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Conservation Report

Mark Rockwell, NCCFFI President


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Students Witness History:
Field Trips Highlights Historic Return of Klamath Salmon


Press Release from Save California Salmon, Nov. 25, 2024:

Hornbrook, California - Months after the historic removal of four hydroelectric dams along the Klamath River, the region is witnessing remarkable ecological recovery and renewed community engagement, creating opportunities to use the river as a living classroom.

Last week Humboldt and Siskiyou County schools embarked on their third year of dam removal field trips, where students observed salmon spawning where the Klamath dams once stood. Last spring these students watched the beginning of the dam removal process.

“It has been an emotional and exciting time to not only witness the dam removal but also to provide the community and youth the opportunity to see what can be accomplished with hard work and dedication,” shared Star Gibbens, SCS Youth Coordinator and local parent. “Watching the kids' faces change from sadness at the dam site in previous years to excitement as they watched salmon spawn above the former dam sites will forever be a fond memory.”

READMORE

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Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Today is a happy day as I prepare to drive up to the Klamath River to join many of my partners who have spent years working to recover the Klamath River system in Northern California and Oregon.  On Friday there will be a daylong celebration sponsored by RES - Resource Environmental Solutions - the company that is implementing and managing the restoration of the footprint of the Klamath Hydropower system.  Removing the 4 dams is now done!  It marks the start of recovery of what was once the 3rd largest salmon and steelhead river system in the lower 48 states.  Historically, millions of adult salmonids returned from the sea to spawn and create the next generation of fish.  Those days have been gone for more than 100 years.  Fortunately, those bad days are over!  We are moving into what will be the world's largest salmonid and watershed recovery process in history.  Giving the fish a chance is what this is all about.

We are all very proud to have been a part of this effort.  It will take many years for this watershed to recover, but the process has begun.  Here's a short new video by our documentary partner, Shane Anderson of Swiftwater films, that will give you some confidence that the future is bright, and recovery is underway.  Enjoy!



Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.
VP Conservation, 
Northern Calif. Council,
Fly Fishers International
Santa Barbara FF Conservation Chair
530 559-5759 (cell)



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My Partners attending the breaching of the Coffer dam at Iron Gate on the Klamath

Craig Tucker and Mike Belcheck are the initial 2 Klamath dam removal leaders you'll see in this short video, then comes the Hillman's - Yurok Tribal leaders.  If you thought this was just another day on the river - think again!  I feel just as they do when they watched the free flowing river when it first happened.  That said, I've shed tears many times over the past few months when I think about how important it is to understand that one of America's great salmon & steelhead rivers is once again flowing freely to the ocean.  
https://www.azcentral.com/videos/news/local/arizona-environment/2024/08/29/klamath-river-flows-freely-after-dams-removed/75000895007/



Here's another short video of the removal of Copco 2 dam.  This was the first time I shed some tears in this process of removal.  Copco 2 was the first dam removed last October.  I just watched it again - - and cried.  Once this happened, we all knew it was the beginning of the end of blocked flows on the Klamath, and the beginning of recovery of its historic fishery.



S.F. Chronicle article on breaching the coffer dam:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/klamath-dams-removal-river-19728416.php




--
Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.
VP Conservation, 
Northern Calif. Council,
Fly Fishers International
Santa Barbara FF Conservation Chair
530 559-5759 (cell)

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AUGUST 28, 2024

Here's a link to a T.U. write-up of the historic day of breaching that marks the day the Klamath River is returned to its historical channel for the 1st time in more than a century.  It's a good read.  At the end you can click on a story map that is also excellent.

https://www.tu.org/magazine/conservation/barriers/dam-removal/klamath-reconnected-the-four-dams-are-gone

JULY 31, 2024


I wanted to share with you a couple of important communications we've had the last couple of weeks.
 
  1. Last week a very good community briefing was done by our partners who are working on restoring the Klamath River.  I'd be happy to host a showing of this and answer questions you may have.  We are nearly 2 months ahead of schedule on removing the dams, and full volitional fish passage will happen this Fall for the first time in more than 100 years.  Here's the link to the Briefing:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEecYmaWFTQ (video below)
  2. What has the Federal Government been doing for the environment?  Take a look:  https://www.conservation.gov/pages/america-the-beautiful-initiative.  It is great to see that we have partners focused on water quality and fisheries in our Federal agencies!
Let me know if you would like me to speak to your club about our conservation work, or call me if you have questions or need advice.  Remember, we are the portal to FFI for club focused grants for conservation work in your area.  


--
Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.
VP Conservation, 
Northern Calif. Council,
Fly Fishers International
Santa Barbara FF Conservation Chair
530 559-5759 (cell)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, people can change the world.  It is the only thing that ever has."      Margaret Mead




Many of you may have already heard about the negative impact of 6PPD Quinone on salmonids, specifically Coho salmon. This chemical is in every tire made, and is leaching into the environment from runoff on roads and through other types of contact with water that leaches into rivers. This is a good video on it from King 5 in Seattle.


https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/coalition-brings-together-longtime-rivals-help-salmon/281-420f83c6-6a1b-47e6-a54b-1f6bf78e4bf0


Those of you in many areas where Coho are endangered - Central coast cities and areas, - might want to start bringing this up in local city council meetings and with local EPA and other state & federal agencies to start pushing to get this chemical eliminated from tire production.

Mark Rockwell


--

Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.

VP Conservation, 

Northern Calif. Council,

Fly Fishers International

Santa Barbara FF Conservation Chair

mrockwell1945@gmail.com

530 559-5759 (cell)


This is a good article focused on a House Republican who is working to engage his party in joining the effort to lower carbon emissions and engage in Climate Change discussions. The article speaks for itself. Those who care about our environment need to understand that Climate Change cannot just be a one-party effort in America, or anywhere else. 

We're all in this together. We all suffer the impacts of the changes that are here already, and those yet to come. Just look at the cost of insurance - homeowners, auto, liability, etc. - all driven by worsening storm impacts & costs. 

We cannot buy our way out of this, no matter how much money we have. Let's put our big boy/girl pants on and come together and do what is needed for our future generations. They will inherit our legacy.

Mark Rockwell



https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-01-18/column-meet-john-curtis-the-utah-republican-who-cares-about-climate-change-boiling-point

Solving climate change would be a hell of a lot easier if the Republican Party would get on board.

Can John Curtis make it happen?

I’ve been reading about the Utah Republican since 2021, when he founded the Conservative Climate Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives and began making the case that the GOP should take global warming seriously. When he announced this month that he’s running for the Senate, my curiosity finally got the better of me: Should I be taking this guy seriously?

So I reached out to his office and set up an interview.

Curtis was gracious with his time, spending more than 45 minutes on the phone answering my questions and explaining how he’d chosen to make the climate crisis a focus of his political life. 

He started off telling me how he grew up hiking in the Uinta Mountains and learning to love the great outdoors. He described Provo — where he served as mayor before being elected to the House in 2017 — as “one of the most beautiful cities on the planet.”

“On a morning like today, you’d wake up and see snowcapped mountains with the blue sky and the sun,” he said. “If you’re not drawn to nature by that, you have no hope, nothing in you that is decent.”

READ MORE: 
https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-01-18/column-meet-john-curtis-the-utah-republican-who-cares-about-climate-change-boiling-point



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Newsom’s stealthy divide and conquer
Delta tunnel campaign



See this article by our Delta Advocacy champion - Barbara Barrigan=Parrilla from Restore the Delta.  The Delta is heating up now and water quality issues will only get worse as summer approaches.   - Mark Rockwell




OPINION – Gavin Newsom’s stealthy divide and conquer tactics are pushing marginalized communities against each other in a war over water. Newsom, his administration and State Water Contractors are appropriating environmental justice language to sway public opinion in Southern California about the Delta Conveyance Project – also referred to as the Delta tunnel.

They argue that the Delta tunnel is essential for Southern California’s disadvantaged communities yet misrepresent the harm the project continues to have on the tribal communities along California’s major rivers and on communities in the Delta watershed. 

Pitting disadvantaged communities from different regions of the state against each other is a cynical strategy and is all the more egregious when considering it’s done in the interest of serving only one sector of California’s economy that these players have deemed all-important – special interests in Southern California and portions of Silicon Valley.

In this “Hunger Games” narrative for California water management, the areas with water resources will be sacrificed for the benefit of those with privilege, wealth, and power.  
READ MORE


https://capitolweekly.net/newsoms-stealthy-divide-and-conquer-delta-tunnel-campaign/




What is happening today on the Klamath - River Progress


Message from Mark Rockwell . . .

Below is a link from NOAA Fisheries on what is happening today after drawdown of the lakes behind the dams.  It's clear, progress is happening faster than expected with silt transport from behind the dams and being transported down river to the ocean.  


Last week there was a loss of salmon fry released at the new Fall Creek hatchery where about 800,000 fry were released above Iron Gate into Fall Creek. These fish were transported in December from the now closed Klamath hatchery, and there was no room for them in the new hatchery.  That caused CDFW to decide to simply release the fry into Fall Creek, hoping they'd move downstream to the Klamath.  In the process they experienced gas bubble impacts in the tunnel through Iron Gate dam, causing the fry to be lost in the process. 

The good news is that there are 3.25 million fry (full capacity) currently in the Fall Creek hatchery, being readied for release in the months ahead.  Once the fish get to the smolt stage, and are more fit for release and travel to the ocean, they will be transported via truck to below Iron Gate dam and released. 

It is expected they all will have a normal opportunity to get to the Pacific, returning as adults in 3-4 years.  

Here's the link to NOAA's report on flows and silt transport:
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There was good coverage of the Klamath Dam removal project on the CBS National news tonight.  Our Klamath Communications team was key to this going effort.  Please share this around to all club members.  

NCCFFI has been part of this since the beginning.  This is a building story, and big changes are in the future of the river.

- Mark Rockwell, NCCFFI Conservation





Important article on the Bay-Delta Tunnel project the Governor is pushing forward, regardless of being told that it will be bad for the watershed.

- Mark Rockwell

 



 

 

 

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/1/2226907/-Harder-Leads-Coalition-Urging-Army-Corps-of-Engin

 

Harder Leads Coalition Urging Army Corps of Engineers to Deny Permit for Delta Tunnel Water Grab

 

by Dan Bacher

 

WASHINGTON – Representative Josh Harder (CA-9) has led a group of his Delta region colleagues urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deny a permit for the now-infamous Delta Tunnel, the zombie project that just keeps coming back.

 

“The State recently released an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) confirming that the project will threaten endangered fish populations, destroy farmland, and harm water quality,” according to a press release from Harder's Office. “Harder is calling attention to the deeply concerning long-term impacts that the Delta Tunnel project would have on the Delta itself, the local agriculture industry, and the environment.” 

 

“The Delta Tunnel water grab would be a disaster for our region. We’ve been saying it for years and Sacramento’s own report shows the damage it would do, but they won’t listen and they’re steamrolling ahead,” said Rep. Harder. “Delta communities are united in opposition to this boondoggle project because water is the lifeblood of our way of life. The Army Corps needs to do what’s right, look at the real dangers this project will cause, and deny a permit.” 

 

Last month, Harder and his Delta region colleagues urged the US Bureau of Reclamation to deny Sacramento’s requestfor federal participation in the Delta Tunnel project.

 

“In December, Harder led his colleagues in demanding the California Natural Resources Agency halt all Delta Tunnel activity following the release of its own troubling Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The report acknowledges what Harder and other Delta Tunnel opponents have known for years: the project would be a disaster for waterways, farmers, and communities along the Delta. Harder hosted multiple town halls after the Army Corps of Engineers refused to host their own in-person town hall to discuss the Delta Tunnel project,” Harder’s Office wrote.  

 

Rep. Harder was joined by four other Delta region representatives: Reps. John Garamendi (CA-8), Mike Thompson (CA-4), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), and Doris Matsui (CA-7) in their letter to the Army Corps of Engineers. 

 

Read their full letter to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works HERE or below: 

 

Dear Secretary Connor: 

 

As Representatives of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), we are troubled by the environmental consequences that would result from the construction and operation of the Delta Conveyance Project, commonly referred to as the Delta Tunnel, if issued a permit by the Corps under the Clean Water Act. The Project would permanently alter the Delta, disrupting local agriculture and causing environmental damage from adverse effects on water quality to increased salinity and the degradation of critical aquatic habitats. The construction phase alone, spanning over 13 years, will be highly disruptive. The long-term operational impacts of the Project, which are not analyzed in the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), are also of deep concern to Delta residents. We urge you to take all possible steps to ensure a comprehensive and thorough review of the full environmental consequences of the Delta Tunnel, as mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act. 

 

We want to highlight concerns raised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA's Region IX has communicated during the environmental review process that the EIS associated with the Delta Tunnel may necessitate elevation to the EPA's Office of Water. EPA’s most recent letter on the draft EIS (see attached) underscores the Delta's status as a resource of national importance and the potential for the Delta Tunnel to cause significant adverse impacts. EPA raises several significant concerns, which we share, regarding compliance with the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines and urges a full “analysis and disclosure of the project’s secondary effects, including, but not limited to: changes in the salinity gradient and the location and volume of the low salinity zone in all seasons; adverse effects on water quality including the amplification of water quality impairments; disruption of migratory corridors for salmonids and sturgeon; degradation of aquatic life beneficial uses; disruption and loss of ecosystem processes; reductions in cold water supply for migratory fishes in the upper watershed; and changes to river hydrology.” 

 

As you know, the Delta Tunnel will also require Corps' permits under Section 408 of the Clean Water Act for impacts to federal navigation channels and modifications that could potentially impact the federal system of Delta levees and other flood control features including the so-called non-(Army Corps) project levees. We share concerns raised by the Delta Counties Coalition and others that alterations to Delta levees during the Tunnel’s construction is likely to cause subsidence, jeopardizing the levee system's integrity and effectiveness in flood risk reduction. We look forward to continuing to work with the Corps to maintain and improve the Delta’s existing flood protection infrastructure to better protect the existing levees and associated water supply infrastructure from seismic risks and climate change. We encourage you to ensure that these alternatives are actively considered in lieu of the proposed Delta Tunnel. 

 

Please provide us with an update, as soon as practicable, on your efforts to ensure all environmental consequences of the Delta Tunnel are fully evaluated. Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Josh Harder

John Garamendi

Mike Thompson

Doris Matsui

Mark DeSaulnier 


January 26, 2024

Please share these with friends, club members and local press.


The Country's largest ever river restoration & dam removal is in process! Here's a few of the latest activities happening.


Teamwork was a necessary part of the Klamath Settlement process, and teamwork is now driving the removal & restoration process. What an experience this has been!

Mark

--

Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.

VP Conservation, 

Northern Calif. Council,

Fly Fishers International

mrockwell1945@gmail.com

530 559-5759 (cell)


"In Nature, when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." – John Muir



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December 2023


Northern California Council, FFI Report to Clubs 


From Mark Rockwell, Outgoing President, NCCFFI The Northern California Council, FFI, wishes all of you a very happy and prosperous New Year for 2024!


It is our mission to work with and provide benefit to all the member clubs of Fly Fishers International, and that includes all club members who enjoy club activities and fishing the waters of Northern California. Our Council Board is working on your behalf, and it is our goal to create and make available great learning programs on fly fishing, fly tying, and casting to all of you in our member clubs. We’ll once again be working to bring the new Fly Casting Skills program to you, and hoping that it makes your casting skills and fishing more productive this year. Additionally, we will be working on ground-breaking conservation projects like dam removal on the Klamath River.


For 20 years we have been the voice in the negotiations to remove four dams on the river, and we have finally reached success with the first dam - Copco 2 - removed in 2023, and the remaining 3 dams - Iron Gate, Copco 1, & J.C. Boyle slated to be removed by October, 2024.


This is the beginning of the largest dam removal and river restoration project in U.S. history. As you can see with the removal of Copco 2, a free flowing river is beautiful. By October, 2024, the remaining 3 dams will be out of the river, providing access to more than 400 miles of the upper Klamath watershed to spawning and rearing salmon and steelhead. Here’s a recent T.V. news video on the impacts of this restoration given by our partners in this project - the Yurok and Klamath Tribes. 


https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/native- american-tribes-impacted-by-demolition-of-dams-on- kla


In addition to this effort, we are now working with other partners on the Eel River, and removal of 2 dams on the middle fork. PG&E has released its plan to terminate use and a removal schedule for the dams, and we are working with local partners and our conservation partners - Cal Trout and Trout Unlimited - on completing this effort soon. The Eel River was once the third largest salmon and steelhead producing river in California.


We hope that will return once the dams are out.



--

Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.

President & VP Conservation, 

Northern Calif. Council,

Fly Fishers International

mrockwell1945@gmail.com

530 559-5759 (cell)



November 21, 2023


It's about time to say Happy Birthday to the ESA. It was born on December 28th, 1978. It's a law that has done more to save our native species than any other law Congress ever passed. That said, there are continual pressures to negate the law in Congress and open the door for harmful development, use of more chemical products that are harmful, and simply say, "Who needs protections anyway?"


https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/state/2023/11/20/florida-endangered-species-act-50-years-protected-animals-alligators-manatees-scrub-jay/71528443007/ 


It's important that we remember that without the ESA we'd have no Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, and countless other important species. It's our most important conservation law, and it mandates we think before we act, and realize that we share this planet with many other species that have a right to exist. 


It forces us to broaden our thinking to include all life on the planet when considering development, be it on land, in chemistry, or any other action that could have a negative impact on life forms other than ourselves. It's a wholistic law that is critical to our future.


Please support it and organizations that advocate for our fish and wildlife, like Fly Fishers International. We stand up for those species that have no bank accounts, nor a voice to speak on behalf of their survival. We share this Earth with them all, and the ESA reminds us of that reality daily. Let's keep it strong and viable.

Mark Rockwell


--

Dr. Mark Rockwell, D.C.

President & VP Conservation, 

Northern Calif. Council,

Fly Fishers International

mrockwell1945@gmail.com

530 559-5759 (cell)


CONNECT | NCCFFI  | P.O.Box 7231  |  Reno, NV 89510-7231  | president@nccffi.org | The NCCFFI is a 501(c)(3) organization.  [Fed. Id. #94-3124970]