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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My apologies for the rather untimely article.
Somebody sent it to me and I failed to notice that the date was June 22,
2001. It's very old news.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regretfully,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>Tom Stokely<BR>Principal Planner<BR>Trinity Co.
Dept of Long Range Planning and Natural Resources<BR>PO Box 1445<BR>60 Glen
Rd.<BR>Weaverville, CA 96093-1445<BR>530-623-1458, Extension 3407<BR>FAX
623-1646<BR><A
href="mailto:tstokely@trinityalps.net">tstokely@trinityalps.net</A> or <A
href="mailto:tstokely@trinitycounty.org">tstokely@trinitycounty.org</A></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=sari@sisqtel.net href="mailto:sari@sisqtel.net">Sari Sommarstrom</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=tstokely@trinityalps.net
href="mailto:tstokely@trinityalps.net">Tom Stokely</A> ; <A
title=env-trinity@crank.dcn.davis.ca.us
href="mailto:env-trinity@crank.dcn.davis.ca.us">Trinity List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, July 18, 2008 11:35
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [env-trinity] Young fish die
as water laws go unenforced</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Why did this 2001 old article get sent out today??<BR><BR>At
10:30 AM 7/18/2008 -0700, Tom Stokely wrote:<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">
<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><B><A
href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/06/22/MN158255.DTL">http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/06/22/MN158255.DTL</A></B></FONT></H1><FONT
size=2><BR><BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT>
<H1><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times" size=6><B>Young fish die as water
laws go unenforced</B></FONT></H1><FONT size=2><BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT>
<H2><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times" size=5><B>Ranchers' cooperation
threatened</B></FONT></H2><FONT size=2><BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times"><A
href="mailto:glenmartin@sfchronicle.com">Glen Martin, Tom Stienstra,
Chronicle Staff Writers</A><BR></FONT><FONT face=arial
size=2><BR><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Friday, June 22, 2001<BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">Irrigation
by ranchers is decimating salmon and steelhead populations on California's
second biggest river system, and Department of Fish and Game officials
acknowledge they are not implementing a tough state law that could stop the
diversions. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Ranchers have diverted most of the flow of the
Scott and Shasta Rivers in Siskiyou County to irrigate alfalfa fields and
pastures, leaving thousands of young salmon and steelhead without enough
water and facing imminent death. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial
size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">State game wardens
generally are disposed to citing the diverters under Fish and Game Code
5937, which requires dam owners to maintain water in state streambeds
sufficient to keep fish healthy. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial
size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">But agency officials
say they are being told not to cite offenders out of concern that
cooperative restoration projects between the state and ranchers on the Scott
and Shasta Rivers would end instantly if the law were enforced.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">The controversy points out difficulties with
cooperative programs between government agencies and private parties. Though
such agreements can help resolve thorny environmental problems, they may
also inhibit agencies from cracking down on private sector partners.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Warden Renie Cleland said he was told to back
off from citing ranchers on the Scott and Shasta rivers. <BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">"This has
gone all the way to Sacramento," said Cleland. "It's extremely politically
sensitive. I was told to take no enforcement action on it. These fish are
dying. We've got five or six thousand steelhead trout dead on the Scott, and
(dead juvenile steelhead) everywhere on the Shasta." <BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT>
<H3><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><B>MAJOR KLAMATH
TRIBUTARIES</B></FONT></H3><FONT size=2><BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">The Scott and Shasta are major tributaries of
the Klamath River, which is second only to the Sacramento River in its
dimensions and the number of fish it supports. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial
size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">The Klamath and its
tributaries once supported hundreds of thousands of chinook salmon, coho
salmon and steelhead trout. Their numbers began declining in the mid-20th
century from dams, agricultural irrigation and timber harvesting. By the
mid-1980s, only a few thousand fish were left -- mostly on the Scott and
Shasta. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">During the past decade, efforts to screen
agricultural pump intakes, reduce soil erosion, restore riparian forests and
transport fish trapped in "dewatered" streambeds have bolstered the fish
populations somewhat. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">WATER RIGHTS FROM THE 1930S <BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">But
conflict between environmentalists and ranchers over diversions has simmered
for years. Ranchers exercising water rights adjudicated in the 1930s
typically lower the rivers through irrigation during the summer.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">This year, a severe local drought has greatly
increased the degree of the problem. The Scott has been sucked dry, and the
Shasta reduced to a trickle at its juncture with the Klamath.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Temperatures in the river have reached or
exceeded the level considered lethal for salmon species, which favor cold
water. Thousands of fish have died, and thousands of others face imminent
death, making the pumping a clear violation of Code 5937. <BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">"Everything
has died," said Fish and Game Captain Chuck Konvalin of the Scott River.
"The system has been dried up." Konvalin, who heads a team of wardens who
operate in the north state, says their superiors are reigning them in.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">"This thing is out of whack," said Konvalin.
"I get my orders." <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Gary Stacey, a fisheries program director for
Fish and Game who oversees projects in the Klamath area, said enforcing Code
5937 would "slam the door" on meaningful restoration programs along the
Scott and Shasta, which cost $25 million a year. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial
size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">"All our current
programs depend on landowner cooperation," he said. "That would all stop
immediately if we pulled the trigger. And the process involved in filing and
prosecuting a case like this could take years -- years the fish don't have.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">"By taking strong law enforcement action, we
could simply be assuring that the (fish) populations would wink out."
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT>
<H3><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4><B>COOPERATIVE
EFFORTS</B></FONT></H3><FONT size=2><BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Ranchers confirm they would scrap all
cooperative ventures with the state if they were cited by game wardens, and
say they are guaranteed diversion rights by court rulings made decades ago.
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Gary Black, who diverts Scott River water to
irrigate alfalfa and wheat on his 240-acre farm, said ranchers would respond
to voluntary incentives to improve fish populations but would resist
government fiat. <BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">"We're looking for win-win situations," said
Black, who helps direct a local resource conservation district that promotes
fish-friendly agricultural methods. "I've worked with more than half the
farmers in the Scott Valley. Everyone is willing to do their part for
fishery protection -- the question becomes how far is too far."
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">Still, "flows remain the number one issue, and
this is a good time to sit down and talk," Black said. "That will work
better around here than getting out the citation book." <BR></FONT><FONT
face=arial size=2><BR></FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><I>E-mail
the writers at <A
href="mailto:glenmartin@sfchronicle.com">glenmartin@sfchronicle.com</A> and
<A
href="mailto:tstiesntra@sfchronicle.com">tstiesntra@sfchronicle.com</A>.</I>
<BR></FONT><FONT face=arial size=2><BR> <BR><BR></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times">This article appeared on page <B>A - 3</B> of
the San Francisco
Chronicle<BR></FONT>_______________________________________________<BR>env-trinity
mailing list<BR>env-trinity@velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us<BR><A
href="http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity"
eudora="autourl">http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity</A></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>