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) 80,000 don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the estimates have been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see that kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a horrific deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to 100,000 dead salmon, and credibility will be in question. Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 | >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. "(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials," said Thompson. "Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West." The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, "prioritize economic interests over protected fish." The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. "The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable," said Thompson. "Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. "I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest," Thompson said. "To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Aug 7 11:42:38 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 11:42:38 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 References: <003101c7d654$6eaf5610$de5af604@GWLT6> Message-ID: <00bc01c7d922$bc286d70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07All I know about the 2002 Kill-Off (Die-off + Fish Kill) is that for the first time since they've been monitoring spring and fall chinook runs on the Trinity River, the spring chinook outnumbered the fall chinook by a factor of about 2/1. Normally, the fall chinook outnumber the spring chinook by 2/1. We had roughly 18,000 fall chinook adults return to the Trinity River in 2002. There were roughly 36,000 spring chinook. If one assumes that the 2/1 ratio is reversed due to the Kill-Off, then we lost 54,000 adult fall chinook from the Trinity River alone. If there were 36,000 springers, then there should have been approximately 72,000 fall chinook. If you subtract 18,000 from 72,000, you get 54,000 missing fall chinook adults from the Trinity River. So anyway, I don't think that 80,000 fish lost in 2002 is unrealistic. Of course, nobody will know because of carcasses floating away, rotting, being eaten, etc. Respectfully submitted, Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org ----- Original Message ----- From: Guillen, George J. To: Craig Tucker ; jay_glase at nps.gov ; Byron Leydecker ; Peter Brucker ; Regina C Cc: Trinity List ; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us ; FOTR List Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 11:17 AM Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 Craig et al. Unless I am becoming senile I think you have that backward. As the author of the FWS report back then we initially estimated the 33K Excerpt from Guillen, G. 2003. Klamath River Fish Die-off, Spetember 2002, Mortality Report, FWS. AFWO-01-03 34,056 total dead fish 33,527 salmonids, 97.1% fall run Chinook. CDFG effectively bumped it up later in their reported saying their analysis provided evidence that could double the original estimate i.e. 68K. Don't know where the latest 80K came from. GG ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us on behalf of Craig Tucker Sent: Sat 8/4/2007 12:00 AM To: jay_glase at nps.gov; 'Byron Leydecker'; Peter Brucker; Regina C Cc: 'Trinity List'; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us; 'FOTR List' Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 It was the USFWS final report that increased the number from CA Fish and Game's early estimate of 35,000 to 68,000. Thus the inflation began. S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California office: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker at karuk.us www.karuk.us -----Original Message----- From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of jay_glase at nps.gov Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 6:56 PM To: Byron Leydecker Cc: FOTR List; Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly every time I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that sometimes it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) 80,000 don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the estimates have been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see that kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a horrific deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to 100,000 dead salmon, and credibility will be in question. Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 | >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. "(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials," said Thompson. "Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West." The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, "prioritize economic interests over protected fish." The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. "The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable," said Thompson. "Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. "I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest," Thompson said. "To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Guillen at uhcl.edu Tue Aug 7 12:29:17 2007 From: Guillen at uhcl.edu (Guillen, George J.) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 14:29:17 -0500 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 References: <003101c7d654$6eaf5610$de5af604@GWLT6> <00bc01c7d922$bc286d70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Message-ID: Tom, I think that was part of the rationale used in the CDFG report when they came up with their estimate. GG ________________________________ From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us on behalf of Tom Stokely Sent: Tue 8/7/2007 1:42 PM To: Guillen, George J.; Craig Tucker; jay_glase at nps.gov; Byron Leydecker; Peter Brucker; Regina C Cc: Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us; FOTR List Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 All I know about the 2002 Kill-Off (Die-off + Fish Kill) is that for the first time since they've been monitoring spring and fall chinook runs on the Trinity River, the spring chinook outnumbered the fall chinook by a factor of about 2/1. Normally, the fall chinook outnumber the spring chinook by 2/1. We had roughly 18,000 fall chinook adults return to the Trinity River in 2002. There were roughly 36,000 spring chinook. If one assumes that the 2/1 ratio is reversed due to the Kill-Off, then we lost 54,000 adult fall chinook from the Trinity River alone. If there were 36,000 springers, then there should have been approximately 72,000 fall chinook. If you subtract 18,000 from 72,000, you get 54,000 missing fall chinook adults from the Trinity River. So anyway, I don't think that 80,000 fish lost in 2002 is unrealistic. Of course, nobody will know because of carcasses floating away, rotting, being eaten, etc. Respectfully submitted, Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org ----- Original Message ----- From: Guillen, George J. To: Craig Tucker ; jay_glase at nps.gov ; Byron Leydecker ; Peter Brucker ; Regina C Cc: Trinity List ; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us ; FOTR List Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 11:17 AM Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 Craig et al. Unless I am becoming senile I think you have that backward. As the author of the FWS report back then we initially estimated the 33K Excerpt from Guillen, G. 2003. Klamath River Fish Die-off, Spetember 2002, Mortality Report, FWS. AFWO-01-03 34,056 total dead fish 33,527 salmonids, 97.1% fall run Chinook. CDFG effectively bumped it up later in their reported saying their analysis provided evidence that could double the original estimate i.e. 68K. Don't know where the latest 80K came from. GG ________________________________ From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us on behalf of Craig Tucker Sent: Sat 8/4/2007 12:00 AM To: jay_glase at nps.gov; 'Byron Leydecker'; Peter Brucker; Regina C Cc: 'Trinity List'; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us; 'FOTR List' Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 It was the USFWS final report that increased the number from CA Fish and Game's early estimate of 35,000 to 68,000. Thus the inflation began. S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California office: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker at karuk.us www.karuk.us -----Original Message----- From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of jay_glase at nps.gov Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 6:56 PM To: Byron Leydecker Cc: FOTR List; Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly every time I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that sometimes it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) 80,000 don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the estimates have been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see that kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a horrific deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to 100,000 dead salmon, and credibility will be in question. Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 | >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. "(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials," said Thompson. "Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West." The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, "prioritize economic interests over protected fish." The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. "The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable," said Thompson. "Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. "I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest," Thompson said. "To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity ________________________________ _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Tom_A_Shaw at fws.gov Tue Aug 7 14:34:26 2007 From: Tom_A_Shaw at fws.gov (Tom_A_Shaw at fws.gov) Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 14:34:26 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Please refer to the following two reports. tom http://www.fws.gov/arcata/fisheries/reports/technical/Klamath_River_Dieoff_Mortality_Report_AFWO_01_03.pdf http://www.pcffa.org/KlamFishKillFactorsDFGReport.pdf _______________________________ Thomas A. Shaw Supervisory Fishery Biologist Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 825-5113 FAX (707) 822-8411 Tom_A_Shaw at fws.gov "Guillen, George J." "Tom Stokely" Sent by: , "Craig env-trinity-bounc Tucker" , es at velocipede.dcn , "Byron .davis.ca.us Leydecker" , "Peter Brucker" , "Regina C" 08/07/2007 12:29 PM cc Trinity List , env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn. davis.ca.us, FOTR List Subject Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 Tom, I think that was part of the rationale used in the CDFG report when they came up with their estimate. GG From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us on behalf of Tom Stokely Sent: Tue 8/7/2007 1:42 PM To: Guillen, George J.; Craig Tucker; jay_glase at nps.gov; Byron Leydecker; Peter Brucker; Regina C Cc: Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us; FOTR List Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 All I know about the 2002 Kill-Off (Die-off + Fish Kill) is that for the first time since they've been monitoring spring and fall chinook runs on the Trinity River, the spring chinook outnumbered the fall chinook by a factor of about 2/1. Normally, the fall chinook outnumber the spring chinook by 2/1. We had roughly 18,000 fall chinook adults return to the Trinity River in 2002. There were roughly 36,000 spring chinook. If one assumes that the 2/1 ratio is reversed due to the Kill-Off, then we lost 54,000 adult fall chinook from the Trinity River alone. If there were 36,000 springers, then there should have been approximately 72,000 fall chinook. If you subtract 18,000 from 72,000, you get 54,000 missing fall chinook adults from the Trinity River. So anyway, I don't think that 80,000 fish lost in 2002 is unrealistic. Of course, nobody will know because of carcasses floating away, rotting, being eaten, etc. Respectfully submitted, Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org ----- Original Message ----- From: Guillen, George J. To: Craig Tucker ; jay_glase at nps.gov ; Byron Leydecker ; Peter Brucker ; Regina C Cc: Trinity List ; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us ; FOTR List Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 11:17 AM Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 Craig et al. Unless I am becoming senile I think you have that backward. As the author of the FWS report back then we initially estimated the 33K Excerpt from Guillen, G. 2003. Klamath River Fish Die-off, Spetember 2002, Mortality Report, FWS. AFWO-01-03 34,056 total dead fish 33,527 salmonids, 97.1% fall run Chinook. CDFG effectively bumped it up later in their reported saying their analysis provided evidence that could double the original estimate i.e. 68K. Don't know where the latest 80K came from. GG From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us on behalf of Craig Tucker Sent: Sat 8/4/2007 12:00 AM To: jay_glase at nps.gov; 'Byron Leydecker'; Peter Brucker; Regina C Cc: 'Trinity List'; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us; 'FOTR List' Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 It was the USFWS final report that increased the number from CA Fish and Game's early estimate of 35,000 to 68,000. Thus the inflation began. S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California office: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker at karuk.us www.karuk.us -----Original Message----- From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of jay_glase at nps.gov Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 6:56 PM To: Byron Leydecker Cc: FOTR List; Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 The only downside I see to articles like this is that seemingly every time I read one, the number of dead salmon increases. I realize that sometimes it's the press, updated estimates, rounding numbers, etc. but inconsistencies that start at 35,000 and go up to (most recently) 80,000 don't bode well for the science behind all of this. If the estimates have been recalculated and are reasonably solid, it would be good to see that kind of information in print. Not that I don't think this was a horrific deed - it most certainly was - but pretty soon it'll be up to 100,000 dead salmon, and credibility will be in question. Jay Glase Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist National Park Service 800 E Lakeshore Dr Houghton, MI 49931 906-487-7167 |---------+----------------------------------------------> | | "Byron Leydecker" | | | | | | Sent by: | | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.| | | davis.ca.us | | | | | | | | | 08/02/2007 06:08 PM MST | |---------+----------------------------------------------> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| | | | To: "FOTR List" , "Trinity List" | | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS) | | Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 | >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------| Thompson decries VP's Klamath interference Eureka Times Standard - 8/2/07 After new evidence was revealed during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on whether government officials manipulated science in order to divert water from the Klamath River, North Coast Rep. Mike Thompson issued a statement blasting that abuse of the process. "(Tuesday's) hearing is clear evidence that the scientific process behind the water diversion was purposely manipulated by government officials," said Thompson. "Sidestepping this process led to an illegal water plan that contributed to the largest adult salmon kill in the West." The Department of Commerce's inspector general testified that department officials bypassed key oversight mechanisms when creating a biological opinion on how a water diversion would affect endangered fish in the Klamath. The final biological opinion, which was later found in violation of the Endangered Species Act, contributed to the deaths of roughly 80,000 spawning salmon. The hearing was held by the House Natural Resources Committee in response to a request made by Thompson and 35 of his Democratic colleagues from California and Oregon. They called for the hearing because of the reported pressure Vice President Dick Cheney placed upon the Department of Interior to, as the Washington Post stated in its June investigative report, "prioritize economic interests over protected fish." The Post reported that the vice president called for water to be diverted from the Klamath River Basin to farms in Oregon in order to secure the farmers' votes. Cheney declined to testify at the hearing. "The history of political strong-arming in the Klamath is despicable," said Thompson. "Fortunately, a silver lining has begun to form. Stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin are working together on a plan to recover the fish and help the farmers who need water for their land. "I believe there is room for both the fishers and the farmers, but we must ensure the government's future involvement is transparent and honest," Thompson said. "To that end, I am committed to continuing this investigation and improving the oversight process." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity _______________________________________________ env-trinity mailing list env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity From truman at jeffnet.org Wed Aug 8 14:46:51 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 14:46:51 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] WCF Letter to the Editor Attached Message-ID: <002101c7da05$a29d2dd0$0500a8c0@HAL> we have been in negotiations with the Forest Service about a year and will shortly sign a Forest Stewardship agreement to manage 5,000 acres in the Weaverville basin... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCF Letter 08 Aug 07.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 46848 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Aug 9 15:38:40 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 15:38:40 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmonid Restoration Federation Message-ID: I am resending the Salmonid Restoration Conference First Call for Abstracts as a reminder that the deadline for Abstract submission is fast approaching. The 26th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference will take place March 5-8, 2008 in Lodi, California. This conference is the premier annual salmon restoration conference on the West Coast. Please note that the deadline for Abstract submissions and presenter recommendations is fast approaching! The deadline is September 18, 2007. Please feel welcome to share this Call for Abstracts with any constituents or associates that may wish to present at the next Salmonid Restoration Conference. If you would care to add a link to your newsletter or web site, or if you would like to know more about SRF, our home page is www.calsalmon.org and contains a link to the Call for Abstracts. Thank you so much, and we hope to see you at the 2008 Conference. Heather Reese Project Coordinator Salmonid Restoration Federation PO Box 784 Redway, California 95560 (707) 923-7501 heather at calsalmon.org Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Aug 10 09:03:35 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:03:35 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Top of the Grade Fire Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E17E953@mail3.trinitycounty.org> I took this picture Thursday August 9, 2007 around 6:30pm. It is a CDF Fire Bomber that just dropped retardant on a house on Top of the Grade Road in Douglas City. The fire engulfed a home in 30' flames, set off ammunition, and began a wildfire. I was called at work by Mark Lancaster of WVFD who informed me there was wildfire on my road and that I should get home, make sure it wasn't my place on fire, and secure my belongings in case it spread. When I got there CDF, who were the first responders, had a spotter plane circling overhead, men on the ground fighting the fire, and brought in the bombers. The bombers dropped water first and then fire retardant. DCVFD also responded and were on the scene with water trucks late into the evening ensuring that the fire was out. Trucks and fire fighters were also brought in from Whiskeytown National Park with haste. All of the firefighters did an excellent job quickly responding and putting out the fire. If allowed to spread in a residential area like Top of the Grade would have caused a significant amount of loss. I am grateful everyone did their job! Joshua Allen Associate Planner PO Box 2819 60 Glen Road Weaverville, CA 96093 Phone: (530)623-1351 ext. 222 Fax: (530)623-1353 E-mail: jallen at trinitycounty.org Website: http://www.trinitycounty.org/Departments/Planning/natresources3.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 100_0566.JPG Type: image/jpeg Size: 834192 bytes Desc: 100_0566.JPG URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Sun Aug 12 14:49:48 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:49:48 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Dead Sea, Jordon River Diaster Message-ID: <006301c7dd2a$b5fd74c0$0201a8c0@HAL> Dead Sea, Jordan River valley face ecological disaster Christopher Allbritton, Chronicle Foreign Service Sunday, August 12, 2007 (08-12) 04:00 PDT Jordan River Valley, Jordan -- Abdel Rahman Sultan walked along a modern bridge over a small wadi flowing into the Dead Sea, about 300 yards away. On the other side of the salty lake, he could see the West Bank, the ancestral home that his family fled after Israel captured the area in 1967. "Three years ago, I used to bring kids from different schools to clean up this wadi bed," he said. "There used to be fish here, small little fish. ... Now, there are no fish here, there is no water. And no reason to keep it clean." Sultan is a project manager of Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to preserving the Jordan River valley and the Dead Sea basin, an integrated ecosystem that is smack in the middle of the world's most contentious land dispute - the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Jordan River Valley is one of the most famous spots on Earth, full of religious significance, historical interest and environmental richness. The Israelites crossed it to enter the promised land; Christ was baptized in its waters, and several of the prophet Muhammad's companions are buried near its banks. The sole source of water for the Dead Sea - the lowest place on Earth at 1,378 feet below sea level - is the Jordan River, which travels from north of the Sea of Galilee before draining into this deep hole of a saline lake. As a result, the sea is 8.6 times saltier than oceans - and people bob like corks when swimming in its waters. The minerals in its mud are also prized for their rejuvenating effects on skin. The Jordan River Valley is also a rich wetland ecosystem and an important migratory pathway for more than 500 million birds. But both the river and sea are dying. Israel, Jordan and Syria divert more than 90 percent of the 1.3 billion cubic meters of Jordan River water annually for drinking and irrigation that should flow into the Dead Sea. The siphoning of water has caused the Dead Sea to shrink by 30 percent over the last 20 years, according to FOEME. Dams, pumping stations and canals suck the basin dry, while wastewater is dumped into the sea. The water flowing past Christ's baptismal site, just north of the Dead Sea, is mostly sewage. In June, the World Monuments Fund added the Jordan River Valley to its list of 100 most endangered sites. But since much of the valley is an off-limits military zone because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the environmental problem is not well known. Last month, about a dozen Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian mayors from towns and settlements along the river met at the confluence of the Jordan and the Yarmouk rivers to call attention to the situation by swimming in one of the only remaining spots still considered safe for bathing. "There are people who use the water without considering the needs of others," said Mamoun Alouneh, mayor of the Jordanian town of Tabket Fahal. FOEME has urged Jordanian farmers to diversify their crops, planting date trees that use less water, rather than traditional banana and citrus fruits - all water guzzlers. "Their response often is, 'You want me to change what my great-great-grandfather started?' " said Mehyar. "You're talking about a tribal mentality." But like many other Mideast problems, toxic politics are never far away. Under Article 18 of the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, the two sides pledged to manage and rehabilitate the Jordan River Valley. But both governments blame the other for water mismanagement. Muneth Mehyar, chairman of the Jordanian chapter of FOEME, says a Syrian dam across the Yarmouk River, Jordan's main tributary, has reduced that river's flow to a trickle. Under an agreement between the two nations, Mehyar says, Jordan should receive 700,000 liters per second from Syria. Instead, it receives just 700 liters. The peace treaty also calls on Jordan to supply Israel with 25 million cubic meters of water every year, Mehyar said. But by cutting the flow of the Yarmouk, the Syrians have forced the Jordanians to draw more water from the Jordan River for their own use. FOEME believes only a comprehensive political settlement between Palestinians and Israelis would make regional cooperation possible and solve the environmental problems. Because Syria bans nongovernmental organizations it can't control, FOEME has yet to talk to Syrian officials, whose water ministry appears more interested in punishing Jordan for its peace treaty with Israel than enacting sound environmental policies. "A lot of people in Jordan criticize us for talking to Israel," said Mehyar. "People still call us traitors." Yet there is some movement to save the Dead Sea. In 2005, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed an agreement to study the feasibility of a 110-mile canal between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. A "Red-Dead" canal would pump up to 850 million cubic meters of seawater from the Gulf of Aqaba about 110 miles south of the Dead Sea. The $5 billion project, which is favored by the World Bank, is also expected to provide jobs and about 190 megawatts of electricity for the three parties. FOEME, however, opposes the canal, arguing that protecting the Jordan River Valley is a better solution than pumping water from elsewhere. They note that the less- salty Red Sea waters are chemically different from the Dead Sea, which, when mixed, might change the sea's unique properties. Instead, Mehyar proposes changing consumption habits of Jews and Arabs, peace parks and eco- and religious tourism as better ways to preserve the valley. "If we solved this water thing, we could solve 50 percent of the political issues," Mehyar said. "I am sure people will come to their senses." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: mn_0_deadsea12_ph_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5907 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: mn_0_deadsea12_ph02_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 6081 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Aug 13 14:09:12 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:09:12 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Discord threatens Klamath River water talks; Klamath: Refuge farms 'a deal-killer' Message-ID: <018101c7ddf1$74f1d0d0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> KLAMATH RIVER: Discord threatens Klamath River water talks; Klamath: Refuge farms 'a deal-killer' Sacramento Bee ? 8/12/07 By David Whitney, staff writer WASHINGTON -- When the House Natural Resources Committee met in July to discuss whether Vice President Dick Cheney had improperly interfered in the battle over Klamath River water, Republicans complained that the hearing could derail negotiations to settle the heated farming vs. fish fight. "Let's do what's best for the fish, farmers, the tribes and the fishermen," Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., pleaded, with fellow GOP Reps. John Doolittle of Roseville and Wally Herger of Marysville sitting in solidarity with him at the witness table. "Let's encourage them to find common ground, not rub salt in old wounds when they are so close to an historic agreement of enormous significance." But as the projected November deadline for a deal moves steadily nearer, environmental and Indian tribal leaders are raising concerns that the pact that everyone so desperately wants is in danger of slipping away because of what they see as political manipulation. "Whatever comes out of these negotiations has to have a scientific basis, rather than a political basis," said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Hoopa Valley Tribe chairman. "There were political strings being pulled before the negotiations started -- and they are still in play." Critics warn that the evolving 60-year agreement is being shaped by Bush administration officials and is looking more and more like a $250 million-plus gift to irrigators, assuring them of ample water and subsidized power to pump it in exchange for a huge but possibly elusive environmental victory -- knocking down four dams on the river. The hydroelectric dams are owned by Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp, which is no longer involved in the talks. "PacifiCorp hasn't committed to anything," said Steve Pedery, spokesman and conservation director for Oregon Wild, an environmental group now excluded from the talks because it wouldn't sign on to a binding 23-page "settlement framework" in January. "The framework is what we had to agree to in order to get a seat at the table with PacifiCorp," Pedery said. Greg Addington, director of the Klamath Water Users Association and a strong advocate of a negotiated settlement, said he was disappointed that critics are beginning to go public before a deal is done. "I'd hope that we could work these things out amongst ourselves and not in the media," he said. But he added that even among irrigators there are "big concerns," despite assurances of water and subsidized power. "The certainty to irrigators is a value to us," he said. "But it comes at a cost to us. It is not all roses for us. The settlement, if implemented as it is today, will be painful for us." Alex Pitts, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official, declined comment, other than to say the talks are not being directed by the administration. Some 26 groups are involved in the secret talks, including representatives of state and federal agencies, local governments, Indian tribes, environmental groups, irrigators and fishing organizations. Participants have signed confidentiality pledges. The fight over Klamath water is a textbook example of a conflict so complex and long-standing that the best promise for success is a negotiated settlement. Farmers rely on the same water for irrigation that fishermen and Indian tribes need for the health of fish, and in many years there is too little of it. Complicating the tensions are federal laws protecting endangered fish and nearly a century of federal policies that drained once-rich wetlands for migratory birds and converted them into irrigation-dependent farmland for homesteaders. The problems came to a head in 2001 when outraged farmers had their water supply turned off during a prolonged drought to save water for salmon runs. The tables turned in 2002 when water was restored to farmers while reduced downriver flows of sun-heated water created ideal conditions for the spread of a pathogen that killed an estimated 70,000 salmon. That massive die-off, the worst in U.S. history, led to a fishery disaster in 2005 and 2006 as commercial fleets along 700 miles of the Pacific Coast were idled to protect the diminished Klamath River run. Settlement talks began in 2005, about the time PacifiCorp applied to relicense its dams for up to 50 years. Environmentalists want the dams removed to reopen the upper Klamath to salmon. Several participants said hopes for a balanced agreement began to fade last fall and accelerated with the settlement group's release of the January framework. Among its many principles, the details of which are now being negotiated, is a pledge to increase minimum water supplies for irrigators, and protect farming operations on the 39,000-acre Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, where costly pumping drains rich lake-bottom lands for farming. Environmentalists long have opposed refuge farming, saying places like Tule Lake should be allowed to return to their natural wetlands state. "This was a deal-killer for us," said Pedery of Oregon Wild. "This is an effort by the Bush administration to lock in agriculture in the refuge." Felice Pace of the Klamath Forest Alliance said the deal is looking more and more like a bargain with the devil -- the promise of dam removals in exchange for binding water rights for farmers. Also troubling is the decision to virtually exclude California's Scott and Shasta rivers from the talks even though irrigation demands on them affect 35 percent of the water flowing down the Klamath River, Pace said. "When and if this settlement happens, the governors of Oregon and California will be there to declare the water wars are over and the Klamath is fixed," Pace said. "But what commitments are the states making? I'll be there to protest if the Scott and Shasta rivers are on their current trajectory with no commitments to stop their dewatering." # http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/321042.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Sun Aug 12 09:32:17 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:32:17 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Discord Threatens Klamath River Message-ID: <001401c7dcfe$5da6e0d0$0201a8c0@HAL> Discord threatens Klamath River water talks Klamath: Refuge farms 'a deal-killer' By David Whitney - McClatchy Washington Bureau Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, August 12, 2007 Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., second from left, testifies July 31 before the House Natural Resources Committee. Listening are, from left, California Reps. Mike Thompson, John Doolittle and Wally Herger. McClatchy Tribune/Chuck Kennedy WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON -- When the House Natural Resources Committee met in July to discuss whether Vice President Dick Cheney had improperly interfered in the battle over Klamath River water, Republicans complained that the hearing could derail negotiations to settle the heated farming vs. fish fight. "Let's do what's best for the fish, farmers, the tribes and the fishermen," Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., pleaded, with fellow GOP Reps. John Doolittle of Roseville and Wally Herger of Marysville sitting in solidarity with him at the witness table. "Let's encourage them to find common ground, not rub salt in old wounds when they are so close to an historic agreement of enormous significance." But as the projected November deadline for a deal moves steadily nearer, environmental and Indian tribal leaders are raising concerns that the pact that everyone so desperately wants is in danger of slipping away because of what they see as political manipulation. "Whatever comes out of these negotiations has to have a scientific basis, rather than a political basis," said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Hoopa Valley Tribe chairman. "There were political strings being pulled before the negotiations started -- and they are still in play." Critics warn that the evolving 60-year agreement is being shaped by Bush administration officials and is looking more and more like a $250 million-plus gift to irrigators, assuring them of ample water and subsidized power to pump it in exchange for a huge but possibly elusive environmental victory -- knocking down four dams on the river. The hydroelectric dams are owned by Portland, Ore.-based PacifiCorp, which is no longer involved in the talks. "PacifiCorp hasn't committed to anything," said Steve Pedery, spokesman and conservation director for Oregon Wild, an environmental group now excluded from the talks because it wouldn't sign on to a binding 23-page "settlement framework" in January. "The framework is what we had to agree to in order to get a seat at the table with PacifiCorp," Pedery said. Greg Addington, director of the Klamath Water Users Association and a strong advocate of a negotiated settlement, said he was disappointed that critics are beginning to go public before a deal is done. "I'd hope that we could work these things out amongst ourselves and not in the media," he said. But he added that even among irrigators there are "big concerns," despite assurances of water and subsidized power. "The certainty to irrigators is a value to us," he said. "But it comes at a cost to us. It is not all roses for us. The settlement, if implemented as it is today, will be painful for us." Alex Pitts, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service official, declined comment, other than to say the talks are not being directed by the administration. Some 26 groups are involved in the secret talks, including representatives of state and federal agencies, local governments, Indian tribes, environmental groups, irrigators and fishing organizations. Participants have signed confidentiality pledges. The fight over Klamath water is a textbook example of a conflict so complex and long-standing that the best promise for success is a negotiated settlement. Farmers rely on the same water for irrigation that fishermen and Indian tribes need for the health of fish, and in many years there is too little of it. Complicating the tensions are federal laws protecting endangered fish and nearly a century of federal policies that drained once-rich wetlands for migratory birds and converted them into irrigation-dependent farmland for homesteaders. The problems came to a head in 2001 when outraged farmers had their water supply turned off during a prolonged drought to save water for salmon runs. The tables turned in 2002 when water was restored to farmers while reduced downriver flows of sun-heated water created ideal conditions for the spread of a pathogen that killed an estimated 70,000 salmon. That massive die-off, the worst in U.S. history, led to a fishery disaster in 2005 and 2006 as commercial fleets along 700 miles of the Pacific Coast were idled to protect the diminished Klamath River run. Settlement talks began in 2005, about the time PacifiCorp applied to relicense its dams for up to 50 years. Environmentalists want the dams removed to reopen the upper Klamath to salmon. Several participants said hopes for a balanced agreement began to fade last fall and accelerated with the settlement group's release of the January framework. Among its many principles, the details of which are now being negotiated, is a pledge to increase minimum water supplies for irrigators, and protect farming operations on the 39,000-acre Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, where costly pumping drains rich lake-bottom lands for farming. Environmentalists long have opposed refuge farming, saying places like Tule Lake should be allowed to return to their natural wetlands state. "This was a deal-killer for us," said Pedery of Oregon Wild. "This is an effort by the Bush administration to lock in agriculture in the refuge." Felice Pace of the Klamath Forest Alliance said the deal is looking more and more like a bargain with the devil -- the promise of dam removals in exchange for binding water rights for farmers. Also troubling is the decision to virtually exclude California's Scott and Shasta rivers from the talks even though irrigation demands on them affect 35 percent of the water flowing down the Klamath River, Pace said. "When and if this settlement happens, the governors of Oregon and California will be there to declare the water wars are over and the Klamath is fixed," Pace said. "But what commitments are the states making? I'll be there to protest if the Scott and Shasta rivers are on their current trajectory with no commitments to stop their dewatering." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 300-5AU12KLAMATH.embedded.prod_affiliate.4.JPG Type: image/jpeg Size: 10325 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Aug 15 11:52:50 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:52:50 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] A Major Issue that Needs Your Help Message-ID: <173C5C5D5F704B6483FACF729B8367A3@ByronsLaptop> PLEASE SIGN AND SEND TODAY THE PETITION LISTED BELOW Here's some background on the issue: Senator Dianne Feinstein is holding closed door Hearings on Westlands Water District's (WWD) and Bureau of Reclamation's (BOR) proposal(s) to turn over major portions of the Central Valley Project to WWD, to elevate WWD's contract to a status that allows for no reductions in low water years, to provide it with 800,000 acre feet of water a year for 60 years, to eliminate its obligation to repay its portion of capital costs of the Central Valley Project, to slash its reimbursement of Operation and Maintenance costs for the Central Valley Project, and other benefits. Why does this matter to you? Because WWD receives most of the Trinity River's water. If you calculate the urban retail value of 800,000 acre-feet, that is, at a conservative $500 an acre-foot (Representative Grace Napolitano, Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power says its $600 an acre foot in Southern California), that totals $400 million a year times 60 years or $24 billion for 400-500 irrigators, many of whom are in the same family. And this assumes that California water prices remain static - completely unlikely. They will increase substantially, but not WWD's costs, if any, for the water. All of this supposedly is in return for WWD accepting the obligation to clean up its toxic drainage problem that pollutes the San Joaquin River and San Francisco Bay Delta. None - not one - of the proposed clean up proposals is proven, and one would provide for a large number of mini-Kesterson reservoirs to hold polluted runoff. Kesterson was the site of horrendous waterfowl deformities in the mid-1980s until it was closed down because of that problem. Please sign and send the Petition TODAY. If you want more information, let me know Thank you. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-more-secret-deals Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From danielbacher at fishsniffer.com Wed Aug 15 11:52:56 2007 From: danielbacher at fishsniffer.com (Dan Bacher) Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 11:52:56 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Action Alert: Sign Online Petition to Stop Give Away of Water to Westlands! In-Reply-To: <1FA947E2-9E72-4716-9BB4-9484340C6696@fishsniffer.com> References: <46C339B0.6060806@conservefish.org> <1FA947E2-9E72-4716-9BB4-9484340C6696@fishsniffer.com> Message-ID: I urge everybody to sign this petition protesting the give away of water to Westlands Water District, the Darth Vader of California water politics. Dan PLEASE sign on to the online petition (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/ 1/no-more-secret-deals) to California Legislators urging them to reject the proposal to give away California water resources. As you all may already know, the Bureau of Reclamation is negotiating a deal with Westlands & other San Luis Unit Contractors for settlement of Westlands? drainage lawsuit. Rather than deal with the drainage problem directly, the proposed settlement provides Westlands and other San Luis Unit Contractors with 60 year contracts for Delta water-complete with special provisions. Unfortunately, the details of these negotiations are not public, but this is what we have heard is currently in the proposal: Assurance that Westlands will receive a certain amount of water even in dry years (other settlement agreements assure 75% of deliveries: for Westlands, that would be about 800,000 acre feet) In addition to the above delivery assurance, the contract would guarantee that CVP contractors south of the Delta will not be cutback for any reason other than D-1641 or the Biopsy- that means cutbacks for CESA, CEQA, NEPA, refuge water, Trinity needs, climate change, and other public interests must be absorbed- or paid for by the public, other water users and the environment. San Luis Unit Contractors would no longer have to comply with the acreage limitations of Reclamation Law ? no more 960 acre limit, so much for the small family farm San Luis Unit Contractors would be forgiven its $400 million+ debt for construction of the CVP San Luis Unit Contractors would no longer have to pay for O & M cost of CVP facilities above the Delta - that means taxpayers get the bill The Bureau of Reclamation is reportedly preparing a draft contract and legislation based on this proposal. It is important to let CA legislators know that if implemented, this proposal would be a disaster for California given the already serious ecosystem and water supply reliability problems faced in the Delta. California needs more flexibility, not a binding contract allocating millions of acre feet of water for the next 60 years to a small, influential group. You can sign onto the online petition here: http:// www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-more-secret-deals. Our goal is to have 5,000 signatures on our online petition by the end of next week. Please sign on, and send this link to anyone else interested in protecting California?s water. Please contact me or Lisa Coffman (lisa at c-win.org) with any question about the petition or the proposal. Mindy Mindy McIntyre Water Program Manager Planning & Conservation League/PCLF 1107 9th Street Suite 360 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 313-4518 (office) (916) 541-8825 (mobile) (916) 448-1789 (fax) mmcintyre at pcl.org www.pcl.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov Mon Aug 20 15:17:10 2007 From: Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov (Bill_Pinnix at fws.gov) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:17:10 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] 2007 In Season Summary of Juvenile Salmonid Monitoring at Willow Creek Message-ID: Hello, Please find the 2007 In Season Summary of Juvenile Salmonid Monitoring at Willow Creek attached to this e-mail. (See attached file: WCT_catch_text_8_20_07.pdf) Thank you, Bill William Pinnix USFWS, AFWO 1655 Heindon Rd Arcata, CA 95521 (707) 822-7201 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: WCT_catch_text_8_20_07.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 24001 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Aug 21 14:35:11 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:35:11 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Meeting Scheduled to Develop a Form of Contract That Incorporates Elements of the Collaborative.... Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C4D0@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region Sacramento, CA MP-07-117 Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken 916-978-5100 jmccracken at mp.usbr.gov For Release On: August 21, 2007 Meeting Scheduled to Develop a Form of Contract That Incorporates Elements of the Collaborative Drainage Resolution The Bureau of Reclamation announces a meeting to discuss changes that should be made to the recently negotiated Long-Term Renewal Contracts with several Central Valley Project (CVP) San Luis Unit Contractors that incorporates elements identified in the Collaborative Drainage Resolution process. Contractors include the Pacheco, Panoche, San Luis, and Westlands Water Districts. The proposed form of long-term renewal contracts will be for the continued delivery of CVP water. The meeting will be held: In Los Banos, California Monday, August 27, 2007 Starting at 9 a.m. The Fair Grounds (Germino Building*) 403 "F" Street Los Banos, California. * The Germino Building is the octagonal building located just west of the main building. The public is welcome to observe the meeting. For additional information, please contact Mr. Federico Barajas at 916-978-5113, TDD 916-978-5608, or e-mail at fbarajas at mp.usbr.gov. # # # Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits. Visit our website at http://www.usbr.gov. ______________________ If you would rather not receive future email messages from Bureau of Reclamation, please go to http://vocuspr.vocus.com/VocusPR30/OptOut.aspx?686x817x3460x3x1422287x24 000x6. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver Federal Center, Alameda & Kipling Street PO Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225 United States From TMORSTEINMARX at mp.usbr.gov Tue Aug 21 09:27:28 2007 From: TMORSTEINMARX at mp.usbr.gov (Tom Morstein-Marx) Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:27:28 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Release Change Message-ID: Project: Lewiston Dam - Trinity River Release Date Time From(CFS) To(CFS) 8/26/07 1400 450 550 8/26/07 1600 550 650 8/26/07 1800 650 900 8/26/07 2000 900 1,150 8/26/07 2200 1,150 1,400 8/26/07 2400 1,400 1,650 8/28/07 0001 1,650 1,450 8/28/07 0400 1,450 1,250 8/28/07 0800 1,250 1,050 8/28/07 1200 1,050 850 8/28/07 1600 850 650 8/28/07 2000 650 500 8/28/07 2400 500 450 Comment: Ceremonial Use Issued By: Tom Morstein-Marx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Vina_Frye at fws.gov Wed Aug 22 09:52:57 2007 From: Vina_Frye at fws.gov (Vina_Frye at fws.gov) Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:52:57 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) meeting Message-ID: Hi Everyone, The TAMWG meeting notice was published in the Federal Register on August 20, 2007. The meeting is open to the public. Best regards, Vina Vina Frye U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata FWO 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 Telephone: (707) 822-7201 Fax: (707) 822-8411 vina_frye at fws.gov ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River (California) restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council (TMC). Primary objectives of the meeting will include discussion of the following topics: Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) budget, channel rehabilitation progress and planning, TRRP science program, Klamath and Trinity river conditions, TRRP decision-making process, TAMWG-TMC communications, and experience with restoration efforts elsewhere. Completion of the agenda is dependent on the amount of time each item takes. The meeting could end early if the agenda has been completed. The meeting is open to the public. DATES: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 11, 2007. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Weaverville Victorian Inn, 1709 Main St., 299 West, Weaverville, CA 96093. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy A. Brown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521. Telephone: (707) 822-7201. Randy A. Brown is the working group's Designated Federal Officer. For background information and questions regarding the Trinity River Restoration Program, please contact Douglas Schleusner, Executive Director, P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main Street, Weaverville, CA 96093. Telephone: (530) 623-1800. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), this notice announces a meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG).??? Dated: August 1, 2007. Randy A. Brown, Designated Federal Officer, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, Arcata, CA. [FR Doc. E7-16307 Filed 8-17-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Aug 23 09:14:44 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:14:44 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity credit rating up: Good news comes as more employees face layoffs Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C4DE@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity credit rating up Good news comes as more employees face layoffs http://redding.com/news/2007/aug/22/trinity-credit-rating-up/ By Kimberly Ross (Contact ) Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Trinity County is celebrating a major long-term financial gain for its credit rating this week, while simultaneously feeling the pinch from laying off three more employees. The county's total layoffs climbed from four to seven this month as it attempts to fill an anticipated $1.3 million budget gap. The latest layoff notices, made in the past week, went to a maintenance worker, an account tech, and a seasonal parks and grounds employee. All worked in the building and grounds department, County Administrator Larry Layton said. In addition, five full-time employees in that section were cut to part time and a temporary part-time worker was let go, county personnel analyst Monica Stygar said. Department heads could call for more layoffs next month, when the county holds budget hearings Sept. 5, 6 and 7. Planning Director Susan Price said she must cut another $60,000 from her department's budget. That could be achieved through one potential retirement in January and one or more layoffs this fiscal year, she said. But Trinity County's officials are counting victories, too. News of an upgrade to the county's bond rating -- from junk-bond status to stable -- means the county will get better loan rates and more financial entities will be willing to lend. Like most jurisdictions, the county takes annual loans to pay its bills while waiting for property taxes to be paid, auditor-controller David Nelson said. The improvement rating reverses a financial downturn in 2005, when the county borrowed to avoid bankruptcy and its bond rate plummeted, Nelson said. Usually, it takes public agencies five to 10 years to recover, "but we made it in two, so we're really happy about it," Nelson said. "A lot of private organizations don't ever recover." Fitch Ratings, a global bond rating agency, cited the transfer of Trinity Hospital to a newly formed, voter-approved health services district as one reason for the upgrade, Nelson said. The new rating will mainly help in fiscal year 2008-2009 and later, Nelson said, and can't undo layoffs made this year. "The county is really just trying to operate under the revenue that we receive," he said. Also, the bond rate upgrade could allow the county to refinance some of its long-term debt and free up some general fund money, County Supervisor Jeff Morris said. "Just like a personal credit score, it increases your ability to do financing at a good credit rate," he said. Tuesday, the board discussed county administrator Layton's November retirement, Morris said. Members hope to advertise the position and find a replacement who would start work by Jan. 1, Morris said. Between administrators, County Clerk-recorder Dero Forslund will serve as interim chief. Reporter Kimberly Ross can be reached at 225-8339 or at kross at redding.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Aug 23 15:34:42 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:34:42 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Letter from Trinity County Board of Supervisors to Interior Secretary on TMC Voting Procedures Message-ID: <00ec01c7e5d5$cd297730$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Attached is a letter recently sent to the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne about the voting procedures of the Trinity Management Council. Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: letter to kempthorne on TMC voting rules.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 52627 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Thu Aug 23 15:54:59 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:54:59 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Karuk Tribe, fishermen, conservationists Sue State over Klamath Toxins Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C4E2@mail3.trinitycounty.org> NEWS RELEASE Klamath Riverkeeper * Karuk Tribe * Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens' Associations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 23, 2007 Contacts: Regina Chichizola, Klamath Riverkeeper: 541-951-0126 Glen Spain, PCFFA: 541-689-2000 Craig Tucker, Karuk Tribe: 530-627-3446 x3027 Tribe, Fishermen, Conservationists Sue California over Toxic Discharges to Klamath River Groups want state to regulate PacifiCorp's Algal Toxins Sonoma, CA- Today the Klamath Riverkeeper, the Karuk Tribe of California, and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association (PCFFA) filed a lawsuit against the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, North Coast region, for failing to regulate toxic discharges from PacifiCorp's Klamath dams and reservoirs. The groups petitioned the board last February demanding that it establish limits on the amount of the highly toxic algae Microcystis aeruginosa that can be discharged into the river by Iron Gate and Copco dams. The dams are located in the Northeast corner of California. The dams are owned by Portland based PacifiCorp, which in turn is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett. The groups have long sought the removal of the dams which degrade water quality and destroy salmon runs without providing flood control, irrigation diversions or substantial amounts of electricity to downstream communities. In March the board denied the petitioners request. Although the board appeared to agree with the petitioners claims - that PacifiCorp's reservoirs host massive levels of Microcystis aeruginosa that threaten human health - the board argued that they lacked the authority to regulate PacifiCorp. The suit filed today in California Superior Court in Sonoma County argues that congress passed the Clean Water Act explicitly to preserve and expand states' authority to regulate water quality. "When it comes to this issue, we respectfully disagree with the Water Board's position. The state has to stiffen its resolve and act quickly to stop PacifiCorp's poisoning of the Klamath River," said Regina Chichizola of Klamath Riverkeeper. Since 2005, Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs have seen some of the most toxic blooms of the toxic algae Microcystis aeruginosa ever recorded in the United States (see http://www.karuk.us/press/06-08-08%20toxic%20reservoirs.pdf for details). Health experts warn that even modest exposure to the toxin produced by the algae, called microcystin, can lead to skin rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea. High doses of the toxin, such as those found in the Klamath reservoirs each summer, could lead to massive liver failure and even death in humans. Microcystin also can poison and kill fish and wildlife. According to Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Organizations (PCFFA) the regional water board not only has the authority but the mandate to protect the public from toxins like these in water bodies, "PacifiCorp is clearly in violation of California's Porter-Cologne Water Quality Act and it's the responsibility of the California State Water Boards to hold corporate polluters like PacifiCorp accountable." The Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs have not only become "toxic algae factories" that generate microcystin, as set forth in the petition, but also have caused deteriorating water quality. Petitioners say the toxic releases have made many people not use the Klamath River. For Karuk ceremonial leaders and participants, the toxic blooms also constitute an infringement on their freedom to practice their religion. During certain ceremonies, participants bath in the river for long periods of time making them especially susceptible to exposure. "This is one of the ways that companies like Warren Buffett's PacifiCorp are complicit in the genocide of Native American Cultures," said Chook Chook Hillman, a Karuk ceremonial participant. PacifiCorp's dams provide optimal growth conditions for the toxic algae by trapping nutrient rich water in shallow warm reservoirs. Last year the microcystin toxin levels behind the Klamath dams exceeded World Health Organization guidelines for a "moderate health risk" by nearly 4,000 fold. Neither the United States EPA nor the State of California as yet have independent guidelines for this toxin. This suit comes on the heels of a ruling last Friday by a Federal Judge that allows tribal members, commercial fishermen, and business owners along the river to sue PacifiCorp for damages associated with their toxic pollution. Currently PacifiCorp is engaged in talks with Tribes, conservationists, fishermen, farmers, as well as state and federal agencies aimed at removing the troublesome dams. Over the past several years Tribes, conservation groups, and fishermen have litigated, protested, petitioned, and traveled as far away as Edinburgh, Scotland to attend shareholder meetings of PacifiCorp parent companies in an effort to convince the company to remove the dams. "Hopefully we can arrive at an agreement that removes the dams and this case will be moot," said Craig Tucker, spokesman for the Karuk Tribe, "but until we are sure that PacifiCorp is willing to negotiate in good faith, we will continue to throw everything we have at them. This is a fight that the Karuk Tribe simply has to win." Dam removal proponents note that Warren Buffett owns these dams, which create the very conditions he hopes to end with his philanthropy. # # # S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D. Klamath Campaign Coordinator Karuk Tribe of California office: 530-627-3446 x3027 cell: 916-207-8294 ctucker at karuk.us www.karuk.us -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Fri Aug 24 10:12:45 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:12:45 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fair deals: Livestock sales, tractor pulls part of Trinity County event's draw Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C4E4@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Home > News > Local News Fair deals: Livestock sales, tractor pulls part of Trinity County event's draw By Record Searchlight staff Thursday, August 23, 2007 http://redding.com/news/2007/aug/23/fair-deals/ Photo Gallery Trinity County Fair in Hayfork EXPECTANT MOMENT: Matthew Hodges, 14, of Weaverville, center, reacts in disbelief Wednesday when his cousin Jared Hodges, 12, also of Weaverville, right, says he was told that his pig is pregnant. The joke was on Jared; his pig isn't expecting. The animals were weighed and underwent ultrasounds for the carcass contest at the Trinity County Fair in Hayfork. View gallery > Enlarge photos | View thumbnails Pretty-up your power tools - the four-day Trinity County Fair in Hayfork begins tonight and features some new events, including belt-sander drag racing and kid-pedaled tractor pulls. On Wednesday, youths prepared their livestock for exhibit and Saturday's livestock auction. Here are more details about the fair: * Gate admission: Adults 13 and older, $5; seniors 60 and up, $4; youth ages 6 to 12, $3. Free admission Friday for kids, Saturday for American Indians, Sunday for seniors. * Hours: 6 p.m. to midnight today; 8 a.m. to midnight Friday, Saturday, Sunday. * Where: Fairgrounds, 6000 State Highway 3, Hayfork. * New this year: Decorated belt sanders will scream down a 30-foot track built by fair exhibits supervisor Mike Fillette. "That's the racing length. And then we have another 20 feet to slow down," he said. Admission is $5. Races start at 1 p.m. Sunday; entries will be accepted up to a half-hour beforehand and decorating is encouraged - Fillette's non-competition "Hayfork Rotary Rocket" entry boasts a missilelike nose and fins. Free junior tractor pulls, held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, involve kids pedaling John Deere models. * For more information: Call the fair office at 628-5223. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 5385 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Aug 27 13:59:02 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 13:59:02 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Weir Trapping Summary Message-ID: <7DDF6D34FD804C2E9AD41A91152C23FE@ByronsLaptop> Sorry to be late with this. I've been away for almost two weeks. If I've missed a week, I'll get it to you in the next few days. Following and attached is from Morgan Knechtle of DFG: Attached is the updated trapping summary at Junction City weir for the period ending August 12, 2007. Please reply to this email if you have any questions. Also, please note that the 2006 comparable data is only for 3 weeks. Last year the weir was installed in late July compared to June 18th this year. Until next week, Morgan Knechtle Fisheries Biologist California Department of Fish and Game Trinity River Project Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 28160 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Mon Aug 27 18:56:45 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:56:45 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] On Water, CA's Real Water War Message-ID: <003d01c7e916$b14b4180$0201a8c0@HAL> Open Forum On Water California's real water war Laurel Firestone,Amy Vanderwarker Monday, August 27, 2007 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, environmentalists and water districts have waded hip-deep into arguments over new dams, pricey canals and other ways to manage future water wars in California. But the looming water crisis that the governor warns of is already here. Hundreds of small, rural communities throughout California's agricultural heartland have no access to clean, safe drinking water. It's a public health crisis that threatens California families every day. According to the state Department of Public Health, public drinking water systems deliver water with unsafe levels of contaminants to approximately 1 million people. The vast majority of this tainted water flows to the Central Valley - to little-known towns such as Monterey Park Tract, Mendota, Parlier, East Orosi, Cutler and Alpaugh - where residents can't fill a glass of tap water without fear of cancer, kidney disease and other health problems. These are some of our state's poorest towns, where median household incomes hover around $18,000. But they pay some of the highest water rates in California - 2 to 6 percent of their household income - for undrinkable water. In 2004 alone, tens of thousands of Central Valley residents received bright orange notices from their public drinking water systems saying their water was not safe to drink and exceeded legal contaminant levels. Many Central Valley residents drive 30 to 50 miles each week just to buy bottled water, effectively doubling the price for this basic need. More than 90 percent of Central Valley communities depend on water stored underground for their drinking water. Unfortunately, years of intensive farming with uncontrolled chemical use has heavily poisoned that source. Recent groundwater sampling in Tulare County found that 3 out of 4 homes with private wells have contaminated water that is unsafe to drink. California's agricultural heartland offers a bounty of crops, from cotton to almonds to dairy products. But Central Valley industries also pour forth a darker bounty: a vast array of water contaminants, including nitrates from fertilizer use and mega-dairy waste and pesticide components, such as DBCP - a chemical banned for causing cancer and harming men's reproductive systems that still appears in Central Valley wells. These contaminants mix with water used to irrigate crops and wash cows and then seeps into the Central Valley's groundwater. When people in neighboring communities drink this water, they consume known carcinogens and acute poisons, such as nitrates, which can kill infants in a matter of days. When contaminant levels spike or wells fail, no large water agency stands ready to come fix broken treatment systems. Most of these small communities must shoulder the costs alone, paying for expensive maintenance and operations out of the lean budgets of a couple of hundred farmworker families. These contamination and infrastructure problems have grown unchecked since development in the Central Valley began. Virtually every water agency ignores California's massive groundwater contamination problem. Regulatory agencies such as the state and regional Water Quality Control boards have given a green light to rampant agricultural pollution. California and Texas remain the only states in the country without a groundwater management program. Meanwhile, the state has developed an elaborate and expensive system to pipe crystal-clear Northern California river water to Central Valley farms, at taxpayer expense. The vast webs of canals and aqueducts, subsidized by public dollars, bring water to Central Valley farms. Fresh, clean water flows right by the homes of men and women who harvest the irrigated fields, but have no access to safe drinking water. Without the ability to hire highly paid staffers and lobbyists, farm families find their voices drowned out by the raging debates about California water. They continually fall through the cracks of local, state and regional planning. Instead of talking about future water needs, we need to talk about the chronic lack of access to clean drinking water Central Valley residents face every day. Instead of spending billions of dollars on building new reservoirs, let's talk about protecting one of California's largest existing reservoirs - our groundwater. California water agencies can start by making a serious commitment to groundwater protection and management. The largest sources of groundwater contamination in the Central Valley - agriculture and dairies - are virtually unregulated. Agriculture is allowed to discharge waste water that does not meet Clean Water Act standards, while virtually every other industry must meet these basic water quality standards. This highly toxic water then contaminates the source of drinking water for many small communities. The state could play a lead role in developing innovative solutions and projects to address the problem. Right now, regulatory and water resource agencies acknowledge the level of contamination but have refused to take action. Many organizations have developed projects and proposals that would take important steps to relieving the drinking water crisis, such as requiring groundwater management plans of industries and agencies, setting aside state funds to address the contamination and requiring water districts to work with communities that do not have clean drinking water in their area to develop alternative water sources. Unfortunately, most of these programs fall apart as soon as industry objects and then the state shirks its duty, saying the problem is too big, unwieldy or out of its jurisdiction. Time and again, we have seen agencies, legislators, and policymakers fail to take meaningful action on groundwater protection and management, because it is a tough issue. The governor is right. We do need to invest in California's water infrastructure. The place to start should be obvious for such a golden state: ensuring all communities have safe, clean and affordable drinking water. Laurel Firestone is co-director of the Community Water Center, based in Visalia. Amy Vanderwarker is the outreach coordinator for the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, based in Oakland. They will be participating in a panel discussion on water and social justice as part of the Commonwealth Club's Cool Clear Water series on Aug. 30th. More information is available at www.commonwealthclub.org/water -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ed_water_war_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4578 bytes Desc: not available URL: From pbrucker at srrc.org Mon Aug 27 23:06:41 2007 From: pbrucker at srrc.org (petey) Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:06:41 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] On Water, CA's Real Water War In-Reply-To: <003d01c7e916$b14b4180$0201a8c0@HAL> References: <003d01c7e916$b14b4180$0201a8c0@HAL> Message-ID: <46D3BB71.3090101@srrc.org> Patrick, Very interesting article. It's just so true. Ag is one of the biggest wate users and polluters. Clean it up, it's the right thing to do. I ran across this wbsite the other day and thought this appropriate. The site is from from a Canadian ag - pollution education website. I think it is applicable here as well. The website is: http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/flash/robocow2/en/robocow2_e.htm. There is also a robocow1- the prequel. Thanks again for the info. Ciao Petey Patrick Truman wrote: > San Francisco Chronicle > > > Open Forum > > > On Water > > > California's real water war > > Laurel Firestone,Amy Vanderwarker > > Monday, August 27, 2007 > > A farmworker walks through a field, adjusting sprinkler h... > > > Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, environmentalists and water districts have > waded hip-deep into arguments over new dams, pricey canals and other > ways to manage future water wars in California. > > But the looming water crisis that the governor warns of is already here. > > Hundreds of small, rural communities throughout California's > agricultural heartland have no access to clean, safe drinking water. > It's a public health crisis that threatens California families every day. > > According to the state Department of Public Health, public drinking > water systems deliver water with unsafe levels of contaminants to > approximately 1 million people. The vast majority of this tainted > water flows to the Central Valley - to little-known towns such as > Monterey Park Tract, Mendota, Parlier, East Orosi, Cutler and Alpaugh > - where residents can't fill a glass of tap water without fear of > cancer, kidney disease and other health problems. These are some of > our state's poorest towns, where median household incomes hover around > $18,000. But they pay some of the highest water rates in California - > 2 to 6 percent of their household income - for undrinkable water. > > In 2004 alone, tens of thousands of Central Valley residents received > bright orange notices from their public drinking water systems saying > their water was not safe to drink and exceeded legal contaminant > levels. Many Central Valley residents drive 30 to 50 miles each week > just to buy bottled water, effectively doubling the price for this > basic need. > > More than 90 percent of Central Valley communities depend on water > stored underground for their drinking water. Unfortunately, years of > intensive farming with uncontrolled chemical use has heavily poisoned > that source. Recent groundwater sampling in Tulare County found that 3 > out of 4 homes with private wells have contaminated water that is > unsafe to drink. > > California's agricultural heartland offers a bounty of crops, from > cotton to almonds to dairy products. But Central Valley industries > also pour forth a darker bounty: a vast array of water contaminants, > including nitrates from fertilizer use and mega-dairy waste and > pesticide components, such as DBCP - a chemical banned for causing > cancer and harming men's reproductive systems that still appears in > Central Valley wells. These contaminants mix with water used to > irrigate crops and wash cows and then seeps into the Central Valley's > groundwater. When people in neighboring communities drink this water, > they consume known carcinogens and acute poisons, such as nitrates, > which can kill infants in a matter of days. > > When contaminant levels spike or wells fail, no large water agency > stands ready to come fix broken treatment systems. Most of these small > communities must shoulder the costs alone, paying for expensive > maintenance and operations out of the lean budgets of a couple of > hundred farmworker families. > > These contamination and infrastructure problems have grown unchecked > since development in the Central Valley began. Virtually every water > agency ignores California's massive groundwater contamination problem. > Regulatory agencies such as the state and regional Water Quality > Control boards have given a green light to rampant agricultural > pollution. California and Texas remain the only states in the country > without a groundwater management program. > > Meanwhile, the state has developed an elaborate and expensive system > to pipe crystal-clear Northern California river water to Central > Valley farms, at taxpayer expense. The vast webs of canals and > aqueducts, subsidized by public dollars, bring water to Central Valley > farms. Fresh, clean water flows right by the homes of men and women > who harvest the irrigated fields, but have no access to safe drinking > water. > > Without the ability to hire highly paid staffers and lobbyists, farm > families find their voices drowned out by the raging debates about > California water. They continually fall through the cracks of local, > state and regional planning. > > Instead of talking about future water needs, we need to talk about the > chronic lack of access to clean drinking water Central Valley > residents face every day. Instead of spending billions of dollars on > building new reservoirs, let's talk about protecting one of > California's largest existing reservoirs - our groundwater. > > California water agencies can start by making a serious commitment to > groundwater protection and management. The largest sources of > groundwater contamination in the Central Valley - agriculture and > dairies - are virtually unregulated. Agriculture is allowed to > discharge waste water that does not meet Clean Water Act standards, > while virtually every other industry must meet these basic water > quality standards. This highly toxic water then contaminates the > source of drinking water for many small communities. > > The state could play a lead role in developing innovative solutions > and projects to address the problem. Right now, regulatory and water > resource agencies acknowledge the level of contamination but have > refused to take action. > > Many organizations have developed projects and proposals that would > take important steps to relieving the drinking water crisis, such as > requiring groundwater management plans of industries and agencies, > setting aside state funds to address the contamination and requiring > water districts to work with communities that do not have clean > drinking water in their area to develop alternative water sources. > Unfortunately, most of these programs fall apart as soon as industry > objects and then the state shirks its duty, saying the problem is too > big, unwieldy or out of its jurisdiction. Time and again, we have seen > agencies, legislators, and policymakers fail to take meaningful action > on groundwater protection and management, because it is a tough issue. > > The governor is right. We do need to invest in California's water > infrastructure. The place to start should be obvious for such a golden > state: ensuring all communities have safe, clean and affordable > drinking water. > > /Laurel Firestone is co-director of the Community Water Center, based > in Visalia. Amy Vanderwarker is the outreach coordinator for the > Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, based in Oakland. They will > be participating in a panel discussion on water and social justice as > part of the Commonwealth Club's Cool Clear Water series on Aug. 30th. > More information is available at www.commonwealthclub.org/water > / > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >env-trinity mailing list >env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us >http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity > > From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Aug 29 09:41:55 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:41:55 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity County supervisor looks to improve forest care Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C4EB@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity County supervisor looks to improve forest care http://redding.com/news/2007/aug/28/trinity-county-supervisor-looks-to-i mprove-care/ By Record Searchlight staff Tuesday, August 28, 2007 A Trinity County supervisor is helping in a statewide effort by county leaders to tackle climate change issues. Jeff Morris is leading a working group for the California State Association of Counties along with a supervisor from Napa County. Coming from a timber county, Morris said one of the best ways to slow global warming is through improved forest management. "Catastrophic wildfires are one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases on the West Coast," he said. After meeting twice earlier this summer, the group put together draft climate-change policy statements that are being reviewed by other county supervisors across the state. The state association is expected to take a stance on the issues later this year. In September, Morris is set to attend the National Association of Counties Climate Protection Forum in Washington, D.C. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From duleyd at co.mendocino.ca.us Wed Aug 29 16:32:51 2007 From: duleyd at co.mendocino.ca.us (Dusty Duley) Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 16:32:51 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] westlands water district Message-ID: <46D59FB30200007000002283@nwca00.mendocino.gov> http://www.sunmt.org/carterwater.html Further Down the Drain, Sun Mt Environmental Center and Multimedia By Lloyd G. Carter August 2008 "Since pre-Columbian times, the Westlands area was known to be part of the uninhabitable Great California Desert." From the history section of the Westlands Water District Website, www.WestlandsWater.org For more than half a century, growers in the fabled Westlands Water District have been the "bad boys" of federal irrigation projects in the American West, ignoring residency and acreage requirements for taxpayer-subsidized water, getting Congress to change laws they didn't like, seducing both Republicans and Democrat politicians with a river of campaign contributions, and reaping more crop, water and power subsidies, tax breaks, and debt forgiveness than any other group of farmers in America. Now they are poised to pull off the biggest coup in their controversial history. If they get what they are asking for, 260 billion gallons of publicly-owned water a year for 60 years, they will capture water worth anywhere from $20 to $40 billion - that's billion with a B - with which they are free to farm tainted soils with, OR resell to urban interests at fantastic profit margins. At the current retail market price of $500-600 an acre-foot in Southern California, the Westlands water, purchased at a fraction of its true valley could be worth $2,000 an acre-foot by 2050, when there could be 60 million Californians. The potential value of 15.6 trillion gallons of water in a drought-stricken climate staggers the imagination. The catch? Westlands says it will solve a problem being caused by irrigation of its drainage-impaired, highly saline soils, contaminated with the toxic trace element selenium. Westlands makes this promise despite 52 years of federal research and hundreds of millions of dollars in studies that have failed to come up with a wildlife-safe, effective and affordable solution. It gets better. Westlands also wants forgiveness on an already interest free $489 million capital debt for taxpayer construction of its water delivery system it should have already paid off. But first a little history. After pumping a huge aquifer dry on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in less than 40 years, the patriarchal families of the West Side, the Giffens, the Harrises, the O'Neills, the Dieners, the Wolfsens and a few others, turned to a folksy tire salesman from Texas named B.F. "Bernie" Sisk. They bankrolled Sisk's try for Congress and in 1955 he landed in the nation's capitol. Sisk spent the next five years tirelessly promoting a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project to bring Northern California (Trinity River) water to western Fresno County. In a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives in 1959, Sisk promised that if the San Luis Unit (which would have been the last major leg of the Central Valley Project begun in the 1930s) was built, there would 6,000 family farmers on 100-acre ranches on the West Side and peace and prosperity would prevail. It was the first of many misrepresentations Westlands, or its supporters, would make over the next 48 years. Twenty-five years after Sisk's promise, in 1984, there were still only 240 growers in Westlands and 40 of them, mostly from the original founding families, controlled over half the land and all the politics in the one-acre, one-vote district. Southern Pacific Railroad, Chevron, and cotton king J.G. Boswell were among the major Westlands landholders who influenced and directed district politics. The late Paul S. Taylor, a University of California economics professor who was a well known critic of Reclamation policies in the mid-20th century wrote a 1964 article in which he quoted Alabama Congressman Oscar Underwood's1902 speech on the floor of Congress, the year the Reclamation program was created to protect and foster family farming: "Federal reclamation began as a program to help 'farm boys' who 'want farms of their own' to obtain them 'without being driven into the already overcrowded cities to seek employment.'" Many of the "farm boys" from Westlands would eventually live in multi-million dollar mansions in North Fresno, on the San Joaquin River bluffs or toney Van Ness Extension Avenue, 50 miles from their industrialized farming operations, in a zip code that receives more farm subsidies than any other zip code in America, 93711. The first thing West Side growers did after the water delivery project was approved by Congress in 1960 was to annex another 200,008 acres known as the West Plains Water Storage into the 400,000-acre Westlands, a move a 1978 Congressional Task Force later concluded was unauthorized by Congress. Ironically, some land in the West Plains district had been designated too salty and unsuitable for irrigation by Bureau engineers in the 1950s when designing the original San Luis project, which included Westlands and three other adjacent small irrigation districts. Irrigation of the upslope West Plains lands, near the Coast Range along Interstate 5, would later worsen salty and selenium-plagued groundwater problems on the low-lying farmland near the trough of the Valley, where the San Joaquin River runs. Congressional funding intended for completing the drainage system was instead diverted to build a water delivery system for West Plains, according to the 1978 Task Force report. In exchange for bringing cheap subsidized water to the western valley, Westlands growers had agreed to break up the huge estates, including the 106,000 acres owned by Southern Pacific, and the 100,000 acres owned by the Giffen family, after 10 years. The excess land provisions in Reclamation law provided that a husband and wife could own 320 acres but no more than that. Of course, the Bureau of Reclamation had never enforced the residency requirement or the acreage limitation, which is what drew the wrath of Professor Taylor. When the mid-1970s rolled around, National Land for People, headed by George Ballis, sued to break up the huge ranches and actually give "farm boys" and farmworkers a chance to have ranches of their own. Fat chance. A celebrated 1977 San Francisco Examiner series titled "The Paper Farmers" chronicled how the big growers were evading the acreage limitations by, in some cases, adding the names of relatives, employees and even unborn children, to land deeds to increase the amount of cheap water they were eligible to receive. Westlands dragged its feet for several years in the National Land for People case, while the Bureau maintained the status quo on water deliveries, meaning big growers continued to get the cheap water for ranches which often exceeded 5,000 or 10,000 acres. Westlands also went to Congress and Rep. Tony Coelho, who had replaced his mentor Sisk in 1975. Coelho, who would become a powerhouse in the House before resigning following a real estate scandal, helped engineer the so-called "Reclamation Reform Act" in 1982, which didn't really "reform" anything but did legalize a lot of the outright illegality occurring over the acreage limitation. Coelho was aided by western states congressmen subservient to their own local large growers getting federal water. The Reform Act eliminated the residency requirement and boosted the eligible acreage for the cheap water to 960 acres. It also created an even bigger loophole by allowing growers to get cheap water for lands they leased, rather than owned. As a result, leasing schemes mushroomed overnight and the mega-farms continued to get the cheap water. Then in 1983-1984, the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge debacle hit, when word leaked out that drainage water from Westlands, being evaporated in 1,280 acres of diked ponds at Kesterson, was poisoning fish, ducks, and shorebirds at the dual purpose "refuge." Because of a subterranean clay layer underneath Westlands farmland, salty groundwater accumulated near the root zone. To protect crops the shallow groundwater had to be pumped out and sent somewhere else. The original plan was to funnel the salty drainage through the Delta to the Pacific Ocean. When Bay Area interests objected in the 1970s, Reclamation officials latched on to the risky idea of utilizing evaporation ponds at Kesterson as a stop gap measure while they undertook studies to convince the State Water Resources Control Board the drainwater would not harm the Delta. These studies revealed that much of Westlands' acreage was riddled with selenium, a trace element which is a micronutrient in very small doses but toxic in slightly higher amounts. Selenium had been washing out of the Coast Range mountains for eons, accumulating in the western valley. Selenium's toxicity to livestock was well known and Department of Agriculture studies in 1939 had actually detected elevated levels in Fresno County's western foothills but that information had been overlooked or ignored by Bureau officials eager to build the San Luis Unit. Many federal scientists saw Kesterson coming although they did not know that it would be selenium, not pesticides, that would cause Kesterson's Silent Spring. Despite the documented misgivings of field level biologists as early as 1962, the Department of Interior, parent agency of both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, had actually claimed in the late 1970s that the Westlands salty drainage would be good for the Kesterson wetlands. Amazingly, much of the tab for constructing the Kesterson facilities was deducted from the Westlands' repayment tab because it was designated a benefit to wildlife and the general public. The wetlands at the 5,900-acre Kesterson refuge adjacent to the San Joaquin River in Merced County were in the middle of the wintering grounds for hundreds of thousands of migratory ducks supposedly protected by an international treaty, the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. When full strength drainwater began flowing to Kesterson in 1981, high levels of selenium dissolved in the drainage water quickly moved into the food chain, killing fish and birds and triggering grotesque deformities in wildlife. Kesterson neighbors Jim and Karen Claus, who watched their cattle die after drinking water seeping from the evaporation ponds, filed a complaint with the regional water board and sounded the alarm. On March 15, 1985, following a year of intensive media scrutiny, including a segment on CBS' "60 Minutes" and front page stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post, Secretary of Interior Donald Hodel ordered the Kesterson ponds closed and irrigation water deliveries to Westlands shut off. Hodel said the evaporation ponds were a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A delegation of Westlands officials and growers, including former California Secretary of State Bill Jones (Jones' family owned several thousand acres in Westlands), traveled to Washington to lobby Hodel to resume irrigation deliveries. In exchange for the Bureau to continue the flow of Northern California water to Westlands, the water district officials signed an agreement on April 3, 1985 in which they pledged to halt drainage flows to Kesterson even though this would worsen their drainage crisis. In that 1985 agreement, Westlands also assumed any liability for lawsuits from individual Westlands growers. In 1991, some growers in a 42,000-acre area of Westlands who had originally drained their wastes to Kesterson filed suit against Westlands and the Bureau of Reclamation for damages caused when the drainage system was closed and plugged. The suit was placed on the back burner during the Clinton years, as Reclamation officials plodded along spending tens of millions of dollars on drainage studies, including a $50 million, five-year investigation by a state-federal team. Their report, issued in 1990, concluded the cheapest solution was to take the high selenium lands out of production and drastically reduce the amount of drainage produced. When George W. Bush came to office, the growers who had filed the lawsuit a decade earlier began pushing it again. A career Justice Department attorney, Yoshinori H.T. Himel, representing the Department of Interior and the Bureau in the grower suit, filed a motion in August of 2002 to get it dismissed. Himel pointed out that Westlands, in the 1985 agreement, had agreed "to design, install, and operate alternative means for disposal of drain water in an efficient and environmentally sound manner." Himel then noted that the 1985 Agreement "placed the obligation on Westlands "to design, install and operate alternative means for disposal of drain water from Westlands." Himel said alternative means included evaporation ponds, salt tolerant crops and recycling. While Himel acknowledged it could be argued the 1985 agreement may not have required Westlands to assume long-term responsibility for drainage for the entire San Luis Unit he said Westlands assumed, at the minimum, responsibility for solving the drainage problems of the 49,000 acres that had been draining to Kesterson. Himel added "One thing the Agreement did alter, however, was Westlands' obligation to indemnify the United States for, among other things, 'losses, damages, claims and liabilities' arising from Westlands' performance or non-performance of the Agreement. The language 'losses, damages, claims and liabilities' indicates money claims, such as Plaintiffs' money claims in this lawsuit . . . Westlands thus undertook at a minimum to indemnify the United States for lawsuits by those who might be dissatisfied with the results of Westlands' 'alternative means' for drainage." A federal court rejected this argument but critical issues of apportionment of liability for the drainage mess remained. Of course, we will never know what would have happened had the apportionment of fault issues been decided by a jury or a judge. Bennett Raley, a Colorado attorney who represented irrigation districts and was appointed Assistant Secretary for Water and Science by his Interior Secretary Gale Norton in 2001, made sure that a trial on the merits did not happen. Raley, undoubtedly with the support of Norton and the White House, undercut Himel and other Justice Department career attorneys defending the suit, agreeing to a $139 million settlement in December of 2002, with most of the money coming from U.S. taxpayers, not Westlands. Raley, of course, gained fame in 2002 for allotting water from Oregon's Klamath River to irrigators rather than to endangered fish, leading to a massive salmon die-off. News reports later indicated Vice President Dick Cheney masterminded the Klamath decision. It is unknown if Cheney or former White House advisor mastermind Karl Rove were consulted or involved in the decision to concede victory to the Westlands growers without a court fight. In an October, 24, 2002 pre-trial order for partial summary judgment in the growers' suit, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger noted that there was no dispute the growers continued to irrigate their lands knowing "that their lands would be damaged without drainage." Wanger added, "There are multiple issues to address at trial, however, regarding the operative 'cause' of damage to plaintiffs' land, whether that damage constitutes a public or private nuisance, whether federal defendants and Westlands are concurrent tortfeasors, apportionment of any comparative fault of plaintiffs, and whether plaintiffs[] consented to or assumed the risk of a nuisance or trespass by demanding water deliveries to their farmlands, despite the knowledge that no drainage facility existed." (Emphasis added.) In other words, a jury or a judge may have found the growers knowingly ruined their own lands and might not have awarded them a cent in damages. But Raley, as already noted, pre-empted any jury determination of those issues and, contrary to the Justice Department attorneys' written arguments, settled. Under the settlement, the federal government was to pay $107 million to have the farmers' lawsuit dismissed. Westlands had to spend $32 million to settle its part of the case, buying 34,000 acres of the plaintiff's ruined land and retiring it. "We weren't batting a thousand with this court," Raley claimed in a 2002 interview with the Sacramento Bee. "They were claiming that we had damaged them, damages in excess of $400 million." Raley did not mention Westlands officials had signed the April 1985 agreement assuming liability for all such lawsuits or that his own government attorneys thought they had a good case and could win in court. Rep. George Miller and environmental activists howled at the settlement, which they warned would be used as a precedent for the still unsolved drainage problem facing the Western San Joaquin Valley. Having given away $107 million in taxpayer money, Raley returned to private practice representing water districts in December of 2004. Following the 2002 settlement (in which the federal government admitted no wrongdoing), Westlands worked on getting a new long-term water delivery contract and pressuring Reclamation to come up with a drainage solution because a district court, and then the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, had ruled Reclamation had a legal obligation to try and complete a drainage system for Westlands. Westlands growers had a powerful ally in Jason Peltier, a native Californian and deputy secretary at Interior who was the Administration's point man on western water issues and was a former lobbyist for Westlands and other California federal irrigation districts. Peltier claimed in news interviews he had nothing to do with matters involving Westlands. However, Westlands recently hired Peltier at an undisclosed salary. A former regional Reclamation official, Susan Ramos, has also been hired by Westlands. Which brings us to the present. Westlands general manager and general counsel Tom Birmingham is now pushing a "global" settlement to the outstanding drainage lawsuits (filed by water districts downslope from Westlands) and Westlands' desire for a long-term secure water supply. In recent closed door meetings with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Valley congressmen Dennis Cardoza and Jim Costa (who represents the Westlands area), Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Hamilton Candee and a few others, the various stakeholders have tried to work out a deal. The news media is not permitted to cover these talks while decisions are made involving billions of taxpayer dollars. Ed Imhoff, a retired federal scientist who headed a post-Kesterson $50 million, five-year study of the drainage problem from 1985-1990, was also kept out of the talks. Feinstein reportedly insisted "too many" people were in on the talks. Imhoff has been critical of the proposed drainage solutions of both Reclamation and Westlands. His 1990 study, dubbed the "Rainbow Report" noted land retirement was the cheapest option. In the Central Valley Project, water supplies have always been distributed on a first in time, first in right priority system in which the oldest CVP irrigation districts get the water they need before irrigation districts down the totem pole get their water. Westlands, as the last CVP area to come on line, is at the bottom of the totem pole. This has often meant drastically reduced supplies for Westlands. For example, during the 1987-1992 drought, Westlands, in 1990 and 1991, only got 25 percent of its annual contract amount of 1.15 million acre-feet (an acre-foot is 325,851 gallons). Westlands has tried repeatedly in court to get on the same footing as more senior water contractors but to no avail. The drainage crisis, widely misunderstood and mishandled by both Reclamation and Westlands, has provided the growers an opening. A few months ago, Westlands announced it could solve the drainage dilemma for less than half of the $2.6 billion Reclamation officials say it will cost to provide reverse osmosis, bio-remediation, recycling, and land retirement. Birmingham said that in exchange for letting the Bureau off the hook on drainage, Westlands wanted the Bureau's extraordinarily valuable state water permit and operational control of the huge San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos. As anticipated, the audacious claim provoked a hostile response from Rep. Miller, Northern California interests and environmental groups statewide. Birmingham then abandoned that strategy amid a torrent of negative publicity and, in the first week of August, just prior to another closed door meeting with Feinstein he came up with a revised, but still sketchy, proposal. Birmingham suggested that if the federal government would forgive a $489 million debt the Westlands owes for capital construction costs, and would exempt Westlands and other San Luis Unit water districts from acreage limitations and pricing provisions of federal law, Westlands would take over responsibility for the drainage mess. In addition, Westlands wants a 60-year water delivery contract with rights of renewal (federal law now prohibits federal water contracts in excess of 25 years) and wants the Bureau to authorize transfer of title to various pumping plants, internal distribution systems, and the Coalinga Canal. Apparently unmentioned in the Feinstein talks is that Westlands signed a "waiver/indemnity agreement" with Interior back on April 3, 1985, after the Kesterson closure or that the federal government admitted no liability in the 2002 settlement. The claim that the United States is somehow responsible for any damage to the former desert lands and thus should make major concessions on water delivery or drainage issues is simply unproven in a court of law. Feinstein also seems unclear on the concept that even though the Bureau estimates it may take up to $2.6 billion to produce a drainage program, Westlands is ultimately required under the 1960 legislation to pay for it, albeit over 40 or 50 years and interest free. Neither the district court nor the Ninth Circuit has ever held that Congress must appropriate money to build a drainage system or that Westlands would not have to ultimately pay for it. Moreover, few people in Washington seem to be questioning why Westlands should get off the hook for the $489 million still owed on the delivery system. If a man builds you a house and a plumbing system and fouls up the pipes underneath the bathroom, you don't get the house for free. You just get your plumbing fixed. Following a meeting in her office on Aug.1, Senator Feinstein said of a potential agreement "the devil is in the details." Environmentalists fear she isn't really paying attention to the details or looking out for the interests of American taxpayers and especially Californians, who are cutting back usage in urban areas while Westlands' 500-600 growers could get enough water annually to meet the needs of a city of eight million people, or two cities the size of Los Angeles. Consider this: If Westlands gets 800,000 acre-feet of water a year, which is what it would like, that translates to 260.68 billion gallons of water a year and 15 trillion, 640 billion gallons over the life of the proposed 60-year contract. If you calculate the urban retail value of 800,000 acre-feet of water at a conservative $500 an acre-foot (Rep. Grace Napolitano of Los Angeles, new chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources, says its $600 an acre-foot in Southern California) you come up with $400 million a year. Assuming the Westlands pays a generous $100 an acre-foot (they will argue for, and probably get, a cheaper price) that means they will pay $80 million for $400 million worth of water in a given year. Over 60 years, $400 million times 60 turns out to be $24 billion worth of water for a few hundred growers(Westlands claims 600 growers but has never produced a list and critics say it could be as few as 400). And many of those "growers are connected by blood or marriage, or simply entities operating under different corporate names but controlled by the same people. Of course, in my example, they would pay for 20 percent of that water ($100 an acre-foot) which means the retail value of that water delivered over the life of the contract, less what they paid for it, would be $19.2 billion. Actually, the potential profits of water sale could be much higher. First of all, you can bet that the current urban price of water will be far higher in 60 years, when the western San Joaquin Valley may look like the San Fernando Valley. Water then may be worth $2,000 an acre-foot or even more if climate change produces extended drought. Although Westlands' Birmingham contends any guaranteed supply of water is strictly for farming in the district, there is no question it is legally permissible, thanks to a 1992 change in Reclamation law, for Westlands to sell its water on the retail market to the highest bidder, i.e. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which has an insatiable thirst. Indeed, several San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts are already selling water to developers or urban interests and some individual Westlands growers have already offered to sell water to Metropolitan. They understand very well that water is the new cash crop. Westlands' so-called solution to the drainage problem is (1) conservation, (2) recycling and the most controversial and unproven, (3) use of sprinklers to disperse the tainted drainage water into the air, with the water evaporating and the salts and selenium falling back onto a gravel bed. The technology has never been tried large scale other than on one California Department of Water Resources test plot that was less than the size of a city lot. Westlands officials have not explained where the millions of tons of salts that would accumulate over the decades would be hauled for disposal. Or what would happen if their scheme did not work. Environmentalists worry the drift of the salty spray from the sprinklers, especially in windy conditions, could damage surrounding fields or further taint groundwater. And sprinklers, or puddling of water would surely draw wildlife to the tainted water. The spray drift zone downwind would be more than two football fields long. If trees were planted for a drift barrier that would created a selenium-charged terrestrial environment. Huge amounts of land for a safety zone around the sprinklers would be required for the amount of drainage Westlands generates. The district hasn't said how much land. So if Westlands' drainage scheme doesn't work the growers will simply idle the bad lands and keep the very valuable water which they can resell to the highest bidder under the 1992 law. How fortunate. At Feinstein's Aug. 1 meeting with Birmingham and others, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientist Joseph Skorupa was not in attendance although Senator Feinstein reportedly asked for him to be there. Skorupa is probably the premier expert in the United States on the impacts of farm drainage water on wildlife, especially birds, and has been studying San Joaquin Valley drainage since the 1980s. Fish and Wildlife managers, under pressure from Bureau officials, told Sen. Feinstein that Skorupa was unable to attend the Aug. 1 Washington meeting. According to sources at Interior, however, this was an outright lie and Skorupa was both willing, and able, to attend the Feinstein meeting. Ironically, the same day Skorupa was told he could not attend the Feinstein meeting, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dale Hall was testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee Hearing regarding Interior's questionable scientific and policy decisions under the Endangered Species Act and claimed that "Science is the cornerstone of the Service's work; it is what guides the agency's decisions." Unless, of course, Westlands is involved. Westlands growers have making campaign contributions to Feinstein for years, including nearly $5,000 personally from Birmingham. No one has calculated how much. But they have a lot to gain if Feinstein buys off on their proposal and sponsors legislation. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website, in a recent year the largest 10 percent of the farms in the Central Valley Project - which stretches from Redding to Bakersfield - got 67 percent of the water, and of course, Westlands has the biggest CVP farms of all and uses the most water of any district. Twenty-seven large CVP farms, most in the Westlands, received water subsidies averaging in excess of $1 million annually (i.e. the cost of replacement water). One Westlands farm, Woolf Enterprises, received more water by itself than 70 water districts in the Central Valley Project, for a subsidy worth up to $4.2 million annually at urban prices for water. EWG has also documented that CVP farmers get power subsidies to pump that Delta water uphill into the San Joaquin Valley at rates that are about 1/15th what the average citizen pays for the monthly electricity bill. CVP growers' water rates are about two percent of Los Angeles residents' rates. Fortunately, any deal the Westlands/Bush Administration cabal makes with Feinstein must run the gauntlet of a Democratic Congress, which may not be as solicitous of the Westlands as Feinstein is. Rep. Miller and Rep. Napolitano promise to closely monitor any sweetheart water giveaway. California environmental groups, fishing groups and Northern California Native Americans are also mobilizing to fight the latest Westlands scheme. One question for Congress to ask is how many billions do American taxpayers owe the few hundred Westlands growers? Kesterson whistleblower Felix Smith, a retired Fish and Wildlife Service biologist who first leaked to the news media the selenium-caused bird deformities, has been writing about the Kesterson debacle for 25 years. He estimates the overall subsidy to the Westlands (cheap water, cheap power, interest free construction costs), per acre, is now well over $6,600 per acre, or $3 billion for the whole district. The per acre subsidy is far more than the land is worth. More worrisome is that if Westlands is guaranteed an enormous amount of water, it will increase the stress on a Delta that is already on the verge of ecological collapse due to overpumping by the State Water Project as well as the federal pumps. However, Westlands' "farm boys" are hoping that public apathy and congressional confusion or ignorance will result in one more very big payday. Over 15.6 trillion gallons of water in the middle of a desert. Think of the riches. Their desert may be uninhabitable but it does rain money. If you want to protect your tax dollars and slow down the Westlands express you can go to, and sign the petition at, www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-more-secret-deals. The Planning and Conservation League is also adding information on the Westlands proposal to its website. It is your tax money and your public water supply that is being given away. The devil is indeed in the details. Stay informed. Lloyd Carter has been writing about Westlands water issues for more than 30 years and served as a reporter for United Press International from 1969 to 1984 and again from 1987 to 1990. He spent three years as a reporter at the Fresno Bee from 1984 to 1987. He won the San Francisco Press Club's Best Environmental Coverage award in 1985 for his stories on the bird deformities at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge caused by selenium-tainted drainage water from Westlands. He is now an attorney in Fresno, CA. Dusty Duley Planner I Mendocino County Planning and Building Services 501 Low Gap Road, Room 1440 Ukiah, CA 95482 Phone: (707) 463-4281 FAX: (707) 463-5709 email: duleyd at co.mendocino.ca.us Web site: www.co.mendocino.ca.us/planning/ From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Aug 30 10:33:33 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:33:33 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] =?windows-1252?q?MASSIVE_CALIFORNIA_WATER_RECLAMATI?= =?windows-1252?q?ON_SCHEME_FULL_OF_HOLES_=97_EPA_Warns_of_Unproven?= =?windows-1252?q?_Approach?= Message-ID: <00b501c7eb2c$4fa8a810$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=913 News Releases Print Email For Immediate Release: August 30, 2007 Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337 MASSIVE CALIFORNIA WATER RECLAMATION SCHEME FULL OF HOLES ? EPA Warns of Unproven Approach, Severe Eco-Effects and Huge Taxpayer Costs Sacramento ?A multi-billion dollar Bureau of Reclamation plan to address mounting irrigation-induced pollution in California?s Central Valley is packed with economic, environmental and technical problems, according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency memo released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Rather than retire the land producing the drainage contamination, Reclamation is pushing an expensive scheme for agribusiness to assume control and continue irrigation. One danger is a repeat of an ecological disaster from the early 1980s that went by the name Kesterson. Tens of thousands of grotesquely deformed and dead birds littered the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, poisoned by selenium and other toxics that accumulated in irrigation drainage water from the Westlands Water District, the nation?s largest and most influential irrigator. In 1985, the Bureau of Reclamation closed the drainage conduits to Kesterson, and Westlands pledged to solve the drainage problem. Twenty years later, that solution still appears elusive. Reclamation?s latest plan relies upon untested technology and an unprecedented privatization of federal water power. In exchange for the San Luis Contractors (which includes Westlands) finally addressing drainage problems, Reclamation proposes increasing water deliveries, forgiving Central Valley debt repayment worth tens of billions of dollars over the next 60 years, and ceding the contractors control of public water facilities. In an August 21, 2007 memo, EPA Regional Administrator Carolyn Yale outlined several concerns to Reclamation Mid-Pacific Regional Director Frederico Barajas, including ? a.. The ?current proposal assumes unproven feasibility for complete management, treatment and disposal of drainage on a regional scale?; b.. Likelihood of ?unacceptable environmental impacts? such as ?continued generation of high volumes of contaminated drainage without the assurance of effective and economic treatment and disposal? and ?the potential to yield biologically available organic forms of selenium?; and c.. Significant taxpayer liability since irrigators will not ?assume responsibility for the full cost of generating, managing and disposing of agricultural drainage? based upon ?cost estimates provided by the districts?substantially below the Reclamation?s calculations? of what is required. ?The Bureau of Reclamation seems to be peddling selenium snake oil,? stated California PEER Director Karen Schambach, noting that Reclamation historically backs irrigator preferences. ?The Bureau selenium bio-treatment scenario is simply wishful thinking, unsupported by a shred of credible science.? The San Joaquin River already suffers from severe selenium effects and is an impaired water body for a 130-mile stretch, reaching down to its delta, Suisun Bay and adjacent marshes. The impacts also extend to the salmon and steelhead of the Sacramento, American, Trinity and Klamath Rivers. ?Left to its own devices, the Bureau of Reclamation will embrace a hugely expensive boondoggle that may result in the mother of all Kestersons,? Schambach warned. ?It would be far more effective and ten times less expensive to retire the land and shut off the irrigation pumps.? ### Read the EPA memo See the economic comparison of retiring the land versus other options Find out more about Bureau of Reclamation?s plans Contact PEER Tell-a-Friend Your Privacy Ph: (202) 265-7337 ? Fax: (202) 265-4192 ? email: info at peer.org all content ? peer.org 2007 website created and hosted by puffinworks http://www.sfgate.com:80/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/30/BAHVRRMP6.DTL&hw=selenium&sn=001&sc=1000 EPA questions toxics cleanup proposal in exchange for water rights Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, August 30, 2007 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concerns about a proposal to have a group of San Joaquin Valley farmers clean up a toxic farm-water drainage problem in exchange for promises of water and debt relief from the federal government, according to an EPA memo provided to The Chronicle on Wednesday. The proposed deal, which is still subject to extensive environmental review and congressional approval, would ensure water rights for landowners in the Westlands Water District for 60 years - more than double the length of a normal water contract. In return, the sprawling water district would assume responsibility for cleaning up a polluted mess created 20 years ago when naturally occurring salt and selenium drained off irrigated farmland, killing and deforming wildlife. The Aug. 21 memo written by EPA Regional Administrator Carolyn Yale, expresses reservations about the feasibility of management, treatment and disposal of the contaminants by agricultural interests without government assistance and oversight. "We are concerned about the possibility of implementing a drainage plan which allows continued generation of high volumes of contaminated drainage without the assurance of effective and economic treatment and disposal," states the memo, which was addressed to Frederico Barajas, the regional director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It urges the bureau to implement extensive monitoring of the cleanup program and testing of drainage water. The U.S. government has calculated it would cost $2.6 billion to clean up the mess. Westlands officials believe they can do it for less than $1 billion, according to government sources. The water agency and its farmers owe the federal government nearly $500 million. The farmers would have that debt forgiven under the latest proposal. That debt has lingered since the 1930s, when the Bureau of Reclamation advanced the money to build the massive water distribution system known as the Central Valley Project. That system pumps water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and redistributes it to cities and farms in the San Joaquin Valley. The high-stakes negotiations pit the politically connected farmers with vast tracts of cropland against conservationists who are opposed to giving away precious drinking water. Several environmental groups have already expressed some of the same concerns outlined in the EPA memo. The Westlands Water District is a coalition of agribusinesses in the San Joaquin Valley that use water from the Central Valley Project, which in addition to supplying irrigation water also delivers drinking water to about 1 million households. Much of the food in California, including lettuce and tomatoes, is grown with the project's water. Karen Schambach, the California director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said turning cleanup over to the farmers is asking for another mishap like the one at the Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge, where thousands of dead and deformed birds were linked to the runoff. The group gave the memo to The Chronicle. "The Bureau of Reclamation seems to be peddling selenium snake oil," Schambach said. "It would be far more effective and 10 times less expensive to retire the land and shut off the irrigation pumps." Given the financial interests at stake, the pumps are not likely to be shut down completely, according to experts, but the complex negotiations are far from over. They are going on at a time when jurisdictional battles over water rights are becoming more contentious after a dry winter. Predictions of more frequent droughts as a result of global warming have not helped matters. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Westlands Water District could not be reached for comment. Online resource Read the EPA memo links.sfgate.com/ZRC E-mail Peter Fimrite at pfimrite at sfchronicle.com This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: printer.gif Type: image/gif Size: 111 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: envelope_icon.gif Type: image/gif Size: 216 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: top_arrow.gif Type: image/gif Size: 282 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Aug 31 21:57:45 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:57:45 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Governor's Press Release Message-ID: <4A2FAB921C324DEA8D013D54B8CCC83B@ByronsLaptop> Governor's response to Judge Wanger's ruling today http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/press-release/7320/ PRESS RELEASE 8/31/2007 GAAS:695:07 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gov. Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Federal Court Ruling to Restrict Water Supply throughout California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after Federal Court Judge Oliver Wanger ruled to significantly restrict water deliveries from the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta to the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California: "Today's federal court ruling to drastically cut Delta water exports is further proof that our water system is broken, unreliable and in crisis. Judge Oliver Wanger's decision is a devastating blow to our water supply system and state economy. We must act now to ensure the safety and reliability of California's water system while we work to protect the environment. "This decision is also going to have a devastating impact on the state's economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water. "Earlier this year, I proposed a comprehensive water plan to ensure that California has enough clean, safe water for our people, businesses, farms and for the environment. I've also established the Delta Vision Task Force to provide recommendations and help us find solutions to fix the Delta. We need to invest in a better conveyance system so we have reliable water supplies and are able to protect the Delta's fragile ecosystem. Following today's ruling, there can be no doubt, we need more water storage and greater conservation efforts to meet the needs of our growing population, respond to the challenge climate change presents and meet the requirements of what the court has imposed." Building on his Strategic Growth Plan from last year, the Governor introduced a $5.9 billion comprehensive water plan in January. The Governor's plan invests $4.5 billion to develop additional surface and groundwater storage, so we can protect communities against flooding and capture water from storms and snowmelt run-off to supply cities, farmers and business with water during drought conditions. The plan also includes $1 billion toward restoration of the Delta, including development of a new conveyance system, $250 million to support restoration projects on the Klamath, San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers and the Salton Sea project and $200 million for grants to California communities to help conserve water for about 400,000 families. The Governor has directed the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force to develop a Delta management plan. The task force will present its findings and recommendations by January 1, 2008 and its Strategic Plan by October 31, 2008. The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is also underway, being developed with broad participation from water agencies, environmental organizations and local representatives. The $1 billion proposed in the Governor's comprehensive plan will be used to fund their recommendations. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From TBedros765 at aol.com Fri Aug 31 09:36:37 2007 From: TBedros765 at aol.com (TBedros765 at aol.com) Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:36:37 EDT Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Tribe vs. NRDC Message-ID: Media Contacts: Danny Jordan (530) 625-4211 Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE QUESTIONS NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL?S STAND ON SAN JOAQUIN RIVER SETTLEMENT Hoopa, Calif. ? The Natural Resource Defense Council?s (NRDC) support for the Congressional settlement (H.R. 24) of the San Joaquin River lawsuit is at odds with its commitment to environmental justice and will short change the restoration efforts of the Trinity River in Humboldt County, according to Danny Jordan, one of the water negotiators for the Hoopa Valley Tribe. ?We are the only ones we know with a substantial stake in Central Valley Project environmental restoration programs who were denied a seat at the table during months of negotiations that concluded with a settlement bill being introduced,? said Jordan. The mission statement of the NRDC calls for minorities to be relieved of the ? disproportionate burden? environmental abuses inflicted on their communities ? So it is very sad that we were neither seen nor heard until others had made a decision at the expense of our environment,? said Jordan, whose reservation is bisected by the Trinity River and whose fishery is protected as a federal trust asset. Jordan said the Department of the Interior has recognized the San Joaquin settlement will cause an annual reduction of up to a 25 percent in funds available from the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) restoration fund. ? Implementation of the San Joaquin River settlement should not come at the expense of ongoing CVPIA environmental restoration activities or the federal trust responsibility to our tribe expressly recognized in the CVPIA,? said Jordan. The tribe has provided Congress and the settlement parties with proposed amendments that would protect the interests of Trinity River restoration without affecting the core principles of the settlement. ?We think this can be resolved with a good faith effort on all sides? said Jordan. ?Unfortunately,? he added, ?time is running short so we have to act soon.? -30- ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NRDCPR8-27.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 23838 bytes Desc: not available URL: From awhitridge at snowcrest.net Tue Sep 4 08:14:52 2007 From: awhitridge at snowcrest.net (Arnold Whitridge) Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 08:14:52 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] TAMWG agenda for Sept 11 Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20070904055212.00c513d0@mail.snowcrest.net> env-trinity population, Here's the proposed agenda for next week's meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group. Visitors welcome... Arnold Whitridge, TAMWG chair Draft Agenda TRINITY ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, Weaverville, CA Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Time Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action on: Presenter 1. 9:00 a.m. Adopt agenda; approve June minutes 2. 9:10 Open forum; public comment 3. 9:20 Designated Federal Officer topics Randy Brown 4. 9:30 TRRP budget development and management Doug Schleusner 5. 10:00 TMC issues; TAMWG-TMC communications group discussion 6. 10:30 Experience with other restoration efforts Mike Berry, DFG 7. 11:30 Fish returns; river conditions Wade Sinnen, Joe Polos, Nina Hemphill noon Lunch 8. 1:00 pm Executive Director's report Doug Schleusner 9. 1:20 Channel rehabilitation planning/design update Brandt Gutermuth, Joe Reiss, Dark Gulch/Lewiston 4, Master EIR/Phase 2 John Klochak 10. 1:50 Tentative date and agenda topics for next meeting 11. 2:00 Pre-construction habitat assessment at Indian Creek Charlie Chamberlain, Aaron Martin, Nina Hemphill 12. 2:30 Field Trip Overview El Solbos, Joe Reiss 13. 2:45 Field Trip: Indian Creek rehab site RIG & TMAG staff 5:00 Adjourn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Tue Sep 4 16:37:10 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 16:37:10 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Junction City and Willow Creek weir trapping totals Message-ID: <010701c7ef4c$8a404810$0201a8c0@optiplex> Thanks to Wade Sinnen for the attached: To interested parties, Attached is an excel spreadsheet containing trapping totals through Sept. 2 for two main stem Trinity River weirs. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 37888 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Sep 4 14:38:47 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 14:38:47 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Judge Wanger Rules Against Delta Pumps Message-ID: <000301c7efdc$cad24550$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> The news below is of such significance that I am forwarding all of the news clippings available on this topic. Tom Stokely -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dan Bacher [mailto:danielbacher at fishsniffer.com] Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2007 6:28 PM Subject: Judge Orders State and Federal Governments to Reduce Pumping to Protect Delta Smelt U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger on Friday ruled to restrict water deliveries from the California Deltas massive export pumps to the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California to protect the threatened delta smelt, an indicator species. Judge Orders State And Federal Governments to Reduce Pumping to Protect Delta Smelt By Dan Bacher (Fresno) In a landmark decision, a federal judge on August 31 ordered state and federal water project managers to reduce the amount of water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect the threatened delta smelt from extinction. Environmentalists generally praised the ruling, even though the decision didnt go as far as they wanted, while Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and water agency representatives claimed the decision would devastate Californias water supplies and the economy. U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger ruled to restrict water deliveries from the California Deltas massive export pumps to the Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California to protect the fish. The Delta smelt is found only in the Bay-Delta estuary and is considered by scientists to be an indicator species demonstrating the health of the West Coasts largest estuary. Wanger, after hearing testimony from the defendants that other factors such as invasive species and toxics resulted in the collapse of the imperiled fish, said the pumps cause reverse flows in the Delta that kill smelt and damage vital habitat. "The evidence is uncontradicted that these project operations move the fish. It happens and the law says something has to be done about it, said Wanger. The ruling will reduce pumping from the end of the December, when the fish are ready to spawn, until June, when the fish can move out of harms way from the pumps into Suisun Bay. Thousands of smelt were killed in the state and federal pumps this May and June, in spite of a nine day reduction in pumping spurred by a court order issued by Alameda Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch in a separate lawsuit filed by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Kate Poole, Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said that Wangers ruling appears to improve the smelt's chances of survival. NRDC, Earthjustice and two other environmental groups launched their lawsuit to prevent the smelts extinction at time when the fish has declined to record low levels. The question is whether it's enough to save the smelt from extinction, she stated. That's what's needed to protect the delta and clean drinking water, and it's what's required under the federal Endangered Species Act. "The San Francisco Bay Delta can't perform its vital job of supplying clean water for people, if it's so sick that it can't even support the tiny delta smelt. Millions of Californians depend on the delta to supply clean drinking water, irrigate crops and support salmon and other fishing jobs, said Poole. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger described the federal court ruling as devastating blow to our water supply system and state economy. Today's federal court ruling to drastically cut Delta water exports is further proof that our water system is broken, unreliable and in crisis, Schwarzenegger contended. We must act now to ensure the safety and reliability of California's water system while we work to protect the environment. This decision is also going to have a devastating impact on the state's economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water. Schwarzenegger used the judges decision as another chance to promote his campaign to build a peripheral canal code-worded as a better conveyance system and more water storage behind two proposed reservoirs in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. We need to invest in a better conveyance system so we have reliable water supplies and are able to protect the Delta's fragile ecosystem, said Schwarzenegger. Following today's ruling, there can be no doubt, we need more water storage and greater conservation efforts to meet the needs of our growing population, respond to the challenge climate change presents and meet the requirements of what the court has imposed. Jeff Kightlinger, General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), criticized the ruling for not addressing other factors in the Delta smelts decline. "Judge Wanger's decision to cut back water supplies doesn't address various other Delta problems and issues, Kightlinger said. Invasive species will continue to deplete food supplies for Delta smelt, pesticide runoff that can harm the estuary will persist, and the levee system will remain vulnerable to earthquakes and rising sea levels caused by climate change. MWD, the primary water importer for urban Southern California, claimed it stands to lose as much as 30 percent of its supplies from Northern California next year and possibly longer, based on initial estimates supplied by the state. "California simply cannot lose important water supplies without real consequences throughout the state," said Kightlinger. This historic court decision affirms what the water community has realized for some time, but the general public may not fully appreciate--the Delta, both as a valuable ecosystem and essential water supply, is broken. This court ruling did not fix it. However, Poole noted that it too early to determine exactly how much water would be taken out of water supplies to protect the smelt and she emphasized that the Delta can be managed to both protect fish and supply water to cities and agriculture by increased water conservation. "We can manage the San Francisco Bay Delta to protect fisheries and supply clean, reliable water to downstream users, she stated. The key is to use water wisely. Through conservation, wastewater recycling and better use of groundwater, we can keep enough fresh water in the delta to ensure clean water and healthy fisheries. Water managers have been planning for this for years." The judge gave both parties 50 days to jointly come up with an order after giving an outline of what he wanted. Wanger earlier this year tossed out a key U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinion regarding Delta water management and ordered the agency to rewrite the opinion. The August 31 ruling will be in effect only until the agency finishes rewriting the opinion. Fishing groups also welcomed the decision, although they werent sure exactly how much the decision would reduce pumping levels and protect the smelt. Nobody really knows the full ramifications of the decision yet, said Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Im also concerned that the ruling doesnt protect the delta smelt during the fall. However, the fact that a conservative federal judge had to compel the reduction of state and federal pumps to protect the smelt is a searing indictment of the state and federal governments' failure to protect the estuary. In response to Schwarzenegger's dire prediction of disaster resulting from the ruling, Jennings replied that the Governor could protect the water supplies of 99.9 percent of Californias urban and agricultural users if water-intensive cotton crops in the San Joaquin Valley were taken out of production. California's cotton production approximates 1.5 million bales annually from approximately 550,000 acres, representing the 2nd largest planted acreage of any crop in the state. Jennings also said Wangers decision should help strengthen the alliances current litigation against the Department of Water Resources and State Water Resources Control Board. Its clear that if the Delta is to be saved, given the political paralysis of the Schwarzenegger and Bush administrations, it will be saved in court, he said. Hopefully, the Wanger ruling will make a difference. The decision occurs in the context of an alarming decline in recent years of four California Delta pelagic (open water) species, including delta smelt, longfin smelt, striped bass and threadfin shad, as the state and federal governments have increased water exports by over 1,000,000 acre feet of water per year. On August 8, the Bay Institute, Center for Biological Diversity and NRDC simultaneously asked the federal government to list the Bay-Delta population of longfin smelt under the federal Endangered Species Act and the California Fish and Game Commission to list the species statewide under the California Endangered Species Act. Department of Water Resources California Water News A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment September 4, 2007 1. Top Item - Ruling to protect delta smelt may force water rationing in Bay Area - San Francisco Chronicle Judge limits Delta pumps Effort to save fish will hurt farmers and others, the state says. - Sacramento Bee Court ruling on delta alarms water officials - San Jose Mercury News Ruling to cut into water flow to region Judge's order will protect fish, but cause shortages - San Diego Union Tribune Smelt ruling may cut into water supply Official says the decision in an environmental suit could force a one-third reduction in shipments from the delta to the Southland. - Los Angeles Times ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Judge imposes water limits to protect Delta fish - Sacramento Bee Judge: Cut water to help endangered fish Delta fish near extinction - Oakland Tribune Ruling to protect delta smelt may force water rationing in Bay Area San Francisco Chronicle - 9/1/07 By Peter Fimrite, Staff Writer Cities around the Bay Area face the possibility of mandatory water rationing next year as a result of a federal court decision Friday to protect a rare fish found only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, state officials and water experts said. The decision, which could cut by up to a third the amount of water drawn from the delta, will definitely force conservation measures and, in the end, could be the most far-reaching decision ever made under endangered species laws, according to experts. The ruling, made Friday evening by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, was an attempt to help the delta smelt, a tiny fish once plentiful but now facing extinction. Environmentalists insist the huge Tracy-area pumps used by the State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project suck up smelt, killing huge numbers of them. Those water systems redistribute delta water to parts of the Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. "This is the most drastic cut ever to California water supplies," said Tim Quinn, the executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, a lobbying group that represents more than 400 agencies that deliver 90 percent of the state's water. "It is the most significant decision ever made in the implementation of either the state or federal Endangered Species Act. It's the biggest impact anywhere, nationwide." Water agency representatives said cropland is likely to go fallow, and cities in the Tri-Valley, Santa Clara County, Los Angeles and elsewhere could have to institute mandatory rationing programs in order to deal with the cuts in water. Agencies that rely on delta water - such as the Zone 7 Water Agency that serves Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin - also will have to rely on water reserves, threatening efforts to deal with severe droughts or disasters like earthquakes. The court case, which started Aug. 21 in Fresno, was an attempt to establish temporary guidelines for the protection of the 2- to 3-inch-long, silver-colored fish, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Once plentiful in the delta, the fish have been dying in large numbers over the past few years. The pumps are blamed, as is pollution from farms and cities and other factors. The environmentalists, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, were pitted against state and federal water brokers and their contractors. At stake was not only a rare species of fish uniquely adapted to the delta's shifting currents and brackish water but also the drinking water for 25 million Californians and irrigation for 750,000 acres of cropland. The ruling came after more than a week of expert testimony. In his decision issued from the bench, Wanger did not prohibit pumping. Instead, he required state and federal water officials to maintain sufficient water flow by reducing pumping or releasing more water upstream to prevent the smelt from being sucked into the pumps. The complicated ruling set water flow targets from late December through June, the primary spawning season when young smelt are in particular danger of being sucked into the pumps. It could mean up to 35 percent less water for the state, according to officials from the state Department of Water Resources. The decision is meant to be effective for about a year, after which federal wildlife officials are expected to issue their own decision on how to protect the smelt. But experts said there is no reason to expect that decision will free up more water. Some environmentalists said it didn't go quite far enough. "It's not as protective as we would have liked, but we're pleased that the government will be taking some measures to protect the smelt," said Kate Poole, one of the lawyers for the National Resources Defense Council. "It's a step in the right direction to restoring the delta. It's not clear whether this will protect the smelt and prevent its extinction." Jerry Johns, the deputy director of the Department of Water Resources, said the ruling might not have been as severe as environmentalists wanted, but it was harsh. Selling water around the state will be more difficult now that the delta pumps can't work as hard, he said. "The ability to move water across the market is greatly limited here because the delta can't perform," he said. The water fight started in 2005 when environmentalists sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after the agency issued an opinion saying that the federal and state water projects would not jeopardize the delta smelt. The plaintiffs said the pumping plants were primarily responsible for a drastic decline in the number of smelt in the delta. In May, Wanger ruled against federal authorities, essentially ordering the government to establish new guidelines to protect the fish. The state Department of Water Resources and the Fish and Wildlife Service now are attempting to come up with a new "biological opinion" - a conclusion about the impact the jointly operated water projects have on the fish species. Such biological opinions are required under the Endangered Species Act. The latest hearing was to determine what measures should be taken to protect the fish until that opinion is completed in about a year. The fact that the delta smelt is unique to the delta's vast network of channels, islands and marshes makes it a crucial gauge of the ecological health of the region. The species adapted over the eons to the brackish water, varying currents from converging rivers and flooding that has historically inundated the valley. Smelt swim only in bursts to get to locations where they can drift with the currents and feed, according to experts. They live for about a year, spawn and their larvae then drift down to Suisun Bay, where they grow and repeat the cycle. Over the past four or five years, experts have noticed a precipitous drop in the number and range of the smelt, historically the most common fish in the delta. Peter Moyle, a professor of fisheries at UC Davis, and Tina Swanson, the senior scientist at The Bay Institute, testified during the hearing that the smelt appear to get confused in the south delta because the pumps actually change the direction of the current. Moyle believes the delta smelt is on the verge of extinction. The fish is particularly vulnerable now, he said, because it is concentrated mostly in one area where a toxic spill or disaster of some sort could wipe them all out. Lawyers for the state and federal governments and water contractors argued that the pumps are only a minor part of the problem and that other factors - like nonnative predatory species, toxic runoff, wastewater dumping and unregulated pumping from farmers - are the major culprits. They wanted the other issues studied and addressed before limits on pumping were put in place. Environmentalists contend a limited water supply might impress upon the farmers the realities of global warming, thereby forcing them to grow more sustainable crops and install more efficient irrigation systems. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/01/MNPCRT83Q.DTL Judge limits Delta pumps Effort to save fish will hurt farmers and others, the state says. Sacramento Bee - 9/1/07 By John Ellis - Fresno Bee A federal judge on Friday ordered less water to be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the threatened Delta smelt, a decision state water officials said will hurt San Joaquin Valley farmers and Southern California residents alike. State Water Contractors, an organization representing more than two dozen agencies that buy water from the state, called the decision by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno the largest court-ordered water supply reduction in California history. "This may be the biggest impact anywhere, California or nationwide," said Terry Erlewine, the organization's general manager. In an average year -- when close to 6 million acre-feet of water is sent south from the Delta -- the giant pumps serving both the state and federal water projects could deliver up to 35 percent less water under the federal order, said Jerry Johns, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources. At issue are the giant pumping stations that are key to the state and federal water systems, devices that environmentalists say have driven the smelt to the brink of extinction. "The evidence is uncontradicted that these project operations move the fish," Wanger said after hearing objections from defendants, who had argued that other factors led to the fish's decline. "It happens, and the law says something has to be done about it." Under the ruling, limits would be put in place from the end of December, when the fish are about to spawn, until June, when young fish can move into better habitat with more food. Wanger also prescribed other measures, such as increased monitoring of the fish's presence in its adult and juvenile stages at several points in the Delta. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a written statement that the ruling would have "a devastating impact on the state's economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water." The full impact of the ruling remained unknown. People on both sides of the issue are working to grasp the details of Wanger's decision, which was delivered to a courtroom so packed that spectators were seated in the courtroom's jury box. Environmentalists, while pleased with the decision, were quick to point out that they didn't get everything they wanted. "It's kind of a mixed bag, but it's better than what we have now," said Trent Orr, an attorney with Earthjustice who is involved in the case. Environmentalists, for instance, had asked Wanger to require increased river water flows into the Delta starting this fall, which would push back saltier water that smelt can't tolerate and allow them to reach critical feeding grounds. Wanger declined to do that. His ruling Friday stems from a 2005 lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sought to help protect the Delta smelt population, which is listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. The 3-inch-long fish, which lives only a year, is considered an indicator of the Delta's health. "This species is not only in jeopardy, it is at the tipping point," Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Michael Wall said in his closing argument. State and federal water officials agree the smelt population is in decline, but there is broad disagreement with environmentalists on the reasons. Water officials say pumping is one reason, but other factors, such as loss of food supplies and the introduction of foreign plant and fish species, have altered the environment and caused the smelt population to plummet. Pumping can cause the river channels to run backward. Smelt are often tricked by the flow and can move with the current into the pumps, according to testimony during the hearing. State authorities for that reason took the unprecedented step in May of shutting down huge water pumps for 10 days in the south Delta after they found that rising numbers of the rare fish had been sucked to their death. Orr, of Earthjustice, said Wanger's ruling doesn't necessarily mean pumping must be reduced. He said increased releases from Northern California reservoirs or a rainy season could also do the job. Wanger gave both sides 50 days to take his oral statement and fashion it into a written order. He urged them to work together, and warned that if they didn't, he would take written submissions from both sides and craft the order himself. Earlier this year, Wanger threw out a key U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opinion on water management and pumping in the Delta. His decision required the opinion to be rewritten. Friday's ruling will be in effect only until that opinion is rewritten. Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, expects that to be completed around this time next year. In the meantime, however, he said the lack of rainfall this past year has put reservoirs at critically low levels. Low water levels combined with Wanger's decision mean agricultural interests on the San Joaquin Valley's west side could see water deliveries cut in half -- and that's if rainfall is normal in the upcoming season, Nelson said. If it's a dry year, he said, "we'll be lucky to deliver any water to farms." West side farmer Dan Errotabere, who grows almonds, pistachios, garlic and other crops on a little more than 5,000 acres, said the decision adds to uncertainty at a time when he is planning for 2008. Farmers and growers in the Westlands Water District say Wanger's decision could force them to pump groundwater, which is of lower quality. It could also lead to more land being taken out of production, an increase in dust emissions from unfarmed land and the risk of land subsiding when groundwater is pumped out. "It was an uncertain business before," Errotabere said. "It's certainly more now." The Associated Press contributed to this report.# http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/355526.html Court ruling on delta alarms water officials San Jose Mercury News - 9/1/07 By Sean Webby, staff writer Santa Clara County water officials were envisioning possible water shortages and mandatory conservation in the wake of a federal judge's ruling Friday expected to dramatically cut the amount of water flowing to the rest of the state from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. The cuts, ordered by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, are intended to protect endangered fish. But restricting the flow from the water pumps to save the fish could cut statewide water flow from the delta by one-sixth to one-third. About half of Santa Clara County's water comes from the delta, water district officials said. The "Silicon Valley water supply could be hit hard by this latest court ruling," said Susan Siravo, a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Water District. "We really need people now more than ever to conserve." Officials were still studying the ruling Friday and were unsure of exactly what effect the ruling would have, Siravo said. But if the area suffered more dry bouts or drought conditions, the cutbacks could mean mandatory conservation. Officials could be forced to draw on some of the area's emergency water reserves. The county's 10 reservoirs were at 57 percent capacity this week. Residents could also notice drier streambeds. The district manages about 100 miles of streams. And Siravo wondered aloud if the ruling, intended to protect smelt, would hurt sensitive habitats of steelhead trout, red-legged frogs and turtles in the valley. "If the water is coming out of people's taps, they are happy and may not realize what the challenges are that are facing us," Siravo said, asking for more public education and awareness. "A lot of people don't know how reliant we are on the delta." Wanger's decision sent shock waves through the state. The judge ruled that pressure from the pumps helped reverse the natural direction of water within the estuary, damaging habitat and killing delta smelt, a fish that experts say might be on the brink of extinction. "The evidence is uncontradicted that these project operations move the fish," Wanger said after hearing objections from defendants, who had argued that other factors led to the fish's decline. "It happens, and the law says something has to be done about it." Under the ruling, limits would be put in place from the end of December, when the fish are about to spawn, until June, when young fish can move into areas with better habitat and more food. Wanger also prescribed other measures, such as increased monitoring of the fish's presence in its adult and juvenile stages at several points in the delta. Pumps operated by the Central Valley Project - operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation - send water to farmers in the agricultural valley south of the delta. The State Water Project - operated by the California Department of Water Resources - delivers the water to urban and rural water users as far south as Los Angeles. The water serves more than 25 million Californians and thousands of acres of crops. In a year with an average amount of precipitation, about 6 million acre feet of water is pumped from the delta, and up to one-third of that could be lost under Wanger's order, said Jerry Johns, Department of Water Resources deputy director. Tim Quinn, who heads the Association of California Water Agencies, said the ruling would have a serious impact in a state already coming off a dry winter and spring. "A sober assessment of this says it's a very large deal," Quinn said.# http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_6778881?nclick_check=1 Ruling to cut into water flow to region Judge's order will protect fish, but cause shortages San Diego Union Tribune - 9/1/07 By Michael Gardner COPLEY NEWS SERVICE SACRAMENTO - A federal judge yesterday ordered a dramatic slowdown in pumping water to Southern California - an unprecedented decision aimed at protecting a tiny fish in the Sacramento delta, but one that will have widespread economic and political repercussions across the state. U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger's extraordinary ruling to save the endangered delta smelt could cost California as much as 2 million acre-feet of water a year - enough for 4 million people - and raises the prospects of rationing and thousands of acres of idled farmland. The San Diego County Water Authority expects to be squeezed. The Sacramento delta is the source of nearly 40 percent of the region's annual supply, and local officials are studying their options. "Supply shortages and mandatory water-use restrictions are a very real possibility," said Fern Steiner, chairwoman of the water authority board. Longer term, the loss of urban and farm deliveries will pile more water woes on an already parched state. California is in the throes of a deepening dry spell, from the Colorado River to the Sierra. Climate change is expected to make Mother Nature more fickle. And booming growth will only increase demand. Solutions will be costly and polarizing, from building reservoirs to resurrecting the once-rejected Peripheral Canal to move water around the delta. Wanger's decision in a Fresno courtroom drew a sharp rebuke from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is aggressively pressing for delta restoration. "Today's federal court ruling to drastically cut delta water exports is further proof that our water system is broken, unreliable and in crisis," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "This decision is also going to have a devastating impact on the state's economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on delta water." State water suppliers agreed that the decision is the most far-reaching of its kind in the history of California's well-documented water wars. "It will have a significant impact on our economy and quality of life," said Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the water authority. The Sacramento delta is the hub of California's water supply. Two-thirds of the state's drinking water and irrigation supplies to more than 1 million acres of farmland flow through the 1,100-mile maze of waterways. In his ruling, Wanger sided with environmentalists who say the 3-inch smelt are sucked down the delta and killed by the water pumps. The smelt also is an indicator of the overall health of the delta's valuable ecosystem, they say. "The evidence is uncontradicted that these project operations move the fish," Wanger said, according to The Associated Press. "It happens, and the law says something has to be done about it." State and federal officials, as well as many farmers and businesses that rely on supplies, counter that other factors such as pollution and predators are also to blame. Officials were still sorting out the ruling Wagner made from the bench, but late yesterday they estimated that the smelt safeguards will prevent state and federal pumps from delivering 14 percent to 37 percent of normal capacity. That amounts to 800,000 acre-feet to 2 million acre-feet a year. The judge did not set a precise figure. The final amount, as interpreted by state water officials, depends on how close the smelt are to the pumps and at what time of the year. The order will stay in effect from December until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adopts a new plan to safeguard the fish, probably in spring. By all accounts, that plan will also require a large amount of water. In effect, water officials say, the smelt will compound California's water shortages for years to come. At the same time, agencies will have to scramble to find water from willing sellers, potentially creating a bidding war. However, it might be difficult for those securing supplies to find a time when the pumps will be free to ship additional supplies. San Diego might be 450 miles from the pumps near Tracy, but what happens in the delta will have a lasting effect on the region's water supply and economy. The region's 2007 water-supply figures clearly show its precarious position. The water authority is counting on the delta for 288,580 acre-feet. That's 39 percent of its total deliveries of 748,000 acre-feet and enough to serve about 577,000 households for a year. An acre-foot is enough to meet the annual needs of two households. Still undetermined is whether the fallout will mean droughtlike rationing or continuing less-onerous voluntary conservation. But water managers statewide say rationing is more likely now. San Diego battled its wholesaler, the giant Metropolitan Water District, over scarce allocations at the height of the 1987-92 drought. While relations between the two agencies have improved, Metropolitan still controls deliveries. The water authority contracts with Metropolitan for 614,000 acre-feet a year, or 82 percent of its annual need. A decision on how much and how soon the cuts will carve into the region's supply will be debated in the Metropolitan board room this fall. How much San Diego County residents and business will be squeezed also "depends on how kind Mother Nature is to us," Stapleton said. The longe-range forecast for drought-busting storms is not promising, said Doug Le Conte, a drought specialist with the National Weather Service. "The news is not good," he said. Le Conte forecasts below-average snowfall throughout the Colorado River Basin this winter. This would extend the dry spell along the river into a ninth year. Heavy snows in the Sierra may not materialize, compounding shortages in the Delta. The Sierra snowpack was about 30 percent of normal last season. Only brimming reservoirs forestalled immediate and more painful reductions. Le Conte predicts a normal weather pattern - at best - for the Sierra. In response to the deepening supply crisis, water districts across California have launched a series of voluntary water conservation programs. The San Diego County Water Authority and Metropolitan are calling for a 10 percent reduction. County water authority officials are searching to buy up to 50,000 acre-feet water to store in Kern County. They also are moving forward with plans to enlarge San Vicente Reservoir by 52,000 acre-feet and may consider adding another 100,000 acre-feet of capacity later. In Sacramento, the judge's decision may increase pressure on lawmakers to act on proposals to approve reservoirs and build a new fish-friendly plumbing system to deliver water through the delta. Schwarzenegger has endorsed a $5.9 billion bond to pay for two reservoirs, study a water conveyance system, open more groundwater aquifers and improve the delta. But key Democrats were leaning against the governor's proposal, not convinced of the need to build reservoirs and wary of a new aqueduct.# http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070901/news_1n1water.html Smelt ruling may cut into water supply Official says the decision in an environmental suit could force a one-third reduction in shipments from the delta to the Southland. Los Angeles Times - 9/1/07 James Ricci and Eric Bailey, staff writers A federal judge Friday ordered protective measures for a tiny endangered fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a mandate state water officials warned could cut Northern California water exports to Southern California by a third or more. Environmental lawyers disputed the officials' draconian assessment of U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger's decision to protect the delta smelt, a creature that biologists say is facing extinction in large part because of increased pumping from the delta. The fish are weak swimmers and tend to be sucked into the water system's massive pumps and killed. Water officials said the judge's decision could be the most significant ever on the state's ability to deliver water through the delta, the key crossroads for the movement of water supplies to Southern California. In a normal water year, they said, deliveries through the delta could be cut by up to 37% -- a loss of enough water to supply upward of 4 million households. Dry years could see smaller cuts, but there would be less water to begin with. "It means there will be less water delivered than we normally do," said Jerry Johns, deputy director of the state Department of Water Resources, which runs the California Aqueduct. The decision comes in a suit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice against the Department of Interior and water agencies, among others. Kate Poole, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, questioned the officials' numbers. "I don't think they can say that," she said. "I don't think anybody has yet figured out how much delivery reduction this would cause." Poole said any decrease in water supplies would be "in the natural range of variability that water users can and do deal with all the time." Wanger ordered that water flows be maintained at sufficient levels to keep the endangered fish away from the pumps from the end of December, when they're about to spawn, until June, when young fish are moving into areas with more food. A major way of maintaining the flow levels is reducing the amount of water being moved out of the delta. With several water districts already eyeing the possibility of mandatory water rationing, the results for the Southern California economy could be significant, said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Assn. of California Water Agencies. "A sober assessment says it's a very large deal," Quinn said. "Water agencies have to prepare for the worst." The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides drinking water to nearly 17 million people, obtains 60% of its water from the delta. The district has already warned local farmers to expect a 30% cutback Jan. 1. In anticipation of a water shortage, the authority in recent years struck a deal for more Colorado River water from the water-rich Imperial Irrigation District, began planning for a seawater-to-fresh water project, and designed storage improvements. Concerns about the effect of the ruling reverberated in San Diego too. Fern Steiner, chairwoman of the San Diego County Water Authority, said the decision could require rationing. The authority, which provides water to 24 local agencies, recently asked residents to reduce daily usage by 20 gallons per person. Authority General Manager Maureen Stapleton said it is time to begin serious negotiations about a canal that would loop around the delta. Though any restrictions created by the judge's decision eventually would be replaced by a new biological opinion being fashioned by federal wildlife managers, Quinn said there is "no reason to believe a biological opinion will be any easier on water supplies." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the decision "further proof that our water system is broken, unreliable and in crisis" and "a devastating blow to our water system and state economy." Schwarzenegger cited his proposed $5.9-billion comprehensive water plan, which includes $1 billion for delta restoration and a new system for diverting water around the delta, as the sort of investment needed to guarantee supplies to the 25 million Californians who depend on delta water while also protecting its ecosystem. Terry Erlewine, general manager of the State Water Contractors, said farmers in the San Joaquin Valley probably would be forced to leave fields unplanted and groundwater pumping would be increased to offset slashed water imports. Even if next winter yields average rainfall and snowpack, he said, users will have to tap water reserves, making the state even more vulnerable in a drought. Michael Boccadoro, spokesman for the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, a group of users who depend on delta water, said the decision means "the delta crisis is now a full-blown catastrophe. We have effectively relinquished control of our major water supply systems -- the lifeblood of our economy -- to the federal courts." Delta smelt, the subject of the court's decision, grow to about 3 inches long and live only about a year. A so-called indicator species that is a harbinger of ecological conditions in the delta, the smelt were declared endangered in 1993. Since then, federal and state water managers occasionally have had to cut back on the amount of water released from the delta to protect the fish. In June, water diversion was suspended entirely for nine days after unusually large numbers of smelt died in the pumps. Biologists and environmentalists contend that the increasing diversion of delta water is nudging the fish toward extinction. A recent survey showed the number of juveniles to be less than one-tenth of normal -- a dire portent for the survival of the species. Delta water exports in the last five years have been among the highest on record, according to state figures. Environmentalists have contended that the increase has had a direct effect on smelt numbers, which biologists say are at unprecedented lows. In 2005, when a large number of the California Water Project's 40-year contracts with its customers were coming due, water managers asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine what effect their plans would have on the tiny fish. In a biological opinion, the federal agency concluded that water operations in the delta did not jeopardize the smelt's survival. The finding brought howls of protest from environmentalists, who promptly sued in federal court. They said the biological opinion was part of a pattern of Bush administration environmental decisions that ignored sound science. Wanger invalidated the biological opinion in May. He called the delta smelt "indisputably in jeopardy as to its survival and recovery," and castigated the federal report as "arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law." When the nine-day shutdown of water exports in June was over, and the massive pumps were back in full operation, smelt fatalities rose dramatically. The Natural Resources Defense Council and the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice asked Wanger to order state and U.S. officials to cut back the pumping immediately. Wanger refused their request, instead convening the trial that led to Friday's decision.# http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-delta1sep01,1,1803921.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=4&cset=true Judge: Cut water to help endangered fish Delta fish near extinction Oakland Tribune - 9/2/07 By Mike Taugher, STAFF WRITER California's water supply suffered a historic blow Friday when a federal judge ordered a series of cutbacks and other measures meant to protect a tiny Delta fish from going extinct. The order is expected to force water agencies up and down the state to consider water rationing next year and could force San Joaquin Valley farmers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres, water officials said. The momentous decision did not go as far as environmentalists hoped nor as far as farmers and other water users feared it might. Still, officials said the ruling could end up reducing daily water deliveries out of the Delta by about 1 million acre-feet, or enough for 2 million households. Under one worst-case scenario, state water officials said Delta water deliveries could be cut by twice that amount. State and federal water officials recently have been taking about 6 million acre-feet year from the Delta, a record high amount so the 1 million acre-feet cut could become even more crippling in a drought year. "These reductions represent the single largest court-ordered redirection of water in state history," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. Quinn also called the ruling the most significant endangered species decision in history. The order by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger comes three months after he ruled that a key permit that allows state and federal water pumps to operate even though they kill the protected Delta smelt is insufficient and illegal. The Delta smelt population, along with several other small fish of the Delta, has suffered a dizzying decline in recent years. Water deliveries are contributing to the problem but pollution and invasive species are factors, too. The judge said he considered his task nearly impossible but believed the law required him to step in because federal regulators in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had failed to prescribe conditions that would protect the fish from going extinct. "The party that has responsibility for protecting the species is here, and that's the federal government," Wanger said. "What the evidence does show is there is more to be done than is being done. The impacts are extreme and severe. There's no question about that." His order will put in place new restrictions on pumping during the first half of the year. It was not as strict as Fish and Wildlife Service biologists recommended in a proposal developed for his consideration, but it also was not as relaxed as the California Department of Water Resources wanted. He also denied a request from environmentalists to require more water released from reservoirs in the fall in order to improve the Delta habitat with fresher water. "This is better than what we had before but we didn't get some things we wanted," said Trent Orr, attorney for Earthjustice, which brought the case on behalf of environmentalists. Urban water agencies from the Bay Area to San Diego will have to tap other water sources, dip into drought supplies or use less water, all of which could create problems if the restrictions persist or if next year is dry. Farm districts, which typically have less water in reserve, will be hit more immediately. "This is a fundamental change," said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority. He said San Joaquin Valley farms are likely to get about half as much water as they get now, and that will lead to fallowing hundreds of thousands of acres. The order will be in effect until the Fish and Wildlife Service drafts a new permit, which is expected about a year from now. But water agency are very worried that its conditions represent a new status quo because it is based on conditions recommended from the Fish and Wildlife Service. "We are looking at an indefinite period that won't end if there's rain," Quinn said. # http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_6786102 Judge imposes water limits to protect Delta fish Sacramento Bee - 8/31/07 By JULIANA BARBASSA - Associated Press Writer FRESNO, Calif. -- A federal judge on Friday imposed limits on water flows caused by massive pumps sending water from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River delta to users around the state, saying the pumps were drawing in and destroying a threatened fish. U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger said pressure from the pumps helped reverse the natural direction of water within the estuary, damaging habitat and killing delta smelt, a fish that experts say might be on the brink of extinction. "The evidence is uncontradicted that these project operations move the fish," Wanger said after hearing objections from defendants, who had argued that other factors led to the fish's decline. "It happens, and the law says something has to be done about it." Under the ruling, limits would be put in place from the end of December, when the fish are about to spawn, until June, when young fish can move into areas with better habitat and more food. Wanger also prescribed other measures, such as increased monitoring of the fish's presence in its adult and juvenile stages at several points in the delta. Pumps operated by the Central Valley Project - operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation - send water to farmers in the agricultural valley south of the delta. The State Water Project - operated by the California Department of Water Resources - delivers the water to urban and rural water users as far south as Los Angeles. The water serves more than 25 million Californians and thousands of acres of crops. In a year with an average amount of precipitation, about 6 million acre feet of water is pumped from the delta, and up to one-third of that could be lost under Wanger's order, said Jerry Johns, DWR's deputy director. Tim Quinn, who heads the Association of California Water Agencies, said the ruling would have a serious impact in a state already coming off a dry winter and spring. Some districts have already ordered conservation measures and tapped into their water reserves, he said. "A sober assessment of this says it's a very large deal," Quinn said. "We are not only losing supply here, you are greatly compromising the tools we have developed to deal with water shortages." The Natural Resources Defense Council and four other environmental groups had asked Wanger to demand an immediate change to the pumping rate to reduce harm to the smelt until a new set of pumping guidelines is expected next year. Both sides agree the smelt population has declined precipitously. The fish are protected under the California Endangered Species Act, and their well-being is considered a measure of the environmental health of the fragile delta ecosystem. In May and June, state and federal agencies stopped or slowed down their pumps in an effort to protect the smelt, after the population reached an all-time low. But environmental groups want permanent measures to improve conditions for the fish. Friday's decision was complex, and both sides said they needed time to fully understand its impacts. But environmentalists largely welcomed it as an improvement over current conditions. "It's better than what there was before," said Trent Orr, an attorney with the environmental group Earthjustice, which was party to the suit. But they wanted more, said Orr, including measures that would have protected habitat from encroaching salt from the San Francisco Bay in the fall. Water contractors who get their supplies from the state and federal projects said the measure would likely curtail their access to water to the point where it would harm rural economies and hamper urban water use. "Rural communities have an economy based entirely on ag. ... This is a huge hit on economies that are already depressed," said Dan Nelson, executive director of the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, which serves about 1 million acres of farmland as well as the urban water district in Silicon Valley. Nelson believed the decision would leave farmers with half the water they were expecting in the coming year and urban users having to make do with the minimum deliveries guaranteed by contract. The ruling will have "a devastating impact on the state's economy and the 25 million Californians who depend on Delta water," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "We need to invest in a better conveyance system so we have reliable water supplies and are able to protect the Delta's fragile ecosystem." Schwarzenegger has asked the state Legislature to approve a $5.9 billion bond to build two new dams and study the possibility of building a canal to route fresh water from the Sacramento River around the delta, in part, to protect the fish. But there has been little movement on the issue with lawmakers.# http://www.sacbee.com/114/story/354671.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image005.gif Type: image/gif Size: 800 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Sep 5 14:39:46 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2007 14:39:46 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribe's Press Release Message-ID: The Hoopa Valley Tribe's recent press release is absurd and contains incorrect assertions and facts. The facts are as follows: Since the Tribe was not a litigant in the Friant case, it obviously, legally had no place in the Settlement Talks among the litigants. Participants in the current closed door Hearings hosted by Senator Feinstein were chosen by her - neither the NRDC, nor any other organization, had absolutely any role in selection of participants. Participants apparently were selected by her alone or with some other Members of Congress. Representative George Miller (Miller/Bradley 1992), by far the most knowledgeable member of Congress on California developed water allocation issues, was not invited to participate. I'm aware of stakeholders that requested to be included and were. Apparently, the tribe or its D.C. representatives did not even ask to be included. The provisions the Tribe wants included in San Joaquin restoration legislation have no conceivable benefit for restoration of the Trinity. They would do nothing for anyone, nor for any program. They are meaningless. The statement that up to 25 percent of Miller/Bradley Restoration Funds could be diverted to San Joaquin restoration is false. That settlement provides for up to $2 million annually for San Joaquin restoration, the amount the Trinity Restoration Program will receive in FY 08 and has received in the past, except for one year. The Restoration Fund currently receives $40 million from contributions from Central Valley Project beneficiaries - irrigators and power. Irrigators are attempting to find ways to reduce their contributions, but that remains to be seen. That attempt has no current effect upon contributions to Miller/Bradley Restoration Fund. Many believe that this effort to achieve inclusion of its desired, but worthless modifications to proposed San Joaquin legislation puts in grave danger the possibility of passage of both the proposed San Joaquin restoration and Trinity restoration legislation. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Env-Trinity List - Hoopa Press Release.doc Type: application/msword Size: 28672 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Thu Sep 6 08:55:22 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 08:55:22 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Less Water = Dry Times Message-ID: <005701c7f09e$563bff20$0201a8c0@HAL> Less Delta water means dry times Calls to redesign the estuary follow order to curtail pumping. By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writers Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, September 6, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1 Water rationing. Idled farmland. Hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses. Dry times lie ahead for a state struggling to serve up more water from a tapped-out ecosystem. A judge's order last Friday is expected to require state and federal agencies to pump one-third less water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The estuary provides water to 23 million Californians and about 5 million acres of farmland. The historic order rocked cities, farmers and water officials statewide, who fear that shortages are ahead. "It's our quality of life that is at stake and the regional economy as well," said Greg Zlotnick, special counsel for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which provides Delta water to 1.7 million people in Silicon Valley. On Wednesday, a powerful alliance of water interests used that concern to press hard for a package of politically touchy solutions: new dams and a canal around the Delta favored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "This crisis is indefinite," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. "It will last until we implement a comprehensive program, such as the governor has outlined." Stephen Patricio, chairman of the Western Growers Association, estimated economic effects in the farm sector from the court order could reach $400 million next year -- if the state is blessed with normal rainfall. Zlotnick said his agency may have to reduce the amount of water projected to be available for new housing and commercial development. While some blamed the judge and environmental laws for causing the cutbacks, others said it was only a matter of time. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, said California has long relied too heavily on the Delta as a water supply even as danger signs mounted. A longtime Delta advocate, he said the solution involves prioritizing how we use water and adopting aggressive conservation measures. "The day of reckoning has arrived," Miller said. "Now we have an opportunity to work within the environmental realities of the Delta and see if we can work out how we can operate this system and protect it at the same time." The court ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno, came in a case brought against state and federal water officials by the Natural Resources Defense Council and three other environmental groups. Wanger found that the agencies' plan for operating the Delta failed to adequately consider harm to the fragile Delta smelt, a finger-length fish that is a vital indicator of the estuary's health. The judge called for pumping reductions from December through June sufficient to protect the smelt. He gave the parties 50 days to translate his verbal order into a set of new operating rules. That order will stand until late next year, when a new set of rules, already in the works, are expected to be finished. But the new rules are likely to continue pumping reductions. Officials at Wednesday's press conference said they were still analyzing the court decision to understand its effect. Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources, said it will mean a cutback to Delta water users of between 12 percent and 37 percent. "We're going to have to call for unprecedented levels of conservation from our 18 million customers," said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the largest urban consumer of Delta water. Not everyone sees the pumping cutbacks as a calamity. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Oakland, said the pumping slowdown represents a prime opportunity to reconsider how water is used in California. Gleick said it is critical for urban and agricultural interests to use water more efficiently. "There's enough water for healthy agriculture and a healthy economy, but there's not enough to waste or use inefficiently," he said. He gave numerous examples: Replace 6-gallon-per-flush toilets with 1.6-gallon models and top-loading washing machines with more efficient front-loaders. Use precision sprinklers to irrigate fields and shift from growing crops that use lots of water to those that require less. Gleick noted that four farming staples -- rice, cotton, alfalfa and irrigated pasture -- use about half of the agricultural water in the state but produce a small fraction of agricultural income. "I'm not saying, 'Don't grow cotton or alfalfa' " Gleick said, "but it is worth discussing how much we grow. These have been taboo discussions in the past." Others warned against rushing into solutions that may have long-term consequences. "What we're seeing here is the tip of the iceberg with regard to the long-term decay of the Delta," said Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis. "We have to be very thoughtful about how we redesign the Delta." The judge's ruling addresses only one of the identified threats to the Delta: water export pumping. Other threats remain, including water contamination caused by farming and urbanizing, weak levees and aggressive invasive species that have altered the food supply available to native species such as smelt. Part of the solution may be a new structure to move Sacramento River water into the export pumps without harming smelt. Options for such a "conveyance" structure include armoring existing levees through the center of the Delta and restoring surrounding areas, or building a peripheral canal to isolate export water and carry it around the Delta. Schwarzenegger has proposed a $5.9 billion bond measure to build two new reservoirs and a Delta water conveyance structure. Senate Democratic leader Don Perata of Oakland instead offers a $5 billion bond that also funds conveyance, but focuses on Delta restoration rather than dams. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Sep 6 09:35:31 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 09:35:31 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribe frets that Trinity River funds will be drained Message-ID: <005c01c7f0a3$f2342e70$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6816037 Hoopa Valley Tribe frets that Trinity River funds will be drained John Driscoll/The Times-Standard Article Launched: 09/06/2007 04:30:20 AM PDT The Hoopa Valley Tribe is locking horns with some of its allies over legislation to restore the San Joaquin River, saying it will unfairly affect the lower-profile rebuilding of the Trinity River, which passes through its reservation. The tribe wants provisions put into the San Joaquin bill that would cap the amount of money that comes from a fund to alleviate the environmental effects of the huge Central Valley Project, so money can't be stolen away from the already underfunded Trinity. It's gone so far as to say that the Natural Resources Defense Council's support of the bill is at odds with its commitment to environmental justice. Supporters of the San Joaquin settlement say it won't affect the Trinity, and so far, lawmakers have stuck to an oath not to allow amendments to the bill. Hoopa Tribe Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall said the tribe doesn't oppose restoring the San Joaquin, but it shouldn't be done at the expense of the Trinity, which is vital to tribal, commercial and recreational fisheries. ?We're in the uncomfortable position where we have to take a position that a good piece of legislation is harmful because it didn't take into account other restoration projects,? Marshall said. The San Joaquin settlement was born out of a series of talks between environmentalists, farmers, fishing groups, the state and federal governments and members of Congress following nearly two decades of legal action. It aims to give new life to the river -- parts of which have been dry since the early 1950s when Friant Dam was opened -- by reusing and exchanging water to protect water supplies for about 15,000 farmers. Restoration efforts aim to revive salmon runs that are nonexistent above the Merced River. Some worry that the tribe may end up jeopardizing legislation authorizing funds for projects to improve the Trinity River as well. A hearing on Rep. Mike Thompson's Trinity bill is set for Sept. 18. The St. Helena Democrat introduced the bill in June in light of concerns over the San Joaquin settlement, and would provide millions a year for five years for Trinity River restoration, then a lesser amount over the long-term. Both bills are on somewhat uneasy ground, with current pay-as-you go provisions leaving legislators struggling to find money to fund legislation. Another tribe with stakes in the Trinity River, the Yurok, has reserved judgment on the San Joaquin bill. ?We're not ready to get into any public debate over the bill or the implementation of that at this time,? said Troy Fletcher with the Yurok Tribe. Others see the Hoopa Tribe's position as misguided. Byron Leydecker with the Friends of the Trinity River said the tribe never legally had a place in the San Joaquin settlement talks. He said the tribe's desired additions to the bill would be meaningless. ?Many believe that this effort to achieve inclusion of its desired, but worthless modifications to proposed San Joaquin legislation puts in grave danger the possibility of passage of both the proposed San Joaquin restoration and Trinity restoration legislation,? Leydecker wrote in an e-mail. Zeke Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations -- a supporter of both efforts -- said his organization feels stuck in the middle. He said he is not aware of anything in the San Joaquin bill that would compromise the Trinity effort, and questioned the Hoopa Tribe's tactics to resolve any differences. ?We're not enemies,? Grader said. ?We should be working together on this.? Hal Candee with the Natural Resources Defense Council reiterated his support for the Trinity, and said he's trying to work with the tribe. But he disagrees with the Hoopa Tribe's stance. ?We disagree with the view that using payments by Friant Division contractors to help fund restoration of the San Joaquin downstream of Friant Dam somehow limits the U.S. Government's ability to fully fund restoration of the Trinity River hundreds of miles to the north,? Candee wrote. But Marshall said the tribe has no choice, and while he agreed it was unfortunate to be wrangling with its friends, he sees it as vital that the Central Valley funds not be drained by a huge project like the San Joaquin. Marshall is scheduled to testify on Thompson's bill on Sept. 18. John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0514 or jdriscoll at times-standard.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Sep 11 11:21:58 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:21:58 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: FISHERY GENETICS SYMPOSIUM Message-ID: <000701c7f4f3$6cc4b710$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: Sari Sommarstrom To: tstokely at trinityalps.net Cc: donald.flickinger at noaa.gov Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 10:55 AM Subject: FISHERY GENETICS SYMPOSIUM NOAA SCIENCE CENTER, UW SPONSOR FISHERY GENETICS SYMPOSIUM Posted on Friday, September 07, 2007 (PST) Columbia Basin Bulletin http://www.cbbulletin.com/Free/236152.aspx "Six decades of fishery genetics: A retrospective view and a vision for the future" will be the topic of a symposium held Sept. 17-18 in Seattle, sponsored by the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center and the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington NOAA scientists and colleagues from the University of Washington and other institutions have played a major role in development and use of genetics and molecular biology to address key questions in fishery management. To build on that legacy, they are sponsoring a symposium, dedicated to Fred Utter and his six decades of contributions to fishery genetics, that will be both retrospective and prospective. The two-day symposium will trace the history of advances in the fields of genetics, biotechnology and evolutionary biology and will feature three major themes: 1) An historical perspective on development of the field; 2) As assessment of the current state of the art in applying genetic methods to fishery management; 3) Prospects for the future. Major topics covered during the meeting include stock and species identification, mixed-stock fishery analysis, forensics, ecological genetics, hatchery-wild interactions, health and physiology, microbial pathogens, and future applications of molecular tools and approaches to fisheries and ecosystem assessment. Speakers include leading scientists from Europe, Asia and North America. The first day will end with a hosted reception and poster session. Although the meeting is oriented toward application of genetic principles to real-world problems in fishery management, posters reporting basic research that has potential management application could also be appropriate. A few poster slots are still available; contact Kevin Williamson (kevin.williamson at noaa.gov) if you are interested. More information about the meeting and how to register can be found at the following website: www.regonline.com/sixdecades. For questions about registration or logistics, contact Tara Torres (tara at ucar.edu; 303-497-8694). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Wed Sep 12 15:33:08 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:33:08 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] California Water Policy Conference, "Climate of Change: From Sizzle to Substance" Message-ID: <007601c7f58c$e87644c0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> The website for the California Water Policy Conference, "Climate of Change: From Sizzle to Substance" has been updated to include the conference agenda and registration information. Visit www.cawaterpolicy.org for all the details. The conference will be held November 14 & 15 at the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel. Organized by Public Officials for Water & Environmental Reform (POWER), this is the 17th year for the California Water Policy Conference. This event is known for combining cutting edge topics with compelling, diverse speakers. This year the conference will examine the critical link between climate change and water resources. What impacts will climate change have on our water supply, quality, infrastructure and institutions? What are the challenges and opportunities? Are local, state and federal agencies up to the challenge? What should we do now to prepare? For more information visit www.cawaterpolicy.org or contact Debbi Dodson at ddodson at san.rr.com Debbi Dodson California Water Policy Conference 4209 Huerfano Avenue San Diego, CA 92117 ph: 858-272-9627 fax: 858-272-6805 www.cawaterpolicy.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From windhorse at jeffnet.org Sun Sep 16 12:38:16 2007 From: windhorse at jeffnet.org (Jim Carpenter) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:38:16 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Public Service Announcement/Oregon Lakes Association Annual Meeting Message-ID: Greetings Please distribute the attached flyer to your list serve. Attached is a flyer for our upcoming Oregon Lakes Association annual meeting at Diamond Lake September 21-22, 2007. Contact: Jim (Director and past President) & Stephanie Carpenter @ 885-5450 for more info. Thanks Jim & Stephanie Carpenter Design, Inc. Project Coordination Commercial, Residential & Environmental CCB 93939 www.CarpenterDesign.com 541-885-5450 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: tech.gif Type: image/gif Size: 862 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Jim Carpenter.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 133 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2007 Oregon Lakes Assoc. Annual Meeting.doc Type: application/msword Size: 385024 bytes Desc: not available URL: From BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov Mon Sep 17 09:27:44 2007 From: BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov (Brandt Gutermuth) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:27:44 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] North Coast Region Triennial Review Message-ID: Trinity River enthusiasts - The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board is in the process of reviewing their priorities for work in the N Coast region over the next 3 years. In a recent update of their priority list, several important Trinity River restoration issues have been elevated for review by our co-workers at the NCRWQCB. The N Coast Board is now considering: 1) the adoption of exemption criteria for restoration projects, and 2) evaluation of their basin wide turbidity objectives. Both of these issues are important for Trinity River restoration where water quality objectives now do not allow turbidly readings to be increased more than 20% above background. When background turbidity is close to 0 this leaves no room to dirty the water even if you are adding vital gravel to the river or reconnecting the river with its floodplain. We have worked closely with NCRWQCB staff to meet their intent of minimizing impacts to water quality while implementing our channel rehab projects and will continue to do so. However - prioritization of these two issues would assist Trinity River channel rehab efforts by clearly recognizing our restoration objectives and by researching specific N Coast turbidity issues. Please review (and support) NCRWQCB's staff report and workplan for their 2007 triennial review. Comments are due by 9/21/07. They presently recommend exemption criteria for restoration projects and further evaluating their basin-wide turbidity objectives. Check their website out for details: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/programs/basinplan/070704trirev/070618/070618_TriennalReviewNotofDocAvail.pdf - Info about triennial review. Comment to Lauren Clyde at lclyde at waterboards.ca.gov http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/programs/basinplan/070914_tr/Final_TriRev_SR_Workplan_9-14.pdf - Latest staff recommendations for triennial review. Best Regards- Brandt ____________________________ Brandt Gutermuth Environmental Specialist Trinity River Restoration Program PO Box 1300 (mailing) 1313 S. Main Street (physical) Weaverville, CA 96093 530.623.1806 (voice) 530.623.5944 (fax) www.trrp.net (website) ___________________________ From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Sep 17 12:40:04 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:40:04 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Fish funding falters Message-ID: <011701c7f977$4476f6a0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_6892553 Fish funding falters John Driscoll/The Times-Standard Article Launched: 09/14/2007 04:15:31 AM PDT Despite a late-night run to get fish restoration funds for the North Coast, the area's state legislators were unable to get the bill passed before the clock ran out. The bill that carried the $5.3 million in Proposition 84 funds got through the Assembly, but the Senate closed up shop before hearing the matter. ?It was a long shot,? said Eureka Democratic Assemblywoman Patty Berg's Chief of Staff Will Shuck. ?We had to make this attempt.? Shuck said that the bill died for lack of time, not for any policy reason. Santa Rosa Democratic Sen. Pat Wiggins added the language to the Senate bill. The legislation would have provided the money to the state Department of Fish and Game's Fisheries Restoration Grant Program. It was half the amount the program was seeking, but the funds got tied up earlier in a fight over regulations issued by the Board of Forestry. The money leverages federal funds, and most of the money from the program has historically gone to the North Coast. Shuck said that the next step will be to try to get the money inserted into the budget as a clause in January, when the Legislature reconvenes -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Sep 18 15:08:13 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:08:13 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Cleanup September 29, 2007 Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C520@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Trinity River Enthusiasts take note: Trinity River Cleanup September 29, 2007 http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/shastatrinity/about/units/trmu/trinity%20river%2 0clean%20up.shtml Where to meet: BIG BAR RANGER STATION STATE HWY. 299 25 MILES WEST OF WEAVERVILLE, CA 10:00 A.M. RAIN OR SHINE In recognition of National Public Lands Day, the Shasta Trinity National Forest, Trinity River Management Unit; Bureau of Land Management, Redding Field Office, California Department of Transportation, District 2, and the Trinity River Restoration Council will be hosting the annual clean up of the Trinity River and State Highway 299. Are you interested in volunteering with our clean up effort? IF SO, WE NEED YOU!!! Involvement in the cleanup will include activities such as: floating the river in rafts, canoes, kayaks, and other watercrafts, walking along the beaches, river bars, and highway where surfaces could be rocky and uneven to pick up trash and debris; some lifting of heavy pieces of metal and other debris may be involved. We can tailor the activity to your individual wants and needs. The Forest Service along with our "Partners-A-Float," will be ready to make your day a fun and productive one. Safety instruction and equipment will be provided. In appreciation of your volunteer efforts a free barbeque will be provided and prizes will be awarded at Skunk Point, Highway 299. Plan to be there by 3:00 P.M. For further information and pre-registration please contact the Big Bar Ranger Station at (530) 623-6106 or the Weaverville Ranger Station at (530) 623-2121. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Sep 19 16:17:45 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:17:45 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trapping summaries for the week of Sep. 10 - 16 Message-ID: <008f01c7fb13$50d84690$0301a8c0@optiplex> Attached from Wade Sinnen: Subject: Trapping summaries for the week of Sep. 10 - 16. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 52736 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Sep 20 11:06:10 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:06:10 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Congressional Hearing on HR 2733 Message-ID: <3685A3B04646453EAAA669C79F20F7A1@ByronsLaptop> Below is the opening statement by Congressman George Miller at Tuesday's Hearing on Congressman Mike Thompson's bill to provide a defined source and dollar amount for Trinity River Restoration. As many of you know, the Restoration Program has been not been funded at the level anticipated by the Record of Decision. Congressman Miller has been instrumental in the past in obtaining additional funding for the Program. Thomas Weseloh, FOTR board member and North Coast Manager for California Trout, testified in support of the legislation at the Hearing. "Thank you to Chairwoman Napolitano for holding the hearing, and thank you to Mike Thompson for introducing the Trinity River Restoration Fund Act. "I have been involved in the fight to restore the Trinity River and its fisheries for many years. "Undoing the damage caused to the Trinity River by the Central Valley Project has been a long and constant struggle, and the Trinity River restoration program has faced bureaucratic, legal, and financial hurdles. "But the effort to restore the Trinity has been highly successful even in the face of those challenges. That is good news for the fishing communities of the North Coast, good news for the tribes who have a special connection with the Trinity, and good news for the state of California. "This bill will provide the required funding so that the restoration of the Trinity River can proceed as it should. "We can - and we should - restore the fish and wildlife of the Trinity basin as well as on the San Joaquin River, and I do not believe that the two noble efforts are mutually exclusive. "I strongly support this bill, and I look forward to the testimony." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Sep 20 11:54:15 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:54:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Hearing on Mike Thompson's Trinity Bill Message-ID: <20657ECB21D245859CE741D8C157E440@ByronsLaptop> For those interested in reading Chairwoman Napolitano's opening statement all testimony of witnesses at Tuesday's Hearing on HR 2733, it's available at this link: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro &Itemid=54&extmode=view&extid=97 Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Sep 20 17:49:41 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:49:41 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] California Water Issues $9 Million Bond Message-ID: If you want informed input on the California Water War that's seriously underway after several dormant years, spend a few minutes listening to this KPFA broadcast. Guests on the program are Lloyd Carter, former UPI and Fresno Bee reporter who broke the Kesterson wildlife deformity scandal in the Western San Joaquin Valley in the mid-1980s and now an attorney, Tom Stokely, director of California Water Impact Network (c-win.org) and Gary Patton, Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League (pcl.org). The discussion includes issues related to the governor's proposed $9 billion water bond. The water portion of the show starts 23 minutes into the hour long show. You can download it as an MP3 from this site and it will play on your Windows media player. Skip ahead to the 23 minute mark. If you listen at the KPFA website you will have to listen to the first 23 minutes about the protests in Jena, LA. http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=22364 Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From blisterriver at gmail.com Fri Sep 21 11:18:47 2007 From: blisterriver at gmail.com (Blister) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:18:47 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] env-trinity Digest, Vol 44, Issue 15 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <34ee3cb00709211118w1103cb9fi8b09377b1cfbf84a@mail.gmail.com> "But the effort to restore the Trinity has been highly successful ..." How? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Sep 21 14:15:22 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:15:22 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] =?windows-1252?q?Workshop-_FORESTRY_=26_ANADROMY_?= =?windows-1252?q?=96_ARE_WE_THE_SOLUTION_TO_RECOVERY=3F?= Message-ID: <00d101c7fc94$85f84c30$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> CLFA WORKSHOP FORESTRY & ANADROMY ? ARE WE THE SOLUTION TO RECOVERY? FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2007 ? HOLIDAY INN, REDDING REGISTRATION FEE* CLFA Member: $170.00 ($185.00/Late ? after 10/10) **Non-Member: $195.00 ($210.00/Late ? after 10/10) REGISTRATION DEADLINE: October 10, 2007 (Class may fill before deadline ? Late registration accepted ONLY if space available) Fee Includes: Lunch/Breaks & Workshop Binder *Cancellations: Refund of registration fee, upon request, if cancellation is received by 10/10/07 **$25.00 of non-member workshop fee may be applied toward CLFA Membership INTRODUCTION ?We are currently in a holding pattern since the salmon problem has been largely domesticated politically. As a society, we appear to be waiting for something to change, be it science, technology, economy, or even public attitudes, something that will shake us into a place where the problem becomes so apparent that the way forward is both clear and acceptable.? Robert T. Lackey (US EPA) et.al., 2006 As forestland stewards, we are managing a variety of stand conditions to maintain complexity across the landscape. With regard to Salmonids, isn?t it time we break out of the holding pattern? In our role as resource managers, shouldn?t we be managing for differing stream and riparian conditions in order to provide ample complexity to maintain viable stocks of anadromy and to recover listed Salmonids? Given the complex life history of anadromous fish, an action at one stage in the life cycle can affect the outcome at other stages. If we perform our role in the recovery, maintenance, and provision of quality freshwater habitat, is that enough to maintain and recover California?s anadromy? This workshop is intended to shed some insight to these questions and get us thinking in a new direction. Ask not what is needed to protect and maintain, but what is necessary to recover our listed anadromy! LODGING INFORMATION You are responsible for making your own lodging arrangements. CLFA has arranged for a block of rooms at the Redding Holiday Inn. Please make your reservations by October 12 and refer to Reservation Code ?CA Licensed Foresters Assoc Fall? to receive the following special rates: Single or Double: $84.00 plus tax. Guaranteed rates apply Thursday and Friday nights, October 25 & 26. Holiday Inn, 1900 Hilltop Dr., Redding, CA 96002 Phone: 530.221.7500 For Directions to the Holiday Inn: www.meyercrest.com/holidayinnredding.html Room Reservations must be guaranteed with credit card or deposit by check Other Redding Lodging: www.visitredding.org CLFA FORESTRY & ANADROMY WORKSHOP Friday, October 26, 2007 ? Holiday Inn, Redding AGENDA 7:00 ? 8:00 AM REGISTRATION ? Holiday Inn Conference Center 8:00 ? 8:10 Welcome and Introduction to Workshop Charll Stoneman, Program Chair 8:10 ? 8:50 Anadromous Fish Life Cycles & Species Habitat Requirements ? California Anadromy 101 Dr. Walt Duffy, Unit Leader, CA. Cooperative Fish Research Unit, HSU 8:50 ? 9:40 Environmental Conditions & Land Management Activities Affecting Anadromy ? The Big Picture Dr. Gordon Reeves, Research Fisheries Biologist, USFS 9:40 ? 10:30 What are the Known & Potential Threshold Conditions Limiting Anadromy Recovery in the Freshwater Habitat ? Is There a Problem? Dr. Ken Cummins, The Institute for Forest & Watershed Management, HSU 10:45 ? 11:30 Should Deep, Dark, and Dense Be the Target for All Species? Dr. Peggy Wilzbach, CA. Cooperative Fish Research Unit, HSU 11:30 ? Noon Establishing Baseline Information ? Was Native Coho Present South of San Francisco Dr. V. W. Kaczynski, Consulting Fisheries Scientist Noon ? 1:00 PM Lunch (Provided) 1:00 ? 2:00 The West Coast in 2100: An Alternative Futures Perspective on Salmon Recovery Dr. Robert T. Lackey, EPA National Health & Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (Corvallis) and OSU 2:00 ? 3:20 What?s Being Done to Improve Freshwater Habitat and/or Facilitate Recovery ? Current Examples from Timberland Managers LWD Recruitment ? Graffiti in the Creek Kathleen Morgan, Gualala River Watershed Council Proactive Fisheries Management Under an HCP Dr. Lowell Diller, Green Diamond Resource Company 3:35 ? 3:50 Board of Forestry Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Status Report Gary Nakamura, Chair, BOF T&I Watershed Literature Review TAC 3:50 ? 4:50 Update on the ?Coho Salmon Incidental Take Assistance? Regulations & ITP Process BOF?s Current & Future Strategy for Protection & Recovery of Coho & Other Salmonids George ?YG? Gentry, Executive Officer, BOF DFG?s Methodology to Interface the ITP Process With the Forest Practice Regulations Mark Stopher, CA. Department of Fish & Game 4:50 ? 5:00 PM Final Q& A - Adjourn SAF Continuing Education Credits: 7.0 Hours, Category I REGISTRATION FORM CLFA FORESTRY & ANADROMY WORKSHOP Registration Deadline: October 10, 2007 NAME(S): _____________________________________________________________________ MAILING ADDRESS: _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ PHONE #: ________________________ EMAIL: _________________________________________ FORESTRY & ANADROMY WORKSHOP ? October 26, 2007 (Register Early ? Class may fill prior to deadline) _____ CLFA Member @ $170.00 ($185.00/late ? after 10/10) $__________ _____ Non-Member @ $195.00 ($210.00/late ? after 10/10) $__________ TOTAL $__________ ___ I need a written, numbered receipt for my payment *Cancellations: Refund of registration fee, upon request, if cancellation is received by 10/10/07 **Confirmation of Registration: You will receive confirmation of your registration via email or postcard PAYMENT OPTIONS CLFA Federal Tax ID #: 94-2707404 ? Check: Make check payable to: CLFA. Mail along with registration form to: CLFA, P.O. Box 1516, Pioneer, CA 95666 ? Credit Card ? On-Line: Go to: www.clfa.org, ?Pay Online?, then follow prompts. This is a secure line. To register more than one individual under the same credit card, you will have to make individual transactions (please allow ? hour between transactions to avoid a Fraud Alert from credit card processing). Debit cards cannot be accepted. ? Credit Card ? Via Mail or Fax: If you don?t have email or access to the internet, fill out the credit card information below and mail or fax the information to CLFA (Fax Number: 209.293.7544). You will receive confirmation from CLFA that your credit card payment has been approved. Charge Credit Card (check one): ___ Visa ___MasterCard Card #: ________________________________________________________ Card Expires ____/____ Security Code on back of card (3-digit #): _______________________ Amount: $____________ Signature of Card Holder: ____________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clip_image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4286 bytes Desc: not available URL: From TBedros765 at aol.com Fri Sep 21 14:17:25 2007 From: TBedros765 at aol.com (TBedros765 at aol.com) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:17:25 EDT Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Valley Tribes Presses for Trinity Restoration Message-ID: Editors - Pasted and attached is a press release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Call me if you have questions or would like my help in setting up an interview. Thank you, Tod Bedrosian Bedrosian & Associates 835 Klein Way Sacramento, CA 95831 (916)421-5121 Media Contacts: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 ext. 161 Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE FEARS SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RESTORATION LEGISLATION COULD CRIPPLE TRINITIY RIVER RESTORATION EFFORTS Hoopa, Calif. ? Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe of northern California told the House Natural Resources subcommittee the passage of Rep. Mike Thompson?s H.R. 2733 is needed to prop up the sagging efforts of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to restore the Trinity River during his testimony before the subcommittee Wednesday in Washington, D.C. ?Our strong support for H.R. 2733 should not be construed as opposition to the efforts to restore the San Joaquin River,? said Marshall. ?We support river restoration throughout California, but we hope that Congress takes into consideration that the San Joaquin restoration legislation will become a billion-dollar vortex that will suck up all of the river restoration funding provided by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. The Trinity River restoration project is currently under funded by eight million dollars annually and is seven years behind schedule. Shifting the limited restoration funds in the CVPIA to San Joaquin will reduce funding for Trinity River restoration further. Funding for the Trinity needs to be identified now.? Marshall said the Hoopa Valley Tribe will continue talks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein?s staff about supplemental funding for restoration of the Trinity River. ?The Senator has been a friend to the Trinity River in the past. I think she is concerned that the Bureau of Reclamation is only committing half of the money it should on the government?s promise to restore the Trinity River. Congressman Thompson?s Bill will fix the annual funding shortfall. We hope she will introduce the same bill in the Senate.? During the months the San Joaquin River legislation was being written by environmentalists and commercial water users in the Central Valley the Hoopa Valley Tribe expressed concerns, said Marshall. ?We felt like the rug is being pulled out from under us. We are not opposed the San Joaquin River restoration in principle but are concerned about funding and priority. In the coming years of restoration of both rivers we hope the Congress remembers the decades of promises and work on the Trinity River which should be protected as a tribal trust by the U.S. Department of Interior.? Marshall said the Trinity River is the only tributary to the Klamath River producing harvestable quantities of endangered species of salmon for local harvest. ?If the Trinity River goes down, so goes fishing for native people, sports fishermen and the commercial fishing industry for 900 miles of the Northern California and Oregon coastline. The San Joaquin will take decades to restore. Funding for the Trinity will produce immediate returns on investment and immediate benefit to the coastal communities that rely on the salmon industry.? The San Joaquin legislation settles a lawsuit that has been in the courts for 18 years, but Marshall said the Tribe's effort to restore the Trinity River has been underway for nearly 35 years. Legislation is sought because of the federal government's failure to comply with a 2002 court decision from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court that reinforced the BOR?s duty to restore the Trinity River by noting, ?The federal government has a trust obligation to the Hoopa and Yurok Indian Tribes and Congress expressed its intent this obligation be finally fulfilled more than four years ago.? - 30 - ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Hoopa -SJ River.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 23326 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Oct 1 10:56:13 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2007 10:56:13 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Weir Trap Numbers Message-ID: <6D7D71DEC79246C891DD3ABFB22D845A@ByronsLaptop> The following and attachment are courtesy of Wade Sinnen. Attached are spreadsheets containing trapping data for two main stem weirs and Trinity River Hatchery. As a reminder, we only trap a portion of the runs at the two weir sites (5 - 10%) and thus trapping totals do not constitute the entire run passing these sites. Hatchery totals reflect the fish processed and do not include fish being held for ripening. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 53248 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Oct 3 10:21:17 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 10:21:17 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity Weir, Hatchery Counts Message-ID: <002d01c805e1$d33140a0$0301a8c0@optiplex> Following and attachment courtesy of Wade Sinnen: Attached is a spreadsheet containing trapping summaries for two main stem weirs and Trinity River Hatchery through the week of Sept. 30. The Junction City weir has been removed for the season, Willow Creek weir will be operated into November and Trinity River hatchery will conduct recovery operations into March of 2008. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Northern California - North Coast District Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 54272 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Oct 10 11:51:41 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:51:41 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Weir Numbers Week Ending October 7 Message-ID: <004301c80b6e$9ed18b20$0301a8c0@optiplex> Following and attached are courtesy of Wade Sinnen: Attached is a spreadsheet containing trapping totals for two main stem Trinity River weirs and Trinity River Hatchery. Trapping has concluded at Junction City weir for the season, we will continue to trap at Willow creek weir into November. Totals to date at Trinity River Hatchery reflect spring Chinook numbers. Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 54272 bytes Desc: not available URL: From snaman at yuroktribe.nsn.us Wed Oct 10 20:31:45 2007 From: snaman at yuroktribe.nsn.us (Seth Naman) Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:31:45 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] hatchery research Message-ID: Below is the abstract from a recent paper in the journal Science and also an article in the Oregonian about the research which took place on the Hood River. Seth Seth W. Naman Fisheries Biologist Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program Office: 530-625-4130 Fax: 530-625-4148 Cell: 707-498-8236 >From the journal Science. Science 5 October 2007: Vol. 318. no. 5847, pp. 100 - 103 DOI: 10.1126/science.1145621 Reports Genetic Effects of Captive Breeding Cause a Rapid, Cumulative Fitness Decline in the Wild Hitoshi Araki,* Becky Cooper, Michael S. Blouin Captive breeding is used to supplement populations of many species that are declining in the wild. The suitability of and long-term species survival from such programs remain largely untested, however. We measured lifetime reproductive success of the first two generations of steelhead trout that were reared in captivity and bred in the wild after they were released. By reconstructing a three-generation pedigree with microsatellite markers, we show that genetic effects of domestication reduce subsequent reproductive capabilities by ~40% per captive-reared generation when fish are moved to natural environments. These results suggest that even a few generations of domestication may have negative effects on natural reproduction in the wild and that the repeated use of captive-reared parents to supplement wild populations should be carefully reconsidered. Department of Zoology, 3029 Cordley Hall, Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: arakih at science.oregonstate.edu >From the Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/11915565235 5280.xml &coll=7&thispage=2 Hatchery fish found to be poor at survival Genetics - A study indicates steelhead are so bad at surviving that they are little help to wild runs Friday, October 05, 2007 MICHAEL MILSTEIN The Oregonian Staff Steelhead turned out by hatcheries quickly evolve into a kind of swimming livestock with a poor chance of surviving in the wild and may carry their inferior traits into wild populations that biologists are trying to save, a new study of fish in Oregon's Hood River has found. The Oregon State University research, published Thursday in the journal Science, raises questions about the common practice of trying to rebuild wild populations by adding legions of hatchery fish. The study looked only at steelhead, but its findings may also extend to other species such as salmon. "The assumption is that these fish we're adding are just as fit as the wild ones," said Michael Blouin, the OSU professor who directed the research. "What we see is a dramatic decline in fitness that's surprising." Other scientists found the results especially stunning because of how quickly hatchery fish, in successive generations, lost the talents that make wild salmon and steelhead superior survivors. Researchers measure the reproductive fitness of fish by the number of their offspring that survive to adulthood; for hatchery-raised fish, that declined nearly 40 percent per generation. "The magnitude of the change is off the scale," said Mark Chilcote, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who was not involved in the research. "I can understand why it would happen. I just don't understand why it would happen so quickly." Sheltered environments seem to help fish survive even with traits that would handicap them -- and their offspring -- in the wild, researchers said. The hatchery fish then carry those handicaps with them when they're released into rivers, where they find themselves at serious disadvantage. "This study just shows the power of natural selection," Blouin said. Hatchery fish rapidly become "highly domesticated," he said. "They're like a form of livestock. When they go out and reproduce in the wild, they don't do very well." It's not clear exactly what characteristics handicap the hatchery fish, he said. They may not survive the rough ocean as well, or they may lay their eggs in poor locations. The research was possible because state biologists collect scales from fish returning to the Hood River to spawn. The OSU scientists extracted DNA from the scales and used it to decipher the family tree of each fish. That tells them which ones had hatchery-raised parents, and how many survived their rigorous life cycles, which take them from their home stream to the ocean and back again. The OSU scientists previously published research looking at the first generation of hatchery fish. But the research published Thursday carried the study to successive generations, concluding that the more generations fish spend in hatcheries, the worse they do in the wild. That doesn't matter so much if a hatchery is producing fish for people to catch and eat. But it does matter if it's turning out fish to rebuild struggling wild populations. "No evidence" "There's no evidence that actually works," Blouin said. "Now there's enough evidence to make one a little worried." It's also possible that the large numbers of hatchery fish added to streams outweighs their genetic drawbacks, he said. Still, the practice of adding hatchery fish to rivers may hide underlying problems -- such as deteriorating habitat conditions -- that keep the wild fish from recovering on their own. "Unless you fix the habitat, hatchery fish are just a crutch," Blouin said. "You're just putting out lots of fish to keep the wild fish from going extinct." But hatcheries do play a vital role in keeping salmon populations going in the face of hydroelectric dams that kill many young fish and loss of habitat, said Peter Galbreath, a fisheries scientist at the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, which represents Northwest tribes on fisheries issues. He agrees there are drawbacks to hatchery fish, though he doubts they're as severe as Blouin's research suggests. Either way, there are few other options to keep enough fish in rivers to fulfill the treaty rights of Northwest tribes that depend on salmon, he said. "Natural production has not been able to maintain populations, and the populations have crashed," he said. "The tribes would be the first ones to want to shut down hatcheries, (but) it is really the only option left that can provide, in the short term, substantive increases in abundance." Michael Milstein: 503-294-7689; michaelmilstein@ news.oregonian.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.gif Type: image/gif Size: 83 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.gif Type: image/gif Size: 155 bytes Desc: not available URL: From PMANZA at mp.usbr.gov Fri Oct 12 09:39:59 2007 From: PMANZA at mp.usbr.gov (PEGGY MANZA) Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:39:59 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Release Change Message-ID: Please make the following release change to the Trinity River: Date Time From(CFS) To(CFS) 10/14/07 2000 450 400 10/14/07 2400 400 350 10/15/07 0400 350 300 Note: Decreasing to winter flow level. Ordered by: Peggy Manza From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sat Oct 13 10:15:30 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2007 10:15:30 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] despite $4.7 billion in government spending, Delta worse off Message-ID: <004201c80dbc$a8e2d5b0$8ce1ff42@trinitycounty.org> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/12/national/a114723D62.DTL AP IMPACT: Calif. Water Is Getting Worse By SAMANTHA YOUNG and ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writers Friday, October 12, 2007 (10-12) 15:51 PDT Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- The mighty river delta that supplies water to two-thirds of California's population and serves as one of the most important wildlife habitats on the West Coast is in worse shape than ever despite $4.7 billion in government spending. The ambitious venture launched seven years ago to restore and protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has spent most of its budget on water projects hundreds of miles away, according to an Associated Press review. While many of those projects are regarded by environmentalists and policymakers as worthwhile in their own right, they have done almost nothing to achieve the main goals state and federal lawmakers laid out when they created the California Federal Bay-Delta Program, or CalFed. Scientists and politicians agree that native fish species continue to plummet; pesticides, fertilizers and other pollutants are making the overall water quality worse; invasive species of fish, clams, algae and other organisms are still spreading; and the delta's antiquated earthen levees have not been reinforced to withstand a major earthquake, something that could cause deadly, catastrophic flooding and cut off water to millions of people for perhaps years. "CalFed's a dismal failure because ? details aside ? CalFed promised to restore the delta," said Steve Evans, conservation director of Friends of the River, an environmental group in Sacramento. "Overall, the delta today is worse than it was seven years ago." Joe Grindstaff, director of CalFed for the past two years, acknowledged: "Fundamentally, the system we devised didn't work." The pools, channels and marshes in central California where the Sacramento River meets the San Joaquin River are the source of drinking water for 25 million Californians. Water is pumped from the vast, 1,153-square-mile delta and delivered via aqueduct to booming Southern California, some 300 miles away, as well as to the San Francisco Bay area, about 40 miles off. Water is a precious resource in California, and in recent decades, farmers, city dwellers and environmentalists have waged legal battles that have threatened to interrupt or reduce the pumping of water from the delta. CalFed was supposed to achieve four objectives: maintain a steady supply of water from the delta; improve water quality; reduce the risks of a catastrophic breach in the levees; and restore the ecosystem for plants and animals. While CalFed was envisioned as a 30-year program, nearly all sides said they had expected to see more improvement by now. "It's tried to bring people to the table, but at the end of the day you have to look at results," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. "It appears that all the problems have gotten worse." Policymakers and environmentalists say the biggest danger is a levee collapse that could devastate the countryside. And if the delta's environmental health keeps declining, California could face more legal battles that could disrupt the water supply in the nation's most populous state. Already, partly because of CalFed's lack of progress, California's water wars are flaring anew. Over the summer, a federal judge slapped limits on the pumping of water from the delta to protect fish, raising fears of a statewide water shortage next year. AP's review found that some CalFed efforts have fallen short. For example, the various agencies that carry out water projects under CalFed's aegis initially proposed spending $950 million to eliminate mercury and other contaminants from the delta water. But the agency has spent just 13 percent of that ? about $125 million ? and produced little if any improvement in water quality. Fourteen California and federal agencies have access to CalFed money. But CalFed does not have full authority over how the money is spent. Its 24-member board, made up of state, federal and local officials as well as members of the public, can only sign off on grant requests. The $4.7 billion allotted to the program so far has been treated like a grab bag by the agencies that have access to the money, with the vast majority of it spent on hundreds of projects outside the six-county delta region. Among the expenditures: _ $113 million to improve the taste of tap water in Southern California, hundreds of miles from the delta. (As envisioned by lawmakers, CalFed was supposed to improve water quality at the source ? in the delta itself.) _ More than $40 million to tear down five dams along Battle Creek, about 160 miles from the northern point of the delta, to restore 42 miles of habitat for salmon and steelhead trout. _ $118 million on studies to build or expand dams in Northern and Central California, three of which are outside the delta. "Money was flying out the door all over the place," said Jeffrey Mount, chairman of the CalFed science panel. Supporters of the agency's spending say some of the peripheral projects ? namely, water recycling and conservation measures ? have indirectly eased pressure on the delta by generating enough drinking water for 4 million to 5 million people. In one example, the rapidly growing Chino area in Southern California, more than 300 miles from the delta, secured $1 million in CalFed money to help expand a wastewater recycling plant instead of pumping water out of the delta. "Everybody benefits by us reducing our demand for water out of the delta, so that's how we qualified," said Richard Atwater, general manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in defense of CalFed: "CalFed was never meant to be the be-all and end-all. It was a methodology to try to get the federal government and the state working together." ___ Samantha Young reported from Sacramento, while Erica Werner reported from Washington -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Mon Oct 15 09:05:11 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:05:11 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Promoting the Delta diversity Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C541@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Promoting the Delta diversity Efforts are gearing up to lure visitors to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with an extensive trail system and activities that tap into the area's farming history By M.S. Enkoji - Bee Staff Writer Last Updated 6:25 am PDT Monday, October 15, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1 http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/433006.html Print | E-Mail | | Digg it | del.icio.us Tim Neuharth farms about 300 acres on Sutter Island in the Delta near Courtland. He'd like to open up his farm to visitors from the city so they can get a taste of the bucolic lifestyle of the area. The idea to develop agritourism is gaining support, as is a plan to create a multi-use recreational trail in the Delta. Sacramento Bee/Anne Chadwick Williams As autumn chilled the Sacramento Delta, Tim Neuharth steered his pickup truck down off a levee road, into a thick stand of pear trees, an orchard that rooted 100 years ago. Pears here. Grapevines over there. Cherry trees ahead. After generations of farming, as much as $2 billion in bounty springs every year from the almost 323,000 acres of Delta farms, this levee-laced land that was once tidal marsh. Neuharth would like nothing better than to show off his share to people who live and work in cities, viewing concrete and glass all day long. "For me, it's about enlightening other people so they know what 'ag' is all about," said Neuharth, 58. "It's surprising how few people know the Delta is here. The Delta is the Everglades of the West." Agritourism, the idea of luring city dwellers out to farms and ranches where they drop tourist dollars and gain an appreciation for agriculture, is growing in the Delta alongside the vineyards and pears and nearly as fast as Neuharth's alfalfa fields. In other regions where agritourism flourishes, visitors can take cooking classes on a ranch, get married in a vineyard, paint a canvas in an orchard, pick their own strawberries or maybe impersonate a cowboy on a dude ranch. "It's fun and enjoyable, and it's profitable," said Neuharth, who is contemplating hay rides and pumpkin patches as a way to directly sell his produce. The Discover the Delta Foundation is already raising money to open near Rio Vista a $2.5 million visitors center, possibly next summer, that would promote the region's farms, its historical and ethnic heritage. Hordes of visitors already swarm to the Delta for annual festivals heralding the pear crop and crawfish. State legislators have backed a bill that initiates planning for what will be called the Great California Delta Trail, an asset that could ignite another segment of the tourist industry for the Delta, already a fishing and boating haven. The multi-use trail would meander on the Delta's levee tops through one of the state's richest agriculture and wildlife regions. Slicing through Sacramento County, the trail would run through five counties, ending in Yolo County. State legislation passed last year gave the Delta Protection Commission the authority to plan the trail, though building the trail will largely be done by local governments in the region. Another companion piece of legislation that would have increased funding opportunities was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday, but won't significantly change the project's future, according to Delta planners. Eventually, the trail would link to one encircling the Bay Area. The Bay Trail is about 300 miles so far, reaching into Contra Costa County. A Delta trail for paddling, hiking, biking and horseback riding will draw more visitors into an agriculture showplace and ensure habitat preservation for wildlife, said Linda Fiack, executive director of the Delta Protection Commission. The commission, a state agency that monitors the Delta and protects resources, is already canvassing Delta communities to see how they would like to shape the project, Fiack said. A finished plan is probably 2 1/2 years away, she said. It's not a slam-dunk, supporters concede. Getting funding and right-of-ways on private land and establishing a suitable route away from traffic remain the major challenges. The payoffs warrant the effort, said Democratic state Sen. Tom Torlakson, who lives in Antioch and commutes to the capital through the Delta. "I run it; I bike it; I swim it," he said. "It's a recreation paradise." He carried both pieces of legislation for the trail because of his kinship to the West Coast's largest estuary and what he sees as the economic vitality of the slowly eroding agriculture lifestyle. "When you look at growth, the outer Bay Area is growing so fast, you know this area is going to be vital," he said. As agriculture incomes grow less stable, the opportunity for complementary businesses, such as bed and breakfast places, becomes critical, Torlakson said. Continue reading on next page About the writer: * The Bee's M.S. Enkoji can be reached at (916) 321-1106 or menkoji at sacbee.com. Courtland celebrates the fruit crop that built the town with its annual pear festival, welcoming 8,000 to 10,000 tourists to town. Sacramento Bee file, 2007/Ren?e C. Byer Isleton cooks up about 15,000 pounds of crawfish for its annual festival, which draws about 40,000 people to the tiny Delta town. Sacramento Bee file, 2006/Lezlie Sterling The Delta, a fishing and boating haven, lures water users with about 1,000 miles of waterways, levees and shorelines to explore. Sacramento Bee file, 2003/Bryan Patrick -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 16913 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 27499 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 15220 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 12545 bytes Desc: image004.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image005.gif Type: image/gif Size: 61469 bytes Desc: image005.gif URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Oct 17 10:04:26 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:04:26 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Sinking Delta Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C54B@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Sinking Delta Where tules replace corn, they grow soil. It's no quick fix, but it could save levees. By Matt Weiser - Bee Staff Writer Last Updated 9:20 am PDT Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1 http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/436685.html Print | E-Mail | | Digg it | del.icio.us Robin Miller of the U.S. Geological Survey checks plant material on Twitchell Island near Rio Vista last week. An experiment there that duplicates how soil was originally made in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could help reverse its decline. Randy Pench/Sacramento Bee See additional images TWITCHELL ISLAND - A stretch of dirt road cutting through this 3,500-acre island near Rio Vista offers a stark look at two different futures for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. One side of the road is a farm field, with corn stretching in orderly and silent rows across hundreds of acres. It sits at least 5 feet lower than the road, a result of decaying peat soils that have made many Delta islands into deep bowls through a process called subsidence. On the other side is a soggy marsh, its floor nearly level with the road. The marsh is thick with tules and cattails reaching 10 feet overhead. Songbirds and waterfowl rise between pockets of open water. The air is filled with chirping and quacking. This side of the road was once a subsided bowl, too, and filled with corn. But 10 years ago, the U.S. Geological Survey converted it to marshland, allowing tules and other native plants to grow and die back with the seasons as they once did. The experiment has revived the process that created the Delta's peat soils in the first place. Over 10 years it has slowly raised the ground surface more than 2 feet in places, and it could restore generations of decline in the Delta, the West Coast's largest estuary. "I'm standing on 2 feet of accumulated material, and it didn't just squish down," said Robin Miller, USGS project chief at the Twitchell site, as she stepped off a plywood platform into a jungle of tules and cattails. A decade earlier, she would have dropped into thigh-deep water. "When I first started doing this project 10 years ago ... I didn't expect the reversal to be so startlingly enormous." Delta islands have been sinking below sea level ever since the first levees were built. Peat soil is fertile farmland, helping to make farms the Delta's economic heart. But conventional farm practices have helped sink many Delta islands, which now survive only thanks to increasingly fragile levees. Peat soil slowly decays when drained and exposed to air, especially when it's plowed over and over for farming, as it has been for more than 100 years. Many Delta islands are now more than 20 feet below sea level, and continue to subside up to 1 inch per year. This slowly weakens surrounding levees, creating what scientists say is at least a 20 percent chance that multiple islands will flood in an earthquake within the next 25 years. After such a quake, rebuilding at least some of these islands and forcing out seawater drawn in from San Francisco Bay could take years. This would cut off the Delta as a drinking water supply for the 23 million Californians who depend on it, with economic damages to the state estimated at $40 billion. Restoring peat soils on some islands could avoid that catastrophe by raising the ground surface again and bolstering levees. But it won't be a quick fix. Roger Fujii, chief of the USGS Bay-Delta Program, will present results of the Twitchell Island project today at the State of the Estuary Conference in Oakland. The USGS team learned that it can grow peat soil an average of 1.6 inches - and up to 4 inches - per year merely by keeping shallow water on the land all the time. Two test plots were started in 1997 with a few tules planted in each. Over time, plants filled the rest of the plots on their own. One plot was maintained at a water depth of 10 inches, the other 22 inches. This ensures that as tules and other plants die, they accumulate in the water rather than decaying, drying up and blowing away with the wind. New plants grow up through dead plants each year. The cycle repeats, creating successive layers of dead material. Scientists working for the state Department of Water Resources estimate that if seven islands in the west Delta were converted to growing tules, they could be raised 11 feet by 2050. "We're interested in moving the technology down the path to see if this can be implemented on larger scales," said Jerry Johns, DWR deputy director. The expensive alternative is to keep building levees taller and wider. DWR estimates reinforcing levees on seven Delta islands would cost $8 billion. Growing peat takes longer but looks like a cheaper fix. Converting seven islands to peat could cost $600 million. But 85 percent of that cost involves first grading the land flat, which could be avoided if islands were planted in stages following natural land contours. Miller said the benefits don't take decades to accrue. Wildlife habitat improves immediately and grows richer each year. If an island floods early in the process, marsh plants might buffer waves within the island that could further damage levees. There's also potential to reduce global warming by storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in new peat soils. If a market can be created to sell carbon credits in peat soil, this might cover restoration costs. Researchers plan a larger project on Twitchell Island, which is partly owned by the state, to simulate growing tules on the scale of a working farm. Fujii said Delta farmers could be growing peat soil one day instead of corn, wheat and tomatoes. They would be paid to store carbon in peat soil rather than to produce food. "The vision is to create kind of a blueprint, so a farmer can take a corn field and convert it," said Fujii. Some questions still need to be answered. For instance, drain water from the test plots might put more dissolved organic carbon and mercury into the Delta. These chemicals create harmful byproducts when water is treated for domestic consumption. The potential for storing carbon dioxide in peat soils also needs to be measured precisely. Fujii said a larger test project could provide these answers within five years. Finally, there is a thornier question: How will growing peat affect the farm economy of the Delta and the people who live there? Marci Coglianese, former Rio Vista mayor, acknowledged that farming has a mixed legacy in the Delta: It has degraded Delta islands, but revenue from growing food is also the primary source of money to maintain levees. Putting farmers to work growing peat "could be a wonderful solution," she said, if there is an economy to support that. "Those of us who are down here physically working and trying to maintain the Delta cannot stay if there is not a local economy," she said. "So we have to balance all of that. It is people who are the stewards of the land down here." Robin Miller of the U.S. Geological Survey inspects tules on Twitchell Island, where scientists are growing peat soil on Delta islands by letting plants decay in standing water, which stops them from blowing away. Sacramento Bee/Randy Pench -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 15379 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 28077 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 29486 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Oct 17 13:11:33 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:11:33 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity Weir Trapping Summaries Message-ID: <004e01c810f9$edfd9820$0301a8c0@optiplex> Message and latest weir trapping summaries are courtesy of Wade Sinnen: Please find attached trapping summaries for two main stem weirs and Trinity River Hatchery. Time to get out the steelhead gear!! Wade Sinnen Associate Biologist Trinity River Project CA Dept. of Fish and Game Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: weir&TRH_summary07.xls Type: application/vnd.ms-excel Size: 55296 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Oct 17 15:28:14 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:28:14 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Oregon State University on Hatchery Steelhead Message-ID: <617AB1D8D3424796B1F1836303BC6B51@ByronsLaptop> STUDY CASTS DOUBTS ON HATCHERY FISH EFFORTS Published: October 10, 2007 By Leah Weissman Pilot staff writer A 15-year study conducted by Oregon State University(OSU) reveals hatchery-raised steelhead trout released in Hood River lose their ability to reproduce in the wild at a drop-rate of about 40 percent per generation. Andrew Van Scoyk, hatchery manager of Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery in Smith River, said this study doesn't necessarily apply to every hatchery in Oregon. "This is just one study on one river," Van Scoyk said. "There's a lot said that doesn't relate to us. For instance, we only rear one generation at a time." According to the research, offspring obtained strictly from farmed fish have around half the reproductive fitness as fish reared in a hatchery for only a single generation. Michael Blouin, an OSU associate professor of zoology said, "There is now no question that using fish of hatchery ancestry to produce more hatchery fish quickly results in stocks that perform poorly in nature." The decrease in reproductiveness is due to a combination of genetics and natural selection, scientists administering the study said. The evolutionary process selects certain characteristics suitable for fish living in a protected environment such as a hatchery, but unsuitable for the fish-eat-fish world of the wild. According to Van Scoyk, the major differences between steelhead at Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery and the hatchery steelhead released into Hood River are the hereditary contrasts between the fish and the hatchery's mating practices. "We never mate two hatchery fish," he said. "Whenever possible, we always prefer to mate two wild fish. We also mate different sizes and ages of fish to keep the gene pool mixed up. Finally, we clip the adipose fin (small fleshy fin on the fish's back behind the dorsal fin) so we know, and fisherman know, what fish are wild and what fish are farmed." The obvious physical difference makes it easy for the hatchery to distinguish between wild and farmed fish when selecting different steelhead to mate. The clipped fin is also a red flag to fishermen that this is a farmed fish and should be caught. Earlier studies by OSU and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) mention that hatchery fish reared from wild stock have the potential to help wild populations in the short run. "Our hatchery fish only make up about 30 percent of steelhead in Smith River, so there's a higher chance of wild fish spawning with hatchery fish, rather than two hatchery fish spawning and perpetuating the negative traits," Van Scoyk said. "I think some of the data from this study are more of a concern for hatcheries that take up a bigger proportion of the river." In the study, Blouin states that hatcheries have a place in fisheries management. "The key issue is how to minimize their (hatcheries) impacts on wild populations," he said. "Among other things, this study proves with no doubt that wild fish and hatchery fish are not the same, despite their appearances." Van Scoyk said he hopes people don't take this study too seriously and use it to indict all hatcheries. "We want to improve the fish population, not harm it with bad genetics. The Departments of Fish and Game has given us strict guidelines; we do our best to stay within them." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Wed Oct 17 23:01:55 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:01:55 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Yurok Watershed Rehabilitation Award Message-ID: <8FCAEA7BA4B140C4AAA2C0F36606FB58@ByronsLaptop> Watershed Rehabilitation Award for the Yurok Tribe. Great work Yurok Tribe! Excerpt from press release: "Eureka, CA -- The Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment (ASJE) is proud to announced the winners of their 2007 Restoration Awards in anticipation of their Sixth Annual "Road to a Restoration Economy" Celebration and Awards. "The Thursday evening affair features State Assemblymember Patty Berg at the Wharfinger Building, #1 Marina Way in Eureka. This free public event starts at 6 pm and goes until 8:30. This event is being sponsored by the Redwood Community Action Agency, the Mattole Restoration Council and Wendt Construction of Fortuna. ".The Restoration Project of the Year is being presented to the Yurok Tribal Watershed Department for their McGarvey Creek Slope Stabilization Project. Department manager Walt Lara III explained to the Yurok Today newspaper that the crew has been working since 1997 in the nine-mile square watershed feeding into the Klamath River at Klamath Glenn. Watershed restoration treatments including extensive road re-contouring and labor intensive removal of old Humboldt-style creek crossings prevented massive amounts of sediment from choking the historically rich spawning grounds." Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Oct 18 15:05:04 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:05:04 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: 2008 Salmonid Restoration Conference PSA and Final Call for Abstracts Message-ID: <003e01c811d2$f07653b0$0301a8c0@optiplex> Greetings, Please find attached an updated PSA for the 26th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference taking place in Lodi, California March 5-8, 2008. The theme of this year's conference will be "Central Valley Salmon and Steelhead: Restoration in the California Heartland." Please mark your calendars and share this information with your constituents. Also attached is the Final Call for Session Abstracts. The final deadline for session abstracts and a summary of recommended presenters is November 1st, 2007. Please contact Dana Stolzman (srf at calsalmon.org or 707-923-7501) with any questions regarding presenting at sessions, workshops or field tours or with regards to tabling at the Friday evening Poster Session. We look forward to your participation in the 2008 Salmonid Restoration Conference. Thank you, Heather Reese Project Coordinator Salmonid Restoration Federation PO Box 784 Redway, California 95560 (707) 923-7501 heather at calsalmon.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2008 SRF final Call for Abstracts_101807.doc Type: application/msword Size: 300544 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2008 SRF Conf PSA.doc Type: application/msword Size: 117248 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Thu Oct 18 13:31:47 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:31:47 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] FARM BILL DEAL? Message-ID: <005b01c811c5$e999cf20$0200a8c0@HAL> California could reap windfall from farm bill deal Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau Thursday, October 18, 2007 (10-18) 04:00 PDT Washington - -- Senate Democrats announced a breakthrough in a long-stalled farm bill Wednesday that would provide billions of dollars for California fruit and vegetable marketing, farm conservation and food stamps - but would maintain costly, traditional crop subsidies for corn, wheat, cotton, rice and soybeans. The linchpin of the deal was $3 billion in new money that suddenly appeared when the Congressional Budget Office determined that a new option for subsidized farmers to choose an alternative insurance-style program would save money. That money could pay for environmental and nutrition programs while shielding subsidies from cuts. But it was unclear whether the deal would appease the unusual left-right alliance of reformers hoping to change the 70-year-old system of crop subsidies that they contend has speeded farm industrialization, harmed the environment and contributed to the nation's obesity epidemic. Fruit and vegetable growers said they might not be happy, either. All this poses a quandary for California's Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, who are being lobbied vigorously by the state's cotton and rice farmers and fruit and vegetable growers who want more money for research and marketing, and Bay Area environmental and food activists seeking to change the government's role in agriculture. Neither senator has yet taken a position. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he has broad support on his committee, a bastion of traditional farm interests, and plans a vote as early as next Wednesday. The deal fended off powerful opposition from subsidy supporters in both parties from the South and Midwest who threatened to thwart any compromise that reduced their subsidies. Harkin conceded that the agreement was not a big break with the past. "Farm programs don't take sharp turns, but we do try to bend the rails a little bit," Harkin said. Whether the deal forestalls fights in the overall Senate remains to be seen. Andy Fisher, a spokesman for Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican who is teaming with New Jersey Democrat Frank Lautenberg on an alternative that would eliminate traditional subsidies and divert the savings to the wish list of reformers, said the deal was "a bad bill. It's bad for taxpayers, farmers and the American economy." Environmental groups were cautious, waiting for more information. "It's a step in the right direction, but it's still insufficient to meet demand" from the two out of three farmers who are turned away from conservation programs, said Sara Hopper, an attorney with Environmental Defense. All sides have a lot at stake in the $286 billion farm bill; farm laws are renewed just once every five years. Decisions made now will lock in policies until 2013 that will have an enormous impact on the American food system. Advocates for changing the system are spread across the political spectrum. Food activists contend that farm subsidies encourage production of the starches, sugars and oils that now permeate processed foods and meats. They want to end that system and encourage the farm-to-fork movement of healthier and more local foods. Environmental advocates contend that the subsidies encourage pesticide and fertilizer use that has created a "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico the size of New Jersey from farm runoff in the Mississippi River. Rural development activists say the subsidies have speeded farm consolidation and emptied small towns. Overseas development lobbyists say the payments hurt poor farmers in Africa and elsewhere who have to compete on depressed world markets. Trade specialists say the subsidies violate U.S. trade treaties and invite retaliation on other industries. Economists say the subsidies discourage innovation and serve no public purpose. Budget hawks say most of the payments go to a small number of the most prosperous farmers who earn far more than the average taxpayer - at a time when farm income is breaking records. Even some subsidized farmers object. "It seems to me it's poor government when in a time of tight budgets and good economic conditions, we have the same old programs, rather than taking the opportunity to reform when economic conditions are good," said Ed Carter, a Minnesota corn and soybean farmer who has joined the reform alliance. Harkin, a liberal populist and no fan of traditional subsidies, has been battling fellow Democrats on his own committee to divert money to conservation and nutrition programs. The standoff has deadlocked Senate action since the House passed its farm bill in July that increases subsidies. Harkin said the newfound money took him by surprise and "really helped us out a great deal" to pay for what everyone wanted. Harkin said he was especially proud of getting $1 billion to increase fruit and vegetable consumption by poor children, money to help farmers through the expensive transition to organic farming, and new funds to promote biomass fuels. "This is a forward-looking bill with critical investments for the future in energy conservation, nutrition, rural development, and promoting better diets and health for all Americans," Harkin said. Harkin said there also will be no cut in the $5 billion spent each year in automatic direct payments to people who own land that has grown subsidized crops, regardless of market conditions or even if they produce anything now. Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., have insisted on preserving those payments as a safety net for farmers. Farmers could, however, opt instead for a "revenue assurance" plan devised by the corn growers' lobby that would guarantee farmers a base level of revenue regardless of prices or yields. Unlike price supports that give aid only when prices drop, this program would also make payments in case of drought or other events that destroy crops, even if prices are high. But there may be a big sticking point with California produce growers: Grain and cotton farmers who opt for the new program would be allowed to plant fruits and vegetables on their land. Currently, farmers in the Midwest or South who get federal money are not allowed to switch to specialty crops because California farmers contend that would give those farmers an unfair advantage. Fruits, nuts and vegetables are not eligible for federal subsidies. Tom Nassif, head of the Western Growers Association, said the $3 billion that budget estimators think the new program would save the government on crop subsidies is about what California produce growers would suffer in losses if subsidized farmers start competing with them by growing fruits and vegetables. The federal aid those farmers receive "makes it much easier for them to grow more crops and have more production without increasing demand, and that lowers market prices," Nassif said. "A subsidy is a subsidy. We are very much opposed to it and have been from the beginning." California's produce industry has had an on-off alliance with environmental, religious and other groups opposing the farm bill. They broke off to support the House measure after they secured $1.6 billion for research and marketing, angering reform groups who continued to oppose the subsidies for commodity crops. California also grows heavily subsidized cotton and rice. Most of these growers want to continue those programs. E-mail Carolyn Lochhead at clochhead at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: mn_harkin_dean_dcn_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5796 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Oct 23 09:36:20 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:36:20 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C557@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/1 0/19/SS6JS8RH0.DTL&type=politics Friday, October 19, 2007 At the start of the Academy Award-winning movie "American Beauty," a character videotapes a plastic grocery bag as it drifts into the air, an event he casts as a symbol of life's unpredictable currents, and declares the romantic moment as a "most beautiful thing." To the eyes of an oceanographer, the image is pure catastrophe. In reality, the rogue bag would float into a sewer, follow the storm drain to the ocean, then make its way to the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch - a heap of debris floating in the Pacific that's twice the size of Texas, according to marine biologists. The enormous stew of trash - which consists of 80 percent plastics and weighs some 3.5 million tons, say oceanographers - floats where few people ever travel, in a no-man's land between San Francisco and Hawaii. Marcus Eriksen, director of research and education at the Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach, said his group has been monitoring the Garbage Patch for 10 years. "With the winds blowing in and the currents in the gyre going circular, it's the perfect environment for trapping," Eriksen said. "There's nothing we can do about it now, except do no more harm." The patch has been growing, along with ocean debris worldwide, tenfold every decade since the 1950s, said Chris Parry, public education program manager with the California Coastal Commission in San Francisco. Ocean current patterns may keep the flotsam stashed in a part of the world few will ever see, but the majority of its content is generated onshore, according to a report from Greenpeace last year titled "Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans." The report found that 80 percent of the oceans' litter originated on land. While ships drop the occasional load of shoes or hockey gloves into the waters (sometimes on purpose and illegally), the vast majority of sea garbage begins its journey as onshore trash. That's what makes a potentially toxic swamp like the Garbage Patch entirely preventable, Parry said. "At this point, cleaning it up isn't an option," Parry said. "It's just going to get bigger as our reliance on plastics continues. ... The long-term solution is to stop producing as much plastic products at home and change our consumption habits." Parry said using canvas bags to cart groceries instead of using plastic bags is a good first step; buying foods that aren't wrapped in plastics is another. After the San Francisco Board of Supervisors banned the use of plastic grocery bags earlier this year with the problem of ocean debris in mind, a slew of state bills were written to limit bag production, said Sarah Christie, a legislative director with the California Coastal Commission. But many of the bills failed after meeting strong opposition from plastics industry lobbyists, she said. Meanwhile, the stew in the ocean continues to grow. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is particularly dangerous for birds and marine life, said Warner Chabot, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group. Sea turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish. Birds swoop down and swallow indigestible shards of plastic. The petroleum-based plastics take decades to break down, and as long as they float on the ocean's surface, they can appear as feeding grounds. "These animals die because the plastic eventually fills their stomachs," Chabot said. "It doesn't pass, and they literally starve to death." The Greenpeace report found that at least 267 marine species had suffered from some kind of ingestion or entanglement with marine debris. Chabot said if environmentalists wanted to remove the ocean dump site, it would take a massive international effort that would cost billions. But that is unlikely, he added, because no one country is likely to step forward and claim the issue as its own responsibility. Instead, cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is left to the landlubbers. "What we can do is ban plastic fast food packaging," Chabot said, "or require the substitution of biodegradable materials, increase recycling programs and improve enforcement of litter laws. "Otherwise, this ever-growing floating continent of trash will be with us for the foreseeable future." How to help You can help to limit the ever-growing patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean. Here are some ways to help: Limit your use of plastics when possible. Plastic doesn't easily degrade and can kill sea life. Use a reusable bag when shopping. Throwaway bags can easily blow into the ocean. Take your trash with you when you leave the beach. Make sure your trash bins are securely closed. Keep all trash in closed bags. Trash is also a problem in parts of San Francisco Bay. For an interactive map showing some of the worst locations, go to www.savesfbay.org/baytrash. - Justin Berton jberton at sfchronicle.com This article appeared on page W - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov Wed Oct 24 10:30:28 2007 From: BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov (Brandt Gutermuth) Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 10:30:28 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Algae and primary production in the Trinity River Message-ID: I have had several locals comment that they believe that there has been more plant growth (macrophytes), attached to the Trinity River bottom this year in areas above the Indian Creek delta all the way up to the dam, than in the past. When asked why - I can only suggest that perhaps there are more nutrients available which may come from watersheds, septic systems, runoff from fertilized lawns etc. For instance the Trinity River Restoration Program received this email the other day: Dear Sir: I see a lot of moss on the bottom of the river that has never been there before. Can you tell me what it is and how it is getting there? Does this have anything to do with your project. I've a home on Poker Bar Road. This seems to be changing the way that the fish hold. Can any of you offer any information to back up (or refute) these views that more attached algae is in the river today than in the recent years and/or that increased nutrients may be available in the Trinity now than in the past. Any other observations on attached algae in the Trinity? Thanks for your input - Brandt ____________________________ Brandt Gutermuth Environmental Specialist Trinity River Restoration Program PO Box 1300 (mailing) 1313 S. Main Street (physical) Weaverville, CA 96093 530.623.1806 (voice) 530.623.5944 (fax) www.trrp.net (website) ___________________________ From TBedros765 at aol.com Fri Oct 26 13:48:11 2007 From: TBedros765 at aol.com (TBedros765 at aol.com) Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:48:11 EDT Subject: [env-trinity] Hoopa Fights for Trinity River Restoration Message-ID: Pasted and attached please find a press release and letter from the Hoopa Valley Tribe. If you have questions, please contact me. Thank you, Tod Bedrosian Bedrosian & Associates 835 Klein Way Sacramento, CA 95831 (916)421-5121 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE TELLS CONGRESS TRINITY RIVER RESTORATION PROMISES MUST BE KEPT BEFORE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RESTORATION IS PASSED Media Contacts: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 ext. 161 Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 Hoopa, Calif. ? The Hoopa Valley Tribe of northern California has notified Congressional and administration San Joaquin River restoration supporters of the tribe?s concern the plan for the San Joaquin is fiscally gluttonous and could drain restoration funds from the Trinity River, which bisects the Hoopa Valley Reservation. ?They risk killing a living river and the fish in it if the San Joaquin legislation (H.R. 24/S. 27) becomes a new consumer of California?s river restoration funding,? said Hoopa Tribal Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall. In an Oct. 23 letter, the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council asked 10 members of California's congressional delegation (list at the bottom of this press release) to change the funding mechanism for the San Joaquin River restoration and support legislation authored by Rep. Mike Thompson (H.R. 2733) to ensure the promise of restoration for the Trinity River. In the letter, the tribe also notes federal funding shortfalls for the restoration of the Trinity River are allowing fish habitat to worsen. ?Our tribal fishery is failing because of a collapse of the fish populations in the Klamath and Trinity rivers,? noted Marshall. The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council sent the letter to key members of Congress saying, ?We need your assistance to ensure that the Federal government?s prior commitment and trust responsibility for Trinity restoration are not sacrificed to the San Joaquin settlement.? Since the San Joaquin settlement was first introduced in the fall of last year, the tribe has said the legislation?s funding mechanism will be used by the administration to divert restoration monies from the Trinity River restoration program approved in December 2000. Congressional representatives, environmental groups, water and power contractors in the Central Valley, and administration officials have asked the Hoopa Valley Tribe not to oppose the San Joaquin legislation. The tribe?s letter replies the tribe can only drop opposition to the San Joaquin restoration if funding for the Trinity River restoration is assured with legislation, H.R. 2733, authored by north coast Rep. Thompson and co-sponsored by Rep. George Miller. Marshall said the federal government betrayed its promises to restore the Trinity River when administration officials refused to support H.R. 2733 during a Sept. 18, House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the bill. The tribe supports H.R. 2733 as a way to bolster sagging federal restoration efforts on the Trinity River. ?We support river restoration throughout California, but Congress must recognize the San Joaquin restoration legislation could allow the Interior Department to create a billion-dollar vortex that will suck up available restoration funding for California rivers, including the Trinity,? said Marshall. He said the Trinity River restoration project is under funded by $8 million annually and is seven years behind schedule, according to estimates developed this year by the Secretary of the Interior and the tribe. ?Shifting limited funds to San Joaquin will reduce funding for Trinity River restoration further,? he said. ?Funding for the Trinity needs to be identified and confirmed now because conditions have worsened for the Trinity and Klamath rivers fishery.? Marshall said the Trinity River is the only tributary to the Klamath River producing quantities of salmon available for local harvest. ?If the Trinity River goes down, so goes fishing for native people, sports fishermen and the commercial fishing industry for 900 miles of the Northern California and Oregon coastline. The San Joaquin will take decades to restore. Funding for the Trinity will produce immediate returns on investment and immediate benefits to the coastal communities that rely on the salmon.? Marshall said the Hoopa Valley Tribe would like to continue talks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein about restoration of the Trinity River. ?The Senator has been a friend to the Trinity River in the past. I think she is concerned that the Bureau of Reclamation is only committing half of the money it should on the government?s promise to restore the Trinity River. Congressman Thompson?s Bill will fix the annual funding shortfall. We hope she will introduce the same bill in the Senate.? The federal government began diverting Trinity River waters to the Central Valley in l964, but promised enough water would be retained for the river?s fish and wildlife. Since then the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) has allowed up to 90 percent of the river?s water to be diverted. In the l980?s Congress recognized the diversion had caused an 80 percent reduction in salmon populations. In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act was passed to create funding for environmental restoration of California rivers harmed by commercial water users. In 2000, a Record of Decision agreement signed by the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the U.S. Department of Interior for meeting federal trust responsibilities to restore and maintain the Hoopa Valley Tribe?s fishery. Since then the tribe has had to litigate against Central Valley interests opposed to giving up water for fishery restoration and fight for restoration monies from the BOR. ?The San Joaquin settlement is the latest blow to Trinity River restoration,? said Marshall - 30 - The Oct. 23, 2007 letter from Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall was sent to these California Congressional representatives, administration officials and other water users. Member Fax Phone Feinstein 202 228-3954 or 202 224-3841 202 228-4741 Boxer 415 956-6701 202 224-3553 Radanovich 202 225-3402 202 225-4540 Napolitano 202 225-0027 202 225-5256 Cardoza 202 225-0819 202 225-6131 Costa 202 225-9308 202 225-3341 Baca 202 225-8671 202 225-6161 McNerney 202 226-0861 202 225-1947 Miller 202 225-5609 202 225-2095 Thompson 202 225-4335 202 225-3311 CCs Karen G. Wayland, Ph.D Legislative Director Natural Resources Defense Council 1200 New York Avenue, Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone 202 289-2402 Fax 202 289-1060 Honorable Dirk Kempthorne Secretary of the Interior MS 6217-MIB 1849 C Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20240 Phone 202 208-7351 Fax 202 208-6956 Kole Upton, Chairman Friant Water Users Authority c/o The Ferguson Group 1130 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036 Phone 202 331-8500 Fax 202 331-1598 ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Oppose SJ- 10-25-07.doc+.zip Type: application/zip Size: 261151 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Oct 26 17:13:15 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:13:15 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] New York Times Magazine Article Message-ID: <9FBE192581BD477BB74CDB5F8BB61FFB@ByronsLaptop> The Future Is Drying Up Many of you may have seen this article in last Sunday's New York Times Magazine. For those of you who haven't seen it, here's the URL. It is excellent - very much worth reading. If you can't access it through the URL for some reason, and would like to read it, let me know. I'll send it to you in Word. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/magazine/21water-t.html?_r=1 &ref=magazine&oref=slogin Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Mon Oct 29 10:01:44 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:01:44 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Reporter Message-ID: <78AB4D5080C7493BB36D6EB1AA48E146@ByronsLaptop> Tribe holds Congress to river restoration promises Eureka Reporter - 10/28/07 The Hoopa Valley Tribe of Northern California has notified Congress and San Joaquin River restoration supporters of the tribe's concern the plan for the San Joaquin is fiscally gluttonous and could drain restoration funds from the Trinity River, which bisects the Hoopa Valley Reservation. "They risk killing a living river and the fish in it if the San Joaquin legislation (HR 24/S. 27) becomes a new consumer of California's river restoration funding," said Hoopa Valley Tribal Council Chairperson Clifford Lyle Marshall. In an Oct. 23 letter, the Hoopa Valley Tribal Council asked 10 members of California's congressional delegation to change the funding mechanism for the San Joaquin River restoration and support legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. George Miller (HR 2733) to ensure the promise of restoration for the Trinity River. In the letter, the tribe also notes federal funding shortfalls for the restoration of the Trinity River are allowing fish habitat to worsen. "Our tribal fishery is failing because of a collapse of the fish populations in the Klamath and Trinity rivers," Marshall noted. The Hoopa Valley Tribal Council sent the letter to key members of Congress stating, "We need your assistance to ensure that the federal government's prior commitment and trust responsibility for Trinity restoration are not sacrificed to the San Joaquin settlement." Since the San Joaquin settlement was first introduced in the fall of last year, the tribe has said the legislation's funding mechanism will be used by the administration to divert restoration monies from the Trinity River restoration program approved in December 2000. Congressional representatives, environmental groups, water and power contractors in the Central Valley and administration officials have asked the Hoopa Valley Tribe not to oppose the San Joaquin legislation. The tribe's letter replies the tribe can only drop opposition to the San Joaquin restoration if funding for the Trinity River restoration is assured with HR 2733. Marshall said the federal government betrayed its promises to restore the Trinity River when administration officials refused to support HR 2733 during a Sept. 18 House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the bill. The tribe supports HR 2733 as a way to bolster sagging federal restoration efforts on the Trinity River. "We support river restoration throughout California, but Congress must recognize the San Joaquin restoration legislation could allow the Interior Department to create a billion-dollar vortex that will suck up available restoration funding for California rivers, including the Trinity," Marshall said. He said the Trinity River restoration project is underfunded by $8 million annually and is seven years behind schedule, according to estimates developed this year by the secretary of the Interior Department and the tribe. "Shifting limited funds to San Joaquin will reduce funding for Trinity River restoration further," he said. "Funding for the Trinity needs to be identified and confirmed now because conditions have worsened for the Trinity and Klamath rivers fishery." Marshall said the Trinity River is the only tributary to the Klamath River producing quantities of salmon available for local harvest. "If the Trinity River goes down, so goes fishing for native people, sports fishermen and the commercial fishing industry for 900 miles of the Northern California and Oregon coastline. The San Joaquin will take decades to restore. Funding for the Trinity will produce immediate returns on investment and immediate benefits to the coastal communities that rely on the salmon." Marshall said the Hoopa Valley Tribe would like to continue talks with Sen. Dianne Feinstein about restoration of the Trinity River. "The Senator has been a friend to the Trinity River in the past. I think she is concerned that the Bureau of Reclamation is only committing half of the money it should on the government's promise to restore the Trinity River. Congressman Thompson's Bill will fix the annual funding shortfall. We hope she will introduce the same bill in the Senate." The federal government began diverting Trinity River waters to the Central Valley in l964, but promised enough water would be retained for the river's fish and wildlife. Since then, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has allowed up to 90 percent of the river's water to be diverted. In the l980s, Congress recognized the diversion had caused an 80 percent reduction in salmon populations. In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act was passed to create funding for environmental restoration of California rivers harmed by commercial water users. In 2000, a Record of Decision agreement was signed by the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the U.S. Department of Interior for meeting federal trust responsibilities to restore and maintain the Hoopa Valley Tribe's fishery. Since then, the tribe has had to litigate against Central Valley interests opposed to giving up water for fishery restoration and fight for restoration monies from the BOR. "The San Joaquin settlement is the latest blow to Trinity River restoration," Marshall said. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Oct 30 09:33:59 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:33:59 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] California Water Policy (POWER) conference Message-ID: <006e01c81b1c$53194b60$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> If you haven?t already done so, please consider attending this year?s California Water Policy (POWER) conference, being held at the Sheraton in Downtown LA on November 14 and 15. The POWER conference is sponsored jointly by water agencies and environmental organizations, and features panels on a variety of issues. While the theme of this year?s event is adaptation to Climate Change, IRWMPs are the theme of several panels. This is a chance to interact with water agencies about our common and potentially conflicting goals for these plans. The link to the conference website is below- register by the 31st for the lowest price! http://www.cawaterpolicy.org/agenda.htm I wish I could go! Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Oct 30 10:08:12 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:08:12 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Salmon Runs Small Message-ID: <007001c81b1c$541e8660$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Are they late or missing? SALMON RUNS: Central Valley salmon largely absent from fall run - but why? San Francisco Chronicle ? 10/30/07 By Jane Lay, staff writer This year's Central Valley fall salmon run is worrying both fishermen and biologists, who say fewer of the prized chinook are out in the ocean or making it up the rivers to spawn. By this time, usually tens of thousands more fish are being hooked by fishermen or are swimming through the Golden Gate to the tributaries of San Francisco Bay. Upstream, the fish spawn in the same rivers where they were born, carrying on the generations of silvery king salmon. Yet commercial fishermen who hunt for salmon in the ocean from Monterey to Bodega before the fish start their journey up the rivers report the worst salmon fishing in decades. Fisheries biologists in Northern California who count the salmon that return up the American, Feather and Sacramento rivers are seeing a big decline in fish for this time of year. Some runs might have as few as 20 to 25 percent of the fish normally expected by this time of year, data show. The salmon run could just be a little late this year, say state Fish and Game Department officials. On the Klamath and Trinity river systems, biologists say the salmon are about three to four weeks late, but they think the fish will come eventually. The exact cause of the apparent drop in fall-run salmon is not yet clear, although some experts blame the way the state manages its water supply in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Rushes of fresh water can signal fish to start migrating upstream, but meager flows also can hurt the survival of baby fish that eventually will return as adults. Low levels of krill, tiny marine invertebrates that the fish eat, also could be to blame, experts said. In tributaries like Battle Creek, an important salmon spawning ground off the Sacramento River, there is cause for concern. By now, about three-quarters of the fall run would have passed by the weir where Fish and Game officials count the fish. Usually, the creek's run is between 50,000 and 100,000 fish at this time; so far, there have only been 20,000 spawning chinook, said Randy Benthin, a senior fisheries biologist for Fish and Game. And on the Yuba River, only 54 salmon have returned so far, down from a total of 3,842 fish in 2003. The Feather River has one-third of the fish it usually has at this time of year, according to state statistics. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, a regulatory body that sets limits on commercial fishing, had predicted a lackluster year for the Central Valley fall run. Of the four runs in the bay, the fall run is the largest. Fish and Game has set a goal of 120,000 to 180,000 spawning fish every fall, and in recent years has met that goal. Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said the low fish counts are particularly worrisome because of the extra limits placed on fishing in recent years. Those limits were specifically aimed at boosting the number of fish that return to spawn on the Klamath River. He blamed problems with moving water around the delta. The lack of krill in the ocean may have exacerbated the meager runs, he said. The Sonoma County Water Agency, which this summer urged growers and residents to cut water use by 20 percent due to dry conditions, issued a statement Monday decrying the dearth of salmon returning to the Russian River, which depends on flows from the Eel River. "Right now by this time in the year, we should have about 500 fish" passing the counting equipment at Forestville. "In our best year (of record keeping), we had 2,500 at this point. Just now we're just over 100," said Sean White, a county fisheries biologist. The water agency is concerned that people are fishing at the mouth of the Russian River, capturing the few fish that are heading up to spawn. Seabird expert Bill Sydeman, who recently founded the Farallon Institute for Advanced Ecosystem Research in Petaluma, said he is working on models that link seabird health with abundance of the salmon. The fish and birds feed on krill, lots of zooplankton and young rockfish attracted by nutrient-rich waters. The conditions that salmon face in their first and second years have a bearing on whether they live to spawn at age 3. Krill numbers were lower in 2006 and 2005 than they had been in 2001 and 2002, for example, Sydeman said. "It's not surprising to me that there are low salmon returns in 2007." Oceanographers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been studying ocean conditions for decades. They link good years for salmon with vigorous upwelling of cold, deep, nutrient-rich water to the ocean's surface and the influx of cold Alaskan waters that bring in krill and other sea life. This year the upwelling and transport of cold Alaskan waters were strong. Then the mixing slowed down. The surface water has been warmer than usual in the California Current, the swath of water moving between Baja California and British Columbia, and it can hold down the upwelling, the scientists say. And scientists report a relatively poor year for California and Oregon salmon. "We're trying to understand what's going on out there," said Frank Schwing, an oceanographer with NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla (San Diego County). The scientists are trying to figure out whether there is a regime of cold and then warmer-water decades - or whether global warming could be throwing off the predicted regimes. "One of the ideas is that global climate change will introduce greater extremes and much more variability into the climate. In reality, it's going to take a couple of decades. Then we can look back and see what the patterns were," Schwing said. # http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/30/MNAAT2VTR.DTL -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Vina_Frye at fws.gov Tue Oct 30 14:37:39 2007 From: Vina_Frye at fws.gov (Vina_Frye at fws.gov) Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:37:39 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Federal Register notice for TAMWG meeting Message-ID: Hi Folks, The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) meeting notice for December 6-7, 2007, was published in the Federal Register today. Best regards, Vina Vina Frye U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata FWO 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 Telephone: (707) 822-7201 Fax: (707) 822-8411 vina_frye at fws.gov [Federal Register: October 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 209)] [Notices] [Page 61365] >From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr30oc07-49] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) affords stakeholders the opportunity to give policy, management, and technical input concerning Trinity River (California) restoration efforts to the Trinity Management Council (TMC). Primary objectives of the meeting will include discussion of the following topics: Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP) decision-making process, TRRP budget, TRRP science program, TRRP implementation planning and progress, and legislative developments. Completion of the agenda is dependent on the amount of time each item takes. The meeting could end early if the agenda has been completed. The meeting is open to the public. DATES: The Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group will meet from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 6, 2007 and from 8:30 to 12 noon on Friday, December 7, 2007. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Weaverville Victorian Inn, 1709 Main St., 299 West, Weaverville, CA 96093. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Randy A. Brown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1655 Heindon Road, Arcata, CA 95521. Telephone: (707) 822-7201. Randy A. Brown is the working group's Designated Federal Officer. For background information and questions regarding the Trinity River Restoration Program, please contact Douglas Schleusner, Executive Director, P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main Street, Weaverville, CA 96093. Telephone: (530) 623-1800, E-mail: dschleusner at mp.usbr.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), this notice announces a meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG).??? Dated: October 16, 2007. Randy A. Brown, Designated Federal Officer, Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office, Arcata, CA. [FR Doc. E7-21296 Filed 10-29-07; 8:45 am] From jallen at trinitycounty.org Wed Oct 31 09:12:26 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:12:26 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Feds want to survey, possibly clean up vast garbage pit in Pacific Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C566@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Feds want to survey, possibly clean up vast garbage pit in Pacific Justin Berton, Chronicle Staff Writer The so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a stewy body of plastic and marine debris that floats an estimated 1,000 miles west of San Francisco, is a shape-shifting mass far too large, delicate and remote to ever be cleaned up, according to a researcher who recently returned from the area. But that might not stop the federal government from trying. Charles Moore, the marine researcher at the Algalita Marina Research Foundation in Long Beach who has been studying and publicizing the patch for the past 10 years, said the debris - which he estimates weighs 3 million tons and covers an area twice the size of Texas - is made up mostly of fine plastic chips and is impossible to skim out of the ocean. "Any attempt to remove that much plastic from the oceans - it boggles the mind," Moore said from Hawaii, where his crew is docked. "There's just too much, and the ocean is just too big." The trash collects in one area, known as the North Pacific Gyre, due to a clockwise trade wind that circulates along the Pacific Rim. It accumulates the same way bubbles gather at the center of hot tub, Moore said. A two-liter plastic bottle that begins its voyage from a storm drain in San Francisco will get pulled into the gyre and take weeks to reach its place among the other debris in the Garbage Patch. While the bottle floats along, instead of biodegrading, it will "photodegrade," Moore said - the sun's UV rays will turn the bottle brittle, much like they would crack the vinyl on a car roof. They will break down the bottle into small pieces and, in some cases, into particles as fine as dust. The Garbage Patch is not a solid island, as some people believe, Moore said. Instead, it resembles a soupy mass, interspersed with large pieces of junk such as derelict fishing nets and waterlogged tires - "an alphabet soup," he called it. Also, it's undetectable by overhead satellite photos because it's 80 percent plastic and therefore translucent, Moore added. The plastic moves just beneath the surface, from one inch to depths of 300 feet, according to samples he collected on the most recent trip, he said. By Moore's estimation, the "floating landfill" is also simply too far from land to conduct any meaningful cleanup operation. It's about 1,000 miles west of California and 1,000 miles north of the Hawaiian Islands - a week's journey by boat from the nearest port. It swirls in a convergence zone located about 30 to 40 degrees north latitude and 135 to 145 west longitude. There's no doubt that a stew of marine debris exists in the convergence zone of the gyre, said Holly Bamford, an oceanographer and director of the marine debris program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but there is some debate as to its size. Moore has led most of the research and publicity surrounding the Garbage Patch, so Bamford said her federal agency, which oversees ocean conditions, is collecting its own data to assess the area and density. Bamford said she has noted some "gaps in the research" that suggest the affected area is not as large as Moore estimates. Yet there's no question that marine debris is gathering in the area and is having a negative impact on marine life, such as fish who mistake the particles for food. "But before we embark on a huge removal process," Bamford said, "we need to understand what we're dealing with." Bamford added that the agency had attempted to take satellite photos of the area last year, but the overhead photos were inconclusive. "It's hard to distinguish a whale reaching the surface versus a piece of plastic," she said. Still, Bamford said the agency is considering flying unmanned aircraft that can be launched from boats to skim the ocean's surface and collect data. But launching the drones is 18 months away, Bamford said. It could be two years before a federal plan is enacted to remove the plastic - if it's warranted, Bamford said. "Once we get to that stage, we'd need to ask, 'If we can remove it, what would be the best way? And what would we do with it afterward? If we collect it, would we bring it back to shore - and then what, put it in a landfill?' " In the meantime, as the production and the use of plastic continue to grow, so will the Garbage Patch, Moore said. The only way to reduce marine debris, all sides agree, is to cut it off at its source - on land. The dramatic growth in plastics use over the past two decades is what distresses activists like Moore. The annual production of plastic resin in the United States has roughly doubled in the past 20 years, from nearly 60 billion pounds in 1987 to an estimated 120 billion pounds in 2007, according to a study by the American Chemistry Council, which represents the nation's largest plastic and chemical manufacturers. Keith Cristman, a senior director of packaging at the American Chemistry Council, said the plastics industry is aware of its connection to marine debris and said the council is working with federal and state agencies to put more recycling bins on California beaches in an attempt to stop plastic bottles and bags from making their way to the sea. At the end of November, Cristman said, the council is co-sponsoring its first marine debris workshop with state and federal agencies. Cristman said he'd rather see more plastic recycled than production slowed. "Plastic is a valuable resource," he said. "It shouldn't be wasted, it should be recycled." Asked if the council would assist in any cleanup of the Garbage Patch if the federal government called on it, Cristman said, "We're always interested in working with NOAA and the EPA." Moore said his crew had collected new data that suggested more plastic is entering the gyre, yet he was hesitant to elaborate until he finalized the research. "The ocean is downhill from everywhere," Moore said. "It's like a toilet that never flushes. You can't take these particles out of the ocean. You can just stop putting them in." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5845 bytes Desc: image001.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5072 bytes Desc: image002.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 5352 bytes Desc: image003.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 6998 bytes Desc: image004.jpg URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Nov 1 10:42:35 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 10:42:35 -0700 Subject: [env-trinity] Chinook Runs in Central Valley Down- Krill Absent Message-ID: <00ab01c81cbd$7636f910$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> CHINOOK SALMON RUNS: Chinook salmon shortfall puzzles anglers, experts; The numbers of fish returning are far below expectations Sacramento Bee ? 11/1/07 By Matt Weiser, staff writer For fishermen and biologists, fall has become a season for fretting in California. For the second year in a row, spawning fall-run chinook salmon are not returning to the Central Valley's rivers in the numbers that anglers and experts anticipated, touching off what may be a record year for nail-biting and hand-wringing. "Horrible. Slowest year in their lifetime. Never seen salmon fishing this bad," said Ron Howe, summing up the feelings of many salmon fishermen this fall. He has pursued the mighty chinook, also known as king salmon, in the American River for 17 years. "Everybody's saying the same exact things. This is just unbelievable that the fishing's so poor," he said. Hard numbers on the American River are difficult to come by until the run is over at the end of the year, said Terry West, manager of the state fish hatchery at Nimbus Dam. That's because there is no way to count natural spawners in the river. But the 11th Annual American River Salmon Festival, held Oct. 13 and 14, offered one sad indicator. There were no salmon climbing the hatchery's fish ladder that weekend, normally the festival's star attraction. West managed to collect just 22 fish in five hours ? compared to 120 in prior years ? just to put some salmon in a big tank as a display for festival-goers. He said he has never seen so few salmon in the river at festival time. "We're kinda lucky we caught enough," he said. "I try to always have a positive outlook on Mother Nature. So I'm going to continue that until I get all the figures in." The most reliable running tally of spawning chinook in the Central Valley comes from the Coleman National Fish Hatchery on Battle Creek, a Sacramento River tributary in Shasta County. Through Oct. 24, about 20,700 chinook returned to Battle Creek to spawn. That's only about 20 percent of average for that date compared to the previous four years, according to state Department of Fish and Game records. The numbers baffle experts and laymen alike, because all indicators are that this fall should produce a vigorous salmon run. "We just don't understand why there aren't more fish around," said Roger Thomas, who has run salmon fishing charters out of Sausalito since 1968. "We had some lean years in the 1970s, but this kinda looks like the leanest in a long, long time. All of us are seeing the same conditions and share the same concerns." Regulations limited the commercial salmon fishing in the ocean the past two years, which should have left more fish to return upriver. A strong, cold upwelling in the Pacific Ocean this summer also produced ample food along the California coast, resulting in a bumper crop of herring, sardine and anchovy, said Frank Schwing, director of environmental research at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, a division of the National Marine Fisheries Service. But there's a gaping hole in that news: Schwing said the population of krill has mysteriously crashed in the ocean. This zooplankton, which resembles a tiny shrimp, is a key salmon food. Several bird species that depend on krill have also crashed, Schwing said, such as the Cassin's auklet, a seabird that nests on the Farallone Islands. Also, whales that normally gorge on krill shifted to eating fish. "Historically there's a strong relationship between abundance of krill and the amount of upwelling that occurs," said Schwing. "But this year that model has broken down for some reason." Everyone recognizes it's still early in the fall run, said Allen Grover, a biologist who monitors the ocean salmon fishery for Fish and Game. The run normally continues through December and even into January, and it's normal for the run's peak to shift each year. "I'm concerned, but it's too early to say 'Sell your boat,' " said Grover. "Trying to correlate oceanographic events to fish survival is pretty hard to do." A combination of plumbing problems in the Central Valley may also be hurting the run this year. State and federal water managers had to slash water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta early this summer to protect the Delta smelt, a threatened fingerling. This put water deliveries to cities and farms behind schedule, forcing water officials to ramp up reservoir releases for most of the summer. This, combined with a drought year, left many of the state's reservoirs with below-normal storage, including Folsom Reservoir, which feeds the American River. A question lingers as to whether the water left behind the dam is still cold enough to trigger the salmon run. The fish need water at 60 degrees or colder to start migrating. This week, those flows are leaving Nimbus Dam at around 63 degrees, said West. For now, anglers are hoping the best of the run is still to come. Veterans say anglers can still find salmon in the ocean and rivers: Howe hooked three and caught two in two days on the American River this week, both over 20 pounds. But they'll need to balance their worries with fistfuls of those other fishermen's friends: luck and patience. "Normally I would hook over 50 fish in the last two days, and I hooked three," said Howe. "And I was lucky to do that, because other guys were out there not hooking any." # http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/465062.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Tue Nov 6 08:42:19 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 08:42:19 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Mercury Levels in Bay Fish Message-ID: <007601c82094$c3a50680$6a01a8c0@HAL> Exhaustive test reveals mercury levels in Bay Area sport fish Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer Tuesday, November 6, 2007 The most exhaustive study to date on mercury contamination in Northern California sport fish has found that some of the most popular species, including striped bass and carp, have the highest concentrations of the potent neurotoxin. Government and private researchers behind the three-year, $4.7 million study say their findings shouldn't discourage diners from eating fish from the San Francisco Bay estuary - as long as they limit how much they consume, learn about the best and worst species to eat and avoid the most polluted fishing spots. The study, released today, is part of a campaign to educate the hundreds of thousands of anglers who each year fish from boats and dozens of popular sites, including San Francisco's Ferry Building pier, the Berkeley Marina and the Antioch Harbor. Mercury contamination can be particularly dangerous for children and women of childbearing age. In children, too much mercury can cause severe problems such as retardation and deafness. Even low amounts can delay a child's ability to walk and talk. It also can cause shorter attention spans and learning disabilities. In adults, mercury can cause fertility problems, memory loss, tremors and possibly heart disease, studies show. For nearly 200 years, old mining operations, leaking landfills, sewage treatment effluent and storm runoff from farms and cities have dumped mercury into the bay. Air pollution from coal-fired power plants thousands of miles away also contribute to the problem. Scientists estimate that it could take 50 to 100 years to rid the estuary of unsafe concentrations of the potent neurotoxin that accumulates in the fish tissue. The bigger the fish - and the more it eats of other contaminated creatures lower on the food chain - the higher the mercury level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The study was financed by the state and federal governments and conducted by the nonprofit San Francisco Estuary Institute, UC Davis and three state agencies. The scientists caught 2,000 fish at 70 locations. Although today's results focus on mercury contamination, the continuing study also is compiling data on fish contamination from dioxins, PCBs and other pollutants that accumulate in fatty fish and bottom feeders. On average, striped bass, spotted bass, largemouth bass, carp, crappie, channel catfish and white catfish had some of the highest levels of mercury contamination, the results show. Lower levels were found in blue gill, chinook salmon, red-ear sunfish and steelhead trout. "There are some species that tend to have low concentrations of mercury throughout the watershed, and people can consume those fish and still enjoy the health benefits," said Jay Davis, an environmental scientist at the San Francisco Estuary Institute and lead author of the study. "It's a matter of knowing which species to target and which locations have lower concentrations," Davis said. Tests also indicate that the southern delta is much cleaner than the San Joaquin River, including fishing spots along the Port of Stockton and farther south. No fish should be eaten from the Port of Stockton, Davis said. The state is using the new data to improve its health advisories that cover fish caught in local waters, said Bob Brodberg, a senior toxicologist for the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, a branch of the state Environmental Protection Agency. The message to people who eat out of the bay, said Brodberg, is "fish can be very good for your health. But you need to hook into our advisories to find out what species of fish and how much you can eat at locations where you fish." And that goes for both recreational anglers as well as the subsistence fishermen who rely on local waterways to feed their families, he said. Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients that aid the heart as well as the brain in developing babies and children. In adults, fish in the diet helps prevent strokes, reduces inflammation, treats depression and supports good vision, researchers say. However, consuming fish contaminated with mercury, PCBs or other chemicals can decrease the health benefits of eating fish, state officials say. And it's not only local fish that can have high levels of mercury - an odorless, tasteless toxicant. Large oceangoing fish such as swordfish, shark and albacore tuna can contain enough mercury to harm developing fetuses, young children and, in some cases, adults. Women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant and children need the greatest protection from mercury. The scientists involved in the latest research are trying to spread that message through Women Infants and Children, a federally financed state nutritional program, and the Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's hard to know how many people eat fish from the bay. Many just fish for fun and throw the fish back. Others share them with friends. According to state Department of Fish and Game, about 300,000 people a year purchase a $5.50 stamp that allows fishing from boats and banks. The number doesn't include fishers at piers, who don't need licenses, or those who don't buy the stamps at all. Most of the people who fish in the bay are English-speaking. But many ethnic groups - including Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese, Laotians, Cambodians, Hmong and Russians - also rely on local waters. State agencies are linking with groups - such as United Cambodian Families in Stockton and Todos Unidos in Antioch - that help to spread the message of fish contamination in workshops and other efforts. Eco-Village Farm Learning Center in Richmond, which teaches organic gardening and conservation in the East Bay, has posted advisory signs at about 15 sites around the area, including the Pittsburg Marina, Antioch Pier, Whiskey Slough in Holt and in the Stockton harbor near the port. It's difficult to teach people about eating fish safely, said Shyaam Shabaka, the director of the Eco-Village center. "Most people don't follow the portion part. They eat fish until it's all gone," Shabaka said. Out at the Pittsburg Pier on a recent day, Sam Rokocoko was out fishing. "I fish four times a week," said the Fiji immigrant. He picked his job in Pittsburg so he'd be close to the pier. "I love fishing. I come and see the water, and sit down and enjoy the view." Rokocoko follows the advice on the warning signs and says he thinks many others do, too. But someone has been tearing down the signs that the groups put up, he said. And although fishing regulations contain consumption advisories, counties are not required to post warnings in areas where people fish. Sacramento, Yolo, Solano, Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties have posted signs. Others, such as Lake County do not post warnings, Shabaka said. In Lake County, Clear Lake is a popular fishing spot, even though it is polluted with mercury from several mines, including Sulphur Bank mine, a federal Superfund site. Raymond Ruminski, director of the Lake County Public Health Department's environmental health division, said the county doesn't post fish advisories at the boat ramps, docks or public parks because the issue has "never came up." "We rely on people getting the information from the summary handbook handed out by Fish and Game," he said. State Department of Public Health officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment on this article. A daylong forum on mercury contamination in fish is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. today at the Sierra Health Foundation Conference Center, 1321 Garden Highway, Sacramento. It is open to the public. Online resources Read the report: www.sfei.org Look up fish-consumption advisories for waterways in your area: links.sfgate.com/ZBLY For information on contaminants found in ocean fish: links.sfgate.com/ZBGN Calculate your mercury intake from fish you eat: www.gotmercury.org . Health guidelines Eating tips: It can be confusing to follow the state health guidelines when it comes to eating fish that come out of San Francisco Bay estuary. Here are some tips. A8 Seafood choices: For information on choosing seafood that is both healthy and sustainably caught, go to www.sfgate.com/green. Contamination: For information on contaminants found in ocean fish, go to links.sfgate.com/ZBGN E-mail Jane Kay at jkay at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_mercury_016lh_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5990 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_mercury_031lh_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5432 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ba_mercurymjm_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5613 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: mn_mercury_levels_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4180 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Tue Nov 6 10:01:56 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 10:01:56 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Board to Ban Wood Fires Message-ID: <009501c8209f$1ff7c6c0$6a01a8c0@HAL> Smog board wants to ban wood fires on bad-air nights in winter Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, November 6, 2007 It would be illegal to use residential fireplaces on nights with poor air quality under a rule being considered by Bay Area air regulators. Over the next three weeks, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will hold workshops to gauge public opinion on the proposal, which would follow similar bans in Sacramento County, the San Joaquin Valley, and such Bay Area cities as Mill Valley, where people who disobey the city's wood-burning law are already subject to stiff fines. Spurred by growing evidence that shows smoke from wood-burning is as bad or worse than smoke from cigarettes, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is trying to reduce the amount of harmful particulate matter that people breathe. Children, the elderly and those with respiratory illnesses are particularly susceptible to smoke particles that emanate from wood-burning fireplaces. The minute particles, which enter nasal passages and lungs, can cause asthma, bronchitis, lung disease and heart disease, according to health experts. The workshops, which start Wednesday in Oakland, are designed to solicit comments and explain the proposed regulation, which would cover wood-burning stoves as well as indoor and outdoor fireplaces. On days in the Bay Area when particulate matter is at its worst, wood-burning is the greatest contributing factor, accounting for 33 percent of the pollution, according to the air district. The problem is especially acute in winter, when fire-place use is high. "It's the single biggest source of air pollution that individuals have the greatest power to control," said Karen Schkolnick, an air district spokeswoman. The district estimates that 20 days a year would require bans on fireplace use if the rule is approved. As of now, during nights when levels of particulate matter are high, the district asks residents to refrain from lighting fires. Seventy-seven percent of Bay Area residents support bans on days when air quality is poor, according to the district. The proposed fireplace requirement is supported by the American Lung Association. "People think wood burning is fine and healthy because it's a natural substance," said Jenny Bard, assistant director of communications and advocacy for the American Lung Association of California. "We associate the smells of wood smoke with good things, like camping and cooking over the fire. Unfortunately, we've learned that breathing these particles is the same thing as breathing tobacco smoke." Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency strengthened its particulate standards, reducing by almost half the amount of such particles that can be released into the air. In the past 10 years, a growing number of Bay Area cities - including Oakland, Union City, Fremont and Los Gatos - have limited wood-burning devices. In Mill Valley, first-time violators are warned before facing a $150 fine. Schkolnick said the Bay Area district's wood-burning law would mirror the regulations used in Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley. During the 2006-07 winter, the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District - which covers San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties as well as part of Kern County - issued 192 tickets to residents. The first fine is $50. Repeated violations can lead to fines of between $100 and $1,000, district spokeswoman Jaime Holt said. In lieu of paying a fine, first-time violators can attend a two-hour "residential wood-burning compliance school," where they learn about the pollution hazards of wood-burning, Holt said. Most violators in the San Joaquin Valley are initially reported by concerned neighbors, Holt said. Sacramento's law, adopted last month, takes effect Dec. 1 and will be enforced until Feb. 29. Because Sacramento residents haven't been adequately informed about the new regulation, no fines will be issued until next year, said Christina Ragsdale, spokeswoman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Board. Besides limiting fireplace use on bad-air days, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's proposed regulation would ban burning garbage and limits the type of fireplaces allowed in new buildings, as well as the type of wood that can be sold. Online resource Learn more about the proposed ban: links.sfgate.com/ZBMF Get involved Want to share your thoughts on the proposed fireplace ban? E-mail: epop at baaqmd.gov Web site: www.baaqmd.gov/woodsmoke.htm Attend a workshop: -- Wednesday, 1-3 p.m. Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Metrocenter Auditorium, 101 Eighth St., Oakland -- Thursday, 1-3 p.m. Steele Lane Community Center, Dohn Room, 415 Steele Lane, Santa Rosa -- Wednesday, Nov. 14, 6-8 p.m. San Jose State University, Costanoan Room, One Washington Square, San Jose -- Thursday, Nov. 15, 1-3 p.m. Holiday Inn, 1050 Burnett Ave., Concord -- Thursday, Nov. 15, 6-8 p.m. Ramada Inn, 1000 Admiral Callaghan Lane, Vallejo -- Friday, Nov. 16, 1-3 p.m. Seaport Conference Center, 459 Seaport Court, Redwood City -- Monday, Nov. 26, 6-8 p.m., Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Ave., Livermore E-mail Jonathan Curiel at jcuriel at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: ba_air_pollution_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5319 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Nov 6 20:47:47 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 20:47:47 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Tribal Takeover of National Parks and Refuges on Fast Track Message-ID: <007801c820f9$82501110$c5653940@trinitycounty.org> >From YubaNet.com US Tribal Takeover of National Parks and Refuges on Fast Track Author: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Published on Nov 6, 2007, 06:59 This week, Congress will consider legislation that directs the Interior Department to turn over many national parks, wildlife refuges and other operations to tribal governments under virtually permanent funding agreements, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). National parks such as Redwood, Glacier, Voyageurs, Olympic and the Cape Cod National Seashore are among the 57 park units in 19 states listed as eligible for tribal operation, as are 19 refuges in 8 states, including all of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuges and the National Bison Range in Montana. This Thursday, November 8th, HR 3994 by Representative David Boren (D-OK) is slated for hearing before the full House Natural Resources Committee, just nine days after it was introduced. The committee is chaired by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), the bill's lead co-sponsor. Under its terms, tribes could take over any Interior programs "that are of special geographical, historical, or cultural significance to the Indian tribe" and receive federal payments covering all direct and indirect costs. The Interior Secretary would "establish programmatic targets" ensuring that "a significant portion" of federal jobs and programs are included. Assumption would be mandatory wherever a tribe "has a federally reserved right" in local fish, wildlife, water or minerals. In all other cases, Interior could refuse a tribe only where it can show a legal prohibition or "a significant danger or risk to the public health." Once executed, the tribal funding agreements could not be terminated for non-performance, but could only be suspended for "gross mismanagement" or "imminent jeopardy" to resources or public health. In addition, tribes would have the right to be fully paid in advance. Any savings or economies would go entirely to the tribe and future payments to the tribe could not be reduced. "This bill would be like having a herd of Halliburtons permanently embedded inside Interior's budget," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that tribal profit margins would be guaranteed and a tribe could stop work entirely if costs exceeded agreement estimates, yet still keep the federal payments. "It is clear from this measure's incredibly one-sided terms that lobbyists are still writing at least some of the legislation before Congress." HR 3994 stipulates that tribal operation of parks and refuges would not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act or any other public reporting requirements. Moreover, no federal rules, guidance or policies would apply to programs under tribal funding agreements. In addition, tribes could move to waive any applicable regulation and could redesign programs or reallocate federal funds as they see fit. "This bill does nothing to protect the wildlife and natural resources which are the very reasons we have these refuges and parks," Ruch added. "In fact, these agreements would be cemented in place even when there is poor performance, rudeness to the public, sexual harassment, job discrimination or damage to the resource - so long as the damage is not 'irreparable' in the legalistic lingo of this proposal." Much of the bill, particularly the portions preventing termination of the funding agreements except in very limited, extreme circumstances, appears to be motivated by the experience at the National Bison Range. In December 2006, Interior abruptly cancelled a shared operation agreement with a local tribe citing abusive conduct and intimidation directed at U.S. Fish Wildlife Service employees, as well as substantial non-performance of many key tasks. "This bill reads like a negotiating tactic to pressure Interior to renew the Bison Range funding deal," Ruch concluded, noting that a review of the events at Bison Range by the Interior Office of Inspector General is reportedly ready to be released. "Congress should take a very hard look at what happened on the National Bison Range before signing away scores of our most treasured public lands in perpetuity." ? Copyright 2007 YubaNet.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Tue Nov 6 08:50:46 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 08:50:46 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Senate Leader Praises Farm Bill Message-ID: <007d01c8209b$5402f9c0$6a01a8c0@HAL> never a dull moment! Senate leader praises farm bill that draws foes of all stripes Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau Tuesday, November 6, 2007 (11-06) 04:00 PST Washington - -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., described the $288 billion, five-year farm bill that reached the Senate floor on Monday as a historic reform, even as a broad coalition of critics denounced it as obscene and warned congressional leaders and presidential candidates that they see changing 70-year old crop subsidies as an election-year test. The Bush administration issued a blistering veto threat, with acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner saying the bill makes a mockery of budget rules, continues subsidies to "Park Avenue millionaires" and imperils public support for farm programs. He called the bill "just simply wrong." Seldom in Washington do such coalitions develop that unite the Bush White House and the group Environmental Defense on one side, and on the other, Senate Democrats and Republicans who have set aside their ideological hostilities to preserve and expand crop subsidies for a minority of wealthy farmers. Both parties are scrambling to find billions of dollars to appease critics coming at them from all sides - from anti-poverty advocates who look to Democrats to taxpayer groups who find allies among Republicans. The bill now before the Senate, written by the Agriculture Committee, provides $42 billion in subsidies to five crops - corn, cotton, wheat, rice and soybeans, as well as smaller programs for sugar and dairy. Most farmers, including the 91 percent of California farmers who grow fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables, do not get these subsidies. Payments are based on production, so the most money goes to the biggest farms. The bill adds a $5.1 billion "permanent disaster" fund that will mainly reward farmers of the same crops in the Plains states where marginal land routinely produces crop failures. Committee Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, fought unsuccessfully to reduce the $26 billion in "direct payments" that go to subsidized farmers regardless of market prices, even as farm incomes increased to an estimated record $87 billion this year. "It's very hard to justify direct payments to farmers when we're having record incomes for farmers and high prices," Harkin said. Two California farms rank near the top recipients of direct payments nationwide, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group. Dublin Farms in Corcoran (Kings County) ranks second and would collect more than $3.2 million over the next five years under the proposed Senate legislation; Sandridge Partners in Sunnyvale would collect more than $2.2 million. The bill also includes spending increases for environmental, nutrition and other programs favored by critics of the subsidy system. These include $16 million for research in organic agriculture, more money for conservation, food stamps and other nutrition programs, including higher purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables. It provides more money for farmers' markets and other measures aimed at making local farm produce more accessible. This has hardly appeased the environmental, religious, public health and taxpayer groups who say the subsidies damage the environment, hurt small farmers by speeding farm industrialization, harm impoverished farmers in the developing world, and boost production of the fats and starches that feed America's obesity epidemic that now finds 1 in 3 children likely to get diabetes in their lifetime. "Just because you've rolled horse manure in powdered sugar doesn't mean you have a doughnut," said Scott Faber, a former Environmental Defense lobbyist now with the Grocery Manufacturers Association. "Large-scale corporate farmers are going to continue to win, and here we are basically begging for peanuts," said John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association. Farm aid "should be for all farmers, and not for those who are politically savvy, and not for those who hire law firms and form corporations and form partnerships and all of this stuff," Boyd said. "Everybody knows what's going on, including the leaders of the Senate, but they refuse to take on those interests and individuals and do the right thing and put a stop to it." The bill faces several challenges on the Senate floor, where it is expected to be debated through next week. One by Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., would do away with current crop subsidies and provide free insurance for all farmers. They would divert the estimated $16 billion in savings to programs the critics favor. And Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would keep subsidies intact but limit payments to any individual farmer to $250,000 each a year. Both farm-state senators fear that millions of dollars in payments to large farms is undermining public support for farm programs. Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group, said the farm bill "will be first and foremost a test of the leadership of the Democratic Party that now controls the Senate. ... They have to decide if they're the party of big agriculture or not." California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both Democrats, have not yet taken positions on the bill. "I think it's real clear that Boxer and Feinstein are really crucial swing votes," said Mark Lipson, policy program director for the Organic Farming Research Foundation in Santa Cruz. "It could really come down to them making the difference." Faber said environmental groups were targeting Boxer, a longtime environmental advocate who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee. "You have a drought in California," Faber said, noting that some of the state's subsidized cotton acreage also gets federal water subsidies. "Aren't you guys going to be voting on new infrastructure to increase access for water?" Boxer, he said, "ought to be concerned about this. Water is going to be the next crisis in the West. We all see it. So why should we use water to produce a commodity that is in surplus and actually works against our interests? It does not make any sense." E-mail Carolyn Lochhead at clochhead at sfchronicle.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: mn_farm_bill_t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 5865 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sat Nov 10 07:28:47 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:28:47 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] On the Farm Bill; Farm subsidies help few, harm many; Effects felt here and in Africa Message-ID: <003b01c823f7$e56b06f0$0502a8c0@trinitycounty.org> FARM BILL: Guest Column: On the Farm Bill; Farm subsidies help few, harm many; Effects felt here and in Africa San Francisco Chronicle ? 11/8/07 By Janet McKinley, of San Francisco, is the chair of Oxfam America's board of directors Californians have a lot at stake in the Farm Bill that is on the U.S. Senate floor this week, and not just because farming is a vibrant part of our economy and culture. Take water, for example. It's been a dry year here and the Legislature is considering issuing billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bonds to build dams for water storage. But there are many other, more fiscally conservative water supply alternatives than dams. We can start by taking a closer look at the federal Farm Bill. More than 2 million acre-feet of water - that's 2 million football fields covered in one foot of water - are used each year to cultivate cotton in our state, with farmers paying far less than the water's actual cost and a fraction of its true value. Increasingly, cotton is being treated by commercial farmers in our state as a "marginal" crop, grown when there's sufficient water to harvest the benefit of a subsidy check from the government. Growing cotton in California consumes enough water to meet the needs of more than 10 million residents. Perversely, because federal farm policy ensures that farmers get subsidies for each bale of cotton that they produce, cheap U.S. cotton exports glut the market and depress world prices, triggering tens of millions of dollars in subsidy checks to wealthy growers. So every year, 12,000 mostly large-scale cotton producers representing less than 1 percent of America's farms, get up to $3 billion in government handouts. A quarter of cotton subsidies go to the top 1 percent of recipient farmers, reaching upward of $500,000 per farm. While that policy may have made sense during the Great Depression, it makes no sense today. As taxpayers, we're set up to pay more and more. As Californians, we're set up to export an acre-foot of water that we could have used otherwise here in California with every bale of cotton dumped onto the world market. Sadly, cotton subsidies would not change under the Farm Bill that is on the Senate floor this week. It would continue farm policy that encourages cotton farmers to produce more cotton with the guarantee of a taxpayer subsidy for every bale of cotton they produce and every acre foot of water they use to produce it. Cotton subsidies also have severe ramifications for international trade, global poverty and national security. Cotton subsidies threaten negotiations on international trade and risk retaliation from our trade allies that could affect a number of sectors of our economy. Recently, I traveled to Mali in West Africa to meet with small-scale cotton farmers. Mali's farmers, many of whom live on a dollar a day, are largely dependent on cotton to support their families. The poverty was jarring. Many of these farmers are illiterate, but they are well aware of the huge subsidies our government pays cotton growers at a time when their government recently removed agricultural price-supports in the lead- up to privatization of the Malian cotton industry in 2008, as prescribed by the World Bank. A recent study by Dan Sumner at UC Davis found that reforming cotton subsidies would increase world cotton prices, resulting in enough income for poor West African cotton-growing households to feed an additional million children a year. The price-deflating effects of our cotton subsidies now substantially offset the benefits of direct U.S. aid sent to West African countries. So instead of promoting sustainable economies, current policies foster dependence on foreign aid, increased economic instability and resentment of the United States. Faced with the opportunity for change this summer, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to muster the political will to reform the Farm Bill's cotton program. The Senate has its turn this week, but it's unclear whether Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer of California will support reform or yield to the lobbying power of corporate farm interests. In Mali, a village chief told me that his family has been growing cotton for generations and the situation has never been so dire. He knows that many of the challenges he faces are just the way of things, but he can't understand why a country as prosperous as the United States would harm small, hardworking farmers around the world. He asked me to send this message to our Congress. It's time for all of us to send this message, for so many reasons. # http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/08/ED18T84PO.DTL -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov Fri Nov 9 15:51:01 2007 From: Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov (Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov) Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2007 15:51:01 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River redd survey update Message-ID: Howdy all, Attached is a mid-season report on preliminary Trinity River mainstem redd survey results for data entered as of November 9, 2007. These updates will soon be periodically posted at http://www.fws.gov/arcata/fisheries/projectUpdates.html (See attached file: TrinityReddUpdate - 110907.pdf) Charlie Chamberlain Supervisory Fish Biologist - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata Fish & Wildlife Office 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov Phone: (707) 825-5110 Fax: (707) 822-8411 http://www.fws.gov/arcata/fisheries -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: TrinityReddUpdate - 110907.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 153673 bytes Desc: not available URL: From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Thu Nov 15 08:01:19 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 11:01:19 -0500 Subject: [env-trinity] Spreck and Ann are moving to San Francisco Message-ID: Friends: As of December 1st, our Oakland office will have moved to San Francisco Our new switchboard number will be (415) 293-6050 My direct dial number will be 415 293 6082 My email and cell phone will remain the same: spreck at edf.org (various aliases also work) 510 393 4593 I plan to wear flowers in my hair on the first trip on BART. No commitments after that. Spreck ___________________________________________________ This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this information by a person other than the intended recipient is unauthorized and may be illegal. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Nov 16 14:20:15 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:20:15 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Final Environmental Impact Statement for Relicensing of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project No. 2082-027 Message-ID: <00c701c8289e$dedc6a30$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Final Environmental Impact Statement for Relicensing of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project No. 2082-027 Issued: November 16, 2007 Commission staff prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for relicensing of PacifiCorp?s 169-megawatt Klamath Hydroelectric Project, located primarily on the Klamath River in Klamath County, Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. On average, the project generates 716,820 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. The project occupies 219 acres of lands of the United States, which are administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The existing project consists of eight developments, seven of which are located on the Klamath River. PacifiCorp proposes to decommission the upstream-most East Side and West Side developments and to remove the Keno development, which has no generating facilities, from the project. The remaining project developments on the main stem of the Klamath River are J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate. The proposed project also includes the existing Fall Creek development, located on a Klamath River tributary. In this FEIS, Commission staff assessed the environmental and economic effects of: a.. Continuing to operate the project with no changes or enhancements (no-action alternative); b.. Operating the project as proposed by PacifiCorp (PacifiCorp?s proposal); c.. Operating the project as proposed by PacifiCorp with additional or modified environmental measures (staff alternative); d.. Staff alternative with conditions filed by the Department?s of the Interior and Commerce; e.. Retirement of the Iron Gate and Copco No. 1 developments with additional or modified measures for the remaining developments; and f.. Retirement of the Iron Gate, Copco No. 2, Copco No. 1, and J.C. Boyle developments, with additional or modified measures for the remaining developments. The staff alternative incorporates most of PacifiCorp?s proposed environmental measures, some with certain modifications. The staff alternative also includes 25 environmental measures additional to those proposed by PacifiCorp, including: a.. Implementation of an integrated fish passage and disease management program; b.. Implementation of an adaptive spawning gravel augmentation program in the J.C. Boyle bypassed reach and downstream of Iron Gate dam. Based on our detailed analysis of the environmental benefits and costs associated with the five action alternatives considered in detail in this FEIS, we conclude that the best alternative for the Klamath Hydroelectric Project would be to issue a new license consistent with the environmental measures specified in the Staff Alternative. a.. ? Cover Letter b.. ? Table of Contents c.. ? Executive Summary d.. ? Section 1 e.. ? Section 2 f.. ? Section 3 g.. ? Section 4 h.. ? Section 5 i.. ? Additional Documents in eLibrary http://www.ferc.gov/industries/hydropower/enviro/eis/2007/11-16-07.asp -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov Fri Nov 16 18:01:03 2007 From: BGUTERMUTH at mp.usbr.gov (Brandt Gutermuth) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:01:03 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Lewiston-Dark Gulch Project Public Draft EA/EIR available for review and comment Message-ID: Hi All - The Lewiston Dark Gulch Project is ...gearing up! 1) The Draft Environmental Assessment/Environmental Impact Report for the Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project: Trinity River Mile 105.4-111.7 is now available for 45 day public review. Hard copies will be coming soon but the web has it now at: http://www.trrp.net/implementation/DarkGulch.htm and soon other sites. and 2) A public hearing will be held at 6:30 pm on December 19, 2007 at the Trinity Public Utilities District conference room (26 Ponderosa Lane - off of Highway 299 just east of Weaverville) to discuss the Project and receive public comment. Please respond to this email or call me if you have questions. Details are below. Best Regards- Brandt Draft EIR/EA Available and Public Hearing for the Trinity River Restoration Program?s Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project Working together under guidance of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP), the federal lead agency, Bureau of Reclamation, and the state lead agency, Trinity County Resource Conservation District (TCRCD), we announce the publication and distribution of an Environmental Assessment/Draft Environmental Impact Report (EA/DEIR) which fully discloses and evaluates the environmental impacts associated with implementation of the proposed Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project. This joint environmental document meets California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements and fulfills evaluation needs stipulated under Executive Orders 11988 (floodplain management), 11990 (protection of wetlands), 13112 (invasive species), and 12898 (environmental justice). This Project would implement important provisions of the Interior Secretary?s December 19, 2000 Record of Decision (ROD) for Trinity River Restoration. Physical channel rehabilitation is identified in the ROD as a necessary step towards recovery of the Trinity River?s anadromous fishery and fulfillment of the federal government?s tribal trust responsibility. The purpose of the proposed Lewiston-Dark Gulch Rehabilitation Project is to provide increased juvenile salmonid rearing habitat on the mainstem Trinity River. Construction will create additional fish and wildlife habitat that is expected to increase over time as river processes are restored. Work to be performed includes re-contouring bank and floodplain features, as well as conducting in-river work such as gravel placement and grade control removal. Project work would start in summer 2008 with gravel additions to the river expected to be performed annually thereafter. The TCRCD is working as a partner agency under a grant from the California Department of Fish and Game?s Fisheries Restoration Grant Program that provides financial support for Project implementation. A 45-day public review period has been established for review of the Draft EA/EIR. The review period begins on November 16, 2007 and ends January 8, 2008. A public hearing will be held at 6:30 pm on December 19, 2007 at the Trinity Public Utilities District conference room (26 Ponderosa Lane - off of Highway 299 just east of Weaverville) to discuss the Project and receive public comment. Electronic copies of the EA/DEIR will be available for public review on the TRRP?s website at: http://www.trrp.net/RestorationProgram/Lewiston-Dark Gulch.htm, the TCRCD?s website at: www.tcrcd.net, or on Reclamation?s Mid-Pacific Region website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2697. Hard copies of the document are available in Weaverville, California at the following locations: the Trinity County Resource Conservation District, 1 Horseshoe Lane; the Trinity River Restoration Program Office at 1313 South Main Street; the US Forest Service Office at 360 N. Main St; and the Trinity County Library at 211 N. Main Street. All referenced materials will be available at the Trinity River Restoration Program office. Electronic CD copies of the EA/DEIR, and a limited number of paper copies, may be obtained at the Trinity River Restoration Program Office free of charge (subject to availability). The Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact (EA/FONSI) and Final EIR (FEIR) will be used by federal and state agencies to decide which Project actions from a number of alternatives will be implemented. The final document is anticipated to be distributed in February 2008. Though a Draft FONSI is included within the EA/DEIR, if new information becomes available during this public circulation period, the FONSI and any associated decisions will change accordingly. Written comments must be received by the Trinity River Restoration Program, P.O. Box 1300, Weaverville, California 96093, no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2008. E-mailed comments may be sent to Brandt Gutermuth, TRRP Environmental Specialist, at bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov. ____________________________ Brandt Gutermuth Environmental Specialist Trinity River Restoration Program PO Box 1300 (mailing) 1313 S. Main Street (physical) Weaverville, CA 96093 530.623.1806 (voice) 530.623.5944 (fax) www.trrp.net (website) ___________________________ From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Nov 19 09:28:56 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:28:56 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Assemblymember Patty Berg to appear and give annual report on legislative actions to Trinity Board Message-ID: <000901c82ad1$acac17b0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> TRINITY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Trinity County Library Meeting Room Weaverville, CA SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA 2007-11-19 10:00 a.m. CALL MEETING TO ORDER IN OPEN SESSION PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ANNOUNCEMENTS PUBLIC COMMENT This time slot is for information from the public. No action or discussion will be conducted on matters presented at this time. When addressing the Board, please state your name for the record prior to providing your comments. Please address the Board as a whole through the Chair. Comments should be limited to matters within the jurisdiction of the Board. Chairman Supervisor Jeffrey Morris - District 2 Vice Chairman Supervisor A. Roger Jaegel - District 3 Supervisor Judy Pflueger - District 1 Supervisor Howard Freeman - District 4 Supervisor Wendy Reiss - District 5 Dero Forslund - Interim County Administrative Officer Wendy Tyler - Clerk of the Board/Administrative Analyst Note: This agenda contains a brief general description of each item to be considered. Supporting documention is available in the public packet at the Board meeting or at the Office of the Clerk of the Board. Board meetings are televised on cable channel 22. Copies of DVDs are available at the Trinity County Library. County Matters Board of Supervisors 1.01 Assemblymember Patty Berg to appear and give annual report on legislative actions and discuss other matters, including legislative priorities, with the Board. 1.02 Adopt Resolution of Appreciation for Patty Berg 2007-11-19 Page 1 of 2 Board of Supervisors 1.03 Adopt Resolutions of Appreciation for Connie Stewart, Rick Coleman and the Trinity Public Utilities District Board of Directors 2007-11-19 Page 2 of 2 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Nov 20 09:38:52 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:38:52 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Public Meeting Scheduled On CVPIA Annual Work Plans Message-ID: <009401c82b9c$38ce0ee0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region Sacramento, CA MP-07-158 Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken 916-978-5100 jmccracken at mp.usbr.gov For Immediate Release: November 20, 2007 Public Meeting Scheduled On CVPIA Annual Work Plans The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, December 5, 2007, to present their Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) Annual Work Plans for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. Presentations will be made on the following CVPIA Annual Work Plans by the lead agency's program manager: . Anadromous Fish Restoration Program - Section 3406(b)(1) . Tracy Pumping Plant - Section 3406 (b)(4) . Red Bluff Diversion Dam - Section 3406 (b)(10) . Spawning Gravel - Section 3406 (b)(13) . Comprehensive Assessment and Monitoring Program - Section 3406(b)(16) . Anadromous Fish Screen Program - Section 3406 (b)(21) . Refuge Water Supply Program: facilities construction, conveyance/wheeling, and the San Joaquin Basin Action Plan - Sections 3406(d)(1, 3-5) and Water Acquisition Program Sections 3406(b)(3) (Level 4 Water for Refuges Only) and (d)(2) The meeting will be held: Sacramento Wednesday, December 5, 2007 1 - 4 p.m. Lions Gate Hotel at McClellan Park 3410 Westover Street McClellan, California The CVPIA Annual Work Plans for FY 2008 will be available after Monday, December 3, 2007, at: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvpia/docs_reports/index.html. Under the heading "Draft CVPIA Annual Work Plans," click on "FY 2008." For additional information, please contact Ms. Shana Kaplan in Reclamation's Resources Management Division at 916-978-5190 or e-mail skaplan at mp.usbr.gov. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sat Nov 24 20:16:27 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:16:27 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Carla Miller and Bill Goodyear Message-ID: <016501c82f19$f3c2d8e0$c4653940@trinitycounty.org> Carla Miller served as the South Fork Trinity River Coordinated Resource Management Program's Administrative Coordinator for the period that the SF CRMP was in existence. She was a strong advocate for the Trinity River and its fisheries. ----- Original Message ----- From: Patrick Truman To: Patrick Truman Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 7:29 PM Subject: We Lost Another One i am sure most all of you know that we lost Carla Miller early Friday morning who died peacefully at home in her sleep. yesterday we also lost Bill Goodyear who died at home. no cause was listed. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jallen at trinitycounty.org Tue Nov 27 10:05:19 2007 From: jallen at trinitycounty.org (Josh Allen) Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:05:19 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Earth's Eighth Continent Message-ID: <8DB773F7046960499DFAABF71D3C3B1E29C59D@mail3.trinitycounty.org> Earth's Eighth Continent North Pacific Gyre traps flotsam. It swirls. It grows. It's a massive, floating 'garbage patch.' http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/11/21/PacificGarbagePatch/ By David Reid Published: November 21, 2007 The Phoenix Located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii and measuring in at roughly twice the size of Texas, this elusive mass is home to hundreds of species of marine life and is constantly expanding. It has tripled in size since the middle of the 1990s and could grow tenfold in the next decade. Although no official title has been given to the mass yet, a popular label thus far has been "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch." As suggested by the name, the island is almost entirely comprises human-made trash. It currently weighs approximately 3.5 million tons with a concentration of 3.34 million pieces of garbage per square kilometer, 80 per cent of which is plastic. Due to the Patch's location in the North Pacific Gyre, its growth is guaranteed to continue as this Africa-sized section of ocean spins in a vortex that effectively traps flotsam. Few visitors The cause for the Patch's relative lack of acknowledgment is that the portion of the Pacific it occupies is almost entirely unvisited. It lacks the wind to attract sailing vessels, the biology to encourage fishing, and is not in the path of major shipping lanes. What little air movement there is blows inwards, further trapping the garbage. According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Marcus Eriksen, a director at the Algatita Marine Research Foundation, said that "with the winds blowing in and the currents in the gyre going circular, it's the perfect environment for trapping." While the trash is in the ocean, it is doing what could be irreparable harm to sea life, the water it's in, and eventually humans. Plastic resists biodegrading. Instead, a plastic shopping bag or pop bottle will photo-degrade over time, meaning that it will break down into smaller and smaller pieces but retain its original molecular composition. The result is a great amount of fine plastic sand that resembles food to many creatures. Unfortunately, the plastic cannot be digested, so sea birds or fish can eventually starve to death with a stomach full of plastic. Even if the amount of plastic in a creature's body is not enough to block the passage of food, the small pellets act as sponges for several toxins, concentrating chemicals such as DDT to 1 million times the normal level. This concentration then works its way up the food chain until a fish is served at our dinner table. A deadly shining Some birds, attracted to the shining in the ocean, approach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in search of food. Marine researchers have commented that pelicans dissected in that area have stomachs so full of lighters that they resemble convenience stores. Sea turtles are also prone to mistaking plastic bags for jelly fish, which then cause their deaths or sit in their guts for the decades it takes the bags to break down. In total, 267 species have been reported to have eaten from, or become entangled in, the Patch. According to Chris Parry of the California Coastal Commission, regrettably little can be done to clean up the Patch, although many urge that a decreased reliance on plastic is the first step. "At this point," said Parry, "cleaning it up isn't an option . . . it's just going to get bigger as our reliance on plastics continues." "The long-term solution is to stop producing as much plastic products at home and change our consumption habits." Cleaning up the Patch will likely cost billions of dollars and, as an approximation, be more difficult than vacuuming every inch of the United States. The plastic and garbage reach more than 30 metres down into the ocean and a great number of organisms would be destroyed in the process. So far, no country has so much as proposed a solution, presumably because no nation wishes to claim responsibility. Even if all plastic usage were to stop immediately, future geologists would be able to clearly mark the stratum designating the 20th and 21st century by an indelible layer of plastic coating the world's oceans. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 35355 bytes Desc: image001.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.gif Type: image/gif Size: 139 bytes Desc: image002.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 535 bytes Desc: image003.jpg URL: From awhitridge at snowcrest.net Thu Nov 29 08:16:12 2007 From: awhitridge at snowcrest.net (Arnold Whitridge) Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:16:12 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] TAMWG agenda for December 6-7 Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.20071129075843.034d97a8@mail.snowcrest.net> env-trinity population, Here's the agenda for the December 6-7 meeting of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group. Visitors welcome... Arnold Whitridge, TAMWG chair 530 623-6688 Draft Agenda TRINITY ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT WORKING GROUP Victorian Inn, 1709 Main Street, Weaverville, CA Thursday, December 6 and Friday, December 7, 2007 Time Presentation, Discussion, and/or Action on: Presenter Thursday, December 6 1. 1:00 p.m. Adopt agenda; approve September minutes 2. 1:10 Open forum/public comment 3. 1:20 Designated Federal Officer topics, membership update Randy Brown 4. 1:30 Moving to a Request For Proposals-based 2010 budget Doug Schleusner Simplified budget process for 2009 5. 2:30 Integrated Assessment Plan- progress; remaining issues Rod Wittler, Tim Hayden 6. 3:30 Gravel Augmentation planning Rod Wittler 7. 4:00 Flow Schedule considerations for 2008 Rod Wittler 8. 4:30 Executive Director's report Doug Schleusner 5:00 Adjourn for the day Friday, December 7 9. 8:30 a.m. Rehabilitation project design- progress and current issues John Klochak, Joe Reiss 10. 9:30 Numeric fish harvest goals for TRRP? HVT (invited), Tom Stokely 11. 10:30 TRRP Roles and Responsibilities Mike Long, Brian Person 12. 11:30 TAMWG communications with TMC 13. 11:45 Tentative date and agenda topics for next meeting 12:00 Adjourn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Nov 30 11:06:51 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:06:51 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Top scientists: Klamath salmon need more water Message-ID: <007e01c83384$490fc8d0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> -------------------------------------------------------------- Top scientists: Klamath salmon need more water John Driscoll The Times-Standard Article Launched: 11/29/2007 01:32:36 AM PST http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_7587851 More water should be released down the Klamath River to help salmon while studies are honed to provide for better management, recommends an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. While the academy's National Research Council was in some ways critical of the study calling for higher flows in the river, it nonetheless would be better for fish than the existing operations, the report said. Still, the study the council reviewed to make that recommendation is severely hampered by a lack of precise information, having relied on monthly averages. Because of that, the study by Thomas Hardy of Utah State University can't be used to develop specific flow schedules. ?In short, planners operate on a monthly basis, but fish live on a daily basis,? the report reads. The other study commissioned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation attempted to calculate how much water flowed down the Klamath before dams and agricultural projects were built. The research council also found that study severely compromised, since it didn't take into account the effects of groundwater on flows and the former connection of Lower Klamath Lake to the river, among other factors. In 2001, federal fish and wildlife agencies demanded that reclamation crimp water to farms in the upper Klamath basin to provide enough water for threatened salmon in the river, and endangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, unleashing a torrent of controversy. Reclamation asked the research council to review the 2001 decisions of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The interim report found the agencies weren't justified in the curtailment of water to help fish, but also that reclamation had no scientific backing for its project operations. The next year, full water deliveries were made, and 68,000 salmon died in a hot, shallow river, enraging coastal tribes and fishermen. The research council in its final report in 2004 said there was no conclusive evidence that withholding water from fish caused the massive die-off. That ran contrary to Fish and Wildlife's report on the fish kill that pointed at low flows for the disaster. Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken said that research council's most recent report would be used as a tool to understand parts of the entire system. But it's unlikely to spark near-term changes, he said. ?Based on what we have now, we don't intend to make any changes in our project operations,? McCracken said. The bureau is under an order from the U.S. District Court in Oakland, which imposed higher flows to be allowed downstream for salmon. The latest research council report calls for significant changes to both flow studies if they are to be used to inform managers. A more systematic and comprehensive analysis of the scientific and management needs should be done to reveal the most urgent needs, the report reads. National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman Jim Milbury said the agency has no comment on the report, because it has not yet reviewed it. Glen Spain with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations said that the research council's report is likely to play a major role in the fish and wildlife agencies' next suite of requirements on reclamation's project. The report strengthens the Hardy study, which has already been through peer reviews, he said. ?It really gives it a nod as the best available science,? Spain said. Exactly what weight the research council report may hold in the long term is difficult to say. Other major movements on the Klamath include settlement talks between tribes, fishermen, irrigators and environmental groups aimed at resolving some of the basin's thorniest issues, including coming up with a proposal to remove some or all of Pacificorp's hydropower dams. John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll at times-standard.com. KLAMATH RIVER: Broader study of the Klamath River Basin urged; Panel says the river's many tributaries must also be given attention Los Angeles Times - 11/30/07 By Eric Bailey, staff writer SACRAMENTO -- -- Wading anew into one of the West's fiercest water wars, a scientific panel from the National Research Council said this week that a more comprehensive study needs to be done on the problem-plagued Klamath River Basin. Past studies have focused only on the main river -- which has seen dams and water diversion hurt threatened salmon and suckerfish populations -- ignoring its many tributaries, the panel said in a report. "It's like trying to understand a tree by only examining its trunk and not assessing its branches," said William L. Graf, a University of South Carolina geography professor and chairman of the committee of 13 scientists assembled to study the river by the council, an arm of the National Academies in Washington. Graf said past research has been piecemeal and failed to grasp the "big picture" of the workings of the Klamath, which suffered a massive fish kill in 2002 that led to such low salmon returns by 2006 that a 700-mile swath of the Northern California and Oregon coast was largely closed to commercial fishing. The report examined two key studies on how to manage river flows -- one produced by a Utah State University professor, the other by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation -- and found positives and negatives to both on a variety of technical fronts. To address the gap in scientific understanding, the committee recommended that researchers, government agencies and the various groups jousting over how to manage the Klamath work together with independent experts to produce a basin-wide plan for the ailing river. It should be free of politics while addressing land use and the effect of climate change, the panel said. Those findings and conclusions came as no surprise to many of the groups that have warred over how to fix the river. "We've known from the beginning that salmon and steelhead populations rely on the health of the entire river system, not just one segment," said Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), one of the leading congressional critics of the way the Bush administration has managed the river. The panel also backed the Utah State study's recommendation of higher water flows than those prescribed by federal water managers in a long-term plan for water diversion to farms. One environmental group welcomed that finding as a way to help salmon. "For years, the Bush administration and agribusiness have claimed Klamath salmon don't need more water, and now the National Academy of Science has slammed the door on their arguments," said Steve Pedery, of Oregon Wild. The report marks the second time that the council has assembled a scientific panel to study the Klamath -- but the two groups reached far different conclusions on water flows. A report released in 2003 determined that increased flows were not justified to save endangered fish. For years, a fight over the Klamath River has raged among farmers who divert the river waters, environmentalists and fishermen eager to protect declining salmon and steelhead populations, and Native American tribes that have seen the river's decline affect their traditional way of life. Meanwhile, four dams that block upper river spawning grounds are being targeted for removal by tribes and environmental groups. But earlier this month, a federal power agency recommended that they remain and that migratory fish be trucked around them. Ongoing talks launched by the Bush administration more than two years ago are aimed at inking a deal that could tie dam removal to controversial Endangered Species Act concessions in the Klamath Basin, continued farming on a national wildlife refuge and sustained water diversions for agriculture. # http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath30nov30,1,3346988.story?coll=la-headlines-california -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sat Dec 1 22:39:15 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 22:39:15 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Gaming compacts win federal OK ahead of statewide vote Message-ID: <002f01c834b0$96666300$cc653940@trinitycounty.org> http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071201/news_1n1compacts.html Gaming compacts win federal OK ahead of statewide vote 4 tribes' deals could take effect early next week By James P. Sweeney COPLEY NEWS SERVICE December 1, 2007 SACRAMENTO ? In a stunning development, the controversial gambling agreements for four Southern California Indian tribes, including Sycuan of El Cajon, have been approved by the U.S. Interior Department. AdvertisementAs a result, the multibillion-dollar deals could take effect early next week, even though all face a statewide vote on the Feb. 5 ballot. That has already prompted a tangle of legal questions that those close to the situation have only begun to ponder. ?I'm not in a position to assess what it means,? George Forman, an attorney for Sycuan and another of the tribes, Morongo of Riverside County, said late yesterday. ?We are sailing in uncharted waters at high speed.? But another prominent tribal attorney said the four compacts were ?not ripe? for federal consideration, a factor that opponents could use in any bid to rescind the federal approval. ?To those who are telling you the referenda are moot, I would say not so fast,? said attorney Scott Crowell, who represents the Rincon band of north San Diego County. Two tribes that are opposed to the compacts, a casino workers union and two horse tracks collected nearly 3 million signatures to qualify four separate referendums that could overturn state legislation that ratified the deals. The compacts offer expanded gambling for Sycuan and Morongo, as well as Pechanga of Temecula and Agua Caliente of Palm Springs. The four tribes, which operate a total of 8,000 slot machines, collectively could add 17,000 slots in casinos that would be among the world's largest. The ballot measures are expected to be the subject of one of the most expensive campaigns in state history. The two sides have already raised and spent $30 million dollars, most of it by the four tribes with new compacts. Despite the pending ballot measures, Secretary of State Debra Bowen submitted the compacts to the Interior Department on Sept. 5, even though the ratification bills won't take effect until Jan. 1. A spokeswoman for Bowen said she was simply following the office's ?ministerial? duties outlined in a government code. California tribes typically submit compacts to the Interior Department on their own, and tribal officials said they were surprised by Bowen's move. Federal law gives the Department of Interior just three options when a compact is formally submitted: It can approve or reject it within 45 days; if it does neither, a compact is ?deemed? approved under federal law. The four compacts ?have been deemed approved and there will be a notice in the Federal Register early next week,? Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, confirmed late yesterday. Federal law says that compacts ?shall take effect? when notice of approval by the secretary of the interior ?has been published . . . in the Federal Register.? Darling said she could not explain why the compacts were approved before state legislation ratifying the deals had taken effect, much less before a scheduled statewide vote. But it appears that federal officials wrestled with the delicate situation for at least the past month. Bowen submitted the four compacts on the same day she sent in a compact for the Yurok tribe of Northern California. The Yurok compact, a small and relatively uncontroversial gambling agreement, was deemed approved by the Interior Department a month ago. Notification was published Nov. 2 in the Federal Register. A spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who negotiated the agreements, called the unexpected development ?good news.? ?The governor believes that these compacts are strong and that this action by the federal government upholds the validity of the compacts,? Sabrina Lockhart said. However, the administration was assessing the many legal questions, including what it might mean for the pending ballot measures, Lockhart said. ?We are pleased that the federal government has approved the Pechanga compact,? Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro said. ?This approval reaffirms the validity of this comprehensive government agreement.? Al Lundeen, spokesman for the campaign to overturn the compacts, said that despite uncertainty over legal issues, voters should still have the right to vote on the agreements. ?We have the right to the referendum process in California,? Lundeen said. ?It certainly would be against the intent of the constitution to deny us of that right.? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Dec 3 08:46:58 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2007 08:46:58 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River Restoration Program Office E-mail is DOWN! Message-ID: <001901c835cd$25458520$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> The power outage in Weaverville on Friday night caused the server at the Weaverville office of the Trinity River Restoration Program to go down. So, they have no e-mail and are unsure of when it will be restored, but it is currently being worked on by technicians. If you need to contact them, please call the office at 623-1800 or send them a fax at 623-5944. Sincerely, Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Dec 3 16:08:02 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2007 16:08:02 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Reclamation Press Release on NAS Review of Klamath Flow Studies Message-ID: <004901c8360b$d403fb30$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> http://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=19722 Mid-Pacific Region Sacramento, Calif. Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken 916-978-5100 Released On: November 28, 2007 Reclamation Receives the National Academy of Sciences' Final Review of Reclamation's Klamath Project Natural Flow Study and Dr. Thomas Hardy's Phase II Flow Study The Bureau of Reclamation announces the release of the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) final review of two studies: Reclamation's Klamath Project Natural Flow Study and Dr. Thomas Hardy's Phase II Flow Study. Reclamation is evaluating the findings of the NAS to determine how these studies could contribute to future resource management decisions. Reclamation will continue to work with stakeholders to apply the full suite of available science to management of the Klamath Project. The NAS found that both studies are noteworthy in some regards but have flaws as well. Further, the NAS concluded that the Klamath Basin is in need of an independent and comprehensive analysis to identify the most urgent science needs to inform management decisions. The NAS also provided recommendations for improvement of the two studies should a basin-wide review of the science determine it is warranted. The NAS also recommended an adaptive management approach whereby decisions are played out in water management with monitoring and constant assessment and with periodic informed adjustments in management strategies. Consistent with these findings, Reclamation will continue to pursue adaptive, basin-wide solutions with our stakeholders. The NAS review is available on Reclamation's website at: http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12072#toc . Should you encounter problems accessing documents online, please contact Ms. Lynnette Wirth at 916-978-5102 or lwirth at mp.usbr.gov. For additional information or to request a copy of the document, please contact Ms. Christine Karas at 541-880-2555 or ckaras at mp.usbr.gov. # # # Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits. Visit our website at www.usbr.gov. Relevant Links: Document link -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Dec 6 06:03:13 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 06:03:13 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Postponement of TMC meeting Message-ID: <003e01c83810$c196d920$db653940@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: To: ; ; ; "Doug Schleusner" ; ; ; ; ; Cc: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 7:46 AM Subject: Postponement of TMC meeting > > Fellow TMC Members and Alternates, > > Our next TMC meeting is sceduled for December 12-13 in Arcata. However, > the next session of the Klamath settlement talks is also scheduled for > those same days in Redding. Two, and possibly three, TMC members will be > involved in the settlement talks and will miss all or part of the TMC > meeting. Moreover, I will not be able to attend the TMC meeting on the > 13th, and my alternate will be back east in a training class. > > I have spoken with Doug Schleusner about postponement of the TMC meeting. > We believe that all TMC members should be present to discuss and take > action on at least a couple of the items we had considered for the > December > agenda (e.g., election of Chair and Vice-Chair; Program Harvest and > Escapement Goals). We also agreed that the other issues being considered > for the agenda will not suffer by waiting to address them at a date in > January. > > Therefore, I am postponing the December TMC meeting. I would like to > re-schedule the meeting for the third week in January with preferred dates > of January 23-24. > > Please let me know if you would be able to attend a TMC meeting on January > 23-24. Regardless of your availability for those dates, please send me > all dates in January that you would be able to attend a TMC meeting. At > this point, assume the meeting will be in Arcata. > > In the near future, Doug will send out a Director's Report to update > members on the status of many activities. > > As a reminder, the TAMWG meeting is Dec. 6-7 in Weaverville. I encourage > all members to attend to listen to what our advisory group has to say > about > the Program. Brian and I will be giving a brief update on the Roles and > Responsibilities process on Friday morning. > > Thanks for your understanding, and I apologize for any inconvenience this > change in schedule may cause. > > Mike > > > Michael M. Long > Field Supervisor, U.S. FWS > Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office > 707/822-7201 > > From tstokely at trinityalps.net Thu Dec 6 10:35:52 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 10:35:52 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Businesses float water bond plan Message-ID: <003a01c83836$ecaab8e0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> I have copies of these filings. If anybody wants them, please send me a private e-mail, but it's about 5 mb, so if you have a dialup, you had better get a cup of coffee and some doughnuts. I have not reviewed the documents at all. Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org Businesses float water bond plan; Stalled legislative efforts prod bid to qualify measure for the November ballot Sacramento Bee (This same article also appeared in the Fresno Bee) ? 12/6/07 By E.J. Schultz, staff writer With legislative negotiations stalled, an alliance of business and farm groups on Wednesday began an effort to qualify an $11.7 billion water bond initiative for November's ballot. The move sets up a potential ballot-box showdown between competing solutions to the state's water woes ? a Republican-backed plan that places an emphasis on dams and a Democratic proposal that focuses on groundwater storage and conservation. The business-backed measure is similar to the proposal Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and GOP lawmakers have pushed all year. The California Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the effort, filed the proposal Wednesday with the state attorney general's office. "We are encouraged and hopeful that a legislative agreement can be reached and a measure placed before voters next year," Allan Zaremberg, president of the chamber, said in a statement. "In case this does not happen legislatively, we felt it necessary to file these measures today in order to preserve our options and have adequate time to gather signatures for the November ballot." The alliance filed four versions of the initiative and will spend the next several weeks deciding which one to pursue. To qualify an initiative, the group will need to gather 433,971 valid signatures. Up to $3.5 billion would be set aside for dams, possibly including a reservoir northeast of Fresno at Temperance Flat. Other money would go for regional water supply grants and upgrades to the deteriorating Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the pass-through point for much of the state's water supply. At least some versions of the proposal call for a system that would include a new canal to steer water around the Delta for agriculture and urban uses. A similar proposal, known as the Peripheral Canal, was defeated by voters in 1982. The updated proposal, known as "dual conveyance," would pipe water both through and around the Delta. San Joaquin Valley farmers and Southern California water agencies favor the approach, but many environmentalists say not enough is known about the ecological effects. The Democratic initiative, which has the backing of environmentalists, was filed earlier this year by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. The $6.8 billion bond includes money for water supply grants and Delta upgrades, but does not earmark money for dams. Perata said two weeks ago that he would forgo the initiative for the "time being" in hopes of striking a legislative deal. "We still feel that a legislative deal is the best solution," Alicia Trost, a Perata spokeswoman, said Wednesday. "We don't see how this (chamber-backed initiative) can be helpful." If dueling initiatives make the ballot, the ensuing political fight could sink them both, both sides have conceded. Attempts at a legislative solution have been stymied by the debate over dams. Schwarzenegger ? who favors dams ? called a special session on water nearly three months ago but has been unable to broker a deal. "Californians up and down the state are facing the possibility of mandatory rationing and higher prices for water next year and into the future," the governor said in a statement Wednesday. "Failure to produce a solution is not an option, and I will continue to do everything in my power to get this done." The governor has not given up on getting a deal done in time for the Feb. 5 election. But time has all but run out. On Friday, elections officials will start mailing ballots to military personnel stationed overseas. The June and November elections are the next possible alternatives. San Joaquin Valley agriculture leaders, who have lobbied for new dams for years, are growing impatient with the gridlock. "It's really frustrating," said Mario Santoyo, assistant general manager of the Friant Water Users Authority, which represents east Valley growers. "I hate to see these guys struggling like this and know there are remedies out there, but politics prevents solutions from happening." # http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/546918.html Business, farm groups propose water bonds Associated Press ? 12/6/07 SACRAMENTO -- A coalition of business and agricultural groups is preparing to put a $10 billion water bond measure before California voters in November. The California Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday filed a series of initiatives in the latest indicator that water talks in the Legislature are dead. The chamber's four initiatives borrow from plans proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrats during the Legislature's special session to bolster the state's water delivery system. Lawmakers haven't been able to agree on dams, though, which are a key part of the governor's plan. Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear says the governor still wants a deal on the February presidential primary ballot. # http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_7649500?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com&nclick_check=1 #### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Dec 7 17:17:33 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2007 17:17:33 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Weaverville server and email back in operation Message-ID: <001201c83938$1d17f400$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Schleusner" To: "Steve Anderson" ; "James Spear" ; "James Feider" ; "Byron Leydecker" ; "Larry Hanson" ; "Mike Berry" ; ; "Sharon Heywood" ; ; "Joe Polos" ; ; "Mike Orcutt" ; "George Kautsky" ; "Joan Hartman" ; "Andreas Krause" ; "Brandt Gutermuth" ; "Brian Person" ; "Diana Clifton" ; "Dave Gaeuman" ; "Deanna Jackson" ; "Don Reck" ; "Doug Schleusner" ; "Ed Solbos" ; "John Klochak" ; "Joe Riess" ; "Nina Hemphill" ; "Priscilla Davee" ; "Rod Wittler" ; "Elizabeth Soderstrom" ; "Edgar Duggan" ; ; "Rick Rogers" ; "Tom Weseloh" ; "Arnold Whitridge" ; "Tim Hayden" ; "Richard Lorenz" ; "Dana Hord" ; "Dan Haycox" ; "Serge Birk" ; "Pat Frost - TCRCD" ; "Tom Stokely" ; "Roger Jaegel" ; "David Steinhauser" ; "Teresa Connor" ; "Dave Hillemeier" Cc: "Steve Rothert" ; "Francis Berg" ; "Elizabeth Hadley" ; "Steve Turek" ; "Ann Hayden" ; "Loren Everest" ; "Sherri Miller" ; "Hetrick, Nick" ; "Abbey Stockwell" ; "Robert Franklin" ; ; "Margaret Tauzer" ; "Joe Neill" ; "Howard Freeman" ; "joshua allen" ; "Curtis Anderson" ; "Jeff Morris" Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 4:45 PM Subject: Weaverville server and email back in operation > Thanks for your patience! > Doug > > ___________________________________ > > Douglas P. Schleusner, Executive Director > Trinity River Restoration Program > P.O. Box 1300, 1313 South Main St. > Weaverville, CA 96093 > (530) 623-1800 Fax: (530) 623-5944 > e-mail: dschleusner at mp.usbr.gov > ___________________________________ > > From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sun Dec 9 20:01:57 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2007 20:01:57 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fish benefit of a Klamath pact questioned Message-ID: <007401c83ae1$6a3cc800$c8653940@trinitycounty.org> http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/553847.html Fish benefit of a Klamath pact questioned As groups plan to vote on water deal, new studies say salmon may get shorted. By David Whitney - dwhitney at mcclatchydc.com Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, December 9, 2007 Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A4 Print | E-Mail | Comments (3)| Digg it | del.icio.us WASHINGTON ? Environmentalists, Indian tribes, fishermen and farmers have been meeting in private for months trying to come up with a deal to turn the battle over Klamath River water into a showcase for cooperation and restoration. Now, just as the 26 organizations involved in the secret talks are about to vote on whether to endorse the nearly completed pact, new studies raise doubts about whether it will send enough water down the ailing 263-mile-long river to lift its salmon runs from the brink of extinction. No one disputes that the river is killing fish. Recent runs have been so poor that Congress sent $60 million earlier this year to help relieve a financial disaster for fishermen, the result of a massive fish kill in 2002. Troubling signs now are emerging on the river's tributaries, including the Shasta River, where scientists are puzzled about why hundreds of thousands of small fingerlings die before they reach the Pacific Ocean. Neither is there any dispute over the leading cause. Four small hydroelectric dams operated by PacifiCorp cut the river system in half, diverting so much water to high desert irrigation in southern Oregon that in dry years there isn't enough for both farmers and fish, let alone to flush out parasites and diseases downstream of the dams. Parallel talks are under way with the Portland-based utility to remove the dams. The proposed deal focuses on amicably resolving other issues, including how much water farmers get in the upper basin and how much is sent down the river, on the assumption the dams are coming down. It is an expensive proposal intended to bring peace to the river system for 60 years. Over the first dozen years, it calls for more than $900 million in federal spending ? twice what taxpayers are now spending. "I think we're on the brink of totally redefining how the Klamath River is operated, and making a landscape change in the upper basin that will be good for everybody," said Craig Tucker of the Karuk Tribe in Northern California, a leading advocate of the deal. But two recent studies prepared for the Northcoast Environmental Center in Arcata, one of the parties to the talks, raise troubling questions about whether the deal is that good for fish. William Trush, an environmental consultant on the faculty of California State University, Humboldt, and Greg Kamman, a hydrologist for a San Rafael consulting company, were provided assumptions and text of portions of the deal. Both see huge gains in knocking down the dams but are skeptical about what the deal otherwise would do for fish. Their Nov. 9 reports question whether the deal can produce the additional water storage that it promises. They are critical of specific allocations of water for irrigation and nothing similar for restoring salmon runs. And the timelines are fuzzy. "I am concerned that the successful implementation of the settlement agreement hinges on a conceptual plan which has no guarantees of being achieved within a specified amount of time," Kamman wrote. The reports, which follow a National Research Council study last month supporting higher river flows, pose the potential for pushing some participants away from the deal. "They could cause problems; I don't know," said Greg Addington of the Klamath Water Users Association. "But we want the agreement to work for fish." Greg King of Northcoast declined to talk about the studies his group commissioned, saying he was concerned they had been leaked to The Bee in apparent violation of confidentiality agreements. But the group's board of directors has been meeting to formulate its position on the settlement, and King called river flows the group's "most crucial issue." "It's dicey," he said of the agreement. "We would be giving up some of our legal rights." Commercial fishermen involved in the talks also seemed more cautious because the gains they want are outside the power of the negotiators to produce. "The intent of the settlement agreement is to assure more water in the river, even during droughts, than has historically occurred," said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. Critics of the deal say the studies may make the proposal's funding, already a huge issue, even more problematic. Much of the money would provide power subsidies for irrigators and economic development funds for counties and Indian tribes as well as restoration of the river and basin. Critics wonder why Congress would agree to spend more than $900 million for this when there are doubts it will recover endangered fish. Some think the salmon runs are being sacrificed for news coverage of the dams someday being torn out. "What I worry about is the trade-off," said Bob Hunter, a staff attorney for Water Watch of Oregon. Jim McCarthy, spokesman for Oregon Wild, said he sees a "boondoggle" in the making. "With no set allocation for fish, it says we are hoping to get the flows they need," he said. "But the flows they are talking about are less than what the scientists say the fish need." But Tucker, of the Karuk Tribe, said that Water Watch and Oregon Wild ? excluded from talks last year after they refused to sign onto the framework for them ? are trying to torpedo the deal. About the writer: a.. Call David Whitney, McClatchy Washington Bureau, (202) 383-0004 . Unique content, exceptional value. 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Name: logo_thesacramentobee_sm.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1134 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Sun Dec 9 20:08:31 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2007 20:08:31 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Klamath dams produce hazardous waste, $1 billion lawsuit claims Message-ID: <007c01c83ae2$552ad730$c8653940@trinitycounty.org> http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_7658502 Klamath dams produce hazardous waste, $1 billion lawsuit claims Jeff Bernard AP Environmental Writer Article Launched: 12/07/2007 01:15:13 AM PST GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- A $1 billion lawsuit filed Thursday claims that PacifiCorp hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River produce hazardous waste in the form of toxic algae that harms salmon as well as people. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco by Klamath Riverkeeper, elders of the Yurok and Karuk tribes, and the owner of rental cabins along the river. ?PacifiCorp is both creating and releasing this algae, and they are refusing to take responsibility for the pollution their dams are creating,? said Regina Chichizola of Klamath Riverkeeper, a nonprofit river conservation group. PacifiCorp spokeswoman Jan Mitchell said the utility does not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit is the fourth filed by Klamath Riverkeeper against PacifiCorp in a campaign to remove four dams that block hundreds of miles of salmon habitat. This one seeks $1 billion in damages under the Resource Conservation Recovery Act, which governs hazardous waste disposal, and a court order for PacifiCorp to stop producing the algae, which could require removing the dams. The argument is that the Iron Gate and Copco dams south of the Oregon border in Northern California create the perfect conditions for the toxic algae Microcystis aeruginosa by slowing and warming the Klamath River in reservoirs, where the water absorbs agricultural runoff that help the algae grow. ?No one has brought this kind of case pertaining to solid waste, but we think the facts fit the law,? said attorney Daniel Cooper of the San Francisco group Lawyers for Clean Water. ?There are areas with algae problems around the state and the country,? he said. ?The unique factor about the Klamath is there has been extensive sampling demonstrating that highly toxic levels accumulate in the reservoirs and are discharging in the river. And they sampled upstream reservoirs and found no detectable levels of the (algae).? Flowing out of southern Oregon through Northern California, the Klamath was once the third-largest salmon producer on the West Coast, but has suffered from dwindling returns due to a long history of habitat lost to logging, mining, agriculture, dams, poor water quality and overfishing. Studies by the Karuk tribe led to toxic algae warnings posted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board on the Copco and Iron Gate reservoirs in 2005. Last fall, similar warnings were posted along 100 miles of the Klamath River downstream from Iron Gate. No one has died from contact with the algae, which produces a toxin that harms the liver and produces tumors, but some of the plaintiffs have suffered symptoms consistent with contact with the toxin after being in the river, Cooper said. Earlier lawsuits claim waste discharges from the Iron Gate fish hatchery violate the Clean Water Act, the algae is a public nuisance, and EPA has failed to take steps to clean up the river. PacifiCorp is seeking a new federal license to produce electricity from the dams. The algae is likely to be an issue in meeting clean water standards for the license. The utility is owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., based in Des Moines, Iowa, and controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: icon-print.gif Type: image/gif Size: 81 bytes Desc: not available URL: From truman at jeffnet.org Mon Dec 10 11:02:45 2007 From: truman at jeffnet.org (Patrick Truman) Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:02:45 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Colorado River Pact Message-ID: <007b01c83b5f$40bf9b50$6801a8c0@HAL> States OK new deal on Colorado River water New York Times Monday, December 10, 2007 Facing the worst drought in a century and the prospect that climate change could produce long-term changes on the Colorado River, the lifeline for several Western states, federal officials have reached a new pact with the states on how to allocate water if the river runs short. State and federal officials praised the agreement, which Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne was expected to sign Thursday, as a landmark akin to the Colorado River Compact of 1922 that first divvied up how much water the seven states served by the river - California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming - receive annually. The new accord, outlined by federal officials in a telephone news conference Friday, spells out how three down-river states, California, Arizona and Nevada, will share the pain of water shortages. It puts in place new measures to encourage conservation and manage the two primary reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which have gone from nearly full to about half empty since 1999. The accord is expected to forestall likely litigation as fast-growing states jockey for the best way to keep the water flowing to their residents and businesses in increasingly dry times. It would be in effect through 2026 and could be revised during that time. Some environmental groups said the pact did not go far enough to encourage conservation and discourage growth. But federal officials said they took the best of several proposals by the states, environmental organizations and others and emphasized the importance of all seven states agreeing with the result. The pact, the product of 2 1/2 years of negotiation and study, establishes criteria for the Interior Department to declare a shortage on the river, which would occur when the system is unable to produce the 7.5 million acre-feet of water, enough to supply 15 million homes for a year, that the three down-river states are entitled to. Water deliveries would be decreased based on how far water levels drop in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. The Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river system, predicts about a 5 percent chance of such a shortage being declared by 2010, but it all depends on how much the states are able to conserve and, of course, the weather. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: chronicle_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1013 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Dec 13 11:35:28 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:35:28 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Eureka Times Standard Trinity Editorial Message-ID: <001e01c83dbf$553c4440$0301a8c0@optiplex> TRINITY RESTORATION: Editorial: Trinity restoration: Promises should be kept Eureka Times Standard - 12/13/07 History holds many lessons for us, and current efforts to force the federal government to honor its financial commitment to a healthy Trinity River conjure up many of them. The U. S. push westward left behind it many broken treaties with Indian tribes, such as the 1877 seizure of the Black Hills of South Dakota (yes, home of the noble monument at Mount Rushmore), despite a treaty that recognized the Sioux Nation as owner in perpetuity. In southeastern California's Owens Valley, the 1920s "water wars" pitted valley farmers against the city of Los Angeles, which coveted the rural area's water for itself. Once verdant, the Owens Valley now features a dried-up lake and alkali dust storms. (This tragedy was immortalized in the movie "Chinatown".) Also in the 1920s, in northern California, the Hetch Hetchy Valley -- said to be even more beautiful than Yosemite Valley -- was dammed and filled with water to provide a reservoir for San Francisco, despite protests by John Muir and other early environmentalists. Even closer to home in 1964, the Lewiston Dam began diverting Trinity River water to the Central Valley. The Bureau of Reclamation promised Congress that 45 percent of the water would stay in the Trinity to sustain its abundant salmon and steelhead populations. That turned out to be a lie. Up to 90 percent of the flow was sent south. Not only did this have a tragic effect on the Trinity itself, depleting the fishery by 80 percent, but the Trinity is the only Klamath River tributary producing harvestable quantities of endangered species of salmon. The Klamath, in turn, is an economic lifeline for native people as well as for commercial and sport fishermen for 900 miles along the California and Oregon coast. Then in 1992, Congress approved a law to fix rivers damaged by excess water diversion. In 2000, Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt signed a so-called "Record of Decision," promising to fund the restoration of the Trinity's water levels and the riverbed. But soon George Bush came into office, and his administration began dragging its feet, despite a 2002 decision by the federal courts upholding the commitment. Today, the Trinity agreement is five years behind schedule and receiving only half its annual funding, $8 million. Yet fulfilling a promise to the Trinity seems much cheaper that the recent payout of $60 million in federal aid to fishermen and businesses devastated by the 2006 salmon season failure. That's why North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson is seeking the passage of a bill, HR 2733, mandating that the Bureau of Reclamation do what it promised to do. BOR Director Robert Johnson has made it clear that he won't do it willingly, opposing the bill because it "reduces the discretion of the executive branch." That's why we support HR 2733, because that's what it will take. Remember the desolate Owens Valley? In 1997, Inyo County, Los Angeles, farmers and environmentalists signed a "Memorandum of Understanding" laying out how the lower Owens River would be rewatered by June 2003. They're still waiting. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Dec 13 11:41:30 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:41:30 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Hal Candee Message-ID: <002301c83dc0$29d68940$0301a8c0@optiplex> >From Hal Candee, Natural Resources Defense Council: As some of you already know, after 23 great years at NRDC, I have decided to pursue some new opportunities in the next few months by becoming of counsel to a SF law firm: Altshuler Berzon LLP. I am very pleased to be joining a firm that has been my co-counsel on NRDC water cases for much of the last 20 years. In my new position, I will continue to represent NRDC on the San Joaquin River settlement and a few other matters as well. However, the move will also allow me to broaden my range of clients and issues and simultaneously allow NRDC to bring in a new person to our Western Water team so we can maintain our strong role on California and other western water issues across the board. Our new position for a staff attorney or experienced water policy advocate remains open until December 18th so if you know of any top candidates, please forward them our attached job notice. Many thanks. Hal Hamilton Candee Senior Attorney; Co-Director, Western Water Project Natural Resources Defense Council Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: NRDC Western Water Job Announcement 11-27-07.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 34865 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov Thu Dec 13 14:38:54 2007 From: Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov (Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov) Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:38:54 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity River redd survey update available Message-ID: Howdy all, An updated mid-season report on preliminary Trinity River mainstem redd survey results for data entered as of December 7, 2007 is available for download at http://www.fws.gov/arcata/fisheries/projectUpdates.html Cheers! Charlie Charlie Chamberlain Supervisory Fish Biologist - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arcata Fish & Wildlife Office 1655 Heindon Road Arcata, CA 95521 Charles_Chamberlain at fws.gov Phone: (707) 825-5110 Fax: (707) 822-8411 http://www.fws.gov/arcata/fisheries From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Thu Dec 13 14:55:53 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:55:53 -0500 Subject: [env-trinity] Environmental Defense Fund opposition to Chamber of Commerce Water Bond Proposals Message-ID: Chamber of Commerce Water Bond Proposals Fail to Address Root Causes of State's Water Supply Problems, Environmental Group Says 10am, Thursday, December 13, 2007 Contact: Tom Graff, 510-593-3899 (cell) tgraff at environmentaldefense.org Ann Hayden, 510-508-2557 (cell) ahayden at environmentaldefense.org Jesus Mena, 415-293-6050 or 415-948-4220 (cell) jemena at environmentaldefense.org (Sacramento - December 13, 2007) Four water bond initiatives proposed by the California Chamber of Commerce are deeply flawed and would force California to spend billions of tax dollars on dams that will harm the environment and fail to supply the clean, safe drinking water the state needs for the future, a leading environmental group said today. "These bond proposals are deeply flawed because they fail to adequately address the root causes of California's serious water supply problems," said Ann Hayden, senior water resource analyst for Environmental Defense during a 10am news conference in Sacramento with Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (Oakland), Senator Mike Machado (Linden), leading environmental groups, and water agencies. Hayden is also a member of the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan steering committee that is developing a long term plan in 2008 to protect and restore the Delta ecosystem while providing reliable water supply to California's farms and cities. "These bonds would circumvent the normal approval process for major infrastructure and subsidize questionable projects, spending unprecedented amounts of taxpayer dollars." The Chamber filed four different versions of a potential water bond, deferring to a later date the one they would submit for voter approval on the November 4, 2008, ballot. All versions include funds and mandate construction of three reservoirs without specifying how they would be operated, who would get the water and pay for the local cost-share portions, or how the reservoirs would affect the environment. Some versions of the initiative would provide authorization to build a peripheral canal that would divert freshwater from the Sacramento River before it gets to the Delta for delivery to farms in the San Joaquin Valley, urban southern California and parts of the Bay Area. Environmental Defense opposes authorizing a peripheral canal by initiative, as it would be an end run around ongoing stakeholder processes and would mandate crucial aspects such as its size, operating principles, financing and governing structure. "Mandating a peripheral canal through the ballot initiative is a recipe for disaster," said Tom Graff, regional director for Environmental Defense and a former member of the Bay-Delta Advisory Council. "It is not the right approach for the environment or for major policy and science decisions involving the management of California's water resources." Environmental Defense is working cooperatively with many other parties, through both the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, to develop a long term plan to protect and restore the Delta ecosystem while providing reliable water supply to California's farms and cities. The Chamber's initiatives would preempt those efforts and prejudge the findings of hundreds of biologists, engineers, water agencies, Delta communities, fishermen and environmental groups, leaving the California taxpayer to pick up the tab. "We call on the Chamber to withdraw these reckless initiatives," Graff concluded. "We urge them to roll up their sleeves and join those of us who are working thoughtfully and cooperatively to solve California's water supply and environmental problems." ### Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 supporters. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. www.environmentaldefense.org ___________________________________________________ This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this information by a person other than the intended recipient is unauthorized and may be illegal. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 34479 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Dec 14 20:03:08 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:03:08 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Statement on Today's Order by Judge Wanger Message-ID: <004901c83ecf$6b511f10$0301a8c0@optiplex> Rep. Miller Statement on Pivotal Order In Bay-Delta Protection Case WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez), the former chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and author of several key water reform laws, issued the following statement tonight upon the release of a new order by U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger: "Today's order is a very important step in the effort to force California's water policy into compliance with the law. Nobody should be surprised by this order, nor should they be surprised to learn that the government must now take substantial steps to save the Delta and the Bay ecosystem. "The Bush administration has been warned that their negligence and their head-in-the-sand mentality would lead to a crisis, and it has. "Make no mistake: by sacrificing the Bay-Delta and discarding common sense, the water exporters have created a more uncertain and expensive future -- not just for the Bay-Delta but for the state and the people of California. "They interfered with the science, they refused to impose common sense solutions, and they broke the law. Today's order is a direct result of that accumulated neglect and that systematic interference with the science on which policy must be based." ### Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Fri Dec 14 20:09:50 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:09:50 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Wanger Order Investor's Business Daily 12 14 Message-ID: <004e01c83ed0$5af71100$0301a8c0@optiplex> Court Orders State Water Project to Cut Water Deliveries to Protect Delta Fish SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec 14, 2007 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The State Water Contractors, an association of 27 public water agencies in the Bay Area, Central and Southern California, today reacted to the largest court-ordered water supply reduction in California history, citing statewide impacts to farms, businesses and people. Today, federal judge Oliver Wanger issued a final court order, issuing an operational plan that orders the State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP), the state's two largest water delivery systems, to reduce pumping operations by up to nearly one-third. The two projects direct water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) to urban and agricultural water users. The operational plan, formalizing a preliminary framework issued by Judge Wanger on August 31, 2007, calls for the massive reduction in water supplies to protect an endangered fish species, the Delta smelt. The court has specified that reduced operations will last until September 15, 2008, while federal agencies develop a revised federal biological opinion for Delta smelt that will ensure the projects' compliance with Endangered Species Act requirements. "To have such a large reduction in statewide water supplies is not only significant, but unprecedented," said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors. "For the next nine months, the backbone of the state's water system will be operated based on a lawsuit. Reducing water supplies through the courts won't solve the fundamental problems in the Delta. We need a smarter water system so that the courts don't face this situation in the future." Local water agencies will have to rely on contingency and emergency sources of water, including local groundwater and storage supplies, to lessen direct impacts on their customers. However, by doing so, they will exhaust or significantly limit supplies that would be needed for a drought or major catastrophe, such as an earthquake, major flood event, etc. Local agencies are particularly concerned about depleting their back up reserves during the current drought -- 2007 has been the driest year on record for parts of California. "We have already faced enormous challenges this year and will undoubtedly face more in the coming year," added Moon. "This court-ordered reduction will only place further hardship on water agencies throughout the state and ultimately, consumers, businesses, farmers and the economy as a whole. This is an expensive way to try to restore Delta smelt, and likely won't succeed unless there is a comprehensive program addressing all the stressors on this fish species." This significant reduction in water supply will be experienced in the Bay Area, Central and Southern California. The SWP alone, a critical source of water for the majority of California, provides water to two out of every three people, irrigates 750,000 acres of prime agricultural lands and directly supports $400 million of the state's trillion-dollar economy. The most immediate impacts of the court ruling will be felt in agricultural communities as farmers in the San Joaquin Valley, Inland Empire and San Diego region are forced to abandon crop planting this winter and spring. Urban water users will need to conserve water during this critical time period. In some regions, consumers may be asked for more stringent water restrictions, including rationing, and may experience increased costs. Throughout the coming weeks, local public water agencies will be assessing direct impacts of the final court order to their regions and customers, including potential impacts on local economic growth. As background, a federal court ruled, in May 2007, that the existing 2005 biological opinion for Delta smelt, issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency, did not comply with the Endangered Species Act. The biological opinion guides pumping operations for the CVP and SWP to ensure no long-term jeopardy to the health and habitat of Delta smelt. Until a revised biological opinion is prepared by the federal agencies, the court has ordered certain "remedies" or actions to protect the endangered fish species. Those remedies, imposed in the court-ordered operational plan, collectively amount to the cut in statewide water supply. While the court order will last until September of next year, these kinds of reductions will likely continue until the Delta system is fixed. "Every day it becomes increasingly clear that we must decide on a solution for our broken water delivery system," added Moon. "Moving water through the Delta is an outdated method of delivering water to 25 million people. We need to look at ways of moving water around the Delta to help secure the state's water future and protect the ecosystem." The Delta's failing condition has made it an increasingly unreliable pathway for delivering water to 25 million Californians, businesses and farms throughout the state. Aged and deteriorating levees, climate change, mounting regulatory uncertainties such as this most recent event and a struggling ecosystem plague the Delta more so today than ever before. These unprecedented challenges need to be addressed responsibly and in a timely manner in order to avoid immeasurable damages to California's water supply, environment, public health, statewide economy and infrastructure system. The State Water Contractors is a non-profit association of 27 public agencies from Northern, Central and Southern California that purchase water under contract from the California State Water Project. Collectively the State Water Contractors deliver water to more than 25 million residents throughout the state and more than 750,000 acres of agricultural lands. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 73 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Dec 14 22:28:37 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:28:37 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Westlands Water district buys Yolo tract; The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat Message-ID: <008401c83f30$8737a490$0100007f@trinitycounty.org> YOLO BYPASS: Water district buys Yolo tract; The Central Valley giant says it wants to aid fish habitat Sacramento Bee ? 12/14/07 By Matt Weiser, staff writer One of California's most powerful water agencies has purchased a huge tract of land in the Yolo Bypass, saying it hopes to create a nursery for imperiled fish and ease pressure on the state's water system. Westlands Water District irrigates more than 600,000 acres of farms in the San Joaquin Valley and is almost entirely dependent on water pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. It is the world's largest irrigation district, known for power politics as much as a billion-dollar annual yield of grapes, nuts and cotton. But its fortunes are threatened by Delta pumping restrictions that were driven by a rapid decline in several sensitive fish species, particularly the Delta smelt, a native fingerling protected by the federal Endangered Species Act. On Wednesday, Westlands closed escrow on a 3,450-acre tract of farmland on the southern edge of Yolo County alongside the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel. The acreage lies in the Yolo Bypass, a swath of land designed to flood in major storms. Research shows that fish colonize the bypass to feed on insects and plants that bloom during floods. By causing more frequent flooding and creating refuge areas within the bypass for fish to feed and rest, biologists believe the bypass could boost the population of many native species. Government agencies have tried and failed to pull that off, so Westlands decided to step in. "The district purchased this property because it thinks that if we're going to improve our water supply, it's necessary to recover the species, and restoring the habitat is one of the things necessary to accomplish that," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands general manager. "We are not dependent on federal or state appropriations. So there will be a steady stream of revenue for the restoration program." Westlands bought the land for $12 million from longtime Yolo Bypass farmer Duncan McCormack. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. Delta advocates greeted the deal with skepticism and hope. The skeptics point to Westlands' track record. In 2006, it outbid a host of other parties to buy a fishing resort on the McCloud River and 3,000 acres of surrounding land considered sacred to the Winnemem Wintu tribe. Birmingham stated plainly that Westlands bought the land to ensure it doesn't become an obstacle to raising Shasta Dam. Bill Jennings, director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, said of the latest Westlands news: "If, in fact, they are doing this altruistically, it's appreciated. But in the face of this catastrophic collapse of native species, it may be too little, too late." Numerous fish species continue to decline in the Delta. The state's annual fall trawling surveys for Delta fish, still under way, show falling numbers for a variety of species, including striped bass, threadfin shad, longfin smelt and Delta smelt. The fall chinook salmon run on the Sacramento River has been poor this year, despite conditions that should have been favorable. Thousands of Delta fish die each year when they are sucked into state and federal water export pumps near Tracy. The pumps deliver water to more than 23 million Californians and 2 million acres of farmland. Westlands is the second-largest consumer. A federal judge ruled in August that the pumps don't do enough to protect Delta smelt, particularly young fish that are too small to be screened out at the pumps. A final ruling, expected early next week, may slash Delta water exports by 30 percent. Competition from invasive species and water contamination are other culprits in the fish decline. Another is a shortage of food and habitat, which is where Westlands hopes to help. The district plans to work with state and federal wildlife agencies to restore its new property. This might involve removing some levees on the land to open up more area to flooding and tides. Birmingham could not say when the work would begin, but consultants will be hired soon to develop a plan. Some of the parcel will still be farmed, and the land includes water rights. But Birmingham said he didn't know much about that. "Our interest in acquiring this property was the potential for creating or restoring Delta smelt habitat," he said. "We have not done a detailed analysis of water rights on the property." The Yolo Bypass and nearby Cache Slough have been eyed for years as a restoration site. In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a North Delta National Wildlife Refuge that would have encompassed much of the area, but Congress refused to authorize it amid opposition from some landowners. Officials are again looking at major habitat projects in the area to address ecological problems. Birmingham said Westlands hopes to jump-start this effort. "Of course we need to be skeptical, but if Westlands is telling the truth that they bought it to do restoration and they want to help, I applaud them," said John Cain, director of restoration programs at the Natural Heritages Institute, which has designed habitat projects in the area. "It's fantastic that Westlands is stepping forward to try and solve the problem that they helped create." # http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/567260.html Bay Area water district buys 3,450 acres of Yolo wetlands Woodland Daily Democrat ? 12/14/07 By Mike Taugher, Contra Costa Times staff writer The nation's largest irrigation district, a consistent foe of environmentalists, has taken the unusual step of buying a $12 million ranch in southern Yolo County to restore wetlands and other habitat. The 3,450-acre Yolo Ranch is at the southern tip of Yolo County ad is in the Yolo Bypass, an environmentally sensitive region that is flooded occasionally by managers during high water on the Sacramento River. The area has been identified as a prime area to restore wetlands and provide spawning and rearing habitat for Delta smelt, Sacramento splittail and other fish. The voluntary move by the Westlands Water District could be followed by similar investments by the state's biggest water agencies to address the crumbling Delta ecosystem, a top district official said. The rationale is simple: water deliveries to Westlands and other water districts are increasingly threatened by the decline of the region's fish, especially Delta smelt, which are protected under state and federal endangered species laws. Restoring habitat for smelt to spawn and rear could increase the number of fish in the Delta and decrease the pressure on Delta water users. "There is a crisis in the Delta and the crisis is affecting a number of interests," said Tom Birmingham, Westlands' general manager. "Our intent in acquiring the property was to benefit Delta smelt . . . so the constraints on the Central Valley Project, which is our primary source of water, can be relaxed," Birmingham said. The announcement on Thursday surprised environmentalists who blame Westlands for much of the Delta's decline. They contend that because the irrigation district was formed late in the state water game, it has greatly increased the strain on the Delta's water supplies. The needs of the Delta ecosystem and water users up and down the state appear to have taken the Delta to a breaking point in recent years. One environmentalist, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance executive director Bill Jennings, suggested, implausibly, that Westlands should move its farms north to reduce the pumping of water out of the Delta. "The best thing Westlands could do to protect (fish) in the Delta is move wholesale up to the Sacramento Valley and fallow an equivalent amount of acreage that should never have experienced the plow," Jennings said. "Westlands has always been perceived as an agency that has been interested in obtaining water without regard for the environment," Birmingham said. "We hope this changes that." The purchase comes as Westlands and other water agencies are negotiating a Bay-Delta Conservation Plan which, if completed, could prevent further water supply cutbacks. In August, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled that Delta smelt were not being protected and that the Endangered Species Act required him to impose new restrictions on water pumping. # http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_7716550 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Sat Dec 15 10:55:58 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:55:58 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] For Westlands, Bollibokka and Now Part of Yolo County Message-ID: <002101c83f4c$21d17a60$0301a8c0@optiplex> Westlands Water District to Provide Habitat for Delta Smelt FRESNO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California farmers are coming to the aid of a tiny endangered fish, the Delta Smelt. The Westlands Water District announced today that it acquired property in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The District plans to restore natural tidal wetlands and upland habitat for the protection and conservation of listed species, including the smelt. "We're trying to solve a problem that is of critical importance, not just for agriculture but also for 25 million Californians who get drinking water and water for irrigation from supplies conveyed through and pumped from the Delta," said Tom Birmingham, General Manager of Westlands. As the smelt's numbers have declined, a federal court in California has ordered new restrictions on Central Valley Project and State Water Project operations that will result in massive water supply reductions, amounting to a loss of one-third of the water that is normally delivered from the Delta. Those deliveries are needed to supply billions of dollars worth of agricultural production in the Central Valley and meet the water needs of two-thirds of the state's residents. These restrictions are in addition to prior restrictions prescribed for the protection of the smelt and come on top of two years of an ongoing drought. As a result, many experts are predicting major losses for the state's economy and water shortages in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. "Saving the smelt is an issue of self-preservation for most of California," Birmingham said. "Regulation of the state's water supply projects alone hasn't worked, and as a public agency with responsibility for providing water for more than 500,000 acres of farmland, the District's Board of Directors decided we need to act directly to help solve a critical problem." "We recognize that water is a sensitive issue, in Yolo County as in the rest of the state," Birmingham said. "We plan to be a good neighbor in Yolo." The Delta property that Westlands acquired is in the area identified by state and federal fisheries experts as the prime location to create habitat for the smelt. Lying at the southernmost tip of Yolo County, the property is currently used for farming. Westlands plans to convert portions of the property to create habitat for the smelt and maintain the rest in agriculture. "The plight of the smelt is just one part of the problems facing the Delta," Birmingham pointed out. "We're working with other public water agencies, state and federal authorities, and the scientific community to define ways to restore the Delta, increase the reliability and adequacy of water deliveries, and ensure the safety of the public water supply. It is a complicated process, but everyone agrees that protecting the smelt is an essential element of any comprehensive plan for restoring the Delta and providing improved conveyance." About Westlands: The Westlands Water District serves a community of more than 600 families who farm some of the most productive agricultural lands in the world. Westlands is constantly changing to meet the needs of a dynamic marketplace, enhance the environment, expand the diversity of its crops and apply the most advanced irrigation techniques and technology for water conservation and long-term sustainable production. Westlands is the largest agricultural water district in the United States. It encompasses more than 600,000 acres in an area 15 miles wide and 70 miles long on the west side of California's Central Valley. To address chronic water supply shortages resulting from environmental regulations in the Delta Westlands has, at its own expense, fallowed nearly 100,000 acres. The value of the food and fiber produced by Westlands farmers currently totals $1 billion dollars a year and the regional economic activity generated by its operations exceeds $3.5 billion annually. Diversity is the key to the district's continuing prosperity. Twenty five years ago, for example, 79 percent of the district's lands were planted in cotton, wheat and other field crops. Today more than 61 percent of the district's lands are producing fruits and vegetables as well as permanent crops such as almonds, pistachios and grapes. Westlands is a world leader in water conservation. Scientific research and innovation keep Westlands at the cutting edge of new technology. From its inception, Westlands' distribution system has been fully enclosed, to eliminate losses from evaporation and leakage. Laser-levelling, computer-aided drip irrigation and the extensive use of global positioning systems help Westlands farmers achieve efficiencies of water use of 85 percent or more. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 383 9562 fax bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary) http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Dec 17 09:24:37 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:24:37 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Fish farms could push Pacific salmon to extinction: study Message-ID: <002301c840d5$66ef2720$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> Fish farms could push Pacific salmon to extinction: study By Scott Simpson Vancouver Sun December 13, 2007 Andy Clark/ReutersSockeye salmon turn red as they migrate home. A study released on Friday says that scenes like this could become increasingly rare if sea lice continue to decimate wild salmon populations. A groundbreaking scientific study has today established for the first time a large-scale and deadly link between fish farms and sea lice infestations that threatens to wipe out entire populations of wild Pacific salmon. An article to be published in Friday's edition of Science, one of the world's foremost scientific journals, says wild pink salmon runs on the British Columbia central coast will be extinct in as little as four years because of a cluster of salmon farms that are creating lethal infestations of sea lice in that area. The article's authors, including University of Alberta researcher Martin Krkosek and B.C.'s Alexandra Morton, looked at 37 years' worth of Fisheries and Oceans data for 71 central coast rivers and found that wild pink runs have comfortably withstood decades of commercial fishing -- but cannot survive fish farms. For full article: http://www.nationalpost.com/rss/story.html?id=166582 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 166587.bin?size=404x272 Type: application/octet-stream Size: 27103 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Dec 17 10:01:34 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:01:34 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Judge Issues Final Order to Protect Delta Smelt Message-ID: <007301c840da$f96b5bf0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> From: Dan Bacher Date: December 14, 2007 7:42:20 PM PST To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: Judge Issues Final Order to Protect Delta Smelt Judge Issues Final Order to Protect Delta Smelt by Dan Bacher In light of the continuing collapse of the Bay-Delta ecosystem, a federal judge's written order this Friday to protect delta smelt is very welcome good news for the California Delta and those who are battling to protect it. Judge Oliver Wanger of the U.S. District Court in Fresno today issued his final written order to put in place a decision he initially made on August 31. Environmental groups say this ruling will protect the smelt and the Bay-Delta Estuary ecosystem from "being further degraded by fresh water diversions." "Judge Wanger's order for more responsible operations of the Delta pumps comes in the nick of time for the delta smelt and the delta ecosystem," said Tina Swanson, senior scientist with The Bay Institute. "Results from this year's survey show that delta smelt numbers, as well as numbers for most of the other delta fishes collected by the survey, have fallen to a new record low. We have very little time left to save this species and its ecosystem." Annual exports in 2005 and 2006 were the first and third highest export levels on record. Wintertime exports have increased by 49 percent from 1994-1998 and 2001-2006 and springtime exports have increased by 30 percent. "Delta smelt are particularly vulnerable during winter and spring, when pre-spawning and spawning adults move into the delta for reproduction, and larvae and juveniles move downstream to rearing habitat," according to a press release from Earthjustice, NRDC and The Bay Institute. Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez), the former chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and author of several key water reform laws, also praised the judge's ruling this evening. "Today's order is a very important step in the effort to force California's water policy into compliance with the law," Miller said. "Nobody should be surprised by this order, nor should they be surprised to learn that the government must now take substantial steps to save the Delta and the Bay ecosystem." "The Bush administration has been warned that their negligence and their head-in-the-sand mentality would lead to a crisis, and it has. "Make no mistake: by sacrificing the Bay-Delta and discarding common sense, the water exporters have created a more uncertain and expensive future -- not just for the Bay-Delta but for the state and the people of California. "They interfered with the science, they refused to impose common sense solutions, and they broke the law. Today's order is a direct result of that accumulated neglect and that systematic interference with the science on which policy must be based." Again, it's great to receive some good news after a month of environmental disasters, including the San Francisco Bay oil spill, Prospect Island fish kill and the continuing crash of delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass, threadfin shad and other species, as documented by recent fall midwater trawl survey data. We must keep intense pressure on the state and federal governments to make sure that they abide by Judge Wanger's order! Here's the press release from NRDC, Earthjustice and The Bay Institute: For Immediate Release: 12/14/07 Craig Noble, NRDC 415-601-8235 (mobile) or 415-875-6100 (office) Brian Smith, Earthjustice 415-320-9384 Christina Swanson, The Bay Institute 530-756-9021 COURT FINALIZES ORDER TO PROTECT BAY-DELTA, SMELT AND WATER SUPPLY FOR MILLIONS OF CALIFORNIANS Plaintiffs Hope It's Not Too Late to Restore Ailing Estuary, as Biologists See Record Collapse in Fishery Numbers FRESNO, Calif. (December 14, 2007 6:00pm) - In a final written order issued late today, a federal judge in Fresno set new rules that will help protect the West Coast's largest estuary from being further degraded by fresh water diversions, according to conservation and fishing groups that sued to protect a tiny fish, the delta smelt. The final written order by Judge Oliver W. Wanger of the U.S. District Court in Fresno puts in place a decision he initially made on August 31. The judge's order in Case 1:05-cv-01207-OWW-GSA is available at http://www.earthjustice.org/library/legal_docs/delta-smelt-final-remedy- order.pdf The order follows a May 2007 decision that a government assessment of the risk to threatened fish from massive pumps in the San Francisco Bay Delta was illegal and must be rewritten. State and federal water project managers relied on the "biological opinion" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to justify increased water exports to farms and cities south of the delta. "This order, while not perfect, will help improve the health of the San Francisco Bay-Delta by allowing more fresh water to remain in the system," said Trent Orr of Earthjustice. "Whether we know it or not, every Californian depends on keeping the delta healthy, so doing everything we can to protect this resource is just common sense." The delta is the hub of California's water system, a vital component of the state's drinking water system and its fishing and agricultural economies. It is a recreational mecca and home to millions of Californians. "We hope this order will help stem the crash of the delta's fisheries and its ecosystem," said Kate Poole, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a plaintiff in the case. "Continuing to destroy the selta's ecosystem is not just bad for fish; it's bad for people." Scientists say that the delta smelt are an indicator of the health of the entire bay delta ecosystem, and are representative of a much larger decline in native delta fisheries, including striped bass, longfin smelt, threadfin shad, and others. The initial lawsuit to protect the delta smelt was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of NRDC, Friends of the River, California Trout, The Bay Institute, and Baykeeper. An Ecosystem on the Brink of Collapse The fall midwater trawl conducted by the California Department of Fish and Game counts delta fish species. The latest survey indicates that the collapse of the ecosystem is continuing. http://www.delta.dfg.ca.gov/data/mwt/charts.asp "Judge Wanger's order for more responsible operations of the Delta pumps comes in the nick of time for the delta smelt and the delta ecosystem," said Tina Swanson, senior scientist with The Bay Institute. "Results from this year's survey show that delta smelt numbers, as well as numbers for most of the other delta fishes collected by the survey, have fallen to a new record low. We have very little time left to save this species and its ecosystem." The recent decline of the delta smelt and other species coincides with huge increases in freshwater exports out of the delta by the state and federally operated water projects. Annual exports increased by 25 percent from 1994-1998 and 2001-2006, draining the delta of more than 1.2 million acre-feet of additional water. Annual exports in 2005 and2006 were the first and third highest export levels on record. Wintertime exports have increased by 49 percent from 1994-1998 and 2001-2006, and springtime exports have increased by 30 percent. Delta smelt are particularly vulnerable during winter and spring, when pre-spawning and spawning adults move into the delta for reproduction, and larvae and juveniles move downstream to rearing habitat. # # # -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Mon Dec 17 10:10:13 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:10:13 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Information on Trinity River Restoration Program Fishery Goals Message-ID: <007601c840db$00f857b0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> The attached documents are related to fishery restoration goals for the Trinity River Restoration Program. This will be a topic of discussion at the January Trinity Management Council meeting. Included are the following: 1. A Memo on TRRP Fishery Resources from the Fisheries Technical Appendix of the 1999 Mainstem Trinity River Fishery Restoration Draft EIS/EIR, which also has a page showing the TRRP's spawning escapement goals (from the 1999 DEIS/R) inserted at the beginning of this document. 2. A Draft White Paper on the Issue of establishing numeric fish harvest goals for the TRRP. The document was mostly prepared by George Kautsky of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, with some editing by me and others. If there is anything else relevant to this issue that you think others should see, please post it to the list server, or send it to me for posting. Sincerely, Tom Stokely Principal Planner Trinity Co. Planning/Natural Resources PO Box 2819 60 Glen Rd. Weaverville, CA 96093-2819 530-623-1351, Press 2-2-1 FAX 623-1353 tstokely at trinityalps.net or tstokely at trinitycounty.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Harvest Metric TRRP Final Draft for TMC 9.27.07.doc Type: application/msword Size: 38912 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: memo on TRRP Fish resources.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 239268 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Tue Dec 18 08:35:30 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 08:35:30 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Yolo County loses out to Central Valley water district Message-ID: <001601c84194$01ee2a50$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> My Opinion: I think that as Manager and General Counsel of Westlands Water District, Mr. Tom Birmingham would have been negligent if he hadn't explored the water rights of this parcel before he recommended that his Board of Directors approve the purchase. Tom Stokely ********************************************************************************************************** County loses out to Central Valley water district Daily Democrat 12/16/2007 10:02:39 AM PST At Issue: Sale of 3,450-acre ranch in Yolo County to 'protect' Delta smelt. http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_7737965?source=most_emailed Our Opinion: Purchase of wetlands may protect wildlife but it also means lost opportunity for Yolo County. That giant sucking sound you hear is Yolo County's water headed south into Fresno and Kings counties as a result of the purchase by Westlands Water District of a 3,450-acre ranch in the Yolo Bypass from farmer Duncan McCormack. The $12 million buy took county officials completely by surprise. "I first learned about it (Thursday) from a reporter," county spokeswoman Beth Gabor said Friday morning. "It was a private transaction so (the county has) no authority to weigh in, but we certainly would have liked the opportunity to communicate with (Westlands) before the deal was finalized." Westlands says it plans to convert portions of its new property - currently used for farming - to create habitat for Delta smelt and maintain the rest in agriculture. That sounds laudable enough, but what it also does is give the country's largest water district access to water flowing through the Yolo Bypass. What's worrisome is that Westlands has been criticized in the past by environmentalists for straining water resources and contributing to the Delta ecosystem's decline. Now Westland's general manger Tom Birmingham is saying that "Saving the smelt is an issue of self-preservation for most of California. Regulation of the state's water supply projects alone hasn't worked, and as a public agency with responsibility for providing water for more than 500,000 acres of farmland, the District's Board of Directors decided we need to act directly to help solve a critical problem." By restoring fish habitat and increasing the number of fish in the Delta, Westlands says it hopes to prevent further water-supply cutbacks, thereby decreasing the pressure on Delta water users. Westlands encompasses more than 600,000 acres of farmland in western Fresno and Kings counties and serves about 600 family-owned farms. The purchase of Yolo Ranch comes as Westlands and other major California water agencies are negotiating a conservation plan to meet new federal environmental protection requirements. That plan could include a new method of moving water around and through the Delta, and would require ecosystem restoration projects similar to those Westlands is proposing for Yolo Ranch. Of course, Yolo County had an opportunity to preserve its water supply through the acquistion of Conaway Ranch and its 17,300-acre property owned by the Conaway Preservation Group. That effort was stopped by an outcry over the county's threat of using eminent domain and in September 2006 a deal was reached which left the property in the hands of CPG, which is now at work on a $214 million project would work to enhance threatened fish habitat. Fifty years ago, Yolo County lost out on having a portion of control over water coming from the new Lake Berryessa with the construction of the Moncticello Dam. About two years ago, the county was stopped in its efforts to secure water rights on the the 17,300-acre Conaway Ranch. Last week, the county lost out on an opportunity to control 3,450-acre McCormack property. When is our county and the people in it going to recognize water is our lifeblood and we must treat it like gold? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Tue Dec 18 14:49:12 2007 From: srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org (Spreck Rosekrans) Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:49:12 -0500 Subject: [env-trinity] Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Praised by Steering Committee Member Message-ID: Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force Praised by Steering Committee Member FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Harnish, 510-290-5794 (cell) lharnish at environmentaldefense.org Spreck Rosekrans, 415-293-6050 or 510-393 4593 (cell) srosekrans at environmentaldefense.org Jesus Mena, 415-293-6097 or 415-948-4220 (cell) jemena at environmentaldefense.org (San Francisco - December 17, 2007) Governor Schwarzenegger's Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force has taken a giant step forward today by highlighting both the estuary's immediate and long-term priorities and the need to establish an independent governance structure to manage the state's water supplies while protecting the Delta itself. That's the conclusion of a leading environmental group that is a member of the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan steering committee, which is developing a long term plan in 2008 to protect and restore the Delta ecosystem while providing reliable water supply to California's farms and cities. "We applaud the Task Force's work, especially for acknowledging the irrefutable fact that water diversions are a major cause of the environmental collapse in the Delta and the recommendation that a revitalized Delta ecosystem will require a reduction in diversions," said Laura Harnish, Deputy Regional Director for Environmental Defense. "It will be essential to create a governance structure that integrates water supply decisions with the requirements of the Delta ecosystem. We look forward to working with the Task Force as it develops its implementation plan." Harnish said the most difficult task will be developing a comprehensive and fiscally responsible finance plan that protects public resources, while ensuring that stakeholders pay for the water supply benefits they receive. The next step for the Task Force is to develop an implementation plan, due to be completed in October 2008, which is expected to contain detailed recommendations for both governance and finance. The Delta is the largest estuary on the west coast and is home to more than 750 animal and plant species, including some that are listed for protection under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts. As much as 15% of California's total municipal and agricultural water supply passes through the Delta. The Delta's environment and communities, as well as the state's water supply system, are threatened by the Delta's notoriously weak levee system. The Task Force report lays out 12 "integrated and linked recommendations" and seven "near-term actions" as part of a restoration plan that may take a decade or more to complete. "The Task Force has identified near-term actions that are broadly supported and urgently needed," said Spreck Rosekrans, senior analyst for Environmental Defense. "These critical actions include repairing our most vulnerable levees to prevent a New Orleans-type catastrophe in the Delta and restoring habitat for fish, including endangered species, and wildlife. "The longer term recommendations related to conveyance alternatives and additional storage will require serious study," continued Rosekrans. "At this point, we know neither who would benefit from and pay for the proposed projects, nor how their operating guidelines would ensure that the environment would be protected from further harm. Discussing these essential parameters within a stakeholder forum is far preferable to making a commitment to build the projects through a bond proposal and arguing about the parameters later." ### Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 supporters. Since 1967, Environmental Defense has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. www.environmentaldefense.org If you would rather not receive future email messages from Environmental Defense, let us know by clicking here. Environmental Defense, 257 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 United States -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tstokely at trinityalps.net Fri Dec 21 13:58:30 2007 From: tstokely at trinityalps.net (Tom Stokely) Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:58:30 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] 2008 Trinity River Flow Scheduling Message-ID: <010201c8441c$a070a8d0$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rod Wittler" To: Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 9:48 AM Subject: 2008 Trinity River Flow Scheduling > The Trinity River Restoration Program is scheduling two flow scheduling > meetings for the 2008 water year. Please reserve these dates on your > calendar if you are interested in participating in the flow scheduling > process. > > Flow Schedule Meeting #1 - February 25, 2008 - Weaverville - TRRP Large > Conference Room > Flow Schedule Meeting #2 - April 9, 2008 - Yurok Tribal Center - > Weitchpec > > More information will follow as these dates approach. Pass this email > on to anyone not in this original distribution. > > In the meantime, hope for lots of rain and snow! > > Rodney J. Wittler, Ph.D., P.E. > Senior Scientist > Technical Modeling and Analysis Group > Trinity River Restoration Program > P.O. Box 1300 > or > 1313 S. Main St. > Weaverville, CA 96093 > > (530) 623-1800/1801 Office/Desk > (530) 262-3670 Mobile > (530) 623-5944 Fax > rjwittler at mp.usbr.gov > > From TBedros765 at aol.com Fri Dec 21 15:31:48 2007 From: TBedros765 at aol.com (TBedros765 at aol.com) Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:31:48 EST Subject: [env-trinity] $3M addition for Trinity River/Hoopa reaction Message-ID: Media Contacts: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 ext. 161 Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13 Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121 HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE COMMENDS CONGRESS FOR ADDING $3 MILLION TO RESTORATION FUNDS FOR THE TRINITY RIVER ? BUT WORFIES PRESIDENT MIGHT RENEGE Hoopa, Calif. ? The Hoopa Valley Tribe of northern California announced today the Congressional 2008 Omnibus spending bill added $3 million for the restoration of the Trinity River that bisects their reservation. ?After a long and tense debate about funds for the Trinity River, we are pleased to see both houses authorizing needed money for restoration of the Trinity River,? said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. ?This is a victory for California?s North Coast citizens because the Trinity River is one of the most important salmon producing rivers in the state. If the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) uses this money appropriately we can get the restoration project back on track.? Marshall issued special thanks to California Senator Dianne Feinstein, Representatives Mike Thompson, George Miller and other House members. The added $3 million in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, should mean next year?s Trinity River restoration budget will be $11,005,000. ?We welcome infusion of these funds, but it is just a one-year patch,? said Marshall. ?The federal government is seven years behind schedule and only spending half of what it should on the restoration of the river.? He predicted more budget battles in coming years to complete the restoration project. ?We will know the job is finished when tribal, commercial, and sport fisheries are harvesting fish populations in numbers that existed prior to construction of the Trinity River dams,? said Hoopa fisheries director Michael Orcutt. President Bush cast a cloud of uncertainty over the fate of the added funds when he announced yesterday he had instructed his budget director to find ways to roll back funding on a number of projects in the Omnibus bill. The Washington Post reported White House aides said, ?One option would be to ignore the vast majority of earmarks that are included only in conference reports rather than in the appropriations bill itself.? The Trinity funds are in the conference report. The BOR has repudiated conference report directives before and denied funds to the Hoopa Valley Tribe to participate in the restoration program. The Department of the Interior and the White House Office Management and Budget have not responded to tribal requests for assurances the administration will honor the funding increase for Trinity restoration. ?We won?t be able to rest until we see the money in the program,? said Marshall. This year the tribe faced the added budget challenge of competing with legislation to restore the San Joaquin River. The Bush Administration had requested $7.5 million for the San Joaquin, but the House Committee on Rules noted, ? Legislation for the San Joaquin River Restoration fund was not enacted by Congress.? Instead the committee directed the $7.5 million to the Trinity River ($3 million), Sacramento River Fish Screens ($2,952,000), and the Anadromous Fish Screen Program ($1,548,000), all authorized by Congress in l992. The Hoopa Valley Tribe had expressed concerns about how funding for San Joaquin could affect Trinity River restoration. ?River restoration is a good thing throughout California,? said Marshall, ?but Congress must continue to search for a way to re-water and fund the San Joaquin without undermining other Central Valley Project restoration programs.? Marshall said the federal government has ?promises to keep? for fishery restoration. ?Federal funding for the Trinity River needs to be pledged now because conditions have worsened for the Trinity and Klamath fishery.? Marshall said the Trinity River is the mainstay of Klamath River fish propagation. ?If the Trinity River goes down, so goes fishing for native people, sports fishermen and the commercial fishing industry for 900 miles of the Northern California and Oregon coastline. The San Joaquin will take decades to restore. Funding for the Trinity River will produce immediate benefits for the coastal communities that currently rely on the salmon.? The Hoopa Valley Tribe has been critical of the BOR?s administration of the Trinity River restoration program, noting the project is seven years behind schedule and only funded at about half of what it should be. The federal government began diverting Trinity River waters to the Central Valley in l964, but promised enough water would be retained for the river?s fish and wildlife. Since then the BOR has allowed up to 90 percent of the river?s water to be diverted to the Central Valley. In the l980s Congress recognized the diversion had caused an 80 percent reduction in salmon populations and began cooperative studies with the Hupas. In 1992, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act mandated environmental restoration of California rivers harmed by commercial water users. In 2000, a Record of Decision agreement was signed by the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the Department of the Interior for meeting federal trust responsibilities to restore and maintain the Hoopa Valley Tribe?s fishery. Since then the tribe has had to litigate against Central Valley interests opposed to giving up water for fishery restoration, and fight for restoration monies from the BOR. - 30 - ************************************** See AOL's top rated recipes (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: $3 Million PR copy.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 27934 bytes Desc: not available URL: From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Dec 27 10:10:23 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron) Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:10:23 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] FW: Environmental Documents Available for Renewal of 15 Interim Water Service Contracts Message-ID: <001f01c848b3$c0563480$0301a8c0@optiplex> -----Original Message----- From: Louis Moore [mailto:wmoore at mp.usbr.gov] Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2007 9:46 AM To: bwl3 at comcast.net Subject: Environmental Documents Available for Renewal of 15 Interim Water Service Contracts Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region Sacramento, CA MP-07-171 Media Contact: Jeffrey McCracken 916-978-5100 jmccracken at mp.usbr.gov For Release On: December 27, 2007 Environmental Documents Available for Renewal of 15 Interim Water Service Contracts The Bureau of Reclamation announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and the Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed renewal of 15 interim water service contracts. The proposed interim contracts would extend delivery of Central Valley Project (CVP) water for a term of 2 years, and could deliver up to 173,440 acre-feet of CVP water. The Draft EA and FONSI were prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and are available for a 30-day public review and comment period. Reclamation has tentatively determined that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required before entering into the proposed interim renewal contracts. The documents are available online at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=2958. Interim water service contractors covered under these draft documents are: City of Tracy, Westlands Water District Distribution Districts No. 1 and 2, Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency, Santa Clara Valley Water District, County of Fresno, Hills Valley Irrigation District, Kern-Tulare Water District, Lower Tule River Irrigation District, Pixley Irrigation District, Rag Gulch Water District, Tri-Valley Water District, and the County of Tulare. Written comments on the Draft EA should be received by close of business Monday, January 28, 2008, and should be sent to Mrs. Judi Tapia, Bureau of Reclamation, South-Central California Area Office, 1243 N Street, SCC-413, Fresno, CA 93721, or e-mailed to jtapia at mp.usbr.gov. For additional information, or to request a copy of the documents, please contact Mrs. Tapia at 559-487-5138, TDD 559-487-5933. If you encounter problems accessing documents online, please contact Ms. Lynnette Wirth at 916-978-5102 or lwirth at mp.usbr.gov. # # # From bwl3 at comcast.net Thu Dec 27 11:23:28 2007 From: bwl3 at comcast.net (Byron Leydecker) Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:23:28 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity $3 Mil Message-ID: <1A6566996B70446790AAD057909C20B4@ByronsLaptop> According to an informed source in D.C., the additional $3 mil for Trinity for FY08 survived in Bush's signing yesterday of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Byron Leydecker Friends of Trinity River, Chair California Trout, Inc., Advisor PO Box 2327 Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327 415 383 4810 415 519 4810 cell bwl3 at comcast.net bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org http://www.fotr.org http://www.caltrout.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From michelle_clark at dot.ca.gov Thu Dec 27 12:14:06 2007 From: michelle_clark at dot.ca.gov (Michelle Clark) Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:14:06 -0800 Subject: [env-trinity] Michelle Clark is out of the office. Message-ID: I will be out of the office starting 12/25/2007 and will not return until 01/02/2008. Happy Holidays