* Dame Juliana Award
As this year's recipient of the Dame Juliana award I would like to thank Jim Hall and his family for their monetary contribution for this honored award, and to members of the SCFF who have shared their knowledge freely, supported and encouraged me throughout the 14 years I have been in the club. The Santa Cruz Fly Fishermen club is one of the best and I am so pleased to be part of this fine organization. Thank you, everyone, for this honor. - Cecilia Stipes
* Annual Slide Show DVDs
I've saved this year's slide show into DVD format so that it will play on any DVD player hooked up to a television, no computer necessary. Jpg files of all the pictures are also on the disk. So for those of you with DVD drives on your computers, you can download the individual pictures to your computer. The DVDs will be on sale at the Confab and at upcoming club meetings for $10 each. Lee Fitzsimmons is in charge of the sales and in order to know how many we need to make, please give Lee a call (464-2460) or an email (rleefitzsimmons@yahoo.com) and place your order. - Dougald Scott
* San Rafael Fly Fishing Show February 17th - 19th
Marin Civic Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. $14 - one day, $24 - two days, $32 - 3 days, free parking. Go to www.flyfishingshow.com/marin/ for more information.
* NCCFFF Hall of Fame Dinner - February 18th, 2006
This is the major fund raising event for the conservation programs sponsored by NCCFFF and all club members are encouraged to come. It coincides with the San Rafael Fly Fishing Show. The dinner will be held at the Marin Rod & Gun Club and include great food, a raffle, a silent auction, and a live auction. This year Marty Seldon will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Visit the NCCFFF website for more details, www.nccfff.org.
* 24th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference
The Salmonid Restoration Federation will hold the 24th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference, "Rediscovering Urban Creeks and Creating Healthy Watersheds," at the Santa Barbara Veterans Memorial Center February 22-25. This premiere restoration conference offers full-day workshops including: Water Conservation; Fisheries and Wildlife Friendly Agriculture: A Workshop on Sustainability; Removing Coastal CaliforniaŐs Fish Passage Barriers: From Prioritization to Implementation; and Reestablishing Salmonids in Cities: The Next Generation of Urban Stream Restoration Projects. Field tours include visits to the Ventura River and Matilia Dam, Native Chumash restoration sites, urban creek projects, and fish passage sites on the Santa Clara River as well as tours to urban creek restoration projects and to a local vineyard and ranch that have restored steelhead habitat. Registration forms may be downloaded at: www.calsalmon.org/pdf/registration2006.pdf
* KPIX Channel 5 Feature on the Delta
This is a half hour feature on the Delta that aired Thursday, January 12, and is viewable on the KPIX web site: http://cbs5.com/specialreports/local_story_012233510.html. Although this program doesnŐt go into any detail about fish and wildlife, it is certainly worth taking a look at. - Dougald Scott
* Plan to Increase Delta Pumping About to be Adopted
The NCCFFF and many other conservation groups are sponsoring a post card writing campaign to protest the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the South Delta Improvement Project. In a nutshell, the draft EIS found no adverse affects on Delta fish and wildlife from the proposed project. This is preposterous in that the plan calls for 27% increase in pumping from the Delta. Biologists agree that the three main factors driving this year's crash of delta fish and invertebrates are: 1) excessive pumping; 2) toxins; and 3) introduction of exotic species. It just doesn't make sense to increase pumping in the midst of this environmental crisis.
Preprinted postcards to the Governor, DFG, and DWR are in circulation. All cards and letters must be received by February 7th. If you would like to send in a card or letter, please do one of the following:
1) sit down and write a letter or card and send it to DWR South Branch, P. O. Box 942836, Sacramento, CA 94236;
2) download the card from our SCFF website and put it in the mail ASAP;
3) go to the Friends of the River website (http://capwiz.com/friendsoftheriver/issues/alert/?alertid=8349336&type=CU) and send an email from there. - Dougald Scott
* Water Districts Intend to Sue NMFS Over Steelhead Listing
On January 13, a consortium of San Joaquin water districts filed a 60 day notice of "Intent to Sue" over NMFS' December 23, 2005, listing of Central Valley steelhead as "threatened." Their suit contends that the decision was based on faulty science and is illegal. The December listing did involve a major change in the designation of central valley steelhead. Previously they had been listed as a "threatened" Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU). The ESU listing made it difficult to resolve the issue of resident trout being counted as migrant forms of steelhead. In December, NMFS changed the designation from ESU to DSP (Distinct Population Segment), a change that worried many in the fishing conservation community. These misgivings are now born out. This is clearly an attempt to have resident rainbow trout counted as migratory steelhead, and delist the latter from Endangered Species Act Protection. - Dougald Scott