Page 5 - Streamkeeper's Log Summer 2014

NORTH COAST
CalTrout’s Growing Commitment in the North Coast Region
CalTrout has long been dedicated to protecting salmon and steelhead and their waters throughout the north coast region. That dedication is as strong today as it ever was. Our role in this region has had to grow and adapt, and acknowledge that it will take time and diverse efforts to fix problems that have been 150 years in the making.
The coastal watersheds of CalTrout’s North Coast Region – the Smith, Redwood Creek, Trinity and Klamath, Humboldt Bay and the Eel – are California’s best hope for recovering and sustaining salmon and steelhead. As the dry summer fast approaches in one of the California’s worst droughts in its history, this assertion may not seem so evident. And make no mistake, things are about to get real grim.
But it is true. Because, despite the legacy of degradation that remains from many decades of poor land use, the ecological impairments in the region are reversible. The landscape is still resilient. It’s not too late.
Take, for instance, industrial timber. There are certainly a few fires still smoldering from decades of timber wars. A mere 14 years have passed since Julia Butterfly Hill climbed down out of Luna after her 738-day stint sitting in the tree. Only 6 years have passed since The Pacific Lumber Company dissolved in bankruptcy. Full recovery from the effects of overharvest are decades away, but the timber war is largely over. New forestry practice rules are in effect to better protect salmonids, and logging companies are quickly becoming our allies in salmon and steelhead recovery. Timberland holdings, such as Mendocino Redwood Company’s Hollow Tree Creek in the South Fork Eel, now contain some of the best remaining cold-water habitat and fish populations in the region. That problem was solvable.
Water is the next battle-ground. But this problem, too, is solvable. The north coast region is rich in water. Hundreds of thousands of acre- feet fall every year, an abundance of water far beyond the current human population demand. The problem is that about 98.5% of it comes between November and June. Storing water during the rainy season for summertime use may offer a viable solution.
The Mattole River Sanctuary Forest folks are trying this approach, installing 50,000 gallon water storage tanks for residential and summer gardening use. They then instruct the watershed residents when it’s appropriate to divert water from streams into storage and when it’s necessary to halt stream diversions and shift to using their stored water (which may last 3-6 months).
CalTrout’s South Fork Eel Water Conservation Program is looking to export the Mattole River approach, work out the legal, policy, and scientific kinks, and apply throughout the region.
Solving the water crisis also will require solving the illegal marijuana growing issue that is destabilizing conservation efforts throughout our region.
Our North Coast Region may have a valuable role in developing ways to adapt to climate change. As a corollary to our Knagg’s Ranch program in the Yolo Bypass, which is demonstrating the incredible value of floodplain habitat to growing fish big and strong, the north coast’s equivalent is tidal marsh and estuarine habitat. These coastal habitats are among the most productive nursery grounds for juvenile salmonids, and provide an essential growth spurt just before juvenile fish make the perilous transition from freshwater to marine living. An interesting anecdote: a 150mm juvenile steelhead has a 0.4% chance of surviving ocean entry and returning as an adult; a 175mm (one inch longer) juvenile has a 2% chance of survival, five times higher.
Climate change and its consequent sea level rise may simultaneously threaten these estuarine habitats and prompt the need for restoration and enhancement. CalTrout’s Eel River Estuary Preserve project in the Eel River Delta is one such opportunity. The Wildlands Conservancy bought this 1,250 acre ranch in 2008 and CalTrout is leading the restoration design process. We’re also exploring ways to quantify the carbon sequestration potential in salt marsh habitats, which may open the cap and trade market for carbon offsets as a funding source for investment in estuary restoration.
There is much work to be done in the region; work that CalTrout believes vital for salmon and steelhead, and work for which we’re committed to putting in the necessary time, resources and energy.
Current Recovery Activities
The North Coast Region’s portfolio now includes a wide-range of recovery activities:
• Stakeholder coalition-building (the Eel River Forum);
• Restoration design and implementation (Woodman and Bridge creek
fish passage projects);
• Tidal marsh and estuary enhancement (the Wildlands Conservancy’s
Eel River Preserve);
• Watershed-wide remediation from legacy timber harvests (Elk River
Recovery Assessment);
• Water policy and streamflow improvement (South Fork Eel Water
Conservation Program);
• Population monitoring (SF Eel Didson monitoring proposal);
• Conservation Advocacy (Trinity Working Group, Coho Recovery
Team, Smith River protection).
Funding New Projects
To help fund these new projects, CalTrout’s Annual Gala Fundraiser included a Fund-A-Need appeal to help with the expansion of our North Coast office and the important work being done to protect California’s strongest and most resilient populations of wild salmon and steelhead. It was our most successful Fund-A-Need to date, raising $145,000 for the region.
This funding will be used to:
1. Expand our work in coastal estuaries: leverage our Eel River experience (in helping improve estuary functionality) on the Smith and Mad rivers. 2. Continue building the Eel River Forum’s success in meaningful
collaboration and on-the-ground project success.
3. Seed a critical fish population monitoring effort on the Eel: drive a
joint CalTrout-Humboldt State University program that will bring state of the art technology to population monitoring in the South Fork Eel.
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