Redwood Reader

While salmon fishermen await the final recommendation from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, to the NMFS that will probably cost most of the season, it is good to take a step back and think this through. A closed season interrupts many lifestyles, and as with farming, failure if you can’t make the payments. With good abundance in the Sacramento and Colombia systems the total closure appears extreme on one hand, and temporary on the other, temporary because there is finally consensus on an approach to recovery.
The Water Quality Control Boards implementation of Total Maximum Daily Loads directly targets low dissolved oxygen and water temperature, which will improve conditions in the river as is, probably with more sediment control. We have notified them of glomalin before and they may or may not include it in their thinking. This is why we call for an end to clear cutting, indiscriminate road building and salvage logging, especially on public lands, until the damage caused by land use is recognized, regulated and better methods implemented.
The Klamath is in relatively good shape compared to the Eel, and one or two years should see a buildup of numbers again without any effort other that making sure some are allowed to spawn and enough water flows for fish survival. Dam mitigation, whether ladders or removal, will boost the spawning territories in the interior. Improved conditions in the tributaries below the dams are also important as these contribute cold water late in the season. As we have shown here, the restoration of water stored in the ground for late season flows is a missing element in most recovery programs, although all count on revegetation to restore healthy conditions.
It would appear all the pieces are available for a strong return of Klamath runs. Of course fishermen are afraid of losing this years catch and history shows that controlling take allows conditions to improve while recovery takes place. Cyclic phases occur in many species. In this article commercial fishing is cited as a 150 million a year industry. Later there is a mention of $761 million for 327 Klamath fish.
In this day and age maybe we need haul insurance for fishermen like crop insurance, a program that makes the payments even in rough years. There is no doubt Klamath salmon will be back, and removal of obstacles to spawning should lead to larger returns than currently possible.
One way to insure a compromise is to inflict everyone with some of the pain. Fishermen are being punished for situations out of their control. The TMDL’s will improve ground conditions in the watershed and water quality will improve. Increased flows from the dams will ensure survival until the dams are removed or the ladders installed. A portion of the change should help farmers with off channel collection and storage of precipitation and less water intensive irrigation methods. Finally, planners must have an authoritative say in future development in the watershed and controlling sediment caused by construction, as we see in Erosion Control magazine. Renewable energy should be part of the solution since local generation will be critical in the future as the need for centralization is realized to be a mixed blessing at best. We’d like to see a model derived from these items that could be applied to other river systems.
Anglers Argue for Salmon Fishing
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-salmon5apr05,1,1760623.story?coll=la-news-environment
A fighting chance for the Klamath
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/02/MNGSHI24OD1.DTL
SF Chronicle writer Tom Stienestra reported a large stretch of the Sacramento River has come under BLM management, which has been excellent with Plans in the Arcata Field Office, and the land is already purchased but the attempt is to create the Sacramento River National recreation Area.
“A little-known piece of the California Wild Heritage Act of 2006, introduced in Congress in March by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, would create the Sacramento River National Recreation Area. It would span 10 miles along the prettiest section of river, roughly from Anderson to Red Bluff. The beauty of this is that in the past 20 years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has already bought 17,000 acres of land along this river corridor. So no new money to buy more land is needed. That means it is possible that the proposal to create this new National Recreation Area could be split out so it could bypass the Congressional Appropriations Committee. That's where bills go to die (when they need more money to get implemented). So this has a real chance to go through. The BLM could then provide parking, boating access, trails, picnic sites, law enforcement and maps that would allow people to connect to a beautiful area that will be managed in its wild state.”
After telling of threats from the current rush to sell off unimportant Forest Service and possibly BLM lands, and development of three thousand homes two miles away, he goes on to tell of another stretch of river. “Unless you have floated a boat down the entire river, you can't imagine what it looks like for more than 100 river miles from Colusa down to Sacramento. The Army Corps of Engineers has stripped all vegetation along the river and lined the banks with rocks and concrete blocks. In one four-hour stretch, we didn't see a single living creature. For miles at a time, you don't see a tree or bush, or any habitat wildlife and fish need to survive. In one 36-hour stretch, we paddled for 32 hours to get through this section of horrific river destruction, brought to you up close and personal by the feds and paid for by you and your tax dollars.”
The opportunity exists for interested parties to participate in all BLM land decisions through the planning process, which will include scoping, meetings, gathering and drafting a plan within the allowable scope of that parcel and a recommendation that will be one of several BLM chooses from. Public comment periods are another opportunity to be heard in the process. We approve of Congressional recognition of the Area as it adds a layer of protection.
Key span of Sacramento River needs protection
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/04/02/SPGL8I0VB01.DTL
Northcoast Journal reports Sierra Pacific wants to build a road to an in-holding they have in Underwood Roadless Area in Six Rivers National Forest in another area proposed for wilderness status by Sen. Boxer. Timber harvest plans are already approved but roads are a major issue for most conservationists. Of course we agree with the need for maintaining naturally functioning forest, just as a water quality issue. Scott Gracean of EPIC said “securing the integrity of the roadless area and proposed wilderness” was important. “We are strongly opposed to the proposed road, and we'll all get a chance to comment on that proposal when the Six Rivers releases the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the road project, expected out any day now. The good news is that the Wilderness Land Trust and other conservation-minded potential purchasers are very interested in working with SPI to get the parcel in question moved into public ownership. To their credit, SPI's managers have been willing to talk about a buyout, and have agreed to a meeting in mid-April."
HOLE IN SIX
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/040606/news0406.html