Salmon season south of Pigeon Point opens April 3, 2004 with a two fish per day limit. Minimum size is 24 inches total length. North of Pigeon Point, the season opens April 17th.
*More Shallow Flooding Means Good News for Owens Lake
As required in the plan created in 2000 for dust control at Owens Lake, ten additional square miles of the lake bed (6,400 acres) will be shallow flooded in an effort to suppress the hazardous dust that escapes from its surface. This will bring the total area of shallow flooding to approximately 25 square miles by 2006 and the area of native salt grass planting to 3.5 square miles.
The great news for wildlife is that shallow flooding, the release of trickling water across the playa surface, promotes the growth of algae mats and alkali/brine flies that "set the table" for many species. Shallow flooding mimics the miles of shoreline that the lake once possessed and what made it a major wildlife stopover site. This water serves the dual purpose of suppressing the regional dust problem and sustaining wildlife. Thousands of migrating shorebirds stop at Owens Lake to feed each spring and fall during their marathon migration. The lake is host to the largest number of nesting inland Snowy Plovers in California. Clouds of thousands of Least and Western Sandpipers undulate over the lake seeking foraging areas and avoiding falcons also looking for a meal.
*Restore Hetch Hetchy DVD available
We had 40 people at the Hetch Hetchy talk given by Ron Good, the executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy. I have a DVD and would like to make it available to all who are interested. I hosted an afternoon of tea and dessert and we watched this 15 minute presentation which brings this issue to light and shows the seriousness of the RHH folks. It's an exciting time. - Alayne Meeks
*Slide Show Available on CD
This year's slide show is now available on a CD. The CD has the PowerPoint Slide Show, plus all of the individual pictures in an unformatted separate folder. The Slide Show and the pictures can be accessed by PCs or Macs. To run the Slide Show, you will need to have the PowerPoint program installed on your computer. We are charging $5 for each CD. Proceeds will go into the Club's general fund.