Oct. 16, 2019
Liz Writes Life
Two early-morning freezing temperatures, last week, took out
the last of my flowers – except for the red and yellow snapdragons. It was down
to 26 degrees Thursday morning, but I heard it was even cooler in other areas.
Sure was glad I decided to shut the outside water-line off. These warm 70
degree days and then frosts are hard on the perennial plants, but they will
either survive or not.
Jesse Mullin
A reminder: Friends of Jesse Mullin are holding a fundraiser this
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, to help purchase a wheelchair-accessible van after his
life-altering accident in August when he broke his C-5 vertebrae resulting in
paralysis from his chest down. This fundraiser will be held at the Little Lot
on Etna’s Main St. from 4 to 7 p.m. with a suggested donation of $10. There
will be entertainment from local talent and the idance studio, a silent
auction, raffles, desserts and hot drinks. Should be a fun time for a great
cause.
You can also donate through a Jesse Mullin Go Fund Me page on
the internet and Banner Bank has a Jesse Mullin account, where donations can be
made.
Fish count
With autumn in full-swing, Chinook salmon are returning from
the ocean up Klamath River into Siskiyou County rivers. Morgan Knechtle, who is
the Klamath River Project manager for the California Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife, reported the salmon count is underway.
On the Shasta River, the adult fish counting video facility
was installed and began operation on Sept. 4, 2019. Through Oct. 3, 2019 at
least 2,722 Chinook salmon have been counted. The Bogus Creek station was
installed on Sept. 5, 2019 and 141 Chinook have been observed through Oct. 5,
2019. On Sept. 19, 2019, the Scott River station, down in the canyon, was
installed. As of Oct. 6, 2019 there have been 23 Chinook observed.
Controversy over salmon numbers has raged, since the 1980s
when Congress passed the Klamath River Basin Fishery Resources Restoration Act
and funded it with $1 million per year for the next 20 years. The Act did
sunset in 2006 and the issue has not been fixed. It is still quite
controversial.
Those who favor the removal of four hydro-electric dams in
the Klamath River claim the destruction of the dams will improve returning
salmon numbers. I disagree. In watching and reporting on this issue for over 30
years, I have seen many opinions and statements made both pro and con. It is
complex to say the least.
Recently, the Siskiyou Co. Water Users Assoc., responded to a
statement by non-profit Klamath River Renewal Corp. regarding water quality.
KRRC wants the dams out and claims California’s 401 Water Quality Certification
for the Lower Klamath Project hydro-electric dams removal project is not
necessary. The Water Users responded with – yes it is. Removing the dams
requires legal environmental processes by the state and the federal
governments. Addressing all the environmental issues, including water quality, and
making final decisions is the process that must be followed.
The Water Users, Siskiyou Co. and many individuals believe
the destruction of the Klamath dams is an experiment not yet fully studied. I
agree.
Last month, I learned about the massive loss of 80 percent of
fish in the Animas River in southwest Colorado, which was due to ash and
sediment that entered the river after a fire. The Colorado Parks &
Wildlife’s full-scale survey of the fish population followed the 416 Fire that
burned over 54,000 acres. In a CNN news article by Allen Kim on Sept. 24, 2019,
it said that heavy rain hit the region “and that led to a runoff filled with
ash that suffocated fish in the river.”
We were so lucky this past summer to have fewer local fires,
but fires have burned around and over the Klamath River for years. Not only
will the sediment from the actual destruction of the dams affect water quality
and salmon, natural disasters also impact the river. And, if the dams are
removed the Klamath River will have a much lower flow in the summer and fall
and that will greatly slow the outflow of sediment or ash and will surely
affect salmon, other fish and wildlife.
Fat Bears
Now for a fun story: Last week, Alaska’s Katmai National Park
held a contest for Facebook users to vote for the fattest bear. Photos of park
bears are posted from early summer, when they are still thin from weight loss
during hibernation. The bears have numbers and names. This year, 435 Holly took
the grand prize. Yep, the most recent photo of her shows that she is really rolly-polly
fat. This means she ate a lot of salmon, berries and who knows what else. Holly
received over 17,500 Facebook “likes” making her the Queen of Corpulence.
It was a fun contest, but those of us that have to deal with
the real-life over-abundance of bears here in Siskiyou County are frustrated.
The first part of Sept., a bear decided he was hungry for ripe plums and
broke-down a third of the two little trees by my house while getting to the
plums. A few weeks later, I didn’t get all the Concord grapes picked and the
bear came-in and climbed the trellis eating and crushing a big batch of grapes.
So, I hurried and picked the few red apples and lots of tiny
yellow apples before he or she decided to tear down my apple trees. Sorry, there
is no Fat Bear contest here, only irritation.
Veterans Parade
This year, the Veterans’ Parade will honor Joe Hudson as
Grand Marshal. Joe served in the U.S. Army doing two tours in Korea and two
tours in Vietnam. Wow, that is a lot of service.
Please encourage the veterans in your family and veteran
friends to participate in the 19th Veterans’ Parade in Etna on Sat., Nov. 2,
2019. The Rotary Club of Scott Valley and City of Etna are sponsoring the
parade. Staging is at 9:30 a.m. at the Etna High School and the parade starts
at 11 a.m. It is easy to enter -- call me at the below phone number.
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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