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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><a href="http://www.trinityjournal.com/"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:blue;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=650 height=140 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.gif@01CBEFC5.2109FE90" alt="http://www.trinityjournal.com/styles/logo.gif"></span></a><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Guides express concern over river projects</span></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>BY AMY GITTELSOHN <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>THE TRINITY JOURNAL <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Calls are increasing for a suspension of earth and gravel moving projects along the Trinity River meant to improve fish habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The Trinity River Guide Association has requested a moratorium on these projects until further information is available and shared with the public.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“We feel they should go back and study what worked, what didn’t work, what benefited the river, what didn’t benefit the river,” said Liam Gogan of Douglas City, president of the guide association.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>He stressed, that the association “is not anti-restoration at all.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Trinity River Restoration Program projects along the river have included re-contouring of river banks and development of side channels to increase the amount of shallow, low water velocity areas for salmonid fry rearing. Spawning gravel and cobble have also been added. Along with higher flows called for in the 2000 Trinity River Record of Decision, the projects are intended to help bring back, on a smaller scale, features the river had prior to construction of Trinity Dam.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In all, the restoration program plans 47 projects on the Trinity River between Lewiston Dam and the North Fork at Helena, about half of which have been completed.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The guide association believes these mechanical projects may be trying to create fish rearing habitat at the expense of adult fish.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Gogan said all the projects are a concern, but to mention one, “the Sawmill Project (from 2009) in the upper river in Lewiston — we feel there was too much gravel put in that site,” Gogan said. “It just kind of filled in that hole there. They were putting it in faster than the river could disperse it.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>From the restoration program, interim Executive Director Jennifer Faler said, “We agree that the pool was impacted by our high-flow gravel operations, and we’re monitoring that and are hopeful this year’s flow releases will help to clear out that pool.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The guide association’s letter, which went to agencies, lawmakers and tribes, says, “Based on tens of thousands of hours of personal observations on the river we believe that the aggressive mainstem channel projects over the past few seasons may have adversely impacted adult fish holding habitat upstream of the North Fork and have resulted in excessive sedimentation in the river.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The letter continues, “It is apparent that excessive — and often ill-timed — amounts of earth moving, combined with the placement of large amounts of spawning gravel and a lack of high flow releases has filled in many of the pools where adult spring Chinook, summer steelhead, and other species hold over during the summer months.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“Under the (Record of Decision) they’re supposed to pause and go back and study the effectiveness,” Gogan said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>During the suspension of work on the mainstem that they seek, the guides suggest that restoration funds be put toward work in the watershed and in tributaries that wild fish use. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The guides’ request has support from some members of the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group, the stakeholder group that advises the Trinity Management Council.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Arnold Whitridge, chairman of the advisory group, said members will discuss the issues brought up in the letter at the group’s April 12 meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Whitridge said he has not formed an opinion as to whether the projects are causing harm, but “I support a review because I don’t think anyone knows for sure what all the effects are.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>He noted the one project proposed for this year is relatively small. The Wheel Gulch project would entail a side channel and bank reforming about three miles downstream from Douglas City.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“It’s not a complete pause,” Whitridge said. “A dramatic reduction is taking place this year while review goes on.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Whitridge is one of six of the 16-member advisory group to sign a letter to Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar that voices concerns about the direction of the restoration program. Among those concerns, the signers of the letter to Salazar state that channel manipulation projects constructed in the first phase of the program appear to be in far greater scale than intended in the Record of Decision.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Pre-project reviews were not done until recently, the letter to Salazar says, and resulting suggestions by an independent science panel have not been incorporated in proposed projects at this point. Like the fishing guides, signers of the letter to Salazar request a pause in channel construction projects to allow time to review what has been done.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>From the restoration program, Faler said the Trinity Management Council, which has representatives from eight member agencies, did consider a suspension of projects last September.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The decision was to continue, she said, but to involve the public and stakeholders more in the second phase of planning — “do more outreach in the design process.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“The program is receiving valuable input from a variety of stakeholders and our own science and monitoring projects,” Faler said, “and I expect we’ll be able to find a path forward that will accommodate the concerns being raised.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>She said one adjustment that may be made is a higher peak release from Trinity Dam than normal in April. Faler said a release of 11,000 cubic feet per second is being considered to see if the projects function as expected with more water. Adjustments would be made to the rest of the dam release schedule, and the overall amount allotted to the river for the year would not be changed, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>From the guides association, Gogan said a higher release could allow the public to see for itself if the projects are working as intended. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#948A54'>Byron Leydecker<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#948A54'>Chair, Friends of Trinity River<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#948A54'>PO Box 2327<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#948A54'>Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#948A54'>415 383 4810 land<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#948A54'>415 519 4810 mobile<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#4F81BD'>bwl3@comcast.net <o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#4F81BD'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org <o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><u><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:#4F81BD'>http://www.fotr.org<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>