Salmon -- coming back to a classroom near you

The Times-Standard
By John Driscoll
November 25, 2008

Like a steelhead in high water, the renowned Salmon in the Classroom program just won't quit.

Acting on an outpouring of public support to save the hands-on classroom steelhead-rearing project, a grassroots campaign was quickly launched after news of the program's demise was learned. Now, not only is a volunteer, county and state partnership vowing to revive the aquarium project this year, it may grow to become something more.

"Hands-on learning is something that you just can't beat," said Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools Garry Eagles.

The California Department of Fish and Game in October sent a letter to more than two dozen teachers who had raised steelhead in classroom aquariums, informing them that a key position had been cut, and no one would be able to oversee the program. Teachers were saddened to learn of the suspension of the project.

Pollution of San Francisco Bay Stunting Growth of Striped Bass

Bloomberg
By Adam Satariano
November 24, 2008

(Bloomberg) -- San Francisco Bay pollution is stunting the growth of striped bass and sapping their energy to find food, the legacy of long-banned industrial and agricultural chemicals that keep seeping into the estuary, a new study shows.

Eggs laid in rivers that feed into the bay had elevated levels of the chemicals, according to the results of eight years of research to be published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That resulted in new developmental changes, making the creature smaller and thinner with abnormally developed livers and brains, the study said.

Critics blast report on state regulation of groundwater use

Stockton Record
By Alex Breitler
November 23, 2008

STOCKTON - A report saying groundwater use should be regulated by the state was blasted last week by San Joaquin County farmers and water users as the latest "assault" on water rights here.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office in October issued a report recommending lawmakers approve a water rights system for groundwater, as the state already has for water diverted from rivers or streams.

Most landowners can draw groundwater without such approvals or permits.

The county's Advisory Water Commission on Wednesday voted to recommend county supervisors oppose the proposal and keep close watch for any legislation that might result from the report.

Stream is half full for state's wild fisheries

Record Searchlight
November 22, 2008

Our view: A CalTrout report warns of mass extinctions, but we're also making great progress in learning to live alongside fish.

California Trout's new comprehensive report on the state of the state's native fish makes for grim reading. At the current rate, it concludes, the damage from dams, logging, road-building and agricultural diversions will leave two-thirds of the original wild fish species extinct in another century.

But sometimes environmentalists don't know when to claim a victory.

Deal reached to limit planting fish for sport

The Sacramento Bee
By Matt Weiser
November 21, 2008

Anglers may no longer be able to catch rainbow trout in many of California's mountain lakes, the result of an agreement reached Thursday to protect native fish.

The California Department of Fish and Game has agreed to cease stocking fish reared in hatcheries - including trout, bass and catfish - in many lakes and streams where the practice threatens 16 native fish and nine native frog species.

The deal was reached after weeks of negotiations with two environmental groups that sued the state over its hatchery and stocking practices. The interim rules are meant to protect native species while the state prepares a broader, permanent plan to reform its hatchery and stocking programs.

Native fish are dying out, but it's not too late

Record Searchlight
By Peter Moyle
November 23, 2008

Most people identify the Pacific Northwest with salmon, but, in fact, there are more than 30 kinds of salmon, steelhead and trout native to California. These iconic fish once supported fisheries all along the coast and in our mountainous interior, but their numbers are disappearing. As my colleagues at the University of California at Davis and I recently discovered in a research study and subsequent report, 65 percent of the remaining species of our native fish are in danger of extinction within this century, if not sooner.

For nearly 40 years, I have been chronicling our state's native fish. This new report is one culmination of that work, and although the news is grim, I have seen bright spots of recovery over the decades and have come to appreciate the resiliency of our salmon and trout.

Experts fear 3rd straight dry winter likely

San Francisco Chronicle
By Kelly Zito
November 22, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dodging a disastrous third year of drought in California could take the kind of winter mega-storms that leave almost as much ruin as they do rain.

But even a few "pineapple express" storms - torrents of warm, wet air carried from the southwest - won't totally offset two critically dry years and legal rulings that limit water pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, scientists at a state water conference said Friday.

"We need much more than average (precipitation) to recover water storage, and even then we face an uncertain future with respect to the delta," said Jeanine Johnson, interstate resources manager for the California Department of Water Resources. "The real message is, we need to plan and prepare as if 2009 will be dry."

Salmon plan puts hook in fishery

The Daily Astorian
By Cassandra Profita
November 21, 2008

Sport and commercial fishers dissatisfied with new proposal.

A new proposal for splitting lower Columbia River chinook between sport and commercial boats will leave both sides dissatisfied if it is approved by the Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife commissions next month.

This week, the Columbia River Fish Working Group - a committee that includes three fish and wildlife commissioners from Oregon and Washington - agreed on a recommendation for balancing the sport and commercial salmon fisheries, which have to share a two percent allowance of impacts to threatened and endangered species.

DWR warns of drought, water rationing in 2009

Capitol Weekly
By Sarah Kay Hannon
November 20, 2008

California faces another drought as 2009 approaches, and the state's top water officials say they're doing what they can to prevent water shortages. But projections show that 2009 could look like the early, parched 1990s - or even worse.

Nine counties have already requested emergency drought assistance, including Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern.

Wendy Martin, statewide drought coordinator for the state Department of Water Resources (DWR), said the state has informed contractors they will only receive 15 percent of their normal allocation.

NOAA Pesticides BiOp Says Three Chemicals Endanger Salmon; Calls For Buffer Zones

Collumbia Basin Bulletin
November 21, 2008

NOAA Fisheries Service on Tuesday issued a biological opinion that concludes three chemicals used in pesticides -- diazonin, malathion, and chlorpyrifos -- are likely to jeopardize 27 West Coast salmon and steelhead populations that are listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The opinion sent to the Environmental Protection Agency says that use of pesticides containing the chemicals should be prohibited in buffer zones along salmon streams. The affected stocks include 13 listed Columbia/Snake river basin species.

Most state native game fish face extinction

San Francisco Chronicle
By Jane Kay
November 20, 2008

Most of California's native salmon, steelhead and trout species face extinction by the end of the century unless the state acts quickly to provide adequate freshwater and habitat, according to a study released Wednesday by the state's leading salmon expert.

Twenty of 31 species of the prized fishes are in sharp decline, including the Sacramento River winter run of chinook salmon, the Sierra's California golden trout and coastal coho, according to the study by Peter Moyle, a nationally known UC Davis professor of conservation biology.

San Joaquin River restoration bill postponed until 2009

McClatchy Newspapers
By Michael Doyle
November 17, 2008

WASHINGTON -The Senate will postpone until early next year action on a big public lands bill that includes efforts to restore the San Joaquin River, lawmakers decided Monday.

While not entirely unexpected, the delay disappoints those who had hoped to resolve the long-simmering river restoration issue sooner rather than later. It also gives supporters and opponents more time to maneuver.

"It's unfortunate that the Senate could not move on this bill," said Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, adding that "it is my hope that the House will move quickly" in January.

Killer Whales Target Favorite Fish With Sonar?

National Geographic News
By Ker Than
November 17, 2008

Killer whales can use their natural sonar to find their favorite fish from a distance, a new study suggests.

Previous research had revealed that some killer whales off the coasts of British Columbia and Washington State (see map) have an uncanny ability for finding chinook salmon, even in months when chinook are vastly outnumbered by other salmon species such as coho and sockeye.

Radio implants to track salmon through Delta

The Sacramento Bee
By Matt Weiser
November 15, 2008

A swarm of 6,000 bionic salmon has become the latest tool in an ongoing struggle to protect declining fish species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Researchers began releasing the radio-tagged salmon into the Sacramento River on Friday. It's an unprecedented effort to answer one of nature's mysteries: Why do young salmon choose one fork in the river instead of another on their migration to the sea?

More restrictions on Delta water pumping adopted

Contra Costa Times
By Mike Taugher
November 15, 2008

The reliability of California's water supply took another huge hit Friday when state regulators adopted more restrictions on Delta water pumping to protect yet another fish species whose population is sinking fast.

Water agencies portrayed Friday's decision by the California Fish and Game Commission to protect longfin smelt from Delta pumps this winter as potentially crippling to water supplies on San Joaquin Valley farms and elsewhere.

DWR Director Responds to Longfin Smelt Decision

The Wall Street Journal
November 14, 2008

SACRAMENTO, CA, Nov 14, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Department of Water Resources (DWR) Director Lester A. Snow released the following statement after the California Fish and Game Commission implemented take regulations to protect longfin smelt:

"Following two years of extreme drought, additional pumping cutbacks are possible as a result of today's Fish and Game Commission's action and could create a water supply and delivery crisis the likes of which Californians have not seen in decades.

Scientists learning about fish habits

The Union Democrat
By James Damschroder
November 14, 2008

California Department of Fish and Game researcher Kevin Saeteurn hacks off the forehead of a salmon carcass, like a butcher chopping chicken, along the banks of the Stanislaus River near Knights Ferry Wednesday morning.

It's a coarse scene, but is actually a fairly precise exercise done in the name of science, not dinner.

Saeteurn is attempting to study the fish's otolith - a calcified structure found in the salmon's inner-ear.

The otolith grows in different layers, incorporating water chemistry within each layer, said Tim Heyne, senior environmental scientist with the DFG.

Will Review Mandated By Congress Shift Columbia Basin Hatchery, Harvest Strategies?

Columbia Basin Bulletin
November 14, 2008

Can the Columbia/Snake river basin "have its cake and eat it too," -- i.e., enjoy sustainable harvests of salmon and steelhead while also lifting beleaguered wild, naturally spawning populations toward recovery?

Yes it can, in most cases, according to a scientific panel assembled to examine how hatcheries might be used in the future to contribute to conservation and harvest goals.

But it will require considerable shifting of hatchery and harvest strategies, and an added dose of habitat restoration.

"It is not a small amount of change that we're going to be asking folks to be making," Peter Paquet told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council during its meeting last month in Missoula, Mont. Paquet is the Council's wildlife and resident fish manager, and a member of the long-standing Hatchery Scientific Review Group.

Public Agencies Oppose New Threat To Statewide Water Supply

State Water Contractors
November 13, 2008

California Fish & Game Commission's Proposed Restrictions to Address Fish Decline Called "Major Threat" And "Without Merit."

Sacramento, CA - The State Water Contractors, a statewide organization of 27 public water agencies, voiced serious concern today regarding California Fish & Game Commission proposed regulations that could impose drastic new restrictions on pumping out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) to protect longfin smelt, a small fish species that is found in several estuaries along the northern Pacific Coast. The Commission will consider these proposed regulations, which public water agencies consider a major potential threat to statewide water supply, in a hearing this Friday.

Pact unveiled that would remove Klamath River dams

Associated Press
By Jeff Barnard
November 13, 2008

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - The Bush administration has announced a nonbinding agreement for removing four dams along the Klamath River, a key to resolving the basin's long-standing trouble balancing the water needs of farms and fish.

While not a final answer, the deal represents a milestone toward what would become the biggest dam removal project in U.S. history.

It also would help resolve issues at the root of the 2001 shut-off of irrigation to thousands of acres of farmland under enforcement by U.S. marshals and the 2002 deaths of 70,000 adult salmon in the river after irrigation water was restored.