Thousands of Steelhead die in Pescadero Marsh.....

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thousands of steelhead die in marsh
By Clay Lambert
Half Moon Bay Review

The president of a South Coast conservation group says weekend rains brought tainted water into the Pescadero Marsh, killing thousands of steelhead trout and other species. Steve Simms says it is a predictable rite of winter and he’s extremely frustrated with the bureaucracy that allows it to happen year after year.

The problem is that chemicals toxic to fish are stirred up by the same heavy rains that eventually open the mouth of the Butano Creek to the ocean. Fish essentially suffocate in the nutrient-rich water. It’s been happening almost regularly since 1998 and local residents have been pleading with myriad state officials to solve a problem that comes to a head on government land.

“If this were a private landowner, he’d be in jail,” Simms said on Monday. Simms is president of the Coastal Alliance for Species Enhancement.

Simms and others bagged about 100 dead steelhead over the weekend and he says other volunteers found 200 more. He suggested that is probably only 10 percent of the total die-off over the weekend.

Almost a year ago, a panel of scientists met in Half Moon Bay to begin a systemic study of the ecological problems of the marsh. Simms said he is frustrated by the progress of that group.

“They want to study it and study it and study it,” he said. “How many more years before the Butano population is gone?”

[Walter]

“They want to study it and study it and study it,” he said. “How many more years before the Butano population is gone?”


Thanks for bringing this up Bill.

They need to reroute those creeks back trough the Marsh to the North of the current Mouth. That historical mouth would break right where the parking lot on the North side of the marsh is. If the river annually cleaned the marsh of the decaying organic debris, the hydrogen sulfide release when the mouth breaks, wouldnt be so bad. There is decades of decayed organic debris brewing in that marsh. That watershed was destroyed by the levee system built in the estuary, amongst other factors as well.

[Darian]

Hmmm,.... Having fished the estuary/marsh of Pescadero Creek and wandered around on the coast side of back roads above it (along Butano Creek) for several years, I'm very familiar with the area and the fish. The creeks (Pescadero/Butano) above the estuary were very small streams which probably supported a total run of 300 fish. As I recall, the estimated number of fish in the annual run was close to the amount of fish claimed to've been killed each year( :confused: ). Timing of arrival of the bulk of the annual run is/was about this time of year. So, I wonder what happened to cause the change in 1998 that wasn't happening before?? Has some upstream development taken place causing the toxic run-off??.... :confused:

The article mentions that the source of the toxic run-off is upstream on government land and blames "....a bureacracy...." for not solving the problem. Which one??? :confused:

This article seems like an example of exaggerating a problem to draw attention to a cause by overstating the numbers of fish killed down there. If you multiply the numbers of dead Steelhead "bagged" by the number of years this kill has been going on, you get a rough total of 4,800 dead Steelhead over that period. I doubt that watershed could support an annual kill of the number cited. Makes me wonder about the accuracy of the count and the type of fish counted.... ;)

[Ned Morris]

Let's not be so critical of a writer for a local newspaper getting numbers wrong. Does that really matter in this case? Important thing here is that the issue is being raised AGAIN!!! I think Walter nailed it on the head. The estuary has had issues for at least 10-20 years but Butano arm may not be the only problem. Agriculture is also right at the end of the marsh on south east side just outside town where Pescadero Creek starts moving. I've seen that particular piece of ag land change several times in 20+ years.

[DAVID95670]

Feed the seals and sea lions ... Waste not want not

[TonyMuljat]

According to the Coastal Alliance for Species Enhancement Website:

"Studies have also shown that when State Parks projects were done in the 1990’s, it changed the natural way the sandbar opens and closes. Many levees were altered and even built by State Parks. They also installed a series of tidal gates allowing salt water to enter the north pond, which after only one year became inoperable because of rust. The tidal gates were never fixed and are still inoperable to this day as they remain rusted open. These modifications created new areas for water to fill within the system and have contributed to the anoxic conditions and have changed the natural opening and closing of the sandbar."