[env-trinity] Trinity Journal- River dwellers share views at Lewiston meeting

[Paul Catanese]

Whoever Joshua is I have to say you have hit the nail on the head and confirmed everyone's fears. That fear that man himself rather than nature would dictate what transpires on this river. Moreover, a few select men who by and large do not live here or own property here would decide what's good for others based on the little knowledge they actually have about restoring a river. This year we will have close to a record return return of salmon having little to do with any restoration effort other than water. Seems to me that plenty of spawning has taken place in spite of man made efforts.

Whatever caused this should be duplicated over and over because it worked. Bulldozers and gravel or man did not create the huge run we are predicting mother nature did along with restricting commercial fishing.i will bet you curtailing tribal fishing will also lead too more fish. There is not enough time in the day to address what should or shouldn't be done on this river and frankly the less that's done the more success will be achieved. Keep in mind we are going to have a record return of fish with no connection to bulldozers and gravel, just water. Peace love I am going fishing.

On Apr 17, 2012, at 11:35 AM, "Joshua Allen" <trinityjosh at gmail.com<mailto:trinityjosh at gmail.com>> wrote:

Ok, just for discussion related purposes; I'm going to play devil's advocate for a moment. A lot of people keep complaining about the gravel and holes being filled in between Lewiston and Douglas City. This has a lot to do, as I see it, with  a lack of fishing areas, and the river drastically changing from what it was in the past. Like it was reported, "...need to stop man-ipulating the river" and "what time period is the program trying to capture".

Though as I see it, it is not possible to not stop manipulating the river, because there is no period in the river's history that is trying to be captured. Instead a brand new section is being created that never existed before. The river has already manipulated to death since the dams were put up in the first place.

~ Is not the whole point of the program is to create a stretch of river between Lewiston and Douglas City that mimics upstream spawning conditions lost by the dams?
~ If so, isn't it then required that the holes and areas between those two communities be filled in flat with smaller pools behind them to provide spawning habitat so redds can be laid and juveniles have shallows to be raised in?
~ If the area in question does not have uniform flat areas for natural spawning of salmonids, instead has huge holes like it did in the past, then spawning can not occur, areas to raise juveniles is limited, and what is left is a dependence upon the hatchery for production?
~ Since this area is meant for spawning and raising of juveniles, does it also not make sense to provide shade cover, like the upper reaches, for said juveniles?
~ Would it also not make sense to limit access to that stretch of river for sport fishing/recreation and instead move such areas out of redds and habitat areas to more appropriate places downstream where there are holes for holding? (i.e potential for Douglas City and Junction City to become the "new" fishing and financial resource areas of the county, while Lewiston focuses on dam related recreation activities.)
~ Should not people be the ones that must adapt to these changes since the fish have already had to adapt to huge changes in their environment with the installation of the dams which provides positive benefits to humans that are negative to natural salmonid production?
~ Isn't the whole point of the program to increase natural production while reducing man-ipulated hatchery production?
~ Can't anyone associated with the program just come out with this "secret" to the public through the participatory process in a way they can understand?

I know, blasphemy! But to me, it seems like no one will be happy, because humans are unwilling to adapt to necessary changes, and instead are more focused on the human concepts of recreational use and money. Just my two cents. Though I would be interested in hearing from someone more knowledgeable about the needs of fish, who can answer these questions, and how humans can adapt to these requirements of a changing environment.

2012/4/12 Tom Stokely <tstokely at att.net<mailto:tstokely at att.net>>
http://www.trinityjournal.com/sports/outdoors/article_dcf01834-83e8-11e1-9634-0019bb30f31a.html
River dwellers share views at Lewiston meeting

By Amy Gittelsohn The Trinity Journal | Posted: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 8:15 am

Appreciation of the Trinity River and its wildlife was a common theme last week at the second in a series of outreach meetings, this one held in Lewiston, to get public input on the Trinity River Restoration Program.

A small group of about a dozen people attended the meeting April 4 at One Maple Winery put on by the Trinity County Resource Conservation District, under contract with the restoration program. The meeting was run by RCD employees Alex Cousins and Donna Rupp, and contractor Jeff Morris, who made clear they were not representatives of the restoration program but were there to bring concerns and questions back to agencies involved in the program.

>From Napa, Al Lilleberg said he has been visiting Lewiston four to five days a month since he was a teenager, and the river was basically his biology lab in college majoring in biology. The river has declined since construction of Trinity and Lewiston dams in the early 1960s, according to Lilleberg.

"I quit fishing because the river is dead," Lilleberg said. "I know people fish in it all the time, but it's dead by comparison."

Lilleberg said when the sun went down and fish were jumping for food, "you couldn't count fish fast enough … You might not see one now."

Several residents expressed concerns about restoration program activities.

Tom and Diane Gannon questioned the planting of willows which make the river less accessible.

"Somebody -- in my estimate -- is insane," Tom Gannon said, noting that at one time the program goal was to push the vegetation back.

"They did that," he said, "and now they've replanted where they pushed it back."

"Pre-dam there weren't all the willows they just planted," he said.

Describing herself as a "river lifer," Lewiston resident and County Administrative Officer Wendy Tyler said, "The river is the lifeblood of our county."

She spoke of the importance of the river for recreation and economic development, saying, "restoration is important – but it must be balanced."

Her husband, Bob Tyler, shared a concern that has come up repeatedly over the past year – that spawning gravels added to the river have filled in holes adult fish use.

Bob Tyler said he's fished along the river since childhood (the late ‘70s to early ‘80s), and "you'd come home with five salmon or two or three steelhead."

Below the Lewiston Bridge the hole was so deep, he said, "you used to be able to jump off the bridge into that hole. You can't do that anymore."

Others said the river is "not dead" and continues to support a variety of wildlife — particularly in comparison to other rivers.

"This is one of the best rivers left. We have a chance," said Dale Davey, who lives part time in Lewiston.

Davey said the Trinity River Record of Decision which increased Trinity River flows is the most important way to restore the river.

Under the Record of Decision river flows are determined based on water-year type, but over multiple years 49 percent of inflow to Trinity Lake is to be released to the river and 51 percent available for diversion and Central Valley Project use.

"That's the thing we can never let bury," he said. "That's what's helping recover the river and recover the fish."

"Let the water flow do it," Davey said. "Eventually, we've got to stop bulldozing and injecting gravel and say, 'We're going to stop man-ipulating the stream.'"

Regarding the river flows and the Record of Decision, Lilleberg said, "We are facing a challenge. The four biggest farms in California can crack that law."

Supporters of the river must be "rabid" about how rivers function, he said.

The audience also asked about goals of the program, what time frame the program is attempting to recapture in the river's history, and if there will be an endpoint to the mechanical restoration projects. County Sup. Judy Pflueger requested that the answers be "in terms we understand."

>From the RCD, Morris said written answers to the questions would be provided within 30 days.

Also, several more outreach meetings in communities along the river are planned. The locations, dates and times will be announced.

The outreach meetings began after the Trinity River Guide Association and California Water Impact Network requested a moratorium on channel restoration projects until a scientific review of earlier projects is complete. Gravel injections were of particular concern to the guides, and the restoration program has since announced that no gravel injections are planned for this year.

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