[env-trinity] Trinity Journal: Yurok Tribe says river projects must move forward

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.trinityjournal.com/news/environment/article_ce543bfa-9919-11e3-a51d-001a4bcf6878.html 

Yurok Tribe says river projects must move forward
Amy Gittelsohn The Trinity Journal | Posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 6:15 am
There has been some pushback to a formal request that two pending Trinity River channel rehabilitation projects be stopped short until fuller environmental studies are done.
Yurok Tribal Chairman Thomas O'Rourke responded to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and Trinity River Restoration Program regarding comments from a coalition of environmental groups, fishing guides and landowners along the Trinity River about the Bucktail and Lower Junction City projects.
The projects are to include in-river work to increase salmon and steelhead habitat by creating slow-water refuge areas and work to allow the river to spread onto its floodplain. The project at Bucktail in Lewiston would include a side channel and placement of habitat features including logjams.
The Lower Junction City project is proposed for construction in 2014, while the Bucktail project could be scheduled for 2015.
O'Rourke expressed concern that river restoration to restore the fishery is being undermined in an effort to direct more money to work in the watersheds.
But from the California Water Impact Network that signed the coalition letter, Tom Stokely noted that the Trinity River Record of Decision called for $1.8 million a year to be spent on watershed restoration.
"Best they've ever gotten is $600,000," he said.
O'Rourke noted that the Yurok Tribe is the single largest harvester of Klamath River fish, including fish from the Klamath's largest tributary, the Trinity River.
Full implementation of the Trinity River Record of Decision in 2000 was delayed until 2005 because of legal challenges, O'Rourke stated.
He takes aim at a number of statements in the coalition letter, particularly those referencing a Science Advisory Board's draft review of the first phase of Trinity River projects. The draft report contains inaccuracies, has not undergone technical review and should not have been cited in the coalition letter, O'Rourke stated.
Furthermore, he said, "the coalition letter used information from the report inaccurately and out of context, to portray a biased view regarding the success of ongoing TRRP activities."
"The authors of the coalition letter focus solely on creation of new baseflow rearing habitat; this indicates a poor understanding of the role of habitat in fish production," O'Rourke said. "Total rearing habitat at baseflow is but one small aspect in the role of habitat in fish production."
He also objected to the coalition's argument comparing a program goal of a 400 percent increase in juvenile rearing habitat to the Science Advisory Board draft report findings of an annual increase of only 1.2 to 1.6 percent a year in rearing habitat.
"This number has been vastly misused and is not a goal of the TRRP," O'Rourke said, adding that the comparison using baseflow does not provide context in regard to how the program is progressing toward meeting goals.
To much of this, Stokely responded that the environmental analysis documents released in December for the projects should be withdrawn and reworked when the Science Advisory Board's final report is finished, possibly at the end of March.
If further information is needed for habitat created at higher river flows, "that's fine," Stokely said. "Let's get the final report and clarify that."
O'Rourke asked that there be a finding of no significant impact for the projects.
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