Redwood Reader

The California Coastal Commission is taking on the "granddaddy of all restoration projects" as it approved studying decommisioning of the four Klamath River dams based in California. As we reported earlier, money was already approved for this ambitious project in a bond measure approved by voters in June. Pacific Powercorp has not made a decision yet but the Yurok tribe has presented its case to them, and they may well decide to take the money. Most agencies are on board, although the Bureau of Reclamation may still have their doubts.
The dam removal would open more than three hundred miles of spawning habitat the fish currently can not reach. I don't have access to my previous articles here now, but I recall this was about the same amount as the culvert project, although that covered many watersheds.
I have some problems with this type of reporting, however. For instance, the article states about 30.000 fish remain in the system, the same number reported as the absolute minimum for the fish to recover. But this is the low count after two massive fish kills effectively ruined this years run . Previous articles pointed out the ups and downs of salmon populations in the river well after the dams were built, ranging from twelve thousand to nearly 150,000. I believe the fishery will rebound to some number in detween on its own, and see some benefits in the lower region from the culvert and other projects as well as improved forestry and land use management. It would seem opening that many more miles of habitat should vastly improve the numbers over anything seen in decades. A perfect storm of restoration concern could make the runs better than anyone has seen in a lifetime.
State and Federal authorities are working out disaster mitigations for the affected fishermen. The Federal government only approved two million dollars so the state has stepped in to make life a little better for the fishermen. Studies are under way to determine the toxicity levels of sediment trapped behind the ams. There is little historical mining or industry in the areas and the main source may be relatively benign agricultural runoff. Then there is the sheer volume of sediment that would have to be removed and put somewhere. If it is clean it may even be an asset to someone.
Several years of improving runs in the Mattole indicate that better land use practices can slowly improve the runs without massive gains in spawning grounds as the existing habitat grows back into shape. Numbers in the mattole have gone from in the dozens to approximately one third of the historic average of ten thousand chinook (king) and five thousand coho (silver) salmon, about 3500 and 1500 respectively.
It is to be hoped we will see a difference in the Eel as well, but there we have the introduced predator in the Sacramento squawfish, or pike minnow. While there is a fishing derby for the fish in the lower Eel, there is a bounty on it in Oregon. Mendocino County also has some kind of program I will look into further for benefit of my readers. A good suggestion would be free fishing, a bounty, and shifting habitat away from thiiiiiie squawfishesd preferences and nack to salmonid- basically colder water via higher volumes and more shade. It aslso is interesting that the namesake river of the fish has had an outstanding year as has the Colombia where there are enough of them to warrant a bounty.
In the grand scheme of things, improved water quaslity is directly tied to the amount of carbon the landscape is taking in. Humboldt County demonstrates this because the Douglas fir regions have been in flux since the advent of tractor logging. Steepness and extreme weather combined with seasonal precipitation demands water storage in the biologically reachable parts of the watershed to maintain the kind of healthy fisheries found here. Regular precipitation and humdreds of years of land use in the East have altered the perception of native habitats with the most serious consequence being regular flooding, which few tie to lack of sufficient vegetation. Rising summer temperatures and coastal flooding herald global warming as well. Nevertheless the widespread damage this week indicates all is not well in many watersheds with runoff wreaking havoc along every creek and river. The need for big trees is clear as is mitigations for slowing runoff. Another idea is to sell it to Vegas. They pipe everything else around. Similar to the water bag project, it should be on a contingency basis rather than a contract basis, that is. sell it when you have enough to sell without making promises that can't be kept in dry times.
This blog is pointing to the future and we are happy people are at least beginning to think inthese terms. Our initial premise stated in article four, Our Shrinking Watersheds has been greatly clarified by two years of reading and writing on these possibilities, and we are seeing great progress on some fronts and complete failure to understand on others. The direct connection between carbon dioxide storage and fisheries still seems beyond the reach of many, yet it is an issue whose time has come.