Steelhead science for anglers @ Davis, CA

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Join us for a day of Steelhead Science:

Trout Unlimited's Wild Steelhead Initiative is offering a workshop on native steelhead trout in Davis California this September.

Join us for an evening of education and fellowship as leading steelhead scientists provide updates and answer questions about steelhead populations, recovery activities, and angling considerations in California.
Our panel of steelhead experts represents some of the world’s foremost authorities on steelhead biology and management – and some are avid steelhead anglers, too. They will help workshop participants to better understand how steelhead science is helping to protect wild populations, identify priority restoration objectives, and engage the angling community to help enhance and sustain steelhead fisheries.

Event Details:

Date: Monday September 28th, 2015

Time: 3pm - 7pm

Location: Davis Veterans Memorial Center (203 E. 14th St Club Room Davis, CA 95616)

Cost: FREE

[SeanO]

Nice!

See you there,

[Walter]

Who are the people on this panel of experts?

Please ask them, since I cant make it, why they will not rescue steelhead drying up in tributaries all over the place but they want to plant $10,000 coho(cost to raise each fish) in rivers that cant even support them. Why DFW plants hatchery fish(talking steelhead now) in wild fish tributaries to "jump start the population" when science has shown hatchery fish to be pernicious to the survival of wild fish and their unique individual genetics? This is done for example on the Russian River tributaries. I think its because the activity maintains justification for the budget that includes their salary. Mismanagement is a prime culprit in the lately demise of wild steelhead, in my opinion.

As a prime example(forgive me its not Steelhead) Pudding Creek has a dam near the mouth, in Fort Bragg, that the biologists claim is wonderful because it helps them study coho. Worthy of a Fox News special, it must be the only dam in the world that helps salmonids. I jest....

A close friend grew up there and watched hundreds of coho jump and beat themselves to death on the spillway of that dam. The dam and "fish ladder" are terrible. How can this continue to be allowed for decades? And now the biologists and Caltrout defend the dam. They want to keep it. Its owned by the Koch Bros, and they are keeping it as a water source in case of a housing development being created. It's one of the few dams that does not need to be licensed. I guess their are not enough coho for the biologists to see the fish dying en masse trying to get over the dam anymore. But at least somebody has a job, lol. Idiots.

Coho are going extinct because the tributaries they prefer to spawn have been filled in and dewatered and there is not consistent strong fall rains to allow them access to the places they need to spawn. The lower Russian gets littered with the $10,000 carcasses as the sea lions devour them as they are trapped with no tributary to enter. They try to spawn in the main river. I say fire the biologist making these decisions and spend the money on restoration, enforcement, and fish passage around obstacles in their path to spawning ground that has been lost. People cause extinction, the fish can take care of themselves if they have spawning ground. Weve taken away over 70% or more of the spawning ground no wonder we have less than 30% of historical salmonid populations.

If steelhead go extinct in my lifetime I hope humans arnt far behind. God save the Planet and the diversity of its creatures. We've gone too far.

[SeanO]

People cause extinction, the fish can take care of themselves if they have spawning ground.

Agree with your first assessment that people are to blame. However spawning gravel is probably not the limiting factor to salmonid issues. The lack of good rearing habitat for juveniles is probably much more important?

People like to channelize rivers to prevent floods and maintain water supplies but that is no good for native fish.

Not familiar with Pudding creek but I will inquire about it and let you know if I hear of anything about the dam there.

[Walter]

Thank you for offering to inquire.

I dont mean spawning gravel in particular. I meant multi million dollar bypasses around the lakes that block 70% of the spawning habitat and rearing(!!!) habitat as you mention. Look up the "Lake Mendocino Bypass." Somebody with money should sue the Government Agencies on behalf of the coho the Govt parades around, and allow for fish passage and higher minimum flows that actually help the fish. They spend millions on useless crap and useless people thats become a bureaucracy of ineptitude. Its a shame the groups that attempt at first to help the fish become a slave to the grant money they covet from these same agencies. It is exactly what happened to the RRWSS. They wont bite the hand that feeds them. I can understand that. But mismanagement is the problem. All cant be blamed on the drought and climate change. If steelhead can persist in the LA sewer drainage ditch, you can see how tough they are. They need water and a return of the thousands of square miles of spawning ground that they have lost.

I think the paradigm of hatcheries needs to chage from providing recreational fish to catch, to a goal of sustaining diverse, "tributary specific" fish.

Here is a program for example that was fined out of existence by the old DFG. The people took drastic measures to save dying juveniles one year when the river was drying up. DFW put a fine on them that put them out of buisness. This type of small scale tributary specific hatchery AND juvenile rescue and rearing program(!!!) should be emulated all over the state for anadromous salmonids and NON-anadromous native trout strains.

http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/dfg/pdf/VwaV_Gualala_River.pdf

[SeanO]

I thought the speakers did a great job of presenting their research and restoration work! I didn't get a chance to ask any questions tho. Thanks for posting the event, Bill.

Best,

http://www.kiene.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11225&d=1443500208

http://www.kiene.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11226&d=1443500210

http://www.kiene.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11223&d=1443500206

http://www.kiene.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11224&d=1443500207

[SeanO]

Forgot to add Dr. Peter Moyle also spoke today but was not pictured!

Sorry Peter... Next time,

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Watch the movie to see what happened to our steelhead and salmon.

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/rivers_of_a_lost_coast_standard_edition

[Digger]

Random thoughts -

I've been going to these events for it seems like 15 years now.
in fact just went to the one down here at the Long Beach Aquarium.

And the story is always the same, still planning, EIR, draft this, and draft that.
"based on Science" the man says, charts, color coded maps of the region, ESU's, Identify the passage barriers, blah, blah, blah
Then there's the obligatory stories of historical runs in the thousands, black and white photos, blah, blah, blah
Like we're EVER going to se that again.

And throw in a single semi-success story!

I mean we all know what the problems are, it's been well documented.
return as much as possible to the natural state! then leave things alone for a few years, it'll take care of itself.
I don't need no stinking bar charts to tell me that. it's not rocket science.

But we either don't have the $$$ to do so, or the politics are insurmountable.
We try to play it the way the Govnmnt forces us and it's like Glacial movement.

I am totally for what the big picture is, I mean I think I am, if I truly see their big picture.
Total restoration of the species over most of the historical range until Delisting is done.
Really? a bit overreaching, isn't it?

How about smaller laser beam focus on a reduced scale, and get that one completed.
Then move on and apply similar proven tactics to the next region. ???
And the next.

I'm an engineer by trade, so I understand the approach.
Planned, Methodical, Study, Analyze. (and slow paced Lol).
But I'm losing patience and nearly hope that in my lifetime I'll see the needed changes become implemented.

and now we're in this sort of unprecedented time of tearing down dams, and with each
we hear of the miraculous, almost immediate positive results. so that's a little inspiring.

I guess as I turn for the home stretch and look for retirement in the next 10 yrs
I'm hoping that all the $$$$ I've donated and the "Plans" in place will have translated into "Action" and results.

And, I'll probably attend the next one of these, (with hope) and maybe hear something has moved forward.

OK back to the Macallan 18
sorry for the rant

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Over the past 50 years I have watched and listened to all the talk about salmon and steelhead.

Basically, dams, logging, development and AG have pretty much killed off 90% of the original populations, which were huge.

All these studies do probably help some to understand the problem but as Digger stated, it now will take money which I don't think will be there.

In the past 10 years of so some smaller defunct dams have been removed which is very exciting for me.

The forest service, fish & game and CCC have worked on clearing some tributaries on some of our rivers.

Cleaning up and opening up more mile of spawning would be cool because by now they realize that the hatcheries did not work out.

We need wild salmon and wild steelhead if they are going to make it long term.
.