Jan. 8, 2020
Liz Writes Life
Salmon
I wanted to mention the
end-of-the-year preliminary salmon count here in Siskiyou County. The Shasta
River adult salmon counting facility was installed and operational on the
afternoon of Sept. 4, 2019 and this count goes through Dec. 31, 2019 with 5,867
Chinook salmon and 61 Coho salmon observed. This seems like a pretty nice
number for Shasta River.
On Bogus Creek, the facility was
installed on Sept. 5, 2019 and through Dec. 31, 2019 there were 974 Chinook
counted and 53 Coho.
Scott River facility has had the
largest number of the Endangered Species listed Coho with 334 observed from
Sept. 19, 2019 and Dec. 31, 2019. Coho return every three years like clockwork,
compared to Chinook that return every three to five years. This might be the
best of the three years. And 1,505 Chinook have been reported through the video
station on Scott River.
Thank you to Morgan Knechtle, who
reports this salmon info on the Klamath River Project from the California Dept.
of Fish and Wildlife.
Roadkill
While on the subject of the CA. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, I
wanted to mention the new roadkill law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Last week, the Siskiyou Daily News ran an article about the new law and that
was a good thing, because there is misinformation about it. In December, a
friend mentioned that we would be able to pickup road kill in 2020 and my first
thought was “not without a permit of some kind – in California.” Yep, I knew
picking up roadkill would not be simple.
My second thought was, “how would you be able to prove it
really was roadkill?” Yes, there would be a smashed-in side or rear-end and no
bullet hole, but I could just see how altercations and disagreements could
over-shadow any legality of the situation.
So, the article by Damon Arthur was good timing.
I want to reiterate a few points from the article and the
press release from the CDFW. Apparently, the law provides for a “wild game meat
utilization program” to be adopted by state agencies. But until the program is
underway and a permitting process is available, I sure wouldn’t pick up any
roadkill.
A permit will be required to pickup roadkill. How you get
that permit has not been figured out. And the CDFW has two years (until Jan. 1,
2022) to create the pilot program for issuing wildlife salvage permits.
If you have any questions about this law, call CDFW in Yreka
or Redding or ask a local game warden and don’t pickup any roadkill.
AB5
Talk about creating a sticky-wicket! Last September, Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 into law and it immediately came under
fire. The bill was meant to provide protection to individual employees by
making it more difficult for companies to claim workers are independent
contractors and not provide benefits. But, of course, nothing in government
ends up being simple.
Legitimate contractors, in a variety of businesses,
through-up a red flag of concern. I remember the forestry industry voicing
frustration and I would think the sub-type of contractors in the construction
industry would have also balked.
Well, last week, the California Trucking Association won a
temporary exclusion for independent drivers through a federal judge, who cited
the truckers would suffer harm and declared the ruling was in the public’s
interest. The hearing for a permanent injunction will take place on Jan. 13,
2020.
Other individuals, who originally thought the law would be
beneficial, like Uber drivers, freelance writers, photographers and other
individual-type Hollywood contractors are also looking for an exemption from
the law.
Uber, Lyft and DoorDash and other groups representing
independent contractors have started a ballot initiative to change the law and
have pledged millions of dollars to gather the 630,000 signatures (from voting
citizens) to place it on the November ballot. On the other side of the issue is
the California Labor Federation that considers AB5 a significant worker
victory.
Primary election
Campaigns are gearing-up fast, because California’s Presidential
Primary Election will be held three months earlier this year – on March 3,
2020. Several people have decided to run for California Assembly District 1
seat that was recently won by Megan Dahle.
To let people know about other candidates, the Siskiyou
Patriots have invited Dr. Paul Dhanuka to its meeting on Tues., Jan. 14, 2020.
Dr. Dhanuka is running as an Independent and has a successful physician’s
practice in Redding. His press release states he believes in the constitutional
principles that built the United States and appreciates the opportunities that
were available to him as an immigrant from India over two decades ago. He is a
U.S. citizen.
Those interested in meeting and talking with Dr. Dhanuka are
invited to attend the meeting that will be held at the Covenant Chapel Church
at 200 Greenhorn Rd. in Yreka. Time is 6:30 p.m.
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and
farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County
and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com.
Call her at 530-467-3515.
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