America's Most Endangered Rivers 2009 Edition

American Rivers has released their annual report on America's 10 most endangered rivers. 

LINK

Recreational Genocide

The Karuk tribe has been lobbying the California Fiah and Game Department to limit suction dredge mining on the Klamath claiming hobbyist miners are damaging important spawning habitat. Recently a recreational gold mining club challenged the Karuk's tribe right to harvest salmon on the Klamath.

Leaf Hillman, Vice-Chairman for the Tribe, told Native American Times in an interview that the recent attacks upon their ancestral fishing grounds are, “Nothing more than Recreational Genocide.”

LINK (Via: Native American Times)

Klamath fish are worth more than gold!

Every summer, recreational suction dredge miners descend upon the Klamath and its tributaries in search of gold. Their gas-powered dredges disturb the river bottom, damage critical spawning habitat for salmon and other fish, release large plumes of sediment into the water, and are the source of fuel and oil spills directly into the river. Suction dredge mining harms aquatic life and fisheries and impacts anglers and other river users. 

LINK  (Via: Klamath Riverkeeper)

CSPA Joins Karuk Tribe in Lawsuit Against Suction Dredge Mining

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) has joined in a lawsuit by the Karuk Tribe of the Klamath River and a coalition of environmental and fishing groups against the California Department of Fish and Game's use of General Fund money to support suction dredge mining. The suit is asking for an injunction until California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review is completed and other mitigations take place.

LINK (Via: The Klamath Bucket Brigade)

Cadillac Desert

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District hopes to divert as much of its 30,000 acre-feet of water as possible from the Colorado River every year to the East Slope.

With about 60 percent of the upper Colorado already being diverted by Northern and Denver Water, this project would take another 20 percent of a river struggling to survive.

LINK (Via: The Denver Post)

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, a public agency created in 1937, provides water for agricultural, municipal, domestic and industrial uses in northeastern Colorado.

LINK

Proposed Pipeline Sparks B.C. Oil Spill Fears

More news on the proposed pipeline project that the Dogwood Initiative is fighting with their No Tankers Campaign.

Pipeline megaproject would result in heavy tanker traffic on B.C.'s north coast

Concerns are mounting over a proposed twin pipeline megaproject running from Alberta to British Columbia that would cross hundreds of kilometres of untouched wilderness.

Friends of Wild Salmon (FWS), a citizens’ coalition based in northern B.C., is calling for a public enquiry into the project. FWS coordinator Pat Moss says that aside from tanker traffic, the location of the pipelines, which will cross hundreds of salmon streams and two major rivers, is a worry.

“Certainly the biggest single concern would be a major oil spill from a tanker on the coast as there’d be so much oil spilled at one time. But the pipeline also crosses over a 1,000 kilometres on its way to the coast, which includes numerous crossings of the Fraser and Skeena rivers.”

LINK (Via: Epoch Times)

Previously on MC. LINK

Quality Waters?

One of the biggest impacts on the quality of steelhead fishing on the Skeena is the commercial gillnetting bycatch that damages critical early steelhead runs. Despite reports that have shown the economic benefits of the sport fishery far outweigh those of the commercial fishery, the Canadian Department of Fisheries continues their misguided management of the resource.

With just three months before the start of the commercial fishing season, the North Coast Steelhead Alliance has sent an open letter to the Canadian Department of Fisheries, taking them to task for not implementing strategies to reduce the commercial harvest impact on steelhead runs. 

LINK  (Via: Skeena Fisheries Blog)

State of the Steelhead

To further put the "world record" Hoh steelhead hullabaloo in perspective I would encourage everyone to read Patagonia Fly Fishing Ambassador Dylan Tomine's, State of the Steelhead. Originally appearing in Wild on the Fly, it can now be found in on-line magazine form courtesy of Tim Pask. Balancing the sobering information contained in the article is some photography from Tim and Jeff Bright that beautifully underscores exactly what's at stake.

Dylan Tomine's State of the Steelhead

Update on Monday, March 16, 2009 at 7:29PM by El Guapo

A big shout out to the Wild Steelhead Coalition for commissioning Dylan's "State of the Steelhead" article. The WSC is an organization dedicated to increasing the return of wild steelhead to the waters and rivers of the Pacific Northwest.

On May 9th The coalition will be hosting the West Coast film debut of "Rivers of a Lost Coast" along with a special reception with narrator Tom Skerrit and film producers Justin Coupe and Palmer Taylor.  LINK