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

Sun Dec 12 22:25:11 PST 2010

Greetings, Moira.The Friends of Trinity List will be closed down at the end
of the year.  The Env-Trinity List will continue into the foreseeable
future, paid for by an advance payment from FOTR (or me). 

Byron

From: env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
[mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us] On Behalf Of Moira
Burke
Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2010 9:56 PM
To: Amey Miller
Cc: FOTR List; Trinity List; env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us;
MaryEllen Mueller
Subject: Re: [env-trinity] [FOTR] Trinity Journal 12/8/10

Not sure about this, Amey.  Are you saying that Trinity List
<env-trinity at mailman.dcn.org> will be shut down?  The info. from Byron has
been invaluable to me in following the Delta issue.  Please let me know.

Thank you.

Moira

M o i r a  B u r k e

tel 707 678 3591  

On Dec 12, 2010, at 3:19 PM, Amey Miller wrote:

What Mary Ellen and Frank said!  I wonder if some have not yet signed up for
the other list because they can't quite believe they need to!  Byron's
updates have been one of the hearts of my email life, and have definitely
impacted my understanding of California's ongoing environmental crises.
Many thanks to Byron& All Best to the FOTR family.     Amey Miller

On Dec 9, 2010, at 5:47 PM, Frank Emerson wrote:

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,  <http://www.c-win.org/>
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 
 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net 
 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary) 
 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

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