Conservation

Please contact Robin Egan via email

for further information

Mission Statement

To provide conservation direction and leadership for Granite Bay Flycasters by promoting the protection of fisheries and water resources,

and to stimulate participation, awareness, and education of our club members and the community regarding conservation efforts.

Conservation Corner

(click above link to prior months' archive of messages)

So, our February conservation committee meeting had 4 in attendance. Thanks to Tony Fabian, Mike Howes and John Carroz for their time. Much was discussed, and although I try to bring extra copies of the agenda to the general meeting, I was unable to attend the meeting in February.

I’ve decided on new criteria for awarding the Jim Coleman Conservation Award at our annual dinner this year. Although I sincerely appreciated receiving the award last year, I’ve created a “log” of those who volunteered their time for GBF’s conservation efforts in 2009. The award will go to the member with the most hours volunteered for the year. Hopefully my successor will continue this tradition, and I hope this will encourage more members to volunteer their time for GBF conservation efforts throughout the year.

Speaking of my successor, have you thought about doing more for the conservation of our local fisheries? My term will end June 30th of this year. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort to do what I do, and there are plenty of people around with all the guidance you will need for success. Your club needs YOU! Nominations are due by April so they may be printed in the May newsletter. For more information on what this position entails, please find me at the general meeting, or call/e-mail me.

SPECIAL PROJECTS/MEETINGS

January 21st – Lower Yuba River Technical Working Group Meeting

Tony Fabian and I attended this meeting at the Yuba County Water Agency. We learned that this project is much bigger than just the conservation easement below the Hwy 20 Bridge. This meeting was concerning another part of the project regarding a gravel augmentation plan just below Englebright Dam. I will continue to attend these meetings on behalf of GBF.

February 2nd – Middle Fork American FERC relicensing meeting

Thank you to Bill Carnazzo, Bill Templin and Tony Fabian for attending this meeting on our behalf. Tony has agreed to continue attending these meetings on behalf of GBF.

CABY Western Placer Creeks Work Group meeting

I have been unable to attend these meetings. They are currently working on obtaining funding for restoration work to be done on Auburn Ravine / Coon Creek to improve fish passage and habitat. Would someone be interested in volunteering to attend on GBF’s behalf? Please see me at the general meeting, or call/e-mail me.

March 6th – Red Sesbania Removal - Keep an eye on the message board for updates on this event. I will make a recon visit, just before this issue comes out, to see if we need to be out there or not.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held back at Round Table Pizza in Fair Oaks (4400 San Juan Avenue). I hope to have a representative from Putah Creek Trout to speak with us about possible riparian habitat rehabilitation we may be able to assist them with. I’m also hoping we can discuss possible dates for a hardhead fishout, to assist UC Davis in collecting specimen for the hardhead temperature study they will be conducting this year. This will be dependent upon whether they’ve received all their permits by that time.

As always, all are welcome to attend. ~

Robin Egan

VP Conservation

(916) 396-0030

Tggr514@yahoo.com

2009-2010 Conservation Calendar

Note: some activities do not have specific dates announced by the collaborating organization, who sometimes may not announce the actual date until a few days prior; however, the anticipated month is indicated when known to give you a general timeline to plan your schedule.  Updates will be provided on this page and in the GBF Message Board when dates become available, so please check back often.

For more information, contact Robin Egan

Here's a map to Round Table Pizza, 4400 San Juan Avenue, Fair Oaks, CA

 
                     View Larger Map

New Pit River Flow Regime - Bill Carnazzo - August, 2009

For those of us who love the gnarly beast known as the Pit River and its burly, brutish Rainbows, the impending changes in the river’s flow regime create an odd admixture of trepidation and curiosity. The trepidation stems from the already-sometimes-scary wading amidst large, slippery rocks and tumultuous currents—a recipe for “hat-poppers.” Our curiosity is piqued by the big unknown—where will the “new” good fishing be found since, obviously, many of our now-favorite haunts will become unfishable and just plain dangerous?

There is a prodigious amount of misinformation drifting about on the new flows and their potential effects. The best source for accurate information is Pacific Gas & Electric’s new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit to operate its Pit 3, 4, and 5 hydropower facilities on the river—if you can stomach reading through such highly technical bureaucratic documents. Or, you could read Andrew Harris’ excellent article in the February, 2009 issue of California Fly Fisher Magazine. Much of what follows is a synthesis of Andrew’s article.

1. Where to locate the FERC permit. See www.ferc.gov for the permit language. Click e-library, then docket P-233, and finally P-233-081.

2. Effective date of new flow regime. The targeted implementation date for the new flows is July 2, 2010.

3. Base minimum flow. Currently the lowest minimum flow in the Pit 3, 4, and 5 reaches is 150 cfs. The new permit changes that to 280 cfs.

4. New flow regime structure. We now enjoy flows in the range of 150 to 250 cfs, depending on specific reach and time of year. The revised flows will vary by season and by reach within each season. The seasons, as defined below, are summer, fall, and winter.

     a. Summer minimum flows. Summer is defined as April 21 through August 31.

          i. Pit 3: 280 cfs

          ii. Pit 4: 350 cfs

          iii. Pit 5: 350 cfs

     b. Fall minimum lows. Fall is defined as September 1 through November 30.

          i. Pit 3: 280 cfs

          ii. Pit 4: 350 cfs

          iii. Pit 5: 350 cfs

     c. Winter minimum flows. Winter is defined as December 1 through April 20.

          i. Pit 3: 300-450 cfs

          ii. Pit 4: 375-600 cfs

          iii. Pit 5: 400-550 cfs

5. Spring “freshet” releases. Every other March there will be an elevated release, with at least two consecutive days at 1500 cfs. The exact timing and level of these flushing flows will likely depend on many factors, including whether the impoundments are spilling, the extent of the snowpack, precipitation and runoff forecasts, and other variables.

6. Whitewater flows. To accommodate the rafting interests, beginning in 2013 there will be two weekend periods—one on August and one in September—when flows will be raised to 1200-1500 cfs, but only on the Pit 5 reach.

There's a lot of speculation out there on what the effects of the revised flows will be on Pit River angling. Nonetheless, it appears that there's general consensus that a river with a reputation for being tough and dangerous to wade will get tougher and more precarious. As to the quality of the fishing at any particular location and of the fish that we will catch, I for one will wait until the opportunity to parse that out presents itself. It will be a challenge.

Past Activities

At the January, 2008 general meeting the new Conservation Committee leaders met and approved a recommendation to submit to the GBF Board of Directors to approve a $3,000 donation to the Placer Nature Center before their matching funds deadline. The GBF Board approved this recommendation at its January meeting.

DeltaVision.org (March 4, 2007) - California Sportfishing Protection Alliance advisory includes: (1) The Resources Secretary Appoints

an Angler to the Delta Vision Process; (2) Letter on the Delta Crisis to the LA Times by Dorothy Green, Secretary, California Water

Impact Network that speaks clearly to the benefits of  using water conservation practices; and (3) Water For Fish Press Conference that

kicked off a critical effort to acquire and organize angler support for obtaining the water vital to our fishery populations.

Delta Report (Jan. 6, 2009) - Mike Laing of GBF gave a report to the Conservation Committee regarding the status of the various Delta issues and proposals being considered.  These will be followed closely to determine what proposal to support going forward. The following links provide

additional information. The following reports can be obtained at the www.Deltavision.org website link

Delta Vision Final Report

PPIC Analysis
Delta Vision Implementation Report

Water 4 Fish - please sign the petition NOW!  California is in the process of restructuring its water policies to meet the needs of its population

growth. The “Water Wars” have reached new proportions and fish and fishermen are losing the battle. If fishermen don’t unite and make their voices heard in the political process, we will lose millions of fish and the many benefits they bring to fishermen and to the economy.

Thank You Wal-Mart!

In March 2006 Wal-Mart was contacted by Gary Flanagan to see if they would donate an item for the raffle at our 20th Annual Dinner.  When the Community Involvement Coordinator in the Personnel Department learned about all the work GBF does with our Classroom Aquarium Education Program and our donation of 75 aquarium sets and twice yearly distribution of Salmon and Steelhead eggs, as well as the GBF scholarships we

award to college students working on conservation issues, she took it a step further.  On April 7th the Roseville Wal-Mart Employee Committee presented GBF with a $500 check from the Wal-Mart Foundation's Community Grant Program to be used in one of our upcoming Conservation Programs!  GBF gratefully accepts this generous donation and will put the funds to good use.  Thank you again, Wal-Mart!

Annual Conservation Events

Salmon Count (click the link at left to see Gary Flanagan's Article) - Salmon Count with the Dry Creek Conservancy organized by Dave Baker. 

See Gary Flanagan's "A Day on a Local Salmon Creek" (click here to display an Acrobat PDF format of Gary's article and photos)

Classroom Aquarium Education Program - Frank Stolten and Rick Radoff will get the in-house training programs going in October and January.  These training classes for teachers are also available to members of Granite Bay Flycasters.  If you would like to help deliver eggs in November and February, please let Frank or Rick know. Interested teachers can send Rick a written letter requesting an upcoming class, usually held in October and January. GBF has donated 75 aquarium sets for this DFG CAEP program.

Nimbus Hatchery Docent program - Training for the docents program is in the September/October timeframe.  The actual program runs from November to February.   This is a lot of fun and very rewarding.

Stream Ecology Workshop (click link to see Mike Brune's article and photos) - The Conservation Committee hosts a very popular stream ecology

and entomology workshop at the UC Berkeley Sagehen Creek Field Station. 

Projects

Granite Bay Flycasters have participated in many conservation projects. Below is a list of some of the projects in which GBF has been involved:

Other Conservation Activities:

• New Zealand Mud Snail (Updates 2003 - 2005)

• Sagehen Creek Ecology & Aquatic Entomology 2005  Sagehen 2004  Sagehen 2006

• Dry Creek Salmon Count (2004)

• Bear River Restoration Project

• Trinity River Restoration Project

• Nimbus Hatchery Tours

• Mokelumne River Restoration

• Truckee River Electroshock Study

• American River Parkway

• Heenan Lake

Partners

Granite Bay Flycasters in cooperation with other organizations, strives to improve the environment for current and future generations.

For a list of partners, please visit our partner page.

Meetings

Overview

Conservation of cold water fisheries is a cornerstone of the club's activities and expenditures. We are active in a number of areas that we hope will help conserve our streams and lakes. If you are interested in more information, would like to help, or have ideas on where our efforts should go, please contact John Carroz, Email: jwcarroz@surewest.net