Category Archives: Wildlife

Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

Costs Put Lake Clementine Power Plant Development Plan On Hold

Plans to develop a hydroelectric project at LakeClementine are on hold, according to a Kruger Energy spokesman.

The Canadian energy company has been working through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission process but project manager Daniel Parker said that costs associated with interconnecting with Pacific Gas & Electric’s power network in Christian Valley didn’t pencil out.

Because Kruger is the lone applicant on the FERC licensing initiative as Lake Clementine Hydro LLC it would have to shoulder the costs for the infrastructure to connect its hydropower line from the North Fork Dam site on the American River, Parker said.

“We can’t say we’re stopping the project,” Parker said.

Instead, Kruger has obligations to complete some of its work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FERC as part of its preliminary permit, he said.

“We’ve put development of the project on hold,” Parker said.

Parker announced Kruger’s decision Thursday during a meeting of the Auburn Recreation District. The board subsequently approved a letter to be sent to FERC opposing the project, whether it goes ahead in the future or not. The vote was 3-1, with board members Jim Ferris, Gordy Ainsleigh and Jim Gray in favor and Chairman Scott Holbrook against.

Ainsleigh said that despite the project being put on hold by Kruger, the board needed to go ahead with a letter in opposition.

Ainsleigh cited concerns that included potential changes to the 2-mile Clementine Trail from the American River confluence to the lake. Kruger has been considering either the trail or the narrow paved road to the dam as options for access roads during construction. A study plan released in the fall said an access road along the trail could be removed and the site restored or could remain in place to serve another purpose, such as an emergency access or widened recreation trail.

“I’m glad this thing is on hold but I’ve seen all kinds of things resurrected from the dead,” Ainsleigh said, citing various permutations of the long-delayed Auburn dam that have been proposed and then blocked. “I want a few more nails in its coffin.”

Holbrook said his vote against the letter in opposition was more about which letter to send, having been given two choices. But he also stated that there was support in the community for the hydro project, although it didn’t materialize at Thursday’s board meeting.

“I’m far from making a decision one way or another,” Holbrook said.

Holbrook added that a Clementine hydropower project may not be resurrected in his lifetime or those of fellow board members.

“But in our kids’ lifetime, it probably will,” he said.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, safety, Water, Wildlife

Volunteers Step Out for Sacramento County’s Biannual Homeless Count

Hundreds of volunteers joined members of Sacramento Steps Forward on Wednesday night to conduct the area’s biannual “Homeless Count.”

About 400 people, including John Foley of Sacramento Self-Help Housing fanned out across the county to count and learn more about those living without shelter.

“One thing that we found over the last several years were that there were a lot of people who had been homeless for a long time and had various disabilities, particularly mental health issues and substance abuse,” Foley said.

Like 52-year-old Hannah, who’s been homeless for nearly a year. She suffers from ADHD and bi-polar disorder.

“If someone just holds my hand and gets me through my appointments and helps me complete things, that would be a life-changing event for me. Plus psychiatry, because I have to work on the behavior modification,” she said.

She told surveyors she’s grateful for the organizations that provide showers and laundry services.

More at KFBK.com >>>

Fish, News from Other Watersheds, Water, Wildlife

Feds Quietly Double Allowable Kill of Endangered Delta Fish

Just days after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reported the worst season in history for the federally Endangered delta smelt, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service quietly gave permission in early January for Central Valley water projects to kill more than twice as many smelts at their intake pumps this year.

The state wildlife agency reported January 7 that just eight delta smelt were found in more than 400 fish sampling trawls across the Sacramento Delta in the previous four months, fewer than half the number found in the previous all-time worst year for the smelt, in 2009.

Two days later, USFWS boosted the number of delta smelt it would allow the state and federal water agencies to kill at aqueduct intake pumps in the Delta from 78 to 196 adult smelt. That means those agencies have permission to kill more than 24 times as many delta smelts as the state’s wildlife agency could find last fall.

On January 9, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reported to USFWS that intake pumps for the federal Central Valley Project and for the State Water Project had killed 56 adult smelt during the current Water Year, which started October 1. The USFWS’ Biological Opinion on the smelt for the combined projects allowed “incidental take” of 78 adult fish.

As those projects’ pumps had killed more than half their allowable take of smelts just a third of the way into the water year, the Bureau was obliged under the U.S. Endangered Species Act to request what’s called “reconsultation” with USFWS over the smelt. Otherwise, pumping of all water from the Delta to southern aqueducts could be halted once that 78th smelt of the year died.

It didn’t take long for the Bureau of Reclamation to get a response. USFWS boosted the allowable incidental take for the Bureau, and for the state Department of Water Resources, which operates the State Water Project, the very same day. Those agencies now have an “interim” allowable incidental take more than twice as high as the level specified in the Biological Opinion.

In granting the increase in allowable take, USFWS pointed to criticism of the assumptions behind the earlier take limit’s numbers by an independent review panel, which pointed out that there was no clear way of establishing how big a percentage of the actual total smelt population was being killed at the pumps each year.

In its response to the Bureau, USFWS says it plans to come up with a more accurate way of estimating just what percentage of the delta smelt population is being killed at the pumps.

More at KCET.org >>>

Bike Trail, Fish, safety, Water, Wildlife

Caltrans Gives Frugal Parkers A Break On Highway 49

State Parks officials say traffic and pedestrian safety is an emerging issue at one of the last free parking areas at the American River confluence in the Auburn State Recreation area.

But Caltrans has looked into concerns and is citing a lack of crashes or pedestrian injuries along Highway 49, just past the American Riverbridge on the El Dorado County side, as reason enough not to change current parking conditions.

The right-hand shoulder leading out of the canyon toward Cool fills with vehicles on weekends and holidays, if the weather is good, for outdoor recreation.

Even on a coolish, winter day like Tuesday, about a dozen were parked there while areas on thePlacer County side, where parking costs $10, were nearly empty. There are no signs directing parking or pedestrians and some vehicles were backed in while others were parallel parked.

Supervising Ranger Scott Liske said that more and more autos are parking along Highway 49 up from the bridge heading south for about 250 yards. On busy days, it’s not unusual to see 70 cars parked there, he said.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

safety, Water, Wildlife

Dike Failure Worries Prompt Major Repairs Near Folsom Lake

Concerns about a dike failing near Folsom Lake have the Bureau of Reclamation preparing to make major repairs.

Sean Glavin loves connecting with nature on his mountain bike near Folsom Lake. He’s one of countless people biking, hiking and boating in the area on a daily basis.

But federal officials have concerns for a heavily traveled road near the lake. The asphalt on top of Dike 1 needs to be fixed immediately, says Kyle Keer with the bureau.

“We are trying to tighten up and control the seepage right now,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is make sure is this is not a weak link in system.”

The feds say they’re going to cut the risk of the road collapsing or buckling up above by constructing a new filter and drain to keep any water seeping through the dike from eroding the soil.

More at Sacramento.CBSLocal.com >>>

Fish, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Steelhead Numbers Alarmingly Low At American River Hatchery

The upper section of the American River that has been closed to fishing since Nov. 1 reopened to steelhead fishing on Jan. 1, but the outlook for the fishing is not very promising, based on a very low fish count to date at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

This stretch of river is from the U.S. Geological Survey gauging station cable crossing about 300 yards downstream from the Nimbus Hatchery fish rack site to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) power line crossing at the southwest boundary of Ancil Hoffman Park.

Only 10 adult steelhead were reported at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery as of Dec. 29, an alarmingly low number for this time of year. By contrast, the hatchery had trapped 335 adults to date last year, according to Gary Novak, hatchery manager.

Normally there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of steelhead showing at the facility at this time of year.

Hopefully, the steelhead are late in their migration, just as the fall run Chinook salmon were. The main body of the fall Chinook salmon run arrived over a month late this fall on the American River.

Few anglers have been fishing on the American River lately. The salmon fishing closed Dec. 31, but most anglers have already put down their rods.

“Opening day is going to be SLOW if the action at the basin is any indication,” reported Roland Aspiras, an avid American River steelhead fisherman. “I fished both yesterday and today for barely a sniff. I floated eggs, swung spoons, tossed jigs for zilch. I saw one fish follow a spoon in to the bank. The fish seem confused with the new channels they (state and federal governments) created at the basin.”

One angler, Leo Salcido of Sacramento Pro Tackle, reported landing two steelhead in the 4-pound class while tossing out Little Cleos in the basin on Dec. 23.

Releases to the lower American below Nimbus Dam continue to be 900 cfs, very low for this time of year.

More at WillitsNews.com >>>

 

Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Residents Cut Water Usage 32 Percent

San Juan Water District reported their retail customers reduced water use by 32 percent in 2014 after the board of directors implemented 25 percent mandatory cutbacks.

“We are thrilled our customers took action during this unprecedented drought and significantly reduced their water use,” said Shauna Lorance, general manager of San Juan.

The district relies on water supplies from Folsom Lake, the primary water source for a half million people in the Sacramento region. Thanks in part to water conservation efforts, Folsom Lake levels are higher than they were this time last year.

“Our customers were active in their efforts to use less water,” said Judy Johnson, customer service manager. “Water conservation staff spent more time than ever talking with customers about how they can use less water. They performed water audits, helped detect leaks and made sure customers were aware of drought conditions.”

San Juan Water District was one of the first in the state to implement mandatory water use restrictions and has since seen a spike in customer engagement. More than one in ten customer accounts have received personal assistance to become more water efficient and customers have redeemed over $50,000 in water conservation rebates.

More at RocklinToday.com >>>

Bike Trail, Events, Wildlife

Learn About Sacramento’s Winter Birds

Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael is launching a series of classes next week to help people identify birds that frequent the Sacramento area in winter.

While many of the area’s resident birds fly south for the winter, many other birds make the Sacramento region their winter destination. The classes focus on identifying many of these birds by sight and sound, including songbirds, waterfowl and shorebirds.

The series includes three Wednesday evening classroom sessions, starting Jan. 7, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.; and three field sessions on Saturdays, starting Jan. 10, each lasting starting at 8 a.m. and lasting at least four hours.

The classroom sessions will be held at Effie Yeaw Nature Center, located at Sacramento County’s Ancil Hoffman Park along the American River, at 2850 San Lorenzo Way, in Carmichael. The first field session is at Ancil Hoffman Park, and the others will require driving to different locations.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Fish, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Protections for Central Valley Salmon

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has upheld measures imposed by federal agencies to protect salmon and steelhead that migrate through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the National Marine Fisheries Service acted reasonably and within its discretion when it prescribed limits on the amount of water exported from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in order to protect threatened and endangered salmonids.

The fisheries service “biological opinion,” issued in 2009, set seasonal limits on the volume of water that could be extracted by the massive federal and state pumping plants at the southern edge of the Delta. From there, water flows down a pair of massive canals to farms in the San Joaquin Valley and to urban customers from the South Bay to the Los Angeles area.

A wide array of irrigation districts, serving valley farmers, and urban water districts went to court to challenge the biological opinion. Those plaintiffs won the first round of the case when U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger, of Fresno, ruled that fisheries service scientists had erred in developing their findings and that the agency’s action was “arbitrary and capricious” under federal law.

More at KQED.com >>>

Fish, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Chinook Salmon Could Be Wiped Out By 2100: Study

New climate-change research involving a University of British Columbia scientist predicts that one of the West Coast’s most prized salmon stocks could be wiped out over the next 85 years.

A study has concluded that there is a five per cent chance of a catastrophic loss of the chinook salmon by 2075, and that upwards of 98 per cent will be gone by 2100, if climate change warms the water.

An international research team looked at the ability by the chinook to adapt to warming water temperatures caused by climate change.

More at CTVNews >>>