CDFG reports on Shasta coho declines, calls for increased flows

Klamath Riverkeeper Press Release | For Immediate Release

Contact: Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper, office: (530) 627-3311, cell: (530)340-5415, erica [at] klamathriver.org

February 23, 2010

CDFG reports on Shasta coho declines, calls for increased flows
Situation dire for 2010 juveniles as irrigation season approaches

A new CDFG report warns that if poor habitat conditions for threatened coho on the Shasta River are not improved quickly, Shasta coho may face extinction.

The report released last month on juvenile coho considers two out of the Shasta’s three year-classes of coho to be “functionally extinct,” meaning coho will now only migrate to the Shasta to spawn one out of every three years. The last remaining year-class, expected to return to the Shasta for spawning next fall, is also on a trajectory toward extinction. CDFG’s analysis shows that, if left unchanged, low flows, warm temperatures and cattle trampling at the coho’s sole remaining spawning grounds may result in complete extirpation of Shasta coho.

“With tributary irrigation season set to begin March 1st, we fully support CDFG and its partner agencies in acting swiftly to save the last of the Shasta coho,” said Erica Terence of Klamath Riverkeeper. “CDFG has provided great recommendations for improving instream flows and getting cattle out of the Shasta River – we hope they turn into tangible actions as soon as possible.”

Unlike other salmon species, coho live only three years, and spend their entire first year in their natal streams. Dependent on instream migration to find productive habitat throughout the year, coho are particularly vulnerable to low flows, barriers, warm tailwater returns from irrigation diversions, and habitat destruction from cattle grazing and trampling. Coho are currently the only salmon species in the Klamath Watershed protected under the Endangered Species Act.

CDFG reports that only 9 coho, all male, returned to spawn in the fall of 2009, and similarly few returned in 2008. CDFG expects the last functional run - 148 adults - in the fall of 2010 and reports that the only remaining spawning and rearing habitat for these fish is the Big Springs Complex which includes Kettle Springs and lower Parks Creek. CDFG notes that while habitat restoration on the Nature Conservancy’s Shasta Big Springs Ranch is “producing rapid improvements,” the only properties in the Big Springs Complex where juvenile coho were actually observed in 2009 were ranches owned by Emmerson Investments Inc.

The report suggests the key rearing habitat on Archie “Red” Emmerson’s land is heavily degraded by excessive cattle trampling, de-watering, and elevated water temperatures. Emmerson is not a local family farmer, but rather the head of Sierra Pacific logging corporation, the nation’s third-largest landowner. His net worth is estimated at over $2.1 billion and Forbes ranks him among the United States’ 400 wealthiest people.

CDFG states in the report that restoration efforts “similar to the Nature Conservancy’s are needed quickly” on Emmerson’s land to prepare for the return of 2010 coho. The report concludes that leaving the following conditions unchanged will “reduce the production and survival” of the last remaining coho on the Shasta River:

· Low winter stream flows block instream migration October 15th through December 15th.
· Redds and riparian areas are destroyed by cattle
· Juveniles can’t migrate to summer habitat due to low flows and high temperatures caused by diversions and warm tail water beginning March 1st.
· Diversions and warm tailwater returns reduce cold water refugial areas March 1st through September 30th
· Warm water releases from Dwinnell Dam/Lake Shastina heat cold water refugial areas May 1st through September 15th.
· Low flows and increased water temperatures due to diversions reduced survival of out migrating smolts March 15th through May 31st.

A final section on recommendations proposes addressing these concerns with a table of “example solutions.” These include keeping “adequate water quantity and quality instream to maintain fish in good condition,” maintaining “sufficient flows and suitable temperatures to allow fish passage,” and excluding livestock from streams.

“These recommendations are a good starting point, but won’t get us anywhere if CDFG doesn’t work with other agencies, including the Department of Water Resources and NOAA, to ensure they are implemented promptly,” said Terence. “We need public scrutiny and environmental enforcement to begin with the irrigation season. We can’t afford to lose an inch or we’ll lose coho entirely.”

Restoration of fisheries and flows in the Klamath’s Scott and Shasta Rivers is widely recognized as key to the recovery of Klamath River salmon. The Shasta River was once the most productive salmon river for its size in California, and both the Shasta and Scott have seen fish numbers dwindle in recent years.
CDFG’s report comes after instream flows dipped to all time lows on the Scott and Shasta Rivers last year, due to poorly enforced agricultural diversions and increased groundwater pumping during a period of drier than normal weather. When asked at the Klamath Basin Science Conference what steps CDFG was taking to prevent a repeat of last summer’s dramatic flow crises, CDFG Program Manager Mark Stopher cited the agency’s controversial proposed Watershed-Wide Incidental Take Permitting program.

Facing a lawsuit from Klamath Riverkeeper and a coalition of tribes, conservation groups, and fishermen, the proposed “ITP” program does not address the water diversions and groundwater pumping that dewatered the Scott and Shasta Rivers last summer, habitat conditions on Red Emmerson’s ranches, nor the fish passage, diversions, and water quality problems associated with Dwinnell Dam.

The controversial watershed-wide permitting proposal would give blanket endangered species waivers to farmers and ranchers throughout the Scott and Shasta Rivers and would be administered by the Scott and Shasta Valley Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs), government-chartered entities directed by local landowners.

Download CDFG’s report “Shasta River Juvenile Coho Habitat & Migration Study” at http://www.klamathriver.org/Documents/CDFG-Juvenile-Coho-2009.pdf

Read more about KRK’s coalition lawsuit challenging CDFG’s Watershed-Wide Permits
http://www.klamathriver.org/media/pressreleases/PR-102209.html
http://www.klamathriver.org/tribs/ITP.html