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New Flow Standards Key to Recovering Central Valley Salmon and Steelhead
Written by Chandra FerrariIn 2017, the California State Water Resources Control Board will make a decision that will fundamentally affect rivers and streams that California anglers know and love. This decision could make or break California’s salmon fisheries and the multi-billion dollar commercial and recreational angling economy they support.
The water board’s decision pertains to streamflow and water quality objectives under Phase I of the Bay-Delta Plan. At issue is new proposed flow standards which would double, on average, the amount of water reserved for the environment in the lower San Joaquin River and its primary tributaries.
Even under the proposed new standards, two-thirds of the natural flow of the Merced, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus Rivers would still be diverted, mainly for agriculture.
Trout Unlimited has been working for the past ten years to help improve habitat and flow conditions for Central Valley salmon and steelhead through the long process of developing the Bay-Delta Plan. The proposed new flow standards reflect our science-based position that Central Valley salmon and steelhead need more cold, clean water at critical times of the year than they have been receiving from federal and state water managers.
Read more on the TU Blog.
You Better Take Care of It: Helping Farmers Help Fish on Pescadero Creek
Written by Dustin RocksvoldPescadero Creek is one of the last, best wild steelhead strongholds on California’s Central Coast and is likely the best chance for recovering coho south of San Francisco. TU and conservation partners have worked for years to improve streamflows and habitat conditions in this watershed. TU’s work has focused on collaborative projects with willing agricultural landowners in the lower watershed that will improve water security for farming and boost streamflows in the dry season when steelhead need it most. The BJ Burns/Bianchi Flowers farm project illustrated here is a fine example of how this kind of partnership can benefit both fish and people.
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Gary Berlin, retired Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer and ATV user, discusses his public lands story in Colorado.
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John Land Le Coq is the co-founder of the fly fishing brand Fishpond based in Colorado.
Within the fly fishing industry Le Coq speaks out about how, as an industry, they can help protect these lands from transfer. Efforts to sell of vast chunks of public lands to reduce the federal deficit are running up against staunch opponents: hunters and anglers.
Take action at:
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The threat of losing our public lands looms large. That threat grows, passing like wildfire through halls of Congress and state capitols, spreading its invasive rhetoric in our communities. People with soft hands and expensive suits tell us
“It’s just transfer. It’s not like we’re selling them.”
It’s not just transfer. And it is a big deal.
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Photographer, angler, writer and backcountry enthusiast Jillian Lukiwski talks about her experiences on our public lands.
Tell your story and sign the petition at tu.org/publiclands
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The Eaton family headed out on a year-long journey fishing our public lands/waters throughout the country. In this video they share their experiences and talk about what public lands mean to them and their children.
Go to www.tu.org/publiclands to find out more.
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Frank Moore, a World War II veteran and a legendary steward of the North Umpqua River, discusses his personal connection to America's public lands.
