[env-trinity] Coalition Media Release- Trinity River “Restoration” Program Wastes Money, Degrades Environment

[Tom Stokely]

Tom Stokely

Water Policy Analyst/Media Contact
California Water Impact Network
V/FAX 530-926-9727
Cell 530-524-0315
tstokely at att.net
http://www.c-win.org


http://www.c-win.org/content/media-release-coalition-says-trinity-river-“restoration”-program-wastes-money-degrades-envir  


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Date: January 23, 2014
 
For:  Immediate Release
 
 Trinity River “Restoration” Program Wastes
Money, Degrades Environment
 
Channel Rehabilitation Work  Falls Flat on Multiple Counts 
 
A coalition of 21 groups and individuals led by the California Water
Impact Network (C-WIN) is asking the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP)
to put all “channel rehabilitation” projects on hold pending a  thorough review. 
 
The group noted in a letter that the projects are causing rather than
mitigating environmental harm, that necessary watershed rehabilitation projects
are underfunded due to the channel revamping efforts, and that a new county
bridge is needed at Bucktail because of higher fishery flows that have
undermined the structure.  
 
The project’s channel rehabilitation work consists of bulldozing the
river’s edge to create juvenile salmon habitat, an activity equivalent to a
clear-cut on a Wild and Scenic River (see link to photo below). 
 
An embargoed draft report by the TRRP’s Science Advisory Board (see
link below) found that the benefits of the mainstem projects to salmon are not
significant, and that the program has veered significantly from the intent
described in the 2000 Trinity River Record of Decision.  Tens of millions of dollars have been spent
on the mainstem projects with few results and multiple negative impacts,
including turbidity,  the spread of  noxious weeds, reduction in public access,
noise, truck traffic, impacts to agricultural water systems, and the filling of
adult steelhead holding habitat.
 
 “The 2000 Trinity River Record
of Decision (Trinity ROD) called for a break in these projects to evaluate them
before more mainstem work is done,” said Tom Stokely, an analyst for C-WIN.
“The Science Board’s draft report clearly shows that the expected benefits of
these projects have not materialized.  Spending millions more public dollars on these projects cannot be
justified at this time.” 
 
Zeke Grader, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen’s Associations, concurred with Stokely, noting that “the Trinity
River Restoration Program has produced scant results for the ‘boatloads’ of
money that have been invested.”
 
“We’ve got to do better,” said Grader. “That money should have been
spent on reviving our fisheries through watershed and tributary restoration.
That’s where we’ll get real results.”
 
Steve Townzen with the Trinity River Guides Association said the
projects have “decimated much of the “adult steelhead holding habitat upstream
of Douglas City.” 
 
 “Bucktail is one of the last
good holes left in that part of the river,” said Townzen.   “A new Bucktail Bridge should be built
before any other mainstem alterations occur.  They also propose eliminating the existing public access to the river at
Bucktail, moving it downstream.  The
proposed Bucktail project will be a disaster for the river, the fish and the
public.”
 
Barbara Vlamis with AquAlliance of Chico said the Science Advisory
Board’s report nullifies agency attempts to justify the projects.  
 
“The Science Board said that “increases in juvenile rearing habitat
were not statistically significant” from channel rehabilitation projects
and that the program’s “formal scientific hypothesis testing is frequently
lacking,” observed Vlamis.  “The
Bureau of Reclamation is being dishonest with the public when they claim the
benefits outweigh the 25 significant impacts from these projects.” 
 
Gary Graham-Hughes of the Environmental Protection Information Center
(EPIC) in Arcata said a full environmental review based on current conditions
in the river must be conducted before the North Coast Regional Water Quality
Control Board allows further restoration work.
 
“Public participation is crucial for developing real solutions, and we
also need a couple of wet years to see if the existing projects will provide
any benefits,” said Graham-Hughes.  “There is plenty of habitat restoration work to do in the watersheds and
tributaries below the dam. Those tributaries will become increasingly important
as salmon refugia if Trinity Lake reaches dead pool and the river dries up from
continued drought.”
 
Bill Jennings of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance said
the projects evoke another troubling “conservation” effort – the Bay Delta
Conservation Plan.
 
“If the Trinity River Restoration Program is any indication of how the
Bay Delta Conservation Plan will use Science and Adaptive Management to
‘restore’ the Delta ecosystem, we’re in deep trouble.” Jennings said. “We can’t
promote environmental destruction under the rubric of conservation.  It’s dishonest, it’s catastrophic for
fisheries and wildlife, and it’s an affront to the public that pays for these
boondoggles.” 
 
Other signatories to the letter are the Northcoast Environmental
Center, AquAlliance, Friends of the Eel River, Trinity Lake Revitalization
Alliance, Safe Alternatives for our Forest Environment, Trinity Fly Shop, Butte
Environmental Council, California Environmental Water Caucus, Trinity River
Outfitters, Gold Coast Guide and Shuttle Service, Trinity River Adventures,
Sweet Trinity Guide Service, Steve’s Trinity River Guide Service, Tiger T’s
Guide Service, Kristi Bevard, Michael Caranci and Clark Tuthill.
 
The coalition’s recommendations are contained in a comment letter to
the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Bureau of
Reclamation.
 
 #
 
Contacts:
Tom Stokely, California Water Impact Network 530-926-9727 cell 524-0315 www.c-win.org
Zeke Grader, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations 415-561-5080 www.pcffa.org
Steve Townzen, Trinity River Guides Association 530-623-2112 http://trinityriverguidesassociation.com 
Barbara Vlamis, AquAlliance 530-895-9420 cell 530-519-7468 www.aqualliance.net
Gary Graham-Hughes, Environmental Protection Information Center
707-822-7711 www.wildcalifornia.org
Bill Jennings, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance 209-464-5067
cell 938-9053 www.calsport.org
 
Links:
Coalition Letter: http://www.c-win.org/webfm_send/410
“Review of the Trinity River Restoration Program’s Channel
Rehabilitation Strategy”: http://trinityriverguidesassociation.com/4-14-2013-wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/TRRP-Phase-1-Draft-Review-copy.pdf
Photograph of Trinity River Chanel Rehabilitation Project: http://www.c-win.org/webfm_send/417
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