Pot growers are "living off the land"....

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

http://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/endangered-steelhead-bust-on-garcia-river-illustrates-need-for-protection/

[rippinstreamers]

this makes me see red, I'm glad that he is going to get the book thrown at him. I mean come on, keeping 17 wild steelhead that were spawning. Thats classy to have them kept in a way where you could actually still tell they were wild and spawning.

[jbird]

What a scum bag! It sucks to think how long he's been dabbling in poaching. And how many other scum bags out there do it too.... Makes you wanna pack heat :-) ;-)

[shawn kempkes]

Gotta feed the family. is what all the dirtbag poachers say around here.

The poacher is related to the family that has the farm on the lower Garcia. He has probably been doing it for years and not getting caught.

[Darian]

Good job by law enforcement. =D> As Shawn points out, the Stornettas have owned the land on the north bank of the river long before I started fishing up there in the mid-60's.

They grew beef and ran a dairy there. Also had an operation elsewhere in the area. The dairy products are currently sold in many grocery markets. Anyone who's been up there during the fall has probably seen the Swans using the pasture land for a feeding area.

With all of that success, comes a strange family history. Some time in the 70's there was a murder of a family member committed by another family member. Now, this.... I'll bet if you were a fly on the wall, you could write an interesting soap opera from all of that history. :nod:

[Frank Alessio]

Big Dairy Name from the 50's and 60's....

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

http://www.kiene.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=2488

I know most will say this havesting is why we have 10% of the wild Steelhead and salmon runs in CA but actually dams, logging, developement and ag did the job of killing the steelhead and salmon in Nor Cal.

**Back then there were very fewer people, bad roads and tons of fish so harvest by sportsman had little or no effect on the huge populations on wild salmon and steelhead.

[Charlie S]

Big Dairy Name from the 50's and 60's....

Not the same Stornettas...

[Charlie S]

Bill has it right but the biggest negative issue on the Garcia River has been timber harvesting and gravel mining. I remember beautiful holes and runs on the Garcia in the 50's and early 60's. This all changed when the gravel operation took effect, filling in holes and runs, giving the smolts few places to hide and vastly reducing the amount of cool water where they could survive during the summer. Shame on County Supervisors for allowing such a travesty in the name of money.

[Darian]

I agree that dams and habitat alteration are primary causes of decline in Salmon/Steelhead but there's no denying that when fish populations get smaller in a place like the Garcia River, they become concentrated and easy targets for poachers. When you multiply that by the number of poachers in each small stream/river, the impact is amplified. It's kinda like kicking a guy when he's down. :|

[BigSmallFly]

The problem with this is that it really is shame on all of us.

Good the poachers got caught. Shame on us for continuing to vote in local, state, and federal representatives that are thinking of lining pockets, instead of the future of our land for our children. Shame on us for continuing to vote in our representatives who continue to take our license fees for purposes other than land and fish management & protection. Shame on us for standing idly by, while watching our lands be mismanaged and degredated so much that even the Delta is quickly getting so unhealthy that fish will not be able to migrate through it.

[nrthcsteel]

Glad the guy got caught. Ive seen the Wardens out and about and they have a tough job but they are doing some great work... On a positive note I thought I would post a link to this video. This stream rehab is going on on several north coast river watersheds some of which I spend an awful lot of time on. Ive seen it from the beginning a couple of years ago and its amazing how quickly it causes changes in the river. Good positive changes that you know are good for the smolts as well as the adults. Check it out.. Kevin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyxD57BgQZs

[BigSmallFly]

Awesome, is all I can say. Sometimes I wonder why it wasn't thought of before.

Sorry for the previous negativity, I was seeing red.
:D

[Dave Neal]

BigSmallFly, don't be sorry... your post was SPOT ON!

Nrthcsteel, thanks for the link...

[Larry S]

Sorry 'bout hijacking the thread. The video was discussed some time ago -
http://www.kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25828

I've been fishing the North Coast streams since the late 1960's; but, don't consider
myself very knowledgeable about issues regarding same. I do respect the
observations of Darian and Mike M.
Best,
Larry S

[lee s.]

Great video.
Ironic that in the late 60's, people were paid to REMOVE logs and structure from the Gualala. Then, I believe it was in the late 80's, I read that the Merced was greatly improved by ADDING log structure. Amazing how long it takes to get their books read and "see" what has been before thier eyes all along.
S.C.W.A. is trying to sell us the SAME solution on the Russian River. WON'T work! This fine project DOES work on the Garcia because the water quality is still acceptable for troutoids....the WATER in the Russian R. is LETHAL to troutoids.....period. All the logs and rocks and all the removal of tires and debri will do NOTHING to restore our lost fisheries until water QUALITY is addressed.
.....lee s.

[Mike McKenzie]

..start rippin' out vineyards by the thousands of acres through out the Russian River drainage..Plant for erosion control and pretty soon we'd have a river back!

Not a Wine Connoisseur.....:D

Mike

[Frank Alessio]

You do not have to be a wine drinkrer to think straight... The problem is Greed....