The state agency that oversees Harriman state park may be “reorganized”, which puts a lot of uncertainty in the park. According to the press release from the Henry’s Fork Foundation:

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has proposed the elimination of general funding for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) as part of the 2010 state budget. The elimination of IDPR potentially means the loss of public access to state parks and facilities all over Idaho, including the world-famous Harriman State Park in Fremont County.

…According to State sources, the Governor has recommended that responsibility for park maintenance be transferred to the Idaho Department of Lands, with a goal of continuing to operate state parks.

This may be a rational reorganization of the management team that operates the Idaho state parks. These are tough times economically, which reduces state income, and rational organizations adapt to live in their means.

But then again, bureaucrats are making these decisions. Bureaucrats tend to base decisions to protect the bureaucracy, not little things like reason, wild trout, angler access,  and preserving nature for future generations.

Damn straight that anyone who visits that slice of heaven known as “The Ranch” has the right to be concerned.

Its time to break out that hope.

Had a great day fishing the McCloud River Preserve the other day, part of the Nature Conservancy. Afterwards, while taking a rehydration break at the cabin, we ran into Christopher Babcock, one of the Field Scientist who keep the Preserve running. An actual River Keeper.

After chit-chat about fishing success (or lack thereof), weather, smoking regulations on the Preserve, and the like, he mentioned the recent grant that the Conservancy received to restore the Shasta River at Big Springs. This was recently written about at the Trout Underground.

You know when you are talking with someone, and that light goes off in their eyes when the topic turns to a topic where they are passionate? That happened. He lit up with energy and enthusiasm about the great opportunity that has come across, to restore the coho run on the Shasta River.

Watershed Institute of UC Davis staff work to monitor the river. The Watershed Institute is working in parternship with the Nature Conservancy. Photo Credit: Bridget Besaw

For years, agriculture operations have been slowly killing this river, and the baby salmon that call it home. The cool 55 degree water was being pumped out to irrigate plants, and the runoff returned at ambient temperature. This is fine for the plants, but it way too warm for the salmon fry. The river has also been used to irrigate the local cattle population. The cows walking in the river tend to flatten out cut banks and channels in the river, which also warms up the water.

Coho Salmon, photo credit: redakuma

Christopher described the strategy they are using to restore the coho salmon habitat:

• Protect the riparian area with fencing to keep the cattle away.
• Restore the channel, to allow deeper (and cooler) water to flow
• Assist the repopulation of Coho Salmon

Build it and they will come: this works for crooked baseball players, but is pretty slow for salmon restoration. We mentioned the idea of introducing hatchery salmon to populate the river. Christopher schooled us on the genetics of hatchery fish, and instead shared his idea of introducing fertilized eggs to the ecosystem. This gives the Coho run a jump-start, but they still have to fight it out against nature to survive – so only the fittest return to fill the next generation gene pool.

That chat was a highlight of the day.

McCloud River at the Preserve

Here is how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) describes the project:

This project will improve more than 11 miles of important salmon spawning and rearing habitat along the Shasta River and tributaries by supporting natural revegetation of 70 acres of the riparian zone and actively planting 20 riparian acres. Additional activities include creating structural improvements to allow for fish-friendly irrigation. These efforts will protect cold water springs, enhance cold water flows, and restore aquatic habitat critical for Chinook, steelhead, and threatened coho salmon in the Shasta River, which is the last major tributary before the mainstem Klamath River dams and crucial for salmonid restoration.

20 acres of riparian habitat restored, 70 additional acres enhanced, and 11.2 stream-miles improved for salmon

What a cool finish to a day on the water…

]]> http://wcflies.com/blog/2009/07/shasta-river-coho-restoration-the-nature-conversancy/feed/ 0 http://wcflies.com/blog/2009/07/a-welcome-sight-fly-fishing-the-mccloud/ http://wcflies.com/blog/2009/07/a-welcome-sight-fly-fishing-the-mccloud/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:40:18 +0000 WhiskeyCreek http://wcflies.com/blog/?p=416 We were planning to fish the McCloud, hoping to catch some native redbands for the California Heritage Trout challenge. While there, I wanted to also fish the McCloud River Preserve.  Getting to the river in the late morning though, I was pessismistic on our chances to get on the preserve (its limited to 10 rods per day, first come first served).

We drove down the dusty road and hiked down the hill anyway. Why not? You never know…

What a welcome site, available tags.

Stay tuned for more about the preserve and the Nature Conservancy. Had a fantastic conversation with one of the conservationalists about the plans for the Shasta River restoration at Big Springs.

Oh, by the way, went up river the next day and got into some redbands.

Check out this video from January:

The video shows the staging for removal of the Savage Rapids dam, the #1 fish killer in Oregon. Here is a shot from the WaterWatch web site of the dam now. Looks like it won’t be killing too many fish in the future!

Three down, one to go!

Congratulations WaterWatch.

The angler survey was conducted by the Henry’s Fork Caldera Project, funded by the Henry’s Fork Foundation. I was one of the surveyed anglers, answering about 15 questions as I returned to the north access parking area.

The report is summarized in a slideshow, which is embedded below. The report shows that 57% of the anglers were unsuccessful at catching a fish the day they were surveyed. However, the anglers expressed that Aesthetics, Fish Habitat, and ability to fish to rising fish were the the most important to them. Actual numbers of fish caught was the lowest rated importance.

When asked if they desired to keep the Ranch as a wild trout fishery, 88% agreed or strongly agreed. Likewise, 76% disagreed or strongly disagreed with any idea to stock trout on the Ranch.

My personal view, I’ve been fishing Henry’s Fork for the past 15 years. I do wish the catching was a little better in the Ranch, but agree with the majority of other anglers, don’t stock.  There are plenty of areas on Henry’s Fork to catch stocked trout. Keep the Ranch wild.  The area that I disagree with the majority? Getting skunked that day A beautiful, parr-marked, wild rainbow caught on a BWO sparkle dun.

Last night, the Henry’s Fork Foundation hosted a reception in San Francisco, overlooking the bay. The evening was informative, entertaining, and delicious – part celebration of the 25 years of conservation and part fund-raiser.

The Henry’s Fork Foundation was founded 25 years ago, in response to plans to harvest hydro-electric power from the Mesa Falls section of the river. Now, the 50 miles of river between the Island Park dam and Ashton Reservoir are protected from future dams. Their mission is to protect the fish and the water-shed for future generations to enjoy.

They fund scientific research, take action to preserve habitat and access, and general stewardship of the water-shed. Several recent projects are

• Channel restoration of Henry’s Lake Outlet
• Negotiation with the irrigation authorities to keep minimum winter flows out of Island Park dam (crucial for the first year survival of wild trout)
• Fish ladders to allow passage where the trout should pass, and screens to prevent fish from going where they shouldn’t (irrigation canals at diversion dams).
• Habitat restoration, installation and maintenance of  riparian fencing
• Securing access to the river, recently they purchased the land at the Stone Bridge access.
• Research into the migration habits of trout in the system through tracking.

Entertainment came, in part, from a slide show by Val Atkinson sharing his images of Henry’s Fork. He also donated a print for the auction.

Many people and organizations donated goods and services for the donation. My personal favorite, which will be personally enjoyed, came from Quivira Vineyards, in the Dry Creek valley of Sonoma county. If you see this wine, buy a bottle. You will be supporting steelhead restoration in addition to enjoying a fine wine.

You may be thinking, why a reception for the Henry’s Fork in San Francisco?  Isn’t Island Park the polar opposite of San Francisco in any conceivable measure?  Well, a couple hundred people, and their checkbooks, attended the event.  Speaking for the attendees, thanks to the foundation for reaching out and letting us enjoy the river that we love for an extra evening.