Are you the type of person who fishes shad out of the Sacramento River and who treks along the American River to forage for blackberries, fennel, miner’s lettuce and all sorts of other goodies? Do you go down to Napa to shoot wild turkeys grown fat on thieved grapes from the vineyards or crawl into Dixon to blow away a few quail for dinner?
Local food writer Hank Shaw is best known for his food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (http://honest-food.net), where he chronicles his gourmet approach to wild food. Shaw has recently come out with a new book. Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast (Rodale, $25.99) is the must read for the hunter/fisher/forager and all-around foodie.
The final environmental impact report on the Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage Project has been released by the federal Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Fish and Game for public review.
The agencies propose to extend the fish ladder from the hatchery to the Nimbus Dam stilling basin, using the basin itself to hold and divert fish to the ladder.
Under this proposal, the existing weir would be permanently removed and the Department of Fish and Game would recommend changes in local fishing regulations to the California Fish and Game Commission, according to a news release.
The Nimbus Fish Hatchery is along the lower American River, a quarter-mile downstream from Nimbus Dam.
Flows in the American River below Nimbus Dam will be decreased Tuesday and Wednesday for maintenance and installation of a fish weir structure at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Rancho Cordova.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation announced that flows will be temporarily decreased from 3,500 cubic feet per second to as low as 1,000 cfs to perform maintenance and prepare the hatchery weir foundation for installation of the weir’s super structure.
Working hours will be from approximately 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The bureau will increase flows at 4 p.m. Tuesday to 2,500 cfs and at 4 p.m. Wednesday, to 3,500 cfs. If necessary, maintenance flows could extend into Thursday, according to a bureau news release.
