Contact:
Anita
Yoder
at
530-889-4012
or
Mike
Fitch
at
530-886-4515
DONATION
FROM
GRANITE
BAY
GROUP
WILL
AID
AUBURN
RAVINE
PROJECT
The
Granite
Bay
Flycasters
donated
$10,000
to
Placer
County
recently
for
a
cause
the
group
supports
enthusiastically:
increasing
the
population
of
steelhead
trout
and
Chinook
salmon
in
Auburn
Ravine.
The
fly-fishing
group
presented
the
donation
to
the
Placer
County
Board
of
Supervisors
at a
meeting
in
Auburn
May
27.
The
group
joined
a
growing
list
of
public
agencies
and
nonprofit
organizations
working
together
to
make
it
easier
for
fish
to
migrate
up
and
down
Auburn
Ravine.
The
main
goal
is
to
modify
two
concrete
barriers
in
the
stream:
Hemphill
Dam
and
a
Nevada
Irrigation
District
gauging
station
located
in
the
city
of
Lincoln.
The
stretch
of
Auburn
Ravine
above
the
two
barriers
is
an
important
fish
spawning
ground
and
an
area
where
young
fish
mature
before
migrating
back
to
the
ocean.
During
the
May
27
board
meeting,
Supervisor
Robert
Weygandt,
a
devoted
fly
fisherman,
emphasized
that
public-private
partnerships
often
are
effective
at
dealing
with
complex
issues
with
many
interested
parties.
“This
is a
great
example
of
that,”
he
said,
thanking
the
Granite
Bay
Flycasters
for
its
generosity.
“When
I
was
a
kid,
almost
all
of
the
small
streams
that
flow
into
the
Sacramento
drainage
had
at
least
fall-run
Chinook
salmon.
The
county
has
been
involved
in
attempting
to
restore
these
fisheries
to
what
they
used
to
be
and
what
I
think
they
can
be.”
Several
members
of
the
fly-fishing
group
were
on
hand
for
the
ceremony.
It
has
more
than
230
members.
The
$10,000
was
donated
to
Placer
County’s
award-winning
Placer
Legacy
Open
Space
and
Agricultural
Conservation
Program.
The
donation
will
become
part
of
the
matching
funds
needed
for
Placer
County
to
spend
a
$339,645
state
grant
through
Proposition
50,
the
Water
Security,
Clean
Drinking
Water,
Coastal
and
Beach
Protection
Act
of
2002.
Placer
County
has
contributed
$260,000
in
matching
funds.
The
county’s
partners
on
the
project
include
NID,
the
California
Department
of
Fish
and
Game,
Dry
Creek
Conservancy
and
American
Basin
Council
of
Watersheds.
Other
partners
are
NOAA
Fisheries,
Lincoln
High
School,
the
Bella
Vista
Foundation,
Northern
California
Council
Federation
of
Fly
Fishers,
Gold
Country
Fly
Fishers
and
private
landowners.
Part
of
the
funding
will
be
used
for
a
second
part
of
the
project:
removing
Red
Sesbania
from
local
streams.
Also
known
as
Scarlet
Wisteria
or
Rattlebush,
the
plant
is a
woody
shrub
that
forms
dense
stands
along
streams,
replacing
native
plants
that
provide
important
forage
and
cover
for
wildlife
in
riparian
areas.
The
county’s
funding
partners
for
that
part
of
the
project
include
the
cities
of
Roseville
and
Sacramento,
Sacramento
County
and
the
Sacramento
Area
Flood
Control
Agency.
The
project
will
be
managed
by
the
flood
control
agency
and
the
Placer
County
Resource
Conservation
District.
The
Auburn
Ravine
fish-passage
work
and
Red
Sesbania
removal
are
part
of
an
American
River
Basin
Watershed
Restoration
Project.
Placer
Legacy’s
goals
include:
-
Retaining important scenic and historical areas
-
Providing public recreational opportunities
-
Helping maintain agriculture as a viable part of the county economy
-
Preserving the diversity of animal and plant species, and protecting endangered and other special-status species
-
Creating buffers so urban areas remain separate, distinct communities
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