Jimmy Kimmel Joins American Rivers Board

“I am thrilled to join the board of directors of American Rivers,” Kimmel said in the release. “As an avid fly-fisherman, I look forward to working with this great organization to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water.”

LINK (via: Outside)

Wild Fish Don’t Ride in Trucks

In this Sacramento Bee op-ed, Yvon Chouinard and Matt Stoecker explain why a proposed trap and haul program is the wrong way to save salmon on California's Yuba River.

LINK (via: The Cleanest Line)

Local conservationists also oppose the plan to truck salmon. 

Plan to ease steelhead barriers stirs concerns about frogs

Image: USFWS/Rick Kuyper

Faster than a frog can hop over a drought-shrunken creek, San Francisco water officials' plan to help restore wild fish has spiraled into a regulatory debate highlighting the difficulty of trying to undo damage to one species without hurting others.

LINK (via: Contra Costa Times)

Will a Century-Old Treaty Protect Alaska's Salmon Rivers from B.C.'s Mining Boom?

Image: Salmon Beyond Borders

Southeast Alaskans, anxious about B.C.'s mining boom along the Alaskan border, are pinning their hopes for stronger mine management on a treaty that dates back more than a century.

The International Joint Commission (IJC), operating under the Boundary Waters Treaty since 1909, is a body with six appointed members —three from Canada and three from the U.S. — used to resolve water or air conflicts between the two countries.

However, although the commission appears to be tailor-made to deal with the concern over B.C. mines in the headwaters of Southeast Alaska’s most important salmon rivers, politicians on both side of the border appear reluctant to hand over responsibility to a commission whose recommendations remain entirely independent of either party.

LINK (via:DESMOGCANADA)

More High Water Temperature Fish Issues

An estimated 109 spring chinook died last week on the upper section of the Middle Fork John Day River, apparently due to low river flows and warm temperatures.

LINK (via: The Statesman Journal)

Unusually warm waters in the Columbia River Basin have prompted federal officials to invoke measures to help migrating fish survive the hostile conditions.

As river temperatures climb to record highs while water flow continues to drop, the Wild Fish Conservancy is calling for an emergency closure of fisheries across the West Coast where temperatures are higher than 65-degrees.

LINK (via:King5)

Numerous decades-old sturgeon being found dead in the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities are prompting a proposal to close catch-and-release fishing for the species.

Theories for the sturgeon deaths include the possibility that the sockeyes they’re eating in this year’s big salmon run could be diseased from migrating upstream in the Columbia’s unusually warm water conditions.

Another theory, Hoffarth said, suggests that the sturgeon are stressed by the combination of dramatically lower-than-normal Columbia flows with higher-than-normal July water temperatures.

LINK (via: The Spokesman)

TAKE ACTION: Protect Wild Rivers & Native Fish From Strip Mining!

An important call to action from the Native Fish Society.

Dear Wild Fish Supporters,
 
Mining companies want to develop nickel strip mines in the delicate headwaters of the Smith, Illinois, Pistol rivers and Hunter Creek. These headwaters play a critical role in providing the cold, clean water necessary to support the wild, native fish that call these watersheds home. Despite overwhelming opposition, the archaic 1872 Mining Law prioritizes mining over all other land uses!
 
Thanks to the leadership of Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley and Representative DeFazio of Oregon and Representative Huffman of California, the Interior Department is considering a proposal to protect these wild rivers and their native fish by temporarily withdrawing them from mining while Congress considers legislation—the Southwestern Oregon Watershed and Salmon Protection Act—for more lasting protection.  

What’s at stake?

• The Wild and Scenic North Fork Smith River
• Baldface Creek
• Rough and Ready Creek
• The headwaters of Hunter Creek and Pistol River

The Interior Department is taking comments on the proposed mineral withdrawal now. Please join us in sending a letter of support. It’s the best way to protect the crystal clear, salmon-studded waters of these wild rivers from damaging pollution.
 
Thank you for taking action! 

TAKE ACTION NOW!