Trout Conservationist Heads State Fish and Game Agency
For the first time in California’s history, a trout conservation leader is heading the state’s main agency charged with protecting fish and wildlife. Charlton “Chuck” Bonham has been appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as director of the California Department of Fish and Game. As of this writing, the appointment had not yet been confirmed by the state senate.
The 43-year-old resident of Albany has worked in a number of positions with Trout Unlimited over 10 years, including serving as the California director and senior attorney since 2004. He was responsible for developing, managing, and implementing TU’s work on issues relating to water and fisheries restoration and other watershed projects in Northern and Southern California. Bonham also worked on water law issues as senior attorney for TU. He 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. His political affiliation is the Democratic party.
Before joining Trout Unlimited, Bonham was employed as an instructor and trip leader from 1994 to 1997 with the Nantahala Outdoor Center, a whitewater rafting and outdoor site near Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Bryson City, North Carolina. From 1991 to 1993, he served as a small business development agent with the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. Bonham received a law degree and environmental and natural resources law certificate from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.
One of his last tasks at TU was to work to build consensus to remove three dams on the Klamath River in order to enhance salmon and steelhead populations. The dam-removal project is the result of Klamath Basin restoration and hydroelectric settlement agreements between conservation groups, government agencies in California and Nevada, farmers, Indian tribes, and the dam owner, PacifiCorp. Bonham played a leading role in crafting the comprehensive, watershed-wide agreements. It will be the largest dam removal project in the nation, one that was opposed by some environmental groups.
“Many of us were reluctant to embrace the challenges of this comprehensive approach,” Bonham wrote in a 2010 newspaper column. “There is no question that passions run high in the Klamath. In the end, we are all glad circumstances forced us down the more difficult path, because the ultimate destination is as remarkable as the landscape and communities in the Klamath River Basin.” The Klamath dam removal plans got a boost from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who said in a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco that the project would improve the environment, save fish, and create jobs.
During his term heading the DFG, Bonham is sure to face other thorny resource issues. These include writing policies to manage the DFG’s hatcheries in a way that protects wild trout, an initiative he created while heading TU’s state office; gaining agreement on an ambitious new long-range plan for the department, one that could result in the merger of some of its sister agencies; implementing the Bay Conservation and Development Plan for the Delta, which calls for construction of the controversial Peripheral Canal to divert water around the estuary, a project widely opposed by fishing and conservation organizations, but endorsed by Governor Brown, who hired longtime canal advocate Jerry Meral to lead the effort to gain its final approval and construction; and further implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act, which restricts angling in certain areas to protect and enhance populations of ocean fish along the California coastline.
Bonham can be reached at the DFG headquarters, 1416 Ninth Street, 12th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814, by phone at (916) 653-7667, or by e-mail at Director@dfg.ca.gov.
Silver King Cutthroat Reintroduction Stalled
A plan to poison Silver King Creek south of South Lake Tahoe to restock it with a threatened fish species has been struck down by a federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Frank Damrell, Jr., said the poisoning proposal conflicts with wilderness policy.
The Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been planning to poison an 11-mile stretch of the creek and stock it with Paiute cutthroat trout. Opponents say the plan would destroy populations of invertebrates and have long-term negative effects on the environment. Proponents are reviewing the ruling and will try to move forward with the eradication and restocking effort, which they claim will take the Paiute cutthroat off the Endangered Species List.
Golden Trout Won’t Be Listed as Endangered
California’s golden trout, the brightly-colored fish prized by backcountry anglers and the official state fish, will not gain protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. After a 10-year review of scientific information and recovery programs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled the fish does not warrant listing.
“Conservation measures throughout the trout’s historic range have done much to protect the species,” said service spokesperson Sarah Swenty. “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.” In 2001, Trout Unlimited filed a petition asking the Fish and Wildlife Service to list the species, which grows to less than a foot long. Genetically pure strains of the trout can be found in just 15 miles of the Sierra Nevada’s high-country streams.
“If there were no collaborative recovery efforts underway, as was the case in 2001, we would be furious,” TU’s Howard Kern told the Los Angeles Times. “However, we are pleased with all the collaborative activity surrounding this fish right now. If it stalls later, we will absolutely go after the federal government with another petition for listing.”
Delta Smelt Numbers Improve
Officials at 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 that the increase is likely due to the higher than normal water flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Delta smelt are considered to be an indicator of the health of the Delta. DFG biologists continue to try and save large numbers fish and smelt from being sucked into the huge Delta pumps and killed.
Can’t Catch ’Em? Then Steal ’Em
Thieves stole as many as one thousand trophy-sized trout from the San Joaquin Fish Hatchery near Fresno. According to the Department of Fish and Game, they pried open the gate at the hatchery below Millerton Lake and used the hatchery’s protective bird netting to trap the fish. The fish, part of a program funded by fishing license fees, would have been planted in Shaver Lake in the Sierra Nevada. Wardens are asking anyone with information to call (888) 334-2258.
Twenty-Seventh Trout Bout Slated for Stockton
The Delta Fly Fishers and the San Joaquin County Department of Parks and Recreation will host the Twenty-Seventh Trout Bout on November 19, 2011, at the Oak Grove Regional Park, located at Interstate 5 and Eight Mile Road, in Stockton. Some seventeen hundred pounds of rainbows, including trophy-sized fish, will be planted for this tournament, which is open to youths age 15 and under and adults 16 and older. Kids fish for free, but adults buy a $5.00 fishing permit, pay $5.00 to park, and must have a valid California fishing license. Park gates open at 6:15 A.M., with registration closing at 10:00 A.M. and the final weigh-in at 12:30 P.M. For information, call (209) 331-2020 or visit www.mgzoo.com.
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 in the high Sierra south of South Lake Tahoe be designated for protection as a Wild and Scenic River. The latest group to join the coalition with an endorsement of the status is the El Dorado County Fish and Game Commission. The Alpine County Board of Supervisors voted against the recommendation. As of this writing, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has not yet taken a position.
The U.S. Forest Service has recommended protection for only seven miles of the river and its watershed.
The designation effort is intended to protect and enhance habitat for the federally threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout and 10,500 acres of summer mule deer habitat in the upper part of the watershed. The upper Truckee flows from the Meiss Meadows area down into the Lake Tahoe Basin and through the city of South Lake Tahoe before emptying into Lake Tahoe. The banks along the lower reaches are highly erodible, resulting in the river gaining a reputation as the largest source of sediment for the lake. Still, the river flows year-round and supports a healthy population of rainbow trout.
In a controversial effort to improve water quality, officials from the California Department of Parks and Recreation have proposed to restore natural meanders to the river as it flows through the Lake Tahoe Golf Course. State parks, which owns the golf course, would like to move a number of its holes, a proposal that has drawn fire from neighbors who apparently are concerned about the loss of dog-walking areas, among other issues. Conservation groups are supporting the golf course reconfiguration and river improvement. For more information on the project, go to http://www.restoreuppertruckee.net.
Sierra Bears Get More Brazen
A report on a fishing outing to Virginia Lakes in the Sierra Nevada by a Sacramento fly-fishing club noted that a bear hauled a young boy’s stringer out of the water and ate his four-pound trout. Apparently the boy tried to retrieve his stringer from the bear, but his father convinced him to let the critter have the fish. Sound advice, Dad.
License to Shoot with a Camera?
Summer is always slow in the wildlife world — a time for public officials to consider weighty policy issues such as whether wildlife photographers need a hunting license to “take” pictures. “Take” is the operative word here, because state fish and game law defines it as to “hunt, pursue, catch, capture or kill” wildlife, which requires a license. After careful consideration, the California Department of Fish and Game ruled that “pursue” does not include taking photographs, so no license is needed. Shutterbugs can now click away, unmolested by game wardens.
Conservation Groups Celebrate Protection of the Sierra Buttes
The area known as the Sierra Buttes is one of those special high-mountain fishing places that is revered by all those who know about it. Now, several small lakes and meadows there have been transferred to public ownership, ending a decade of threats by wealthy individuals proposing to build large homes at the lakes. The San Francisco-based Trust for Public Land has completed a $7 million, 1,525-acre real estate deal that transfers thousands of acres for ownership by public agencies.
The area includes Young America and Volcano Lakes, a segment of the Pacific Crest Trail, a popular lookout trail, and shoreline frontage of Upper Sardine and Lower Sardine Lakes, all located in Sierra County northeast of Downieville.
Much of the high-country region is dotted by a checkerboard ownership pattern that dates back to 18th-century Gold Rush–era claims. The area is also the site of a number of campgrounds and several charming, old-style lodges with restaurants and rental tent cabins. Many angling families have been spending summer vacations at the region’s lakes for generations.
Winter Fishing Shows
Mark your 2012 calendars for this winter’s fishing shows (and please drop by and visit the Cal Fly Fisher booth).
January 19–22: The International Sportsmen’s Exposition in Sacramento at Cal Expo.
February 24–26: The Fly Fishing Show in Pleasanton at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
March 3–4: The Fly Fishing Show in Pasadena at the Pasadena Convention Center.
Felix Smith Receives Federation of Fly Fishers Award
On October 8, 2011, at the Festival of Fly Fishing held by the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers in Reno, Felix Smith, of Carmichael, California, was awarded the NCCCFF Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is given in recognition of extraordinary efforts over a lifetime that have resulted in achievements that have been of substantial benefit to the fisheries and the sport of fly fishing in Northern California. This is only the second time the award has been presented. The previous recipient was the late Byron Lydecker, renowned for his work to protect the Trinity River.
Felix Smith graduated from Humboldt State University and shortly afterward started working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Among his accomplishments was the mobilization of efforts following the 1983 discovery of deformed birds along the shores of Kesterson Reservoir, which received agricultural runoff. Higher-level managers in the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior wanted the situation kept quiet, but Smith, at great risk to his career, was instrumental in bringing the situation to the public’s attention. As a result, the reservoir was closed. Through this and other actions, Smith serves as a role model of integrity for government employees.
Now retired, Smith remains extremely active in water and fisheries issues. Additionally, he serves as an invaluable source of information and scientific advice for fisheries-conservation groups.
In accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Smith emphasized the pressing need for citizen involvement in publictrust issues concerning California waters and fisheries, and he urged festival attendees to take on that role.
Dave Ford, NCCFFF
