[env-trinity] Trinity Journal Article - River concerns: TMC considers controversial winter flow proposal today

[Tom Stokely]

This article was published on Wednesday.  TS


River concerns: TMC considers controversial winter flow proposal today
   
   
   - By AMY GITTELSOHN T​​he Trinity Journal
    
   -  Dec 6, 2017
A Trinity River Restoration Program proposal for several peak water releases to the river in late winter and early spring comes before the Trinity Management Council today, Dec. 6.The TMC meeting starts at 9 a.m. The winter flows portion of the discussion is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. Time has been added for public comment after the winter flow presentation and before the vote, said Caryn Huntt DeCarlo, executive director of the restoration program.The meeting will be at the restoration program office at 1313 South Main St., near Tops Super Foods, in Weaverville.The staff proposal is for variable flows in the coming months when typically the release from Lewiston Dam to the Trinity River is kept at 300 cubic feet per second.The draft recommendation includes three pulse flow releases between February and April 2018 with a one-day ramp up to a maximum flow release of 1,800 cfs to be held for five hours starting in the late afternoon, then gradually ramping back down to 300 cfs over five days. Peak flows are scheduled on Tuesdays (Feb. 6, March 13, and April 10). The recommendation would shift the release of 20,000 acre-feet of water from later flows to this time period, so it would not increase the overall annual allocation to the river.The proposal has drawn protests over the impact on steelhead fishing and late notice to fishing guides and hotels that already have reservations from anglers.Restoration program staff explained the “why” and “what” of the project at a public meeting last Thursday, but were vague on the “when,” which they initially said was still being hammered out and would not be available until today’s TMC meeting. Responding to Thursday’s comments, on Friday they shared a proposed, draft hydrograph.The higher releases will bring more food to naturally spawned steelhead and salmon fry at an important time, fish biologists with the program said.The fry emerge from the spawning gravels during the time period targeted. Their food is bugs, and it’s important they grow enough to have a better shot at making the long migration out to the sea, said fisheries biologist Kyle De Juilio.“Salmon and steelhead hold in place and food passes by and they pluck it,” he said. “We want to increase the amount of food passing by.”By boosting flows to as high as 1,800 cfs instead of keeping them at 300 cfs, items such as leaves wash in and certain types of bugs go after them, De Juilio said. Other bugs get swept into the river as well, adding to the food supply.The proposed flow increase would affect fishing.According to the presentation, above Rush Creek the waters would be too high for wade fishing on two to three days of each month during the 80-day period of implementation. It would be too high for drift boat fishing on one to two days of each month, though some in the audience felt those numbers were too low. No predictions are made as to when the river will be fishable below Rush Creek due to added waters from tributaries.It was noted that the pulses would be scheduled during weekdays and would not be so high that the Trinity PowerPlant turbines would need to be bypassed.Results of the project are to be monitored, with drift samples taken to see what is in the water and gastric lavage on small fish to determine what they’ve been eating.Most of the responses to the plan ranged from skeptical to irate.However, fishing guide Matt Dover was generally supportive of the plan, saying increasing the food for fish will be a good thing.When questions were raised about just how well the program is doing at restoring the fisheries, Dover said, “As a fishing guide I’m seeing more and more fish spawning in the mainstem than I have ever seen.”Fishing guide Lonnie Boles had another perspective.“We’re forfeiting our income for two months because of this,” an angry Boles said, demanding to know if restoration staff would forego their salaries for two months.Boles was upset with the short notice for a plan the program has been working on for over a year.“I’m backed against the wall,” he said. “I want direct answers. I want to make a living.”From Indian Creek Lodge, Mary Perkins said the two days of the week the river won’t be fishable during each peak is significant. “If you asked the mill to shut down two days a week it would affect a lot of things,” she said, asking if that’s reasonable.Dover responded, “It is if you can have the mill long-term.”Trinity County Chamber of Commerce President Wayne Agner said details on the proposal were insufficient. Not having the proposed hydrograph with specifics of when the flow will be increased until the decision is being made gives the public “zero time” to weigh in, he said. (The draft proposed hydrograph has since been distributed).Agner also said he’s heard from a number of hotel owners that people are already making reservations for that time period.The owner of Indian Creek Lodge, John Letton, questioned the validity of the bug monitoring that is planned and asked if it has been established that the fry in the river are undernourished.“It doesn’t really ring right,” he said.De Juilio responded that there is lots of science that show when flows increase bugs do as well. More fish can be grown in the same amount of habitat, he said.Letton replied that the fishing guides already have clients booked, and said, “sounds like you’re all ready to go — a year from now.”At several points throughout the meeting, program staff pointed out that everyone in the room wants the same thing — more fish. Regarding the possibility of delaying the plan for the year, it was suggested that the comment be made to the Trinity Management Council.Note: Trinity County Chamber of Commerce President Wayne Agner also is owner/publisher of The Trinity Journal.


   
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