[env-trinity] Various Trinity Journal Letters to Editor: Where's the fish? TMC Needs Oversight. Defense of Sup Groves

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.trinityjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_2c575790-86ad-11eb-813b-dbac00fc014c.html

Where’s the fish?
>From Dony Morris Junction CityMar 17, 2021
The Feb. 24 letter to the editor just touched the surface. The Oregon Gulch project would remove largeamounts of 100-year-old riparian habitat, including a year-round pond that is fed by Mun Loa spring. It is so
full of life it has its own game trail, so what is the plan for all life that lives in the pond, just bulldoze it?

Also in the plan is the removal of the open area at the beginning Sky Ranch Road where the fishermen parkand launch, no doubt to be gated off as protected “floodplain.” As a resident of Sky Ranch Road, I have seen
what was done on one of the last phases of the project, the TRRP contractors hauled in dozers, loaders,
scrapers and excavators down our road. Their 100-ton trucks cracking the asphalt, they proceeded to tear
out the riparian habitat, screened the gravel and jammed some logs in the river, and then spread hay over the
exposed soil. Now, instead of wild grasses and plants we have hay and star thistle, half a summer of noise,
dust and exhaust.

The biggest question is it working for the fish? Isn’t climate change a bigger threat? Twenty-nine thousandtruck trips worth of carbon emissions is a necessity? When is the TRRP going to repair the damage to our
road? Oh, and when are you going to restore the heron rookery? We are just venting, TRRP does not care for
input and complaints, that is why they have closed meetings.
http://www.trinityjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_102f2ec6-86ad-11eb-aefe-e34987f2aae3.html

TMC oversight needs attention
>From Edmond E. Bates Jr. Rockport, TexasMar 17, 2021

Since I moved from Trinity County 13 years ago, I have refrained from commenting too much on things thatare happening out there. However, after reading Tom Stokely’s letter in the Feb. 10 issue of The Trinity
Journal, I found myself deeply disturbed over the potential loss of the Board of Supervisors’ oversight of the
TMC that could result from the ongoing disagreement between Supervisors Liam Gogan and Keith Groves.

I believe the Trinity River Restoration Program was the group that I was involved with some 25 years ago.Arnold Whitridge was the chairman, and the fisheries biologists were claiming that they could create
environments downstream from the dams that would replace the 107 miles of spawning habitat that was
lost when the dams were constructed. Although my education and training was in geology rather than
biology, botany, or other life sciences, I was not convinced that those claims were realistic. I even objected at
one point to the use of the word “create” in a resolution because I felt some of those fishery biologists
already thought they were responsible for Creation.

Then, as now, the destruction of the dams seemed to be the only way that fisheries could be fully restored,and that was and is not an economically viable alternative. Attempting the solutions presented by the fishery
biologists was the better alternative. I believe time has shown that some procedures have had better results
than others, and that two things need to be carefully monitored by the Board of Supervisors.

The first is that continued work to establish new spawning habitat will yield an improvement that justifiesthe expense of the project, and the second is that continuing to modify the drainage below the dams is not an
excuse to maintain jobs for folks who would prefer to eventually retire in the county.

Therefore, I hope that Supervisors Jeremy Brown, Jill Cox, and Dan Frasier can come together so that thedisagreement between Supervisors Gogan and Groves does not create a rift that threatens the river itself.
It might be appropriate for the aforementioned trio to seek the counsel of former Supervisor Whitridge who
I credit with always doing the necessary homework before making a decision. Thus, I found myself having to
accept his decision sometimes even though I disagreed with it. I have also found Stokley to be very
knowledgeable about all water issues that involve Trinity County.

In conclusion, the health of both the river and the lakes is critical to Trinity County’s future. The Board ofSupervisors needs to closely monitor activities of the TMC and others, while also avoiding anything close to
the gridlock we have witnessed in the nation’s Capitol.

http://www.trinityjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_3b20108c-7bb8-11eb-943a-1f93d80a03f1.html
Is TRRP Oregon Gulch Project beneficial?

>From Clark Tuthill Douglas CityMar 3, 2021

The Trinity River Restoration Program is planning yet again another major mainstem project that will costsmillions of dollars with unknown benefits.

Did you know the project will require over 29,000 semi-truck loads of rock to be moved from the projectarea, out Sky Ranch Road, on to Highway 299 near Junction City and trucked approximately 3 miles to Eagle
Rock?

The project failed to get any California funding, so depending upon what funding is secured, semi-truckscould be running for a 2- to 4-year period. This means traffic delays on Highway 299 near Junction City,
extremely high traffic accident risks and a very high probability the section of 299 will need to be replaced
after the heavy equipment use, causing disruption and delays yet again.

Under the proposed project, approximately 500,000 cubic yards of material will be transported to EagleRock from 38 areas of private land. The private land is owned by the Yurok Tribe and the remaining 96 areas
is BLM land.

The “mining tailings” have been at the current location for over 100 years, well before the dam was built andwhen the fish returns were abundant. So why do the “mining tailings” need to be removed now and the
whole mainstem river be moved to conveniently flow through the 38 areas of private land?

Additionally, to reach project objectives, river flows of more than 600 cfs are required to get water on thenew “floodplain.” However, the river flows below 600 cfs for over nine months of the year and the majority of
the “floodplain” will be dry.

Is this project worth the lost county revenue and inconveniences? The “science” just doesn’t make sense.
Let us know what you think, Armand Castagna, Paul Catanese, Russ Giuntini, Tom Mahan, Jim Smith, ScottStraton, Clark Tuthill, Trent Tuthill, Darren Victorine.

http://www.trinityjournal.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_3c5f37d4-70b4-11eb-8fc5-db6c66e926e7.html

In defense of Sup. Groves
>From Douglas Corcoran WeavervilleFeb 17, 2021

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of letters to the editor that have piled on criticisms andmisrepresentations about Sup. Keith Groves and his record of representing Trinity County’s interest on the
multiagency Trinity Management Council (TMC).

I can only imagine that, with the election behind us, people must feel a residual need to be outraged aboutsomething, or perhaps there is just a dearth of other topics on people’s radars at the moment. Regardless,
someone needs to speak up in defense of Supervisor Groves.

A simple search of publicly available TMC meeting notes will find that, for years, Supervisor Groves has beenan outspoken advocate for active and meaningful public participation on that body. The fact that the TMC
failed to pass a motion advocating for reinstatement of its public advisory group was not a failure of Groves’
leadership, but a product of the TMC being 50 percent federal agencies who didn’t want to countermand
their bosses.

At the risk of falling into an ad hominem attack trap and exacerbating the personal side of the recent smearcampaign against Supervisor Groves, I would also suggest that Tom Stokely, who authored one of the most
misleading letters last week, has not been a resident of Trinity County for years and perhaps he should
attend to the business in Siskiyou County.

Shame on these recent letter to the editor authors for misleading the public about who is responsible for thefailings of the TMC.



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