Federal Shutdown Impacting Eel River Salmon

sockeye salmon

Sockeye Salmon [photo from NOAA website]

Holding pools in the lower Eel River have been declining for a decade, fishing guide Eric Stockwell, widely known as Loleta Eric, told us. He thinks the pools reached crisis proportions this last year.

During a November interview, Stockwell said, “I track these fish, and they are just waiting and waiting [due to the new pattern of late rain] and usually they are in holes, and then the holes got really filled in. [2017] was the worst I’d ever seen, and I was reporting that to the [regulatory] agencies. I was telling them, ‘Look, you’ve got a hundred big chinook and a sturgeon in 5 feet of water over here. And then this year, when I started investigating the river in August,…I discovered the holes were all basically filled in between Fortuna and Fernbridge.”

salmon underwater

Spring Chinook [Photo from the Salmon River Restoration Council and Watershed Research And Training Center]

Senior Biologist Matt Goldsworthy of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) explained that NMFS cannot apply for grants and do projects itself to improve the situation in the lower Eel River because it is a regulatory agency. Goldsworthy said it needs a non governmental agency to apply for grants and do the project. for that reason, on this specific project and others, the National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS has invited the RCD (Humboldt Resource Conservation District) to be the lead agency on projects in the lower Eel.

According to Goldsworthy, “RCD coordinates with us to find out what NOAA’s priorities are [in the Eel River] so that RCD can put forward a more [targeted] proposal for grants. That’s something that happens regularly. So this year, when we met with the RCD, NOAA really emphasized the need to do work in the lower Eel. That’s a very high priority for us.”

Toward that end, he met with staff from the RCD Thursday the 20th of December in the week before the Federal shutdown.

Goldsworthy explained the need for scouring and pool complexity which can be accomplished in a relatively short, three year time frame. Goldsworthy described the focus of the potential project. He said,  “We retreated back to a ‘reach scale effort’ where we can target and identify where the pools are, where we can add structures like boulders and engineered log jams that would work with the [force of] the water to promote scour and get some deeper pools. Because pool depth is a huge concern like you’ve heard from Eric Stockwell. The other concern raised in the [National Marine Fisheries Service] Salmonid Recovery Plan is that the habitat is just not complex.”

He explained, “[H]aving that complexity helps the species separate out into their niches. It’s just widely known that if fish have a choice of a pool with complexity and cover and one without, they will always choose the one with complexity.”

Goldsworthy went on to describe stream complexity as, “like a jungle-gym. Instead of just being a gravel bottom with four feet of water, complexity would take into account the bank undercut, hiding spots for fish.” He added that the National Marine Fisheries Service “targets for the number of pieces of wood that should be in the aquatic system. The more wood, the more hiding spaces and cover the fish have.“

He went on to explain, “One of the details we need to work out is who will engineer these designs. [For example,] can NOAA offer that engineering service as a cost share?”

According to Goldsworthy, there is NOAA grant funding available for project implementation if the RCD Board were to approve the project. Goldsworthy said it is a Community Based Restoration Program grant funded by NOAA’s Restoration Center. Their grant webpage says, “NOAA’s Restoration Center recognizes that habitat protection and restoration are essential elements of a strategy for sustainable commercial and recreational fisheries. Investing in habitat restoration projects leads to real, lasting differences for communities, businesses, and the environment. The Community-based Restoration Program supports restoration projects that use a habitat-based approach to rebuild productive and sustainable fisheries, contribute to the recovery and conservation of protected resources, promote healthy ecosystems, and and yield community and economic benefits.”

Goldsworthy said the grant competition is nationwide. However, if it were approved, work might be able to begin as early as the summer of 2019, so that winter flow next year might begin to scour holes for fish to use in the winter of 2019/2020. The grant is a three year funding, so more would be done in stages throughout the river section from Fernbridge up to southern Fortuna.

However, the ongoing shut down of the federal government impedes the timing significantly. When we spoke two days before the federal shutdown, Goldsworthy explained “Everything will go on hold. We aren’t allowed to check emails, or do anything that might be construed as ‘work’ [during the shut down.]”

In a phone conversation this week, Jill Deemers the Executive Director of the RCD, said RCD staff has informed the Board about the proposed project, but that it has not been presented for a vote.  Deemers explained that until the shutdown ends, there are detailed questions that cannot be answered without NMFS staff available.

Deemers worried that the NOAA funding deadline may not be extended once the government does reopen and that it may have been missed for this year. However, she said there are other funding sources available, but again, the district “needs its federal partner at the table to answer design questions,” so that the project details meet the complex and exacting regulatory standards.

Earlier Chapter: Loleta Eric Describes What Salmon Endure Waiting to Spawn.

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51 Comments
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Willie Caso-Mayhem
Guest
5 years ago

🕯Interesting morning read.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

Not really so interesting. Unless you are one of those who assumes all Federally funded work is a rip off of the tax payer, of course there are impacts when the workers are not there. That is the whole point.

The meaning of this sort of stand off are often not as advertised either as exaggerating or minimizing, depending on the agenda, the effects are also part of the process. Where money is involved, caution is recommended.

cristal,una cardena,de pura-
Guest

Algal bloom,in shallow pools,absorbing co2 ,releasing pure oxygen,.but you know all of that,being the very top of the foodchain.microbe eating microbe towards astaxantnin.red salmon,krill. Now orca won’t eat the pink salmon I eat from a can,caught by an endentured servant from burma.for my pleasure.im happy.

cristal,una cardena,de pura-
Guest

Thanks for reading that.i couldn’t understand a werd of it.because I am nothing but a biologist. Are they $ oriented?

Hmmm
Guest
Hmmm
5 years ago

If it’s taken till now to address a problem that has existed since the logging days………the problem is not the federal shutdown, way to bend a story, that’s seriously reaching

Antichrist
Guest
Antichrist
5 years ago
Reply to  Hmmm

i was just about to comment this same point of view

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Hmmm

The damage logging did to the local watersheds is a good argument for stronger government oversight.

John
Guest
John
5 years ago

Maybe Mr. Huffman can get an exemption for this situation like he was asked to do for the boat ramp on Trinity Lake. I mean come on, no looking at e-mails? All of these Federal employees have already been guaranteed their back pay once the shutdown ends. I’m sure some of them would like to do something that contributes to the good of the fish. I know I would (and have done in the past).

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  John

It is so complicated. Some agencies do not allow access to computers at a site, and since they also might have secured systems, emails might not be available to outside equipment. Also liability issues and threats of agency discipline might keep an employee from privately responding. Not having access to manuals or directives might do the same.

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

I read that an exemption was granted or at least the rules circumvented so that federal employees processing drilling permits for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have been on the job. The resources for those submitting public comments on those permits were unavailable. There was a reversal where federal resources are used to process home loans: at first shut down then approved as an essential service when the big banks complained.
This is not a “partial” government shutdown. It is a selective government shut down.

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  B.

Hey,
Thanks Eric (and Kelly). Up to your usual good work.

Bozo
Guest
Bozo
5 years ago

All the fish need is… water.
No rain = no fish. Rain = fish.
Take your pick.

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  Bozo

The L.A. River disproves that theory. It works that way when you have a river, not a ditch.
The way we treat our rivers is on a spectrum. The Eel is better than most in California but many parts of it have been degraded. Channelizing, promotion of landslides by poor vegetation management and construction practices, acceleration of runoff by roads, decreased absorption through conversion from mixed aged forests or from bunch grass dominant grasslands. And the SILT- fills in the holes, reduces the oxygen by promoting algae growth, covers the spawning gravels, and fills the pores in the spawned eggs.

Bozo
Guest
Bozo
5 years ago
Reply to  B.

Here. Record Salmon runs. Rain = Salmon.
Note: This is for Klamath River… IMHO: Same for all North Coast rivers.

'Merican Woman
Guest
'Merican Woman
5 years ago
Reply to  Bozo

Historically true perhaps, but 1978 is not much history. Go back 100 years or 150 years to see that the degraded condition of the river is much more important than you would have us believe.🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟

Bozo
Guest
Bozo
5 years ago
Reply to  'Merican Woman

>” Go back 100 years or 150 years to see that the degraded condition of the river is much more important than you would have us believe.”

Yup, that is a fact, no doubt. However, all the river needs is
normal rainfall and to be ‘left alone’. Over time, the river will take care of itself.

That said, putting logs on the Eel river = wasted time and money.

When the ‘next’ flood (well, maybe) comes along, it will take the logs out and deposit
them on the beaches. If the next flood doesn’t come along, then the rainfall has been diminished
and the salmon stand no chance.

However, as a temporary measure, going in and dredging the river does make sense.
Money from the gravel will pay for the dredging (and a lot of other ‘improvements’),
and the river will be’partially’ restored.

That is what the river really needs, the removal of the deposits from the lower reaches.
Either wait a thousand years, or do it now.

But alas, that runs contrary to all the variety of non-profit corporations interests.
Won’t happen.

Tailgate
Guest
Tailgate
5 years ago
Reply to  Bozo

15 thousand.

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  Bozo

‘left alone’ – that would be nice. That would include removing the 8 to 20 miles of roads in a square mile (including the old skid roads) that result in runoff in half the time and reduced water retention in the hillsides, for extended flow. That would include ending the fire suppression that has built up brush and thick forests that suck up soil moisture, and resulted in hotter fires that sterilize soils causing mass soil migration into headwaters streams. That could include reversing the draining of the valleys high in the watershed that used to provide steady flows in the summer as the seasonal lakes drained. Round Valley, Long Valley (Laytonville), Little Lake Valley (Willits) and probably Gravelly Valley at Lake Pillsbury all used to nurture Coho through their two year residence and extend the time that Chinook and Steelhead could stay in the spring.

shak
Guest
shak
5 years ago
Reply to  Bozo

Agreed! Dredge it once and for all. Or Boulder it, like Keith mentions, for self dredging. Both!

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago

Most of the time, its easier to ask for forgiveness then permission.

zoltan
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

And forgiveness unnecessary for those with empathy?

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

“If you are living out of a sense of obligation you are a slave.” -Dr Wayne Dyer

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago

So if not for the shutdown work would be ongoing at these pools?

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

No, planning for work would be ongoing. Effective actions come from effective processes. Or to quote from Guest: ” Where money is involved, caution is recommended.”

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  B.

So no actual current impact on the salmon?

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Yeah, cause and effect generally work that way. Salmon, in specific, have a several year life cycle. So if someone needs instant gratification, salmon restoration should probably not be their career choice. Need instant salmon results? I suggest a trip to the store where it can be found in cans.

zoltan
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  I like stars

Verge of extinction,orca now dying off.wont eat pink fish,want red,astaxantnin.red .

Dede
Guest
Dede
5 years ago

I thought it was humans that destroyed their habitat, so how can a month of no humans harm these creatures? Doe humans really think they are that important?

B.
Guest
B.
5 years ago
Reply to  Dede

Human actions also enhanced the fish habitat for millennia, before about 1800. I have read about it some in bits and pieces, and listened to traditional tribal people who still work with the land. I think these folks are trying to join that tradition; I hope they do so effectively.

zoltan
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  B.

Like controlled burns to make grasslands.intuitive.

Kelley
Guest
Kelley
5 years ago
Reply to  Dede

I stand behind the headline. the shut down has ramifications on a local issue of importance to a lot of people in Humboldt County.

The shutdown isn’t the cause of the Eel’s degradation, and so the impacts to the salmon are ongoing at full speed.
it’s the work toward a solution that’s being slowed down.

As far as how quickly that could have come about, I couldn’t know. I do know that locals have been working effectively with the agencies and made real inroads towards getting solutions moving in what Eric Stockwell described as an emergency for the fish. I also know that the biologist at the Federal regulator was optimistic and energized about the progress for this very year.
And I know that the rcd feels hamstrung to move forward without assurances that their budget won’t be wasted designing projects that the regulator says “no” to permitting.

Swine
Guest
Swine
5 years ago

Everything ia trumps fault duh

MikeyC
Guest
MikeyC
5 years ago
Reply to  Swine

Pelosi is a fish killer!!

Ullr Rover
Guest
Ullr Rover
5 years ago

Headline:
“Potential Funding for Potential Work That May Potentially Help Eel River Salmon Potentially Delayed Due to Federal Shutdown”

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

^^^

shak
Guest
shak
5 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

👍🏻 👍🏻

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
5 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

because we dont have a potential state government agency that could supply funds. no we want federal funds for our local problem. (California has the biggest rainy day fund ever (Mike Mcguire brags))

zoltan
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Ullr Rover

Poetry.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

These people should all be terminated from federal employment and go find a productive job in the private sector

tax payer
Guest
tax payer
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

no they all have months of unemployment to receive

MikeyC
Guest
MikeyC
5 years ago

Lol, so they’ve known about the issue for years but now that the government has been shutdown for a few weeks they’ve found their scapegoat. I am a huge advocate for the fish but that’s a joke.

Flat Rock Fly Fisher
Guest
Flat Rock Fly Fisher
5 years ago

Schumer and Pelosi are killing these fish just the same as if they waded into the river and clubbed them with a stick. Liberal regulations have choked the life out of the river and the fish. Nancy and Chuck, the fish are more deserving of oxygen than you are.

zoltan
Guest
5 years ago

Odd,a vigorous algal bloom super saturates water with pure oxygen.controversial here.but I can prove it.your local scientists receiving federal funds should by pis tested.noticeable effects are proveable.

cristal,una cardena,de pura-
Guest

Orca dieing off ,won’t eat pink salmon,because they sense what we dont.

cristal,una cardena,de pura-
Guest

Astaxanthin

Keith bowman
Guest
Keith bowman
5 years ago

Glad to here some input. My idea
Is as long as fish and game wont
Do any work in the main stream
The river will remain the same. On the other hand large rocks are the answer.
These rocks cause scouring and dredging will be created . This is so simple and proven. The problem is
It is cheap to do and the engineering
Studies,and money dont come into play. I am 70 now and nothing has
Happened in the main stem of river
Good luck.

shak
Guest
shak
5 years ago
Reply to  Keith bowman

But, Keith, won’t they lose their yearly rhetoric if they apply such good common sense?

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Keith bowman

What would we be doing with these large rocks? Dumping them in the river or removing them from the river? A whole lot of rocks were dumped into the river when the railroad was constructed.

zoltan
Guest
5 years ago

Where is another spotted owl?

Central HumCo
Guest
5 years ago

“Federal Shutdown Impacting Eel River Salmon”

~horse pucky and toilet paper.

Geoengineering Watch Global Alert News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kckvxWBEp4&t=1230s 55 mins. January 19, 2019

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Central HumCo

How are those tribunals going, dude? You told me they were going to arrest 80-100 member of congress, or that they already started? How’s that going?