Photo by Dustin Revel.

A few of us from CalTrout plus several friends and supporters were fortunate enough to spend last week fishing the Trinity River, the largest tributary to the Klamath. The clear water, blue skies, and silvery steelhead made for a memorable week and boosted our motivation to protect this important river. Coming off the river, we learned of the unfortunate news that the Department of the Interior had unilaterally “de-activated” an important public group that oversees the Trinity River federal restoration program.

As part of the Program’s management structure, the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG) provides an opportunity for stakeholders to give policy and management advice about restoration efforts. This is essential to ensuring public accountability of the federal restoration program. The TAMWG is a volunteer-run group, and provides public oversight of the Trinity Management Council, which operates similar to a Board of Directors and oversees the multi-million-dollar Trinity River Restoration Program. The Program was created in 2000 with a mission of restoring fisheries in the Trinity River impacted by dam construction, water diversions to the Central Valley, and historic mining and logging operations.

We are shocked by this decision to disband the public working group. CalTrout’s North Coast Director, Darren Mierau, has been a member of the working group for four years and our organization has been involved since the Program’s inception.

The Working Group and the Council go hand-in-hand. Stakeholder input from people that live or work in the Trinity River area is a crucial part of the restoration program’s success. These stakeholders have a right to be heard. These are voices of environmentalists, landowners, utility interests, commercial fishermen, rafting guides, and business owners to name a few− all who have a stake in the Trinity River’s health and recovery.

CalTrout recognizes the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group as a vital part of the restoration program’s success. Please help us reinstate it by contacting Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. This issue needs the voice of the public.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Send an email or mail a letter to Secretary Zinke – We’ve provided a sample letter that you may use (below), or write your own. Send the email to exsec@ios.doi.gov, or mail to Secretary Ryan Zinke, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW Washington DC, 20240.

Tweet @SecretaryZinke – Use our sample below or write your own!

@SecretaryZinke Trinity River Restoration Prgm needs stakeholder involvement. Don’t take away their voice – Reinstate TAM Working Group.

Sample Letter

Send to exsec@ios.doi.gov or mail to Secretary Ryan Zinke, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW Washington DC, 20240.

Email subject: Public Comment – Reinstate Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group

Dear Secretary Zinke,

I disagree with the recent decision to deactivate the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group (TAMWG), a primary component of the Trinity River Restoration Program. TAMWG is comprised of volunteers, a diverse group of stakeholders that provides valuable input to the Trinity Management Council. Taking away their input is taking away the public’s crucial opportunity to be closely involved in decisions affecting the Trinity River. Without the working group, stakeholder engagement will be limited to only the public comment period during Trinity Management Council meetings, which will not satisfy the public’s capacity to provide input.

I encourage the Department of the Interior to immediately re-instate the Trinity Adaptive Management Working Group.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

[City, State]