On Friday morning, Dick received an e-mail from Megan calling on people to attend a meeting of the Marin County Board of Supervisors at the Lagunitas School on January 21st at 7pm when the Board will consider implementing a Salmon Enhancement Plan. Megan asked those reading her e-mail to obtain ten signatures on an attached petition (which you can obtain and download by clicking here) to the Board and to return the petitions to SPAWN.
The text of Megan’s e-mail follows below.
Naturalists and Friends, Ahoy!
Some years ago I saw, Christopher Beaver's documentary, Tales of the San Joaquin, chronicling the demise of that river and its once-thriving population of salmon. At that time Lagunitas coho numbers were increasing, and hope was high for continuing population growth. In the film, I saw a man speak simply and sadly of seeing the last salmon in the San Joaquin, and I could barely watch for sorrow. Now the Lagunitas coho are disappearing from our streams as well, and I fear seeing the last few coho struggle and die in this watershed.
The following article is currently in Bay Nature magazine.
California Coho Salmon In Dire Straits
New Report Predicts CollapsePhoto by Paola Bouley.by Donna Whitmarsh
The collapse of Central California Coast coho salmon population is imminent, according to a report by the National Marine Fisheries in late December 2009. Numbers of returning coho may be too low to support a viable population.
For the last three years very few nests, or "redds," have been found in Marin County's Lagunitas watershed, where 80 percent of Central California's coho salmon live. The salmon live three years, half in the coastal streams and half in the Pacific, then return at the end of their lives to spawn. The salmon reproduce in three groups, each returning every third year, so that in three years, all three groups have returned and spawned. When, for three years in a row, numbers are drastically low, the entire population is at risk.
Rain was good in early December, and some coho made their way up Lagunitas Creek from Tomales Bay. But since then, few have been sighted.
Paola Bouley, of the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network, says more rain may bring fish up the streams. "We have a one-month window to get some good storms. But basically, we need to increase productivity by improving the habitat in the watershed. We need to install woody debris to slow the streams and provide shelter for the fish. We need to reduce human impact at the streamside and prevent runoff of toxic chemicals. If we can produce more fish, they have a chance at survival. It's a numbers game. So far this year 44 redds have been counted. Since 2000 the annual average has been 247."
SPAWN recently received a California Fish and Game grant to increase the amount of woody debris in the streams. The group is also pushing hard at the county level to reduce the pressures of human development in the watershed. There is a county supervisors' meeting on January 21 to discuss a salmon enhancement plan for the San Geronimo Valley. SPAWN is hoping people will attend and speak out. "The county has the primary jurisdiction over land use," says Bouley. "They have the power to make things happen in the watershed."
A concerned human population is the coho's greatest hope, says National Marine Fisheries Biologist Charlotte Ambrose. "In Marin County you have a community of people who care. We need that across the range. The time is now to find hope, and find out what actions need to be taken."
NMF is releasing a much-awaited Salmon Recovery Plan at the end of January, with the priority to "increase the probability of survival for every individual," says Ambrose. "For instance, we're asking, 'What can we do for the fish at each life stage? What can we do for adults? What can we do to decrease the likelihood of incidental catch by steelhead fishermen? What are the needs of the fish at each stage of life? What does increasing water release do for each age group?'"
The real story, she says, "is as the population decreases, you have a decreased ability of the individual to survive the pressures of the environment, both natural and human. Fewer survive to spawn, and the decline feeds on itself. The coho are in an extinction vortex."
The Coho Are in an Extinction Vortex......How You Can Help
As you know, I don't usually ask you to do anything except learn, teach and have fun on the creek, but the situation is now so serious that I cannot let another day go by without gathering you, who love the coho and Lagunitas Creek, and asking you each to act. The good news is, the actions are not difficult, and they may make the difference between implementation of habitat improvements that could save the coho from extinction in Lagunitas Creek. It is, literally, our own back yard and we are the ones who must guard it.
Please, print out the petition attached below, get 10 signatures, and mail them in or drop them at the SPAWN office, and attend a meeting on January 21 at 7PM at the Lagunitas School (behind the Community Center where we meet for our tours). Our County Supervisors will soon be considering whether and how to implement the Salmon Enhancement Plan, a science-based suite of recommendations commissioned by the County.
There is much controversy here in the Valley over those recommendations, because a group of very vocal people are afraid that their property rights will be adversely affected by taking necessary steps to save critical coho habitat. This group, calling themselves the "Stewards," have disseminated a great deal of misinformation and outright lies, not only about the Salmon Enhancement Plan, but also about SPAWN's role and motivation in backing it. They show up at every meeting in force, and while a few of us SPAWNers also attend, there are far fewer of us there speaking out than there should be. Please come, bring friends and if you have a SPAWN or salmon-themed cap, sweatshirt, etc, please wear it. If we don't stand up and be counted, the Supervisors will find it easy to ignore the reality of the situation, which is that unless we insist on streamside buffers, native riparian forest management ordinances and help for landowners with voluntary conservation incentives, there's little hope for our beloved coho. Please email Paola or me and let us know you'll be there, so we can ensure you receive updates before the meeting. We can provide you with any information you would like to help you make a SHORT statement at the meeting. You don't need to be glib, scientific, or a "good" speaker, just speak from your heart for protections for the salmon.
What people must understand is that each person who makes a small incursion into salmon habitat on their property is adding to the cumulative impact, which will lead to extinction of this population of salmon. While ocean conditions and rainfall are not in our control, we can control and improve in-stream habitat for the coho.
For more specifics on the issues, please see the following on the SPAWN website: http://www.spawnusa.org/actions/number-19, and http://www.spawnusa.org/pressreleases/number-29
Thank you, and I hope to see you at the meeting.
Megan Isadore
SPAWN Lead Naturalist
415 488 1957
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