[env-trinity] [FOTR] Trinity Journal 12/8/10

[Frank Emerson]

What MaryEllen said! And Happy Holidays to everyone at FOTR.

Thanks so much Byron.

Frank Emerson
CRSA
(831) 277-0544

On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 2:24 PM, MaryEllen Mueller <mmueller at usgs.gov> wrote:

>
> Thank you Byron for everything you have done to get us where we are today
> on the Trinity River.  You have been a tireless warrior and have
> accomplished so much.  It is much appreciated and I hope you will always
> stay involved and keep an eye on things.  Sincerely, Mary Ellen Mueller
>
>
>
> Mary Ellen Mueller, Ph.D.
> Research Manager,WERC
> 3020 State University Drive East
> Modoc Hall, Suite 3006
> Sacramento, CA 95819
> Office: 916 278 9572
> mmueller at usgs.gov
>
>
>   From: "Byron Leydecker" <bwl3 at comcast.net> To: "FOTR List" <
> fotr at mailman.dcn.org>, "Trinity List" <env-trinity at mailman.dcn.org> Date: 12/09/2010
> 01:53 PM Subject: [env-trinity] Trinity Journal 12/8/10 Sent by:
> env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> ------------------------------
>
>
>
> *Friends of Trinity River draws to a close *
> BY AMY GITTELSOHN THE TRINITY JOURNAL
>
>  *Friends of Trinity River, founded to protect and restore the river and
> its tributaries, has announced it will cease operations. *
>
>  *The organization’s founder and board chairman, Byron Leydecker of Mill
> Valley, said the group which has about 1,700 members has accomplished many
> objectives. *
>
>  *“I am 83 years old and that figures into it,” he added. “There is no
> successor lined up here.” *
>
>  *You could say Leydecker jumped right into Trinity River issues. It
> started on a steelhead fishing trip in 1992 when he got stuck in sediments
> like “quicksand” from a restoration project going on upstream and had to be
> rescued. Leydecker found such projects to be irrational, and with a group of
> like-minded citizens started the predecessor organization to Friends of
> Trinity River which put a stop to channel projects until full environmental
> reports and the 2000 Trinity River Record of Decision were completed. *
>
>  *Friends of Trinity River has also worked with the restoration program
> and was instrumental in obtaining funding for the bridge replacements that
> have allowed higher Trinity River flows. *
>
>  *Members also helped to reauthorize the original restoration program that
> expired in 1994. *
>
>  *Another member of the Friends of Trinity River board, retired Trinity
> County senior resource planner Tom Stokely, had high praise for Leydecker
> although their first conversation was heated. *
>
>  *“Actually, the first time I met Byron he called me on the phone. It was
> in the summer of 92 and he immediately started yelling at me,” Stokely said.
> It was after the fishing trip which wound up with Leydecker stuck in the
> mud. *
>
>  *“He was not very popular with the restoration program,” Stokely said,
> but he added the resulting full environmental study for the program likely
> made former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt’s Trinity River decision
> possible. The decision returned almost half of the river’s pre-dam water
> flows to the river. *
>
>  *Leydecker added that members have helped to increase the certainty of
> the river retaining that water by commenting on many environmental
> assessments, statements and reports, and have educated officials and the
> public. *
>
>  *“Byron’s done a great job,” Stokely said, adding that he’s hopeful
> Leydecker will have more time to do things for the river without the burden
> of administrative duties. *
>
>  *Both Stokely and Leydecker said there are still issues to be addressed.
> *
>
>  *One goal is to get the Bureau of Reclamation’s water permits for the
> Trinity River, which allow a minimum annual flow down the river of only
> 120,000 acre-feet, amended to reflect the Record of Decision which calls for
> much higher flows even in a critically dry year. *
>
>  *The decision also calls for $2 million annually for work on the Trinity
> River’s watersheds and tributaries where steelhead and coho spawn. The
> amount spent for that is currently $500,000, and Friends of Trinity River
> lobbied to get it up to that amount. *
>
>  *They also want to see use of independent science review panels, as
> called for in the Record of Decision, to study projects on the river both
> before and after they are completed. *
>
>  *Leydecker is also concerned that the Trinity Management Council’s direct
> connection to the Interior Secretary in times of disagreement has been
> shifted to lower level employees. *
>
>  *Leydecker said he still plans to be involved with Trinity River issues,
> and members can still accomplish their aims without the paperwork to
> maintain a corporation. *
>
>  *He is working to turn over remaining Friends of Trinity River funds of
> about $10,000 to the California Water Impact Network (C-WINN) with the
> provision that they be used exclusively for advancement of Trinity River
> restoration. The goal is to have river Friends operations closed down by the
> end of the year, Leydecker said. *
>
>  *He recommends any members wishing to stay involved with the Trinity
> River consider C-WIN, which has a Web site, **www.c-win.org*<http://www.c-win.org/>
> *. *
> * *
> * *
> *Byron Leydecker, JcT*
> *Chair, Friends of Trinity River*
> *PO Box 2327*
> *Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327*
> *415 383 4810 land*
> *415 519 4810 mobile*
> *bwl3 at comcast.net* <bwl3 at comcast.net>
> *bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org* <bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org>* **
> (secondary)*
> *http://www.fotr.org* <http://fotr.org/>* *
>
>
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