April 2005 Conservation Notes

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Attendees at the Spring 2005 NCCFFF Conservation Network Meeting

I attended the Spring 2005 NCCFFF Conservation Network Meeting as the club's representative. The following is a report of some of the most important issues tabled at the meeting.

Background

The Peninsula Fly Fishers is an affiliate of a larger umbrella organization called the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF), a national fly fishing organization founded in the 60's to be the voice of organized fly fishers. The Northern California Council (the "NCC" part) is the portion of the federation that represents the interests of fly fishers in Northern California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam. The NCCFFF has a membership of approximately 30 area clubs and, in conjunction with CalTrout and Trout Unlimited, is an important and active advocate for conservation issues that impact fishing quality and fish habitat.

The Conservation Network Meeting is held semi-annually by the NCFFF to organize their conservation efforts and to allow member clubs to report and discuss pressing conservation issues, many of which impact their own "home" waters. Representatives from member clubs (including yours truly) met this time at the East Bay Municipal Utility District Fisheries and Wildlife Office in Lodi, California on Saturday, April 9. Our host was Dr. Joseph Merz, a biologist working with the East Bay MUD.

Issues

As usual, the meeting covers a lot of ground so I will only highlight the most important or most interesting items here, particularly if they are relevant to the members of the PFF.

New Zealand Mud Snails: Fly fishing groups and CA DFG have been funding an ongoing study on the impact of various chemicals on NZ Mud Snails. They have narrowed the list down to 3 finalist which all appear to be effective at eradicating the pests. They were tested at Putah Creek last month on the gear of 57 volunteer anglers with a 100% kill rate (the snails, not the anglers). Fish and Game will make an official announcement shortly and there will be opportunities for PFF members to contribute time to posting new signs at popular fishing venues about preventative measures, and to contribute money towards printing the new posters.

California Golden Trout Project: This project is a partnership between Trout Unlimited (TU), California Trout (CalTrout) and the Federation of Flyfishers (FFF) to assist the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) in a collaborative effort to protect and restore the California Golden Trout. There are many volunteer opportunities (see the description and sign-up sheet). Projects include work details on fencing and habitat renewal, help with data collection and surveying, and biological sampling (fin clipping). Volunteers should be prepared for strenuous work and high-altitude hiking.

Hall of Fame Dinner: The NCCFFF sponsors two, big annual events, the Conclave in October, and the Hall of Fame, which is timed to coincide with the San Rafael Fly Fishing Show in February. Despite its name, the Hall of Fame event is the primary fund-raiser for the NCCFFF conservation committee (this was news to me). The NCCFFF has decided to reorganize the management of this event in the hopes that local Bay-Area clubs will volunteer manpower and energy towards running this event. (In a similar vein, the Conclave is largely staffed by local clubs in the Redding area.) In return, a portion of the proceeds will go to the contributing clubs to fund their own conservation efforts. The VP of Conservation, Mark Rockwell, will be visiting the Boards of area clubs in the next few months to explain the proposal and to gauge reactions.

Presentation on spawning habitat improvement: Our host, Dr. Joseph Merz is a biologist studying the effects of habitat restoration on the Mokelumne River. Not surprisingly, the Mokelumne has been dammed in a number of locations. The largest is the Camanche Reservoir and dam, which blocks about 90% of former spawning habitat. Not surprisingly, there is a large hatchery at the base of the dam.

He gave a brief presentation of his research, which looks at many different aspects of habitat loss and rehabilitation. He showed some fascinating results of a study he did on the introduction of spawning gravel into the river. Free-flowing rivers are essentially gravel conveyer belts. However, when a dam is constructed across the river, it prevents this natural transportation of materials, leading to channelizing, slower water movement, and compacted materials (where gaps in existing gravel get filled-in with sediments). All of these conditions result in sub-standard spawning habitat.

In a pilot study, Dr. Merz reintroduced gravel and larger rocks into the river and studied the result on the nesting behavior of salmon and steelhead. Not surprisingly, there was a measured increase in nests in the improved areas. However, he noted that unless there was a continued addition of gravel, generally high quality nesting sites would degrade over time as the river would flush the materials downstream.

Fight the good fight!

– Rodney