Should the California Fish and Game Commission have at least one or two members who make the sports of hunting and fishing their primary focus? That’s the question that is sparking a debate among anglers, conservationists, and others following the resignation of a longtime commissioner, the last of those with a so-called hook-and-bullet focus. Last December, 72-year-old Jim Kellogg of Discovery Bay, an active hunting and fishing enthusiast, resigned from the commission after serving for 14 years. Kellogg said he resigned because environmental concerns were given a higher priority than hunting and fishing issues. “I’m leaving pretty much out of frustration,” said Kellogg, the longest-serving member of the commission. “I am just tired of being the only one fighting the fight for hunters and fishers. The first 12 years, I won most of the battles, and the last couple of years, I lost almost every battle.” Kellogg’s resignation leaves two vacancies on the five-member commission, which sets policies for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Earlier, Jack Bayless resigned from the commission. The current commission president, Eric Sklar of St. Helena, is a bird hunter. Commission vice president Jacque Hostler-Carmesin of McKinleyville, a member of the Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, and commission member Anthony Williams of Huntington Beach do not list either hunting or fishing in their biographies on the commission Web site.
The change from a commission with a fish and wildlife orientation to one focused more on so-called “nongame” issues started several years ago with the loss of two other commissioners. Michael Sutton, an avid hunter and angler, departed, and Daniel Richards left after a controversy created by being photographed with a dead mountain that he killed on a hunting trip in Idaho. Kellogg, Sutton, and Richards were the hunting and fishing bloc on the commission.
Some say that the new orientation of the commission reflects the interests of the state’s more urban residents, who don’t hunt or fish, but participate in nongame activities such as wildlife viewing, hiking, photography, and visits to wildlife preserves.
Nonetheless, the hunting and fishing sports are alive and well in the state. The number of hunters and anglers has increased in recent years. According to the DFW’s Licensing Branch, 2.45 million people purchased sport-fishing licenses in 2015, compared with 2.41 million in 2010. In 2015, 1.78 million purchased hunting licenses, compared with 1.67 million in 2010. The licenses generated
$86.9 million in revenue for the department in 2015, which represents about one-quarter of the department’s annual budget. Kellogg’s resignation is beginning to generate lobbying efforts by activist groups who are asking Governor Jerry Brown to appoint their favorite candidates to the commission.
Candidates will have a full plate of future issues to consider, including the following.
Marijuana Growing and Rivers. How will the commission deal with the effect on fish in rivers and streams of marijuana growing if the state legalizes the drug? The legalization issue is working its way to a statewide vote on the November ballot. Voters rejected the last legalization push in California, in 2010, when Proposition 19 failed at the ballot box, 53.5 percent to 46.5 percent. This time around, there will be lots of money funding the proposition campaign.
Delta Tunnels. The governor is pushing hard to build support for his so-called “California Water Fix,” his proposal to construct massive pipes to divert Sacramento River water around the Delta to the export pumps and on to Southern California. Fish and game officials and the commission will have to weigh in on the project’s effect on fish and wildlife in the Delta, the San Francisco Bay estuary, and the Northern California river system.
River Closures. While the state has received some El Niño-induced rain, many suspect that more drought conditions are ahead. If this occurs, the commission will have to decide when to use its recently approved authority to close fishing in a drought emergency, an action that is sure to concern anglers and recreation-dependent communities, particularly in the Sierra Nevada and on the North Coast.
Here is some other news from the California outdoors.
Grant Funds Little Truckee Restoration and Other River Projects
Trout living in the Little Truckee River and in tributaries in Perazzo Meadows will soon find their habitat a little healthier. The State of California is helping finance habitat restoration there, with fishery officials approving $607,889 for improvements. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife awarded the amount as a grant to fund a restoration project by the Truckee River Watershed Council (TRWC) for the area.
Perazzo Meadows, a nearly 900-acre sprawl of pristine wet meadows along the Little Truckee River about 15 miles north of Truckee, plays a vital role in the watershed, said Lisa Wallace, executive director of the TRWC. The money finances the third and final phase of the TRWC’s restoration work on the river and meadows, which will consist of pre-project monitoring, design and implementation, and post-project monitoring. The work is to take place on property owned by the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which recently completed a public trail with parking there.
Funding for the restoration work is being provided through part of the $7.1 billion in bond funds that were approved by voters by a 67 to 32 percent margin as Proposition 1 in November 2014. Using the bond funds, the DFW recently approved spending $24.6 million on restoration projects, including the following, which are designed to improve fisheries: $486,173 to Trout Unlimited for meadows restoration in the Sequoia National Forest; $44,094 to the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District for native trout preservation in the Santa Ana watershed in Southern California; $990,312 to the Solano Water Agency for watershed restoration on lower Putah Creek near Davis; $453,618 to the Tuolumne River Conservancy for off-channel rearing habitat; $1.9 million to the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District for restoring fish migration connectivity in the Salt River coastal watershed;
$1.4 million to River Partners for native habitat restoration and species enhancement in the San Joaquin River; and $8.1 million to a Woodland-area reclamation district to install screens to keep fish from the Sacramento River from entering its irrigation intakes. A complete list of the DFW’s Proposition 1 grants, including those made in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, can be found at www.wildlife.ca.gov/grants.
“These projects achieve the spirit and intent of Proposition 1 to protect and restore important ecosystems around the state,” said DFW director Charlton H. Bonham. “These projects prove we can conserve California’s natural resources while also contributing to other critical statewide needs, such as enhancing water supply reliability.”
Survey Shows Record-Setting Declines in Delta Fish Populations
The DFW’s just-released data from its 2014 Fall Midwater Trawl Survey (FMTS) showed that the Delta’s fish populations continue to decline. The Delta smelt index, a relative number that the DFW uses to report its findings, is 9, making it the lowest in FMTS history. Delta smelt abundance was highest in
1970 and has been consistently low since 2003, except in 2011. The striped bass index is 59, also making it the lowest index in FMTS history. The longfin smelt and threadfin shad indices were 16, making them the second-lowest in FMTS history. The American shad index is 278, which is the second-lowest in FMTS history. The DFW has been conducting the trawl surveys in the Delta nearly every year since 1967. Results of all the surveys can be found at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/delta/data/fmwt/indices.asp.
Governor Reforms Suction Dredging Rules
Suction dredgers seeking gold have been the bane of trout anglers, with their practice of digging holes in rivers, creating sediment plumes, stringing cables across water bodies, threatening intruding anglers, and leaving shoreline camping messes. Such river-degrading practices could come to an end with the governor signing Senate Bill 637, which protects the state’s rivers, water supplies, wildlife, and cultural resources from dredging.
The new law requires that all who do small-scale mining using motorized suction pumps obtain a Clean Water Act permit from the State Water Resources Control Board before mining in California waterways. “This is a great victory for us concerned about clean water and healthy fisheries,” said Elizabeth Martin, chief executive officer of The Sierra Fund, who led the work on protecting rivers from dredging. And Josh Saxon, council member of the Karuk Tribe, said, “We are very pleased that our tribal fisheries and sacred sites will receive additional protections from the ravages of gold-mining clubs, who have been damaging our resources for decades.”
The legislation affects suction dredge mining, “high-banking,” and any other forms of mining that rely on motorized suction pumps to process materials from the banks or beds of rivers and streams. Suction dredges are powered by gas or diesel engines that are mounted on floating pontoons in the river. Attached to their engines is a powerful vacuum hose, which the dredger uses to suction up the gravel, sand, and mud from the bottom of the river. The suctioned material is sifted in search of gold. Similarly, high-banking suctions water to process material excavated from riverbanks, causing erosion and sediment problems, as well as affecting cultural sites.
The Nevada City–based Sierra Fund and the Karuk Tribe have been working with the Center for Biological Diversity, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Friends of the River, the Environmental Law Foundation, the Upper American River Foundation, the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, the Foothills Anglers Association, the North Fork American River Alliance, the Klamath Riverkeeper, and the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center for several years to reform laws and regulations affecting smallscale mining activities.
Mudsnails Found in the Feather
State fish and wildlife officials have confirmed that New Zealand mudsnails have been found in the low-flow section of the Feather River in Butte County. DFW biologists are in the process of sampling other water bodies for snail populations in the area, including Lake Oroville.
The invasive snails are four to six millimeters long and produce dense populations, which can decimate elements of aquatic ecosystems. “The snails have been linked to reduced populations of aquatic insects including mayflies, caddisflies, chironomids,” said the DFW in a notice, which asks boaters and anglers to decontaminate equipment used in the rivers with mudsnail populations.
Here is are the decontamination procedures that the DFW recommends.
“If you wade, freeze waders and other gear overnight (at least six hours).
“After leaving the water, inspect waders, boots, float tubes, boats and trailers or any gear used in the water. Remove any visible snails with a stiff brush and follow with rinsing. If possible, freeze or completely dry out any wet gear.
“Never transport live fish or other aquatic plants or animals from one water to another.”
In California, mudsnails are found in the Owens, Klamath, Russian, lower American, Stanislaus, Merced, San Joaquin, Yuba, and Sacramento Rivers, among other streams.
