A billion dollar fund to restore fish, but don’t expect any dams to be breached. That’s the gist of the NOAA’s third draft of the plan for the Columbia and Snake watersheds:

The draft plan would provide new equipment to detour fish around deadly dam turbines, manage spills to better match when fish are present, fine-tune hatchery programs, restore salmon habitat in tributaries, and control birds, sea lions and fish that prey on salmon. The extra cost probably would increase power rates.

The operative word is “trend” – as the plan hopes to “trend” the seven runs of salmon above Bonneville dam towards recovery – rather than actually recover them.

Today’s Sacramento Bee also mentions our local decline in returning Salmon, as only 20% of the fish have returned to spawn. Fish biologists are scratching their heads, but are noting the collapse of the krill population may be linked to the lack of fish.

Schwing said the population of krill has mysteriously crashed in the ocean. This zooplankton, which resembles a tiny shrimp, is a key salmon food.

It seems the noble salmon are in the grip of a vice, with pressures in both fresh and salt water conspiring against them.

Technorati Tags: NOAA columbia river plan, krill, salmon, extinction

Which side are you on? Native species and habitat restoration is a worthy cause, but will you deem it so when you’re raking the gravel where your lawn used to be?

Singlebarbed readers thrive on fear and pestilence, but this issue is so large it’s likely to have all of us switching allegiances. It’s a “plea bargain” scenario, where all the crooks rebuff the cops until one cracks, then it’s every man for himself.

Will you insist on un-dammed streams and wild trout habitat when your house loses half its value, or will you cave and let them add more dams and reservoirs to preserve the lifestyle you have?

I think you’ll cave, you’re going to fold so fast even you’ll be surprised.

It’s one thing to bemoan the loss of pristine habitat, but when it’s your swimming pool they’re talking about, the Salmon can fend for themselves.

It’s a juggernaut issue, and it’s headed your way.

Across America, the picture is critically clear — the nation’s freshwater supplies can no longer quench its thirst.

The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.

That’s means you – a 72% chance the state you live in will be adding dams, reservoirs, and a lot of underground pipe, in the next 5 years. If those years are “dry” years, you’ll be doing it sooner.

That’s not the end of it, water rights and the property that owns them will be going parabolic in value, which will cause fishermen additional grief as many small ranches and farms that hold water rights will be gobbled up by corporations that smell massive water profits.

It’ll yield additional fences and “No Trespass” signs, much litigation, and the rise of “Donny Beaver” angling associations. Thirty-Six out of fifty suggests none of us are immune, including Mr. Beaver.

Desalinization is still somewhat in it’s infancy, and will likely have the same issues that nuclear plants have, where do you dump the salt? Many desalinization processes remove salt from seawater, while the water is quickly used the salt has to be disposed of in some manner, and in high concentration its as toxic to the living as nuclear waste.

Desalinization technology will mature and be a boon to states with ready access to the ocean, but with deficit spending still the rage, coastal states will likely use this as a source of revenue, selling excess capacity to inland states that lack access.

That means the price of water goes up. It also means some high dollar beach real estate will be tapped for plant construction, as thousands of plants will be needed per state, a lot of beach will lose its scenic appeal.

Intakes to those plants will be posted with “No Fishing” restrictions, as nothing fouls pumping gear more than nets, crab traps, and fishing line.

The price tag for ensuring a reliable water supply could be staggering. Experts estimate that just upgrading pipes to handle new supplies could cost the nation $300 billion over 30 years.

“Unfortunately, there’s just not going to be any more cheap water,” said Randy Brown, Pompano Beach’s utilities director.

This rabbit-hole just gets deeper and deeper, and even casual research reveals the potential for much disruption for all fishermen, both fresh and salt.

Of specific interest is how the “eminent domain” laws will be wielded by communities short on drinking water. Water rights and real estate close by could easily be pre-empted for the community good. Small truck farms whose only “crime” is proximity to a city, are the likely targets. 

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that local governments may force property owners to sell out and make way for private economic development when officials decide it would benefit the public, even if the property is not blighted and the new project’s success is not guaranteed.

Water conservation efforts will mean many more impoundments, canals, and underground pipes. Many will be covered to prevent evaporation, but wastewater reclamation will be considered “low hanging fruit.”

Florida’s environmental chief, Michael Sole, is seeking legislative action to get municipalities to reuse the wastewater.

“As these communities grow, instead of developing new water with new treatment systems, why not better manage the commodity they already have and produce an environmental benefit at the same time?” Sole said.

That’s the silver lining, plenty of Brownline fishing for warm water species. They may object to you wading in drinking water, but nobody will mind when you’re hip deep in crap.

I think we’re hip deep in crap already, and I’m just the fellow that remembered to bring tackle.

Technorati Tags: freshwater supply, desalinization, water conservation, brownlining, wastewater treatment, irrigation

The New York Times has an interesting article entitled, “The Future is Drying Up” outlining issues the West faces in accommodating a burgeoning population, a decrease in water, and some of the ramifications of the current litany of water rights hampering water managers.

“Pulwarty asked if I knew the projections for what it would take to refill Lake Powell, which is at about 50 percent of capacity. Twenty years of average flow on the Colorado River, he told me. “Good luck,” he said. “Even in normal conditions we don’t get 20 years of average flow.”

The water issues of the South are merely current events, the real battles are likely to be waged in the West, with the Colorado River being the real litmus test, the worst possible legal scenario.

“Some 30 million people depend on that water. A greatly reduced river would wreak chaos in seven states: Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. An almost unfathomable legal morass might well result, with farmers suing the federal government; cities suing cities; states suing states; Indian nations suing state officials; and foreign nations (by treaty, Mexico has a small claim on the river) bringing international law to bear on the United States government.”

It appears that wildlife will have to fend for itself, as little mention is made of the impacts to flora and fauna; voters get water, all else is inconsequential. The US actually uses less water than it did 25 years ago, but the growth in population is likely to dominate all other causal agents.

“The people who move to the West today need to realize they’re moving into a desert,” Mulroy said. “If they want to live in a desert, they have to adapt to a desert lifestyle.”

That means Saguaro cactus on your front lawn, not well manicured grass.

For those cities carved from the raw desert, like Las Vegas and most of Southern California, it means deprivation and increased cost. While there is enough to go around voters will insist on lawn versus wildlife, but that’s the easy part. When there isn’t enough to go around, that’s when it will pit voter on voter, and that is a different battle.

Most of the water managers in the article agree that cost will be on the increase soon. It’s envisioned as a “pay for what you use” style arrangement, with hefty bills for lush backyard growth.

If you thought brownlining was for sissies, you may want to rethink that. Water managers recognize that most of the natural water is spoken for by cities, farmers, and other states. Finding new sources of water is impractical due to evaporation during transport – not to mention the cost of trenching canals or building pipelines that may have to go many hundreds of miles.

Re-use of existing water is where we may be headed. Used, cleansed, released into natural rivers, lakes, or canals – then recaptured via filtration downstream. Wells are dug near the river channel, and wastewater is reclaimed via filtration from the river through the sediment and rock to the wellhead. As wastewater is typically many degrees warmer than natural water, due to the cleansing process, we may elevate the rivers temperature in the process.

Call it “local warming” rather than global – no matter what the title, it’s sure to play hell with resident fish and bug life. Brownlining may be headed for the mainstream, just remember who loves ya…

Read the article, it’s compelling.

Technorati Tags: western water rights, drought, water conservation

The Nature Conservancy purchased the 1440 acre Child’s Meadow parcel near the southern entrance of Lassen National Park. The Childs Meadow is an alpine meadow that forms part of the headwaters of Deer Creek, one of the few California streams that hosts both steelhead and spring salmon.

The property is located east of Hwy 89, just below Morgan Summit. The meadow will continue to be used as summer grazing for the horses of the Simmons Ranch, north of Chico.

Proximity to the Lassen National Forest’s southern entrance had caught the eye of developers, who proposed a conversion to vacation homes and golf course.

This alpine meadow acts as a sponge absorbing snow melt and releasing it during the warmer months when cold water is critical to the survival of fish in Deer Creek.

Golfers have plenty of real estate to hack away at already, draining the region for homes is not the best way to save Parr.

Technorati Tags: Deer Creek, Nature Conservancy, Child’s Meadow

There is a bit of liability that comes with that beautiful vacation cottage or fishing chalet you’ve been salivating over, and unfortunately protecting yourself often flies in the face of all the reasons you made the purchase.

“Nestled in the pine trees” is something from the fairy tales – and the ambiance and picturesque nature of your woodland fishing retreat is why it may kill you. All them pine trees and that isolating brush guarantees you may be a charcoal briquette.

California’s fire agencies recommend a “100 foot clearance” for all brush and timber around your structure. Naturally that won’t make the cottage photogenic, but if you are up fishing and a major fire erupts, you may not be defensible – and you may not get out.

The interface between Nature and civilization continues to creep ever outward; more buildings, more developments, more people – and not enough resources to keep them all safe – especially when they don’t take the precautions seriously.

MSNBC has posted an article describing the mounting losses of firefighters and the tough choices fire bosses have with their limited resources.

Too many people in the woods, and too few have cleared either brush or timber to give the firefighters a chance at a defensible space. Not a pleasant thought, but you may want to consider the maintenance required when you dream of retirement to some little trout stream, tucked in the woods.

Technorati Tags: defensible space, CDF, firefighters, rural urban interface

Fish farms have been on the ascendancy for some time, what with obscene pressure on wild fish stocks, and the Medical community advocating the eating of fish “two to three times per week.”

Migratory fish can be augmented by hatcheries, but table fish that don’t migrate have to be raised in the ocean in enclosures. Genetic tinkering of any lifeform, whether animal or plant, is still a hot topic – both in the general populace, and even among fishermen.

The Trout Underground’s post of the triploid rainbow trout record showed the divide that exists even within our little community.

Get used to it.

A small story on the BBC illustrates how “table” fish stocks are unwittingly being tampered with – purely by accident. Seals are hungry, and a big net full of salmon looks mighty appealing, in gorging themselves – they’ve released 157,000 genetic salmon into the wild last year.

In February, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organization (SSPO) said the number of salmon escaping from Scottish fish farms into the wild had halved.

It told a ministerial group that 157,000 fish escaped last year compared with about 300,000 in 2002.

The SSPO at the time contested claims that escaped farmed fish outnumbered wild ones.

The story lacks much detail, but 157,000 fish likely attempted to mount something (or vice versa) – so that lunker you landed last week was a wild fish? Prove it.

Half of the world’s sea food is now being farmed,” Mr MacMillan told Newsnight reporter Liz MacKean. “In order to have sea food available to consumers, it has to come from aquaculture.”

That is an amazing quote. I can only wonder what a lab engineered salmon thinks is his home stream, and who do I have to pay to get them all programmed to come to my house?

Technorati Tags: aquaculture, fish farm, farmed salmon