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For the complete text of the petition, visit www.tucalifornia.org/CentralCoastPetition.pdf.
Contacts:
For Release on October 28, 2004
Trout Unlimited and Audubon Society say that current system is dysfunctional and negatively impacts water users and fish and wildlife alike
Santa Rosa, CA -- Two California conservation groups have asked the California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) to address the inadequate regulation of water withdrawals in streams from San Francisco Bay north to the Mattole River.
Trout Unlimited (TU) and the National Audubon Society's Peregrine Chapter of Mendocino County, filed a formal petition with the Water Board on Thursday, Oct 28, 2004 asking that a process be undertaken to assure that adequate water is left in streams for steelhead and coho salmon as required by State law and the public trust doctrine. The petition complements a TU legislative success this year that resulted in the passage and signing of Assembly Bill 2121, which requires the Water Board to develop instream flow guidelines and principles for these coastal streams by January 2007.
"This petition was filed to bring some sense of consistency and wise management to the use of water from northern California's streams and rivers. It is designed to move a process forward that will, in the long term, benefit both the region's communities and those species that depend on adequate flows in those waters," said Chuck Bonham, TU's California Counsel and Director of its California Water Project.
There are roughly 276 applications for new water rights pending before the Water Board in watersheds in the north coast communities. Many of these are in the Russian River and Navarro River watersheds. The number of total pending applications in all of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties could be even higher. Records also show that there are at least 1,406 existing water diversions within the Russian River watershed in just Mendocino and Sonoma counties alone.
Bonham said currently there is no coordinated inter- or intra- state agency policy or procedure to deal with the onslaught of applications or for making complicated water allocation decisions that adequately consider demand while balancing the needs of fish and wildlife. Consequently, many of the water right applications have been before the Water Board for over 10 years without a single final agency decision.
In addition to the administrative backlog and regulatory uncertainty, in many watersheds unauthorized water diversions are widespread. Research conducted in preparing the petition found that some small watersheds had unauthorized water diversions as high as 77% percent.
David Katz, TU's California Director, said the petition asks the Water Board to lead a workshop process to create a system whereby order and balance will be brought back to the water allocation process. "One of the reasons why we pursued this approach rather than legal action is because we believe that, with the leadership of the Water Board, the stakeholders should be able to develop workable solutions that address water demand and the needs of fish and wildlife."
The organizations say they welcome all legitimate stakeholder views and their participation; including landowners, farmers, water agencies, local, state, and federal agencies, environmentalists, and people who want to protect fish.
"Clearly, water allocation decisions matter to the entire community. The solutions to these problems are well within the administrative discretion of the relevant agencies and local authorities, and we are confident that lasting stakeholder driven solutions can be found for fish and the broader community," said Roger Foote, President of the Peregrine Chapter of the National Audubon Society, in Mendocino County.
California's north coast counties were once home to vibrant populations of native steelhead and coho salmon populations, all of which are in dramatic decline. The fisheries are now subject to the Endangered Species Act because of their threatened status. Today, coho salmon populations are estimated at only 6-15% of their abundance during the 1940s, and coho abundance has declined at least 70% since the 1960s.
"We owe it to the next generation to bring more focus and thought to our water management decisions and systems in our north coast counties. That goal should be common to everyone and is really nothing more than requesting good government and a vision to achieve it," said Bonham.
Trout Unlimited is the nation's largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization with approximately 130,000 members nationwide, including 10,000 Californians. The organization works to protect and restore California's salmon and steelhead resources in streams along the northern coast. Its members are involved in dozens of on-the-ground restoration projects and partnerships with agencies and stakeholders in the state. http://www.tucalifornia.org
National Audubon Society's Peregrine Chapter of Mendocino County was founded in 1982, and it works to actively promote the preservation of birds, wildlife, and their natural habitats in Mendocino. Peregrine has more than 200 family and individual members in the county, and is part of the National Audubon Society structure of 500 chapters and 550,000 members nationwide. Peregrine has worked over the last twenty years on local community-based efforts to implement habitat conservation and restoration projects in Mendocino County.
Last revised March 11, 2006
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