Tag: California Department of Fish and Game

News

DFW ‘Hoot Owl’ recommends include Hot Creek and Deep Creek
“Hoot Owl’ recommendations mean fishing during the cooler hours to preserve healthy fish. (Credit: Jim Burns)

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is asking recreational anglers to begin “Hoot Owl” practices when fishing – voluntarily changing how, when and where they fish to minimize stress and mortality among fish populations suffering from drought conditions.

“Hoot Owl” recommendations reference being active during times of day when owls can still be heard hooting. These times are typically earlier in the day when weather conditions are cooler. CDFW uses the term “Hoot Owl” to describe its guidelines for fishing during a drought which recommend fishing before noon on certain inland waters, as even catch-and-release angling during the hottest parts of the day can greatly increase fish stress and mortality.

“California’s drought cycles require all of us to work together to manage our fisheries,” said CDFW Inland Fisheries Manager Sarah Mussulman. “Multiple years of drought plus fluctuations in the timing of precipitation creates many challenges for our cold-water fish species. Anglers can play a part in lessening impacts to their favorite fishery by not fishing past noon during the hot summer months.”

Coldwater species such as trout, salmon and steelhead have the greatest likelihood of being affected by the drought this year, but low water levels and high-water temperatures can potentially affect all inland aquatic species.

CDFW has introduced a series of voluntary “Hoot Owl” Recommendations – directing anglers to focus their fishing during the cooler “hoot owl” periods of the day when water temperatures are lowest. A watchlist of specific waters anglers should fish before noon is included and will be updated as conditions change. Sustained afternoon water temperatures exceeding 67 degrees Fahrenheit for trout fisheries could trigger additions to the list.

Currently, the list of waters include:

  • Lower Owens River (Pleasant Valley Dam downstream to Five Bridges) in Mono County
  • Hot Creek in Mono County
  • Mill Creek (Walker Basin) in Mono County
  • Lower Rush Creek (Grant Lake to Mono Lake) in Mono County
  • Bridgeport Reservoir in Mono County
  • Deep Creek in San Bernardino County
  • Crowley Lake in Mono County
  • Truckee River (Lake Tahoe to the Nevada state line) in Nevada, Placer and Sierra counties
  • Upper Truckee River in El Dorado County

As conditions change, CDFW will post the updated list on the “Hoot Owl” Water Watchlist page.

Elevated water temperatures, lower oxygen levels, disease, low flows and low water levels are among the drought-related effects impacting many of California’s coastal waters and inland fisheries.

To reduce fish stress during the drought, anglers can:

  • Minimize the time you spend “fighting” the fish and any hands-on handling.
  • Use rubber or coated nylon nets to protect a fish’s slime layer and fins.
  • Quickly remove the hook with forceps or needle-nosed pliers.
  • Minimize the amount of time the fish is exposed to air, especially when the weather is warm.
  • Keep your hands wet when handling the fish.
  • If the fish is deeply hooked, do not pull on the line. Instead, cut the line as close as possible to where it is hooked and leave the hook so it can dissolve.
  • Allow the fish to recover in the net before you release it.
  • If the fish does not stay upright when you release it, gently move it back and forth.
  • Avoid fighting fish from deeper, cooler waters and bringing them into warmer waters at the surface if your intention is to release them.
  • Target fisheries that have stable water levels and species that are more resilient to elevated temperatures.

CDFW suggests all anglers follow these best practices even if anglers are only interested in harvesting fish to eat. Mortality may result from non-targeted species caught and released or fish outside of legal size limits that must be returned to the water.

Ecology, Political action

Quick Mends follow-up: Forest Service reaffirms all mining prohibited on East Fork

A recent post on this site stirred up the pro-con constituencies about suction dredge mining, with the arguments basically boiling down to habitat vs. access. Although the petition was directed at the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Forest Service has just posted this on its site:

All mining operations (location of mining claims, prospecting, and mining, including panning, sluicing, and dredging) under the 1872 Mining Law are prohibited within withdrawn areas of the Angeles National Forest.  Public Law No. 578 (1928 withdrawal) withdrew areas from entry and location under the mining laws.  There is no provision in PL 578 which provides for even a limited right to enter the withdrawn lands to prospect.  Therefore, National Forest System lands within the East Fork of the San Gabriel River are not open to prospecting or any other mining operations.

When I called for comment, the Arcadia office was closed (at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday), but without further reporting on this topic, looks to be a win for fishing habitat.

See you on the river, Jim Burns

Political action

California DFG considers suction dredge mining OK on San Gabriel River

Jim Blomquist of Friends of the River writes:

Yesterday afternoon I learned that the state Fish and Game Department is considering regulations that would reopen streams to suction dredge mining all across California including on the East Fork of the San Gabriel, pictured below back when it was open previously.  The draft regulations are open for public comment until 5 p.m., Monday.  I have attached a fact sheet from Steve Evans of Friends of the River on the situation.  Please distribute this information and the urgent call to make comments far and wide:

Suction dredging – a mining practice that requires a gasoline-powered motor to run an underwater vacuum to suck up large amounts of gravel and sediment from the river bed to collect gold – harms water quality, as well as fish and wildlife and the habitat these wild creatures depend on.

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) recently issued revised suction
dredge mining regulations and is seeking public comment on them by 5 p.m. March
5. Unfortunately, the revised regulations will cause serious water quality
problems and harm fish and wildlife on many of our rivers and streams, including
the East Fork San Gabriel River.

The revised regulations propose to reopen the East Fork below its confluence with
Cattle Canyon to suction dredge mining-induced noise, water pollution, habitat
degradation, and conflicts with other recreational visitors. Please send an email
TODAY to the CDFG urging the agency to withdraw the revised regulations and
to specifically close the East Fork to suction dredge mining. In addition, the CDFG
should start over with new regulations that fully protect water quality, threatened
and endangered species and their habitat, and other recreational activities.

BACKGROUND

Suction dredging – a mining practice that requires a gasoline-powered motor to run
an underwater vacuum to suck up large amounts of gravel and sediment from the
river bed to collect gold – harms water quality, as well as fish and wildlife and the
habitat these wild creatures depend on.

Unfortunately, revised regulations recently issued by the California Department
of Fish and Game (CDFG) will allow this destructive practice to restart in the East
Fork San Gabriel River and other waterways throughout California that are already
impaired by mercury pollution or sediment, provide sensitive habitat for threatened
and endangered fish and wildlife, and offer important non-motorized outdoor
recreation opportunities.

For years, suction dredge miners were literally allowed to take over the East Fork
downstream of Cattle Canyon for the pursuit of gold. This led to conflicts with other
recreational visitors, disturbed river habitat and water quality, and possibly harmed
the Santa Ana sucker, an endangered native fish found primarily in the San Gabriel
River in the Angeles National Forest. A statewide moratorium on suction dredge
mining was imposed by the California Legislature in 2009. But the new revised
regulations threaten to return motorized suction dredge mining to the East Fork
and other waterways throughout the state.

The newly revised regulations require CDFG to issue mining permits where mining
would otherwise be illegal, including the East Fork. A 1928 federal law withdrew
the public lands along the East Fork from mining to protect its watershed and water
quality. Mining on the East Fork is also inconsistent with Wild & Scenic protection
of the river, proposed to protect its endangered fish habitat, water quality, and
outstanding recreation values.

Less than three weeks ago, CDFG issued new revised regulations for public comment
with a deadline of 5PM, March 5, 2012. In addition to the unusually short comment
period, it will be difficult for the public to comment in any meaningful way on the
revised regulations because the revised EIR that justifies the new regulations will
not be available for public review until after the March 5 deadline.

The revised mining regulations will harm rivers and streams throughout California,
from the Klamath River in the north to the East Fork San Gabriel River in the south.
Please help us convince CDFG that the East Fork San Gabriel River and other
ecologically sensitive and water quality impaired rivers and streams in California
should simply be off-limits to the destructive affects of suction dredge mining. Send
an email TODAY to CDFG urging the agency to prohibit suction dredge mining on
all forks of the San Gabriel River in the Angeles National Forest, and withdraw the
revised regulations and start over with a regulatory program that fully protects
water quality and threatened and endangered species and their river habitat, and
Native American cultural values.

Remember, the deadline for comments on the revised regulations is 5 p.m. on
Monday, March 5.

To view a copy of the revised regulations, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/suctiondredge/. For
more information, contact Steve Evans at Friends of the River, phone: (916) 442-
3155 x221, email: sevans@friendsoftheriver.org.

SAMPLE EMAIL OR COMMENT LETTER

Suction Dredge Program
California Department of Fish and Game Northern Region
601 Locust Street
Redding, CA 96001
Email: dfgsuctiondredge@dfg.ca.gov

Re: Suction Dredge Program Revisions to Proposed Amendments

Dear Department of Fish and Game:

I am concerned that the revised regulations allow destructive and harmful suction
dredge mining in the East Fork San Gabriel River. This river supports endangered
native fish and other recreational uses that are often incompatible with suction
dredge mining. It also harms water quality in a river that contributes significantly to
the local water supply. In addition, a 1928 federal prohibits mining on this river to
protect its water quality and watershed values.

Water quality and fish and wildlife in the East Fork and other rivers and streams in
California must be protected from the adverse impacts of suction dredge mining.
The revised regulations simply do not provide sufficient protection for these

sensitive resources. I urge the CDFG to withdraw the revised regulations and
propose new ones that prohibit suction dredge mining on the San Gabriel River in
the Angeles National Forest and that fully mitigate all significant impacts, cover the
state’s costs to administer and enforce the program, and meet all other laws and
regulations.

Recreational and commercial mining is not a legitimate activity in California if
it is done at the expense of the state’s fish, wildlife, water quality, human health,
and state-protected beneficial uses of the San Gabriel River and other rivers and
streams.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

(your name, address)

See you on the river, Jim Burns