Saving salmon must be part of state's water planning
The Modesto Bee
04/06/2009
Gov. Schwarzenegger wants "comprehensive water reform" to be one of his legacies. This includes moving water through or around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, increased water storage, statewide conservation and habitat restoration.
It's a worthy to-do list, supported by many valley legislators and spearheaded by Sen. Dave Cogdill of Modesto. Yet it doesn't go far enough.
Saving our salmon must be a significant part of the governor's agenda. Otherwise, he could leave office with the state's prized salmon fisheries sinking into oblivion.
It's happening on the tributaries of the San Joaquin River, where the number of spawning salmon have dwindled into the hundreds. On the Sacramento River, 66,000 salmon returned this season, a tenth of the number from 2002.
Schwarzenegger has supported Klamath River restoration and provided aid to out-of-work salmon fishermen. But his administration hasn't done nearly enough to improve river conditions in the valley, where these fish confront a range of perils.
The giant pumps near Tracy, which suck up young fish and alter the estuary's flows, are one such peril. Unscreened water diversions are another. But there are more. The water itself can be deadly. Water warmer than 74 degrees kills juveniles; the San Joaquin River frequently is warmer.
Once in the ocean, there are other stresses. Scientists know the natural "upwelling" of nutrient-rich currents that generate salmon food has diminished. Yet, biologists have pointed out that chinook salmon have been declining for 150 years, even when ocean conditions were favorable.
With a more environmentally friendly administration in the White House, there's an opportunity for California to help salmon in all our rivers recover. The 1992 Central Valley Project Improvement Act calls for at least a doubling of salmon populations on a "long-term sustainable basis." To meet this goal, California must learn from successes. These include dismantling obsolete dams that block important habitat and restoring other habitat.
Predators are another danger to young salmon trying to reach the ocean from the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Merced rivers. Striped bass, in particular, have moved up from the delta into our rivers and often lurk in flooded gravel pits waiting for the 6- to 8-inch juvenile salmon to swim past. Then they feast.
It's why the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts support Assembly Bill 1253, which would remove the two-fish limits on striped bass in the delta. Many sportsmen disagree, saying stripers and salmon have coexisted since the bass were imported around 1880. But in previous decades, stripers stayed in the delta. Now, some scientists believe they have moved to where their favorite food source -- young salmon -- live. By allowing fishermen greater takes of these voracious predators, young salmon might have a better chance to survive.
More important is habitat restoration, such as the good work being done by Tuolumne River Trust and Friends of the River. Planting low-lying areas with native trees and shrubs provides good habitat for young salmon when these areas are flooded.
None of this comes easily or cheaply. Flooding land for salmon means less for agriculture or other habitat. Keeping water cold enough for out- migration means releasing more water...
