In California water news today, Chinook salmon ‘overfished’? Not so fast, say fishers; Two urban estuaries soften shorelines; Sierra preps for a big new storm amid ‘Miracle March’ hopes; Significant storm expected to bring steady rain to Southern California this week; Pacific heat wave known as ‘the blob’ appears to be in retreat; and more …
In the news today …
Chinook salmon ‘overfished’? Not so fast, say fishers: “For fishery regulators, it is official: The Sacramento River’s fall-run Chinook salmon are “overfished.” This formal designation, made in a February report from the Pacific Fishery Management Council, comes after three consecutive years of critically low returns of spawning adults, which lay and fertilize their eggs in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Now, as regulators discuss drastically shortening this year’s fishing season to reduce pressures on the population, embittered fishers are contesting the overfished status. And it’s not just a matter of semantics. … ” Read more from Water Deeply here: Chinook salmon ‘overfished’? Not so fast, say fishers
Two urban estuaries soften shorelines: “For two cold clear days in February, scientists, engineers, and other specialists from all three North American coasts gathered at the Oakland Airport Hilton, in what a local speaker called “the least interesting part of Oakland,” for the second national Living Shorelines Technology Transfer Workshop. The event, co-sponsored by Restore America’s Estuaries, the California Coastal Conservancy, and Save the Bay, featured talks and interactive sessions on this emerging approach to coastal protection that went well beyond technology. Referred to by some practitioners as “soft shorelines” or “green shorelines,” living shorelines projects deploy a range of environmentally friendly alternatives to armoring shores against rising seas and stronger storm surges, along a gray-to-green continuum. ... ” Read more from Estuary News here: Two urban estuaries soften shorelines
Significant storm expected to bring steady rain to Southern California this week: “A storm system moving toward Southern California will bring a “long period” of steady rain across the region this week and could trigger debris flows in recent burn areas, forecasters said. The storm is expected to drop 2 to 4 inches of rain along the coast and in the valleys in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and 4 to 6 inches in the mountains between Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning, said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. South-facing slopes could see up to 8 inches in some areas. … ” Read more from the LA Times here: Significant storm expected to bring steady rain to Southern California this week
Pacific heat wave known as ‘the blob’ appears to be in retreat: “Ocean conditions off the Pacific Northwest seem to be returning to normal after a three-year spike in water temperature. It’s promising long-term news for fishermen who are looking ahead in the short term to yet another year of low salmon returns.A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) outlined the latest ocean observations for the organization that sets salmon catch limits off the West Coast. The Pacific Fishery Management Council will set those limits in early April. … ” Read more from KUOW here: Pacific heat wave known as ‘the blob’ appears to be in retreat
In commentary today …
Making Los Angeles completely water self-sufficient won’t be easy or cheap. But it can be done, says Mark Gold: He writes, “Despite another hot and dry year with less than four inches of rain in the Los Angeles area, we are back to our water-wasting ways. Two years ago, Californians were using 24% less water compared with 2013. This year, we’re hardly conserving at all — just 1%. Clearly, our earlier successes were more behavioral than structural. If lawn removal and new efficient fixtures and appliances had saved all that water, we wouldn’t be seeing this momentous backslide. Meanwhile, our sources of imported water — from the Delta, the Colorado River, and the Los Angeles aqueduct — have all been revealed as vulnerable to politics, drought, climate change and crumbling concrete in recent years. … ” Continue reading at the LA Times here: Making Los Angeles completely water self-sufficient won’t be easy or cheap. But it can be done
More news and commentary in the weekend edition …
In regional news and commentary today …
North Coast salmon season delayed into summer: “Details of the coming salmon season are still being worked out, but it appears commercial trollers should expect to have an abundance of excess time on their hands over the next several months. Gone are the days of commercial trollers heading out to open water to bait their hooks for king salmon in May or even, once upon a time, April. Except for the outside possibility of a single week in June in some areas, the commercial fishery from Shelter Cove to San Mateo County this year won’t open until August under any of three scenarios still being considered for approval next month. ... ” Read more from the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat here: North Coast salmon season delayed into summer
Yuba-Sutter groundwater levels see improvement: “Groundwater levels throughout the Sacramento Valley improved as a result of last year’s rainfall. Local water managers say the Yuba-Sutter area saw its fair share of improvements, some parts more so than others. “As a whole, the groundwater levels in our region are in better shape now due to the rains from last year,” said Guadalupe Rivera, senior civil engineer for Sutter County Development Services. When comparing levels from fall 2016 to fall 2017, groundwater levels along the eastern border of Sutter County increased – ranging anywhere from 2.5 feet to 13 feet, Rivera said. On the western border and toward the center of the county, however, levels didn’t see the same type of improvement, with some wells even seeing decreases of up to 6 feet. … ” Read more from the Appeal Democrat here: Yuba-Sutter groundwater levels see improvement
Slow down and watch the birds enjoying Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area: “There’s been some great bird watching going on over the past couple of weeks along the Interstate 80 corridor known as the Yolo Bypass, where commuters head from Sacramento to the Bay Area. A series of videos shot by Jim Morris of the California Wildlife Commission bears witness to how the Yolo County Wildlife Area has attracted large numbers of pelicans, ducks, geese, egrets, herons, songbirds and hawks. … ” Read more from the Sacramento Bee here: Slow down and watch the birds enjoying Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area
Human-centered conservation in North Richmond: “Today’s North Richmond shoreline looks much different from its historic blend of baylands, mudflats, and wet meadows. A lot of the land has been filled, or else fragmented by transit and industry. The region’s three creeks — the Rheem, the San Pablo, and the Wildcat are mostly behind levees for flood control (the San Pablo and Wildcat Creek levees were raised in late 2017). The shoreline, and the 500 meters inland where the optimal marsh-upland transition zone could exist is bounded on one end by Chevron’s Richmond Refinery and by an Amazon distribution center and other new, massive warehouses at the other end. … ” Read more from Estuary News here: Human-centered conservation in North Richmond
Assemblyman Chui seeks $250 million in state money for decaying seawall: “As much as $250 million in state taxes generated from development along San Francisco’s waterfront would be directed toward the city’s ambitious plan to reconstruct the crumbling Embarcadero seawall, under legislation Assembyman David Chiu will introduce Monday. The measure, AB2578, would create an infrastructure financing district along the waterfront, from Fisherman’s Wharf to Mission Creek. ... ” Read more from the SF Chronicle here: Assemblyman Chui seeks $250 million in state money for decaying seawall
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About the Daily Digest: The Daily Digest is a collection of selected news articles, commentaries and editorials appearing in the mainstream press. Items are generally selected to follow the focus of the Notebook blog. The Daily Digest is published every weekday with a weekend edition posting on Sundays.
