http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/articles/2003/11/20/news/news1.txt
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Siskiyou County residents listen intently to
the public comments at the California
Department of Fish and Game public meeting on
the coho salmon recovery strategy. - SDN photo
by John Diehm |
Fish plan examined
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Updated: Thursday, November
20, 2003 3:50 PM PST
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YREKA - Frustration about
limited access to the 786-page coho salmon
recovery strategy was expressed by many of the 90
Siskiyou County residents who attended the
official public comment meeting in Yreka last
night.
The meeting in Yreka was
one of three in Northern California this week,
with the other two being held in Santa Rosa and
Eureka, giving opportunity for comment and
questions about the proposed California Department
of Fish and Game (DFG) coho salmon recovery
strategy in Northern California. Deadline for
written comments is Nov. 28.
Craig Sharp from the DFG said a public comment
meeting had originally not been planned for Yreka,
but at the insistence of the Shasta Scott Recovery
Team (SSRT), one was scheduled.
The first two hours were dedicated to public
comment to the DFG relating to the draft coho
salmon recovery strategy, which was released for
public review about two weeks ago. The last hour
was set aside for questions and answers from
members of the SSRT.
Providing an overview of
the coho recovery strategy, Sharp said the Fish
and Game Commission determined that the coho
salmon should be listed as an endangered species
in August 2002 and set a 12-month goal, now
extended, to formulate a recovery plan.
Two recovery plans are in formation: one drafted
by a 21-member range-wide recovery team and
another by a 13-member Shasta Scott Recovery Team.
Sharp said that the range-wide strategy, the one
receiving public comment at the meeting, has two
goals - return of the coho salmon to maintained
sustainability leading to declassification, and
restoration of harvestable quantities of fish for
the identified interests of commercial,
recreational, and tribal fisheries. He said this
main document will overlay the entire region, with
the SSRT strategy providing a customized recovery
plan for the Scott and Shasta rivers.
The 786-page document includes 85 recovery
recommendations relating to the range, 320 in
Southern Oregon and Northern California, 205 in
the central coast of California, and 105 in the
Shasta and Scott river watersheds. Each
recommendation is prioritized.
The specific recommendations were not discussed in
detail by Sharp, leaving the public dependent upon
viewing the document for themselves.
Apparently one copy is available at the public
library in Yreka and can be viewed but not checked
out. Several people said there has been a waiting
list to view it.
Sharp said it is also available as a download on
the Internet. He had three copies of the document
on CDs which he handed out to the first three
people who requested them.
One man said it is a 14.1 megabyte download and
took his computer with a slow Internet access
speed over six hours to accomplish.
Although the details of the numerous
recommendations were not discussed, Sharp said
that the cost of implementing the strategy is a
staggering $5 billion over the next 20 to 25
years.
"This is not all new money," Sharp said. "Many of
these use existing state and federal programs
already in place, such as the $12 million already
allocated for the Trinity River restoration."
"The plan is based on sound science on what is
best for the coho," he said.
While answering a barrage of questions before
receiving recorded public comment to be reviewed
by the Fish and Game Commission, Sharp said the
plan does make a distinction between the coho
salmon that spawn naturally and the hatchery-
spawned fish, a part of the document some
questioned.
"It seeks to maintain the integrity of the
genetically significant evolutionary fish in
distinction to the hatchery fish," Sharp said.
"There are genetic studies to do this."
Not everyone agreed with that premise, with
several saying that they don't believe there is a
difference and if there is, it is an unrealistic
goal to try and restore an ecosystem that does not
have a realistic definition.
Bob Davis from People for the USA said there is no
such thing as going back to "genetic pure" or the
way it used to be. "It is just an excuse for you
to do what you are doing. Why not just increase
the hatchery fish?"
"Coho salmon are the only endangered species we
can buy in the grocery store, either fresh or
canned, at $3.99 a pound," one man said. "I find
that quite interesting."
The distinction between "recovery" and
"restoration" was brought up by several speakers
critical that the plan is not clear in its goals.
Does recovery mean restoring healthy fish
populations or does it mean restoring a "mythical"
population of natural spawning fish?
Forester Jim Ostrowski said "restoration to a
mythical condition is not needed for recovery. We
must have realistic goals with adequate funding to
implement them."
Ostrowski said he has discovered several
contradictions in the document with some
recommendations that are presently illegal, like
the recommendation to put logging slash in
riparian areas to increase habitat. Another
recommendation about reestablishing natural fire
cycles is not clear as to how it will be
established, he said.
Several others asked about the numeric standards,
wondering how it will be known if the plan is
successful.
Fish and Game Fisheries Program Manager Gary
Stacey said his team is working hard to provide
those baseline standards.
Others in the audience were concerned about the
possibility of removing Greenhorn Reservoir in
Yreka and Dwinell Dam that creates Lake Shastina.
Dave Webb, a member of the SSRT, said there is no
specific recommendation in the document to remove
these dams. He said that they are simply listed in
the document as impediments to the natural
migration of fish, however no one knows what will
happen in the future with this process.
When asked about the rumored prohibition of well
drilling in the Scott Valley, Sharp said there is
no such recommendation in the document.
In public comment, Richard Alves representing
recreational sport fishermen, said he finds
several faults in the plan, specifically in its
failure to address future population growth in the
state and the demand for water it will bring in
the next few decades. He said the Trinity River
diversion is a "sacred cow" that has not been
adequately addressed and should be studied as part
of looking at the larger picture.
Jeff Fowle, Director of the Siskiyou County Farm
Bureau, said it was the land use recommendations
of the government based on the best science at the
time that has created this problem over several
decades.
"Restoration will not and cannot occur overnight,"
Fowle said. "Good projects are happening and we
are at the point of hurrying up so we can wait and
see if they work."
Fowle said of all the factors relating to the
salmon, the two most important ones - the
geomorphology of the river and weather - are the
only two that man cannot control. He would also
like to see the document recognize timber as
agriculture.
"The success of this process is dependent on a
trusting relationship with the landowners," Fowle
said. "Both you as a government agency and we as
landowners are the victims of environmental
terrorism. They are using intimidation to drive a
wedge between us and we should not allow this to
happen."
Fowle said the Farm Bureau is encouraged by the
intent of the recovery plan.
"A healthy agriculture is fish friendly and
reduces urban sprawl," he said. "Over the last
nine years we have voluntarily stepped up to fix
mistakes of the past. Work with us, be honest with
us, and together we can be successful."
Other criticism centered around the unknown
economic impact of the recovery strategy.
For example, Mark Dean, manager of Yreka Chamber
of Commerce, said the chapter that addresses
Greenhorn Reservoir concerns the chamber.
"The community, chamber, city, and Ford Foundation
have been working on a project to benefit the
community centered around the reservoir," he said.
"We want it explained what could occur."
Terry O'Neill, a land appraiser with property in
the Greenhorn area, said he is concerned about
removing the dam.
"Private property rights are the most singular
element that sustains western civilization," he
said. "It is about what is yours. In real estate
appraisals, we appraise your rights. I see this as
an unholy process. It is like volunteering with a
gun to your back. They don't know the cost of this
or what the property will be worth in the future
after it is done."
O'Neill suggested that Fish and Game just go back
to Sacramento and "let the fish do what they will
do."
Yreka resident Darin Claiborne said as a
commercial fisherman in Alaska he noticed a lot of
damage from mammals and asked if this factor and
the international over-fishing factor was being
addressed in this plan.
Sharp said the scope of the plan deals with inland
watersheds and does not address the ocean.
"None of the economic impact on our area has been
considered and this is not fair," Claiborne said.
"Control of international fishing needs to be
addressed. I know there are nets out there 10
miles long."
Scott Murphy, vice president of the Siskiyou
County Farm Bureau, said he traveled through
Mexico before returning to Scott Valley.
"The USA is the place to be," he said.
"Agriculture is the fifth largest industry in
California and this plan will drop it down. If we
lose agriculture, our country is going down. We
need to pull together to make this work." - SDN
story by John Diehm
