Save Alaska's Bristol Bay from Devastating Pebble Mine

Pebble Mine is a massive, open-pit gold and copper mine being planned for the headwaters of Alaska's Bristol Bay. It would threaten the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world and hurt wildlife like grizzly bears, moose.

Bristol Bay continues to produce the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery and is one of the most prolific king salmon runs left on the planet. 7500 Native Alaskans who live in the Bristol Bay region rely on strong salmon runs for their subsistence way of life that have sustained them for generations. The Bristol Bay fishery supports over 14,000 jobs and is valued at $1.5 billion annually. Bristol Bay's rivers attract anglers from all over the world who seek the “once in a lifetime” Alaska fishing experience. The proposed Pebble Mine threatens all of this. 

The Pebble deposit is a massive storehouse of gold, copper and molybdenum, located in the headwaters of the Kvichak and Nushagak Rivers, two of the eight major rivers that feed Bristol Bay. If built, Pebble would be one of the largest mines in the world. Because of its size, geochemistry and location, Pebble runs a high risk of polluting Bristol Bay.

Pebble officially filed for their key, phase-one permit application in December 2017. In response, the federal government has laid out an unprecedented, fast tracked 2-year permit review process. Following the release of an incomplete and rushed Draft Environmental Impact Statement in late February, the American public has an opportunity now to tell the Army Corps of Engineers to stop the permitting process for this disastrous project.  Far from “just another comment period,” this is potentially the last opportunity to stop Pebble’s most important permit, which, if issued, would open Bristol Bay to becoming essentially an industrial mining district in the next five years.

Take a moment now to tell the Corps to stop Pebble Mine by clicking in the link below

http://www.savebristolbay.org/take-action

Northern CA Council - Fly Fishers International May 2019 Newsletter

The Northern California Council of Fly Fishers International (NCCFFI) has published the May 2019 Volume of The River Mouth eNewsletter. Included in this edition:  President's message Education report Conservation report Communications and Outreach report Membership report Veterans First Fly Fishing article Gold Country Fly Fishers article on Know Your Watershed report Check out the Conservation Report which provides updates on: California State Water Resources Control Board Update & Proposed Voluntary Agreements New Biological Opinion for the Delta New Storage Reservoirs/Sites Reservoir Klamath Dam Removal Smith River Fisheries Management/Monitoring Plan    Click here to view.

Fishing and River Groups Analyze Voluntary Agreements

Several fishing and river groups, including the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, the Tuolumne River Trust and Friends of the Rivers,  released an analysis critical of the outline of Voluntary Agreements submitted to the State Water Board as a proposed alternative to the Board’s regulatory update of the Bay-Delta Plan.  The analysis describes foundational problems with the agreements as proposed by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and others on December 12, 2018 and March 1, 2019.

Lower Tuolumne River

Entitled “Smoke and Mirrors,” the analysis criticizes the as yet incomplete Voluntary Agreements as outlined to date because they:

1. Double-count habitat restoration projects that are already required or planned using existing funds, and that would occur without such an agreement;
2. Fail to provide sufficient flow increases to protect and restore the Bay-Delta estuary, its native fish and wildlife, and the thousands of jobs that depend on it;
3. Fail to include any restrictions on Delta pumping and other operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP); such restrictions are necessary to prevent the water projects from diverting any additional flow provided from upstream farms and cities and to prevent the Trump Administration from gutting Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the Bay-Delta;
4. Fail to include carryover storage requirements in upstream reservoirs to ensure water supplies for future droughts and adequate water temperatures for salmon;
5. Fail to use the transparent approach of flow standards based on a percentage of unimpaired flows, and instead use the failed approach of State Water Board Decision 1641;
6. Fail to ensure that Bay-Delta standards will be enforced and will respond to new scientific information; and
7. Fail to include investments in water supply reliability and economic development projects that will help cities and farms adapt to a future with less water diverted from the Bay-Delta.

The analysis of the Voluntary Agreements is available here.

The webpage for the March 1 CNRA submittal to the State Water Board is here.

Winter Edition of The Osprey-International Journal of Salmon & Steelhead Conservation Available

The winter edition of “The Osprey: the International Journal of Salmon and Steelhead Conservation.” is now available at this link:  http://wildsteelheadcoalition.org/2019/02/the-osprey-winter-edition/

This issue contains in-depth articles examining how British Columbia has “managed” Thompson River wild steelhead to near extinction, exploring how our changing climate is impacting steelhead on the Skagit, and how hatchery steelhead are replacing native redband trout on Deschutes tributaries. 

The Osprey is a joint publication of not-for-profit organizations concerned with the conservation and sustainable management of wild Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitat throughout their native and introduced ranges. This partnership includes The Conservation Angler, Fly Fishers International, Steelhead Society of British Columbia, Skeena Wild, World Salmon Forum, Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelhead Coalition. The Osprey is published three times a year in January, May and September.

Golden Gate Trout Unlimited Talk: Lower Yuba Through the Seasons

The Golden Gate Chapter of Trout Unlimited Presentation:

The Lower Yuba Through the Seasons

On Tuesday, February 26, Clay Hash of Fly Fishing Traditions will give a presentation covering fly fishing tactics associated with the five seasons of the Yuba River.  Clay has been fishing the Lower Yuba for over 35 years and Fly Fishing Traditions is an educational guide service focusing on improving the skills of every angler.

The five seasons are (1) the Fall, (2) the Winter (3) Early Spring (4) late Spring & Early Summer and (Summer).  He will cover the insect hatches for each of the seasons as well as providing information on fishing techniques and fly patterns to match the hatch. This information is applicable for most Northern California rivers and streams. A handout will be provided listing the information covered in the presentation.

Location: Room 100 Town Center Mall  in Corte Madera (between UPS and Veggie Grill)

Time:  7:00-9:00 pm

Spring-Run Chinook Salmon to be Released in San Joaquin Restoration

Spring-Run Chinook Salmon Juveniles Scheduled for Release in San Joaquin River Restoration

Between January 23rd and March 24th, approximately 225,000 brood year (BY) 2018 spring-run Chinook salmon juveniles will be released to the San Joaquin River as part of the reintroduction strategy for the San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP). These BY 2018 juveniles will be released in groups ranging in size from 30,000 to 100,000. The work will be done by California Fish and Wildlife.

Each fish is adipose fin-clipped and fitted with a coded-wire tag to identify them as originating from the San Joaquin River. Each release group will have a unique tag code. The fish will be transported to the release site in a flatbed-mounted tank and tempered to river water temperatures onsite. The releases will occur in the evening to reduce the risk of predation and to take advantage of lower in-river temperatures that will reduce tempering time.


For more information, visit the SJRRP Website at www.restoresjr.net