Liz Writes Life
March 10, 2021
Sheriff to speak
Siskiyou Co. Sheriff Jeremy LaRue will be speaking at the
next Siskiyou Conservative Republican’s meeting, tomorrow, March 11, 2021.
LaRue was appointed sheriff by the Siskiyou Co. Board of Supervisors, last
year, when Sheriff Jon Lopey retired early. The meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. at
the United Methodist Church in Montague at 150 S. 12th St.
Those who would like to hear Sheriff LaRue share information
about the county are invited to attend. The meeting is free, but if you would
like a great Irish corned-beef and cabbage, red potatoes, Irish breads and
dessert luncheon, you can call in your reservation to Annie at 530-842-2350.
Cost for the luncheon in $13. Grill Master Dave Tyler is in charge of the
lunch.
Patriots meet
The Siskiyou Patriots will meet tomorrow evening, March 11,
2021, at 6:30 p.m. at Convent Chapel Church, 200 Greenhorn Lane in Yreka. Ray
Haupt, Siskiyou Co. Dist. 5 Supervisor, will speak about a new Cal Fire
regulation and new spotted owl litigation. Erin Ryan, from Congressman Doug
LaMalfa’s office, will also give an update on WA. D.C. issues.
Klamath dams
I asked Ray for an update on the Klamath dams situation. He said
there are two applications in front of the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission
right now. They are both from the
non-profit Klamath River Renewal Corp. One is for the license transfer of four
Klamath hydro-electric dams to KRRC; and the second is for surrender of the
dams for decommissioning by KRRC.
Currently, PacifiCorp is providing power through another
one-year license that allows it to continue to make electricity for our area.
This is the 21st year that FERC has granted PacifiCorp a one-year license.
Typically, FERC grants 40 or 50 year licenses to power generation companies.
One of those long-licenses was up for the four Klamath dams in 2000 and has
been under attack and discussion ever since.
Interestingly, I remember attending public meetings in the
late-1990s, when PacifiCorp began working on what was planned as another
long-term license. I wondered then what all the fuss was about never dreaming
there were forces that wanted to destroy the dams and stop the hydro-electric
power. It is hard to believe all the finagling is still going on.
Ray said the county has heard that FERC will do an up-dated (improved
and corrected) Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental
Policy Act this year. He explained there are tons and tons of regulations and
processes the agencies must go through before NEPA can be completed. And NEPA typically
takes several years to complete and finalize. It will be at the end of the NEPA
process, before the decision to destroy the dams will be made – if all the
federal agencies follow their own rules.
So, no matter what KRRC claims, no decisions have been made
to destroy the four hydro-electric Klamath dams -- as of today.
Scott River boasts coho
The numbers of returning coho salmon in the Scott River were
way up this year. Each fall, the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife uses
video cameras and weirs to count salmon that return to the Shasta and Scott
Rivers and Bogus Creek.
This year, the preliminary count for coho salmon in the Scott
River reached 1,754 -- a whopping number. Typically, less than a few hundred
may be counted during the fall months of September through December. The Scott
River video station was removed Jan. 4, 2021, this year.
I called Morgan Knechtle, who is in charge of the Klamath
River Project for the state DFW in Yreka and asked about the big increase in
coho numbers, especially since the Chinook salmon numbers were pretty low at
just 252 on the Scott.
Morgan said they are seeing coho numbers up throughout the
West Coast, including up at Irongate Fish Hatchery. Although every year is a
“reset,” because of the variety of issues that can affect the coho life-cycle,
Morgan said the marine ocean conditions have been great. There has been plenty
of food for coho.
For more than two decades, farmers and ranchers have worked
to improve spawning conditions in and near streams. Morgan praised the
landowners’ restoration efforts that have been supported by programs through
the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District, Scott River Watershed Council,
state and federal agencies.
Morgan also noted the fact that the Scott River was able to
produce 15,000 one year-olds for this brood year. Interestingly, Morgan
explained that this brood year shows an out-of-basin survival rate
of about 10 percent from the fingerlings. Typically, the survival rate is
less than 5 percent. Predators are a major factor that affects mortality of the
infant and young fish as well as food availability.
I asked why the Chinook numbers in the Scott River were
so low and one reason is that a sizeable number of Chinook spawn before they
reach the video weir counter. Also, during low-water drought years, the Chinook
are not able to swim up the Scott River canyon. Chinook begin returning to the
Klamath River in August, where coho do not begin returning until later in the
fall.
The reason I am mentioning coho is because they were listed
to the federal Endangered Species list back in 1996. Then, environmental groups
and tribes petitioned the California Fish and Game (now Wildlife) Commission
back in 2001 for listing with the California Endangered Species Act. After a
year-long struggle to create a Recovery Strategy Plan, the commission did
indeed list the coho in 2002 from the Oregon border south to Punta Gorda near
San Francisco.
Salmon preliminary count for Shasta River was very different
than the Scott. Its video camera counted 4,101 Chinook from Sept. 2, 2020
through Jan. 11, 2021 and only 37 coho.
On Bogus Creek, the Chinook count was 2,289 and 145 coho by
the video camera from Sept. 4, 2020 through Jan. 10, 2021.
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 can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com.
Call her at 530-467-3515.
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