Conservation News
February 2012 Updates and Issues
by Jim Tolonen
February 2012 Updates and Issues
by Jim Tolonen
Trout Conservationist to Head the California State Fish and Game Agency
Charlton, (Chuck), Bonham has been appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as director of the California Department of Fish and Game. Bonham previously was with Trout Unlimited for 10 years including serving as the California director and senior attorney since 2004. He was responsible for work on issues relating to water and fisheries restoration and on water law issues. He also served on the board of directors of the Delta Conservancy whose mission includes conserving, sustaining, and enhancing the cultural, agricultural, recreational, wildlife and natural habitat resources of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region. One of his last tasks at TU was to work to build consensus to remove the three dams on the Klamath River in order to enhance salmon and steelhead populations.
Silver King Creek Cutthroat Reintroduction Stalled
DFG plan to poison an 11 mile stretch of the Silver King Creek south of South Lake Tahoe in order to restock it with the threatened/endangered Species Paiute cutthroat trout has been stalled by opponents who believe the plan would destroy populates of invertebrates and have long-term negative effects on the environment. The plan has been stopped by US district Court Judge Frank Damrell Jr. who said the poisoning conflicts with wilderness policy.
Golden Trout not to be listed as Endangered
The California Golden Trout will not gain protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, as after a 10-year review of scientific information and recovery programs the US Fish and Wildlife Service ruled the fish does not warrant listing. Genetically pure strains of the trout can be found in just 15 miles of the Sierra Nevada's highÐcountry streams. However, conservation measures throughout the trout's historic range have done much to protect the species, and in large part because of those measures the service determined that the intensity of threats does not indicate the species is endangered or likely to become so in the foreseeable future.
Delta Smelt numbers improve
The California Department of Fish and Game have announced that this summer's Delta smelt numbers almost doubled from those of last year. The DFG added theat the increase is likely due to the higher than normal water flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers due to high rain and snow melt from last winter. However, DFG biologists continue to try to save large numbers (hundreds of thousands) of salmon, steelhead, smelt and other fish from being sucked into the cross channel and the huge Delta pumps and being killed.
If you can't catch them, perhaps you steal them? Thieves broke into the San Joaquin Fish Hatchery near Fresno and stole as many as one thousand trophy-sized trout, using the tank netting to scoop the fish out of the holding tanks! The large trout were being raised as part of a program to stock Shaver Lake in the Sierras.
Advocates Seek Wild River Status for the Upper Truckee
Led by Trout Unlimited a coalition of recreation, business and conservation groups have proposed that 32 miles of the upper Truckee River and its tributaries be designated for protection as a Wild and Scenic River. The upper Truckee flows from the Meiss Meadows area down through the city of South Lake Tahoe and empties into Lake Tahoe. The designation is intended to protect and enhance habitat for the federally threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout and 10,500 acres of summer mule deer habitat. The Alpine County Board of Supervisors voted against the recommendation, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has not yet taken a position. The US Forest Service has recommended protection for only 7 miles of the river and its watershed.
Conservation Groups achieve Protection of the Sierra Buttes Area
Approximately 1,525 acres of high-mountain fishing area including several small lakes and meadows northeast of Downieville has been transferred into the San Francisco based Trust for Public Land, as part of a $7 million real estate transaction, ending a decade long effort to build homes on the lakes. The area includes Young America Lake and Volcano Lake, and shoreline frontage on Upper Sardine and Lower Sardine Lakes as well as a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail. The area is also the site of a number of campgrounds, old-style lodges and rental tent cabins, and has been a summer vacation and fishing destination for generations.
Napa growers give up land for Salmon
Healthy salmon runs will soon coexist with cabernet sauvignon. Many stretches of the 55-mile long Napa River have filled with silt over the years as floodwaters and non-native plants took a toll on the banks and every inch of the valuable farmland was cultivated. The river is considered one of the most important watersheds in the region for steelhead and Chinook salmon spawning. Forty landowners, along the Napa River have voluntarily given up 135 acres so riverbanks can be stabilized and salmon and steelhead spawning areas restored. Growers from Opus, Frog's Leap, Cakebread Cellars, Nickel and Nickel, Sutter Home and Honig Vineyard began planning this project more than a decade ago as part of a broader land stewardship program. "Giving up a few rows of vines is a small thing to do to help the big picture, we want the land to be here and be healthy in the future."