The Good Fight

State Water Board Prefers Removal of Dams on Klamath

The California State Water Resources Control Board has listed removal of four dams on the Klamath River as the preferred alternative for restoring hundreds of miles of fish habitat on the river. “It is clear that the Klamath River has significantly degraded water quality and aquatic resources and that these ongoing impacts stem from multiple factors including operation of the hydroelectric facilities,” the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the dam-removal project said.

An EIR is required by the California Environmental Quality Act before the state can issue the Clean Water Act permit necessary for decommissioning and removing the dams. The massive EIR studied alternatives that include not removing the dams, removing two or three dams, and other possibilities. Removing them all was recommended as the best alternative to restore the damaged river and open up 300 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead. The dams are located in Klamath County in Oregon and Siskiyou County in California.

The EIR details how $200 million from Portland-based PacifiCorp, the owner and operator of the dams, and $250 million from an existing California water bond is to be spent. It follows approval of a “Definite Plan” that transfers ownership of the dams to the San Francisco–based Klamath River Renewal Corporation, a nonprofit that has a $27.4 million budget and that will manage the removal and restoration project.

The state water board identified several objectives for the dam removal: improving the long-term water-quality conditions in the lower Klamath and advancing the long-term restoration of the natural fish populations in the Klamath Basin, with particular emphasis on restoring the salmonid fisheries used for subsistence, commerce, tribal cultural purposes, and recreation; restoring anadromous fish passage to viable habitat currently made inaccessible by the dams; and ameliorating conditions underlying high disease rates among salmonids in the river. The preferred alternative won praise from a wide range of conservation organizations, including the Karuk and Yurok Tribes, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), California Trout, Trout Unlimited, Sustainable Northwest, American Rivers, the Hydropower Reform Coalition, Save California Salmon, Klamath Riverkeeper, and the Salmon River Restoration Council. “California’s report supports what many of us have said all along — removal of the lower four Klamath River dams is key to restoring one of America’s most valuable salmon fisheries,” said Glen Spain of the PCFFA, a West Coast commercial salmon fishing industry trade organization.

“This is another deliberate step toward dam removal,” said Karuk Tribe chairman Russell Attebery. “It has been a long fight, but the momentum is now on our side.”

“As we’ve seen time after time on rivers across the country, dam removal works. The Klamath River is on the verge of rebounding back to life. Thanks to years of hard work by so many in this community, our children and grandchildren will know a healthy, free-flowing Klamath River,” said Steve Rothert of American Rivers.

“Two years from now, we will reunite the upper and lower Klamath Basins for the first time in a century,” said Brian Johnson, California director for Trout Unlimited. “Dam removal is the essential first step toward safe and clean water, strong runs of salmon and steelhead, and healthy communities.”

The agreement follows ongoing dam-removal discussions to meet the conditions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the states of California and Oregon, a number of recreational and commercial fishing groups, the Karuk and Yurok Tribes, local agencies, irrigators, and others. Representatives for FERC have said that final design for the project will be completed by early 2020, and dam removal will occur in 2021 and 2022.

The CDFW to Promote Fishing and Hunting

The number of people who fish or hunt in California has declined, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is embarking on a campaign to reverse the trend. “Our goal is to support and encourage people to get outdoors and enjoy California’s wild places,” the CDFW’s director Charlton (Chuck) Bonham said in a statement that lauded the state’s outdoor recreational activities. “The fishing and hunting opportunities in this state are unparalleled. They belong to all Californians and should be utilized by all of us. This effort is to make sure Californians know that.” Bonham added: “Participation in these activities has declined significantly since the 1970s and 1980s.”

He’s right about that, as reflected in a huge decline in the number of fishing and hunting licenses purchased. According to CDFW’s data, 2.1 million annual resident fishing licenses were sold in 1970, and 2.2 million were sold in 1980. That compares with 1.1 million sold in 2010 and nearly the same number in 2018. One reason fewer were sold is that the annual resident fishing license cost $3 in 1970 and $5 in 1980, compared with $44.75 in 2018. The cost of a fishing license increases automatically each year, so anglers in 2019 pay $46.25.

Although fewer hunting licenses are sold, they have followed the same pattern. In 1970, the CDFW sold 690,790 resident hunting licenses and 509,964 in 1980. In 2010, 251,572 resident hunting licenses were sold and 219,197 in 2018. The license cost $4 in 1970 and $10.25 in 1980. The license cost $39.50 in 2010 and $44.75 in 2018. The current license costs $46.25.

In his pitch urging more involvement in the outdoors, Bonham said that the decline in license sales poses a threat to the CDFG’s programs. “Hunters and anglers play a crucial role in managing natural resources by regulating wildlife populations to maintain ecological and biological diversity, participating in wildlife surveys for scientific data collection, and reporting wildlife crimes,” said Bonham. “Hunters and anglers also help sustain a multi-billion-dollar outdoor recreation industry and provide the primary funding source for state-level fish and wildlife conservation in California.” He added: “The decline in participation poses an ever-increasing threat to wildlife conservation, the state’s long-standing hunting and fishing heritage, and Californians’ connection to the outdoors in general.”

The financial contribution of revenue from licenses is substantial, but makes up only a portion of the CDFG’s 2018–19 budget, which includes $394 million in state funds and $598 million from other sources. In comparison, revenue from resident sport-fishing licenses was $45.4 million in 2018, and revenue from all fishing license sources was $66.8 million. Revenue from resident hunting licenses in 2018 was $9.8 million and $25 million from all hunting license sources.

What is to be done about the decline in the number of licenses? According to Bonham, “CDFW has formed an executive-level task force, hired a fulltime coordinator to head up the effort, hired a research scientist, and finalized a statewide recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) action plan. A staff-level working group is working to increase hunting and fishing participation by collaborating with diverse stakeholders to transform barriers to participation into opportunities.” He added: “Some of the barriers CDFW will look at initially are access and opportunity challenges, public perception of fishing and hunting, and license structure and pricing. The effort will also focus on encouraging more adults to take up hunting and fishing for the first time.”

Bonham said that “the fishing and hunting community has rallied around CDFW, and we are now poised to tackle the challenges before us,” adding, “To get involved or learn more about the state’s R3 efforts, please contact Jennifer.Benedet@wildlife.ca.gov.”

Spring Run Salmon Under Review as Endangered

The California Fish and Game Commission (F&GC) accepted a petition to list upper Klamath–Trinity River spring Chinook salmon as endangered, setting in motion a status review to be completed by the CDFW. The petitioners, the Karuk Tribe and the Salmon River Restoration Council, submitted information suggesting declining population trends and a low abundance, making this stock of salmon vulnerable to extinction.

The F&GC action at its February 2019 meeting results in the spring Chinook salmon being designated as a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), which provides candidate species the same protections as species listed as endangered and threatened under the CESA.

The CDFW has requested that the commission adopt emergency fishing regulations necessary to reconcile them with the CESA protections. The CDFW will also be in consultation with federal regulatory bodies concerning ocean-fishing regulations.

Acceptance of the petition triggers a one-year status review by the CDFW to determine if a CESA listing by the F&GC may be warranted. The CDFW, after review of the best scientific information available, will make a recommendation to the F&GC on whether to list spring Chinook salmon as either endangered or threatened or whether listing is not warranted at this time.

Fish and Game Commission Elects Officers

Also at its February meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission reelected Eric Sklar as president and Jacque Hostler-Carmes as vice president.

The F&GC was the first wildlife conservation agency in the United States, antedating even the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. There is often confusion about the distinction between the CDFW and the F&GC. The CDFW implements and enforces the regulations set by the F&GC and provides biological data and expertise to inform the F&GC’s decision-making process. Information on the F&GC and its meeting location and agendas are available at www.fgc.ca.gov.

Study Says Sierra Snowpack to Suffer Sharp Decline

As Sierra communities dug out in February from under a parade of blizzards, it’s hard to imagine that the future will hold a big decline in the snowpack, but that’s the conclusion of a study presented at a conference at Lake Tahoe and published in December 2018 by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Sierra snowpack will decline by 79 percent by 2100 and will begin melting four weeks earlier in the season, according to the study, which was based on computer modeling. According to the study, the snow level will rise so that it covers only the highest peaks above 10,000 feet. Tahoe tourism officials were obviously in shock, because this means that the lake and many of its ski areas would have no snow during the year. “There are big shifts happening in snow tourism, in all kinds of weather-related tourism, said Dr. Kristie Ebi, lead author of the report. “You better enjoy your times here and hope there isn’t a drastic change in the next couple of decades.” There was no mention at the conference about how the change would affect fisheries in Sierra Nevada streams.

Debate Begins on Governor’s Appointments

With the inauguration of a new California governor, debate has started on who will be appointed to head state agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and others. The debate was kicked off by Mike Dunbar, editor of the Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star newspaper editorial pages, who called for Governor Gavin Newsom to replace Felicia Marcus as chair of the State Water Board. The problem with her, according to Dunbar, is that she is “too environmental,” making decisions that favor salmon at the expense of sending more water to Central Valley farmers and to Southern California. Her term as board chair ended January 15, 2019. A new chair must be appointed in March 2019.

However, Dunbar has praise for CDFG Director Bonham, who successfully negotiated an agreement to preserve salmon on the Tuolumne River that was rejected by the state water board. And Rick Frank, a former state official and well-respected observer of capital posts, said in an op-ed on various appointments by former Governor Jerry Brown: “Another excellent Brown appointee has been Chuck Bonham, director of California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. Once a backwater agency primarily responsible for issuing fishing and hunting licenses and setting fish and game limits, the department in more recent years has been delegated a wide array of environmental responsibilities: administering California’s Endangered Species Act; oil spill response; CEQA consultation; and ecosystem management. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has in the 21st century been one of the ‘lightning rod’ agencies of California state government. But under Bonham’s steady leadership, the department has prospered and earned widespread respect.”

Legislation Could Increase Stream Monitoring Gages

California’s legislature is considering Senate Bill 19, which would increase the number of gages to monitor streams. Introduced by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, on December 3, 2018, the measure would require the California State Water Resources Control Board to install the gages in areas “where lack of data contributes to conflicts in water management or where water can be more effectively managed for multiple benefits.” SB-19 also directs water officials to consult with local, federal, and state agencies, include the CDFW, to “address significant gaps in information necessary for water management and the conservation of freshwater species.” The bill is pending before the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

California Trout Releases Report Advocating Dam Removal

California has thousands of dams, from small earthen barriers to large dams hundreds of feet tall. More than 1,400 of those dams are large enough to fall under state safety regulations. A great number of them provide critical water supply, flood control, and hydroelectric power. But many have outlived their functional lifespan and the ecosystem and economic benefits of removal far outweigh the cost of leaving them in place.

California Trout’s Top 5 California DAMS OUT Report highlights five dams that are ripe for removal and that must, for the health of the ecosystem and communities around them, come out. The five dams were selected by analyzing information found in several studies to assess the overall benefits that removing the dam would present to native fish, water, and people.

Dams were selected based on the following criteria: the dam blocks access to habitat for salmon and steelhead species listed as critical or high concern in the State of Salmonids II Report (written by UC Davis and California Trout scientists); the dam no longer serves its original purpose, whether generating hydroelectric power, increasing water supply, or managing flood control, and may now pose a public safety threat; a dam removal opportunity is present; and the primary purpose of the dam is not flood control or water supply for people.

Dams that are part of the State Water Project or federal Central Valley Project were not considered for inclusion in this report due to their vital role in California’s water supply system. Similarly, dams designed to protect people and property from catastrophic floods also were not considered.

The five dams identified by CalTrout are Klamath Dams (a series of four dams), Scott Dam, Searsville Dam, Matilija Dam, and Rindge Dam.

The report highlights removal opportunities, such as dam license renewal or new funding opportunities to support the removal process, and status of work being conducted to that end. It also identifies partners involved in removal efforts and provides opportunities for the public to take action to advocate for removal of each dam listed.

California Trout’s Top 5 California DAMS OUT Report can be viewed at https://caltrout.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CalTrout_TOP5DAMS_OUT.pdf

— California Trout