NOAA
Fisheries Posts RFP for Community-based Marine Debris
Prevention
and Removal Project Grants and the Open Rivers Initiative
NOAA
Fisheries recently posted two RFPs for restoration work related to cleaning
up marine debris and removing fish passage barriers. Funding of up to $2,000,000
is expected to be available for Community-based Marine Debris Prevention
(MDP) and Removal Project Grants in FY 2008. The NOAA MDP anticipates that
typical awards will range from $15,000 to $150,000. NOAA has also announced
the funding cycle for their Open Rivers Initiative (ORI) for 2007. The ORI
funds locally-driven projects to remove dams and other fish migration barriers,
primarily in coastal states. The program has $6 million available this year,
and typically funds projects in the $50,000 to $250,000 range. The due date
for both proposals is October 31, 2007. Follow the link below for details
on proposal submission.
NOAA
Fisheries Restoration RFP
Restoration
Job Opportunities
Salmon
Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) is hiring a Riparian Habitat
Restoration Intern for a full-time position from October, 2007 through
January 2008. Responsibilities include overseeing all native plant nursery
projects and planning and coordinating restoration projects along tributaries
in the undammed headwaters of the Lagunitas Creek Watershed (San Geronimo
Valley).
The
Mattole Restoration Council, based in Petrolia, Humboldt County, CA, seeks
a Contract Coordinator to assist in managing our various contracts. The
Contract Coordinator will work from 32 to 40 hours per week and may work
from Petrolia and/or Arcata.
The
Contract Coordinator tracks income and spending on some of MRC’s many
environmental restoration projects. These projects are funded by state agencies
and require exact compliance with contract obligations and reporting guidelines.
For
more information about the Council and its programs, or to obtain a complete
job description, see our website, www.mattole.org or
call our office at (707) 629-3514.
To
see the full job descriptions, please visit the SRF
Job Board
SRF
Fish Passage Short Courses in Santa Cruz November 7-9 and Sonoma County November
13-15
SRF,
DFG, and Fish Net 4 C will offer two intensive workshops for engineers,
hydrologists, biologists, and environmental planners, and other staff
who are involved in the design and implementation of fish passage projects.
The workshop will cover the design and implementation process, including
biological considerations, site surveys and geomorphic assessment, state
and federal fish passage design guidance, stream simulation design, grade
control techniques, retrofitting existing crossings, contracting and implementation,
monitoring and adaptation. Instructors include Mike Love, Ross Taylor,
and Ken Kozmo Bates. In addition, DFG staff will provide instruction on
the DFG/NOAA design standards, and local county staff will be available
to present case studies. The workshops include two days in the classroom,
comprised of presentations, group exercises and local case studies and
a third day will feature field visits to local projects, and a specialized
half-day workshop targeted specifically for engineers to explore in more
detail the calculations used to develop successful designs.
For
more info, stay tuned towww.calsalmon.org and
subscribe to our monthly enewsletter on the SRF home page.
Integrating
Riparian Habitat Conservation & Flood Management in California Conference,
December 4-6, 2007
This
December, the Riparian Habitat Joint Venture (RHJV) will host agencies, organizations,
scientists, engineers, landowners, and leaders endeavoring to protect the
communities, property, and natural resources along the waterways across California.
Their shared goal will be to tackle the many issues before them and to work
toward integrating the many needs, ideas, and solutions for sustaining a safe,
vibrant, and healthy environment all along the streams and rivers of California.
For info on a call for papers, registration, professional displays, and lodging,
please
Click
Here
|
In
this eNewsletter you will find:
- Take
Action To Protect Coho Salmon
- 10th
Annual Coho Confab, August 17-19
- 26th
Annual SRF Conference Call for Abstracts
- NOAA's
Klamath River Coho Salmon Recovery Plan
- Klamath
River Temperatures and Algal Blooms Threaten Another
Fish Kill
- NOAA
Fisheries Posts Restoration RFP
- Restoration
Job Opportunities
- SRF
Fish Passage Short Courses in November
- Riparian
Habitat Conservation & Flood Management Conference,
December 4-6, 2007
Urge
CA Board of Forestry toProtect
Endangered Coho Salmon
Please
send a letter ASAP to the BOF encouraging them to adopt
meaningful forestry regulations to protect threatened
salmonids.
Below is
SRF's letter that can be used as a template.
Letter
should be directed to:
Board
of Forestry Chair Stan Dixon
PO
Box 944246
Sacramento,
CA 94244-2460
or
fax them to BOF, attn: Stan Dixon (916) 653-0989
Dear
California Board of Forestry,
I
am writing on behalf of Salmonid Restoration Federation
to express our concern regarding the Board of Forestry’s
(BOF) failure to implement forest practice rules
to protect endangered salmonid species. SRF is a
California-based statewide organization that promotes
salmonid restoration and recovery through education
and outreach. SRF has produced 25 conferences, numerous
field schools and workshops to educate practitioners
about salmonid restoration
techniques and methodologies. Our technical education
efforts have largely been funded by the Department
of Fish and Game's Fisheries Restoration Grant Program
(FRGP).
As
you know, California is actively working to restore
salmon, steelhead, and trout habitat in order to recover
imperiled species. The Fisheries Restoration Grant
Program (FRGP) managed by the California Department
of Fish and Game (DFG) is one of the primary funding
mechanisms for this needed restoration work. The salmon
restoration field is a long-term investment in the
recovery of salmonids, the health of California’s
watersheds, and in a sustainable economy in impoverished
rural communities. Unfortunately, the California legislature
does not think that continued funding of the FRGP is
prudent if the Board of Forestry is failing to adopt
meaningful regulatory standards to address commercial
logging practices that contribute to the decline of
California’s salmon and steelhead trout.
It
is imperative that the BOF adopt meaningful reforms
to California’s forestry regulations that protect
habitat and allow coho salmon and other threatened
salmonids to recover to historic levels. Please uphold
the mandate of the people of California who have clearly
demonstrated their desire for species recovery through
their positive votes on conservation, water quality,
and restoration bonds. If the BOF adopts sustainable
forestry regulations then the legislature will be more
inclined to reinstate the vital Fisheries Restoration
Grant Program.
We
agree with the intent of the trailer budget language
that would have required the Board to adopt emergency
regulations to reform logging practices to protect
and restore salmonid species currently listed as
either “threatened” or “endangered” under
the state and federal endangered species acts. Please
take action at the earliest possible opportunity
to reform California’s Forestry Practice Rules
to address the known shortcomings which are harming
salmonid habitat. Such action can help ensure future
healthy forests, watersheds, and salmonids as well
as the future of the restoration field.
10th
Annual Coho Confab August 17-19 in the
Mattole
The
10th Annual Coho Confab will be held in the beautiful
Mattole Valley on the North Coast of California. This
landmark event is sponsored by Salmonid Restoration
Federation, Trees Foundation, Sanctuary Forest, Mattole
Restoration Council, and the Mattole Salmon Group.
This year's Confab will feature restoration tours highlighting
sudden oak death, road decommissioning, the Mattole
Canyon Creek Delta restoration, installing in-stream
structures, and a tour to the headwaters of the Mattole
addressing water conservation, sediment reduction,
conservation easements, and acquisitions. Other field
tours will visit Wild and Working Lands sites, in-stream
structures in the lower Mattole to the Estuary, and
Mill Creek. Workshops will focus on underwater fish
identification, riparian invertebrate monitoring- stream
health assessment, and high-tech water quality monitoring.
Open forums and resource workshops will include stories
and songs of salmon with author of Totem Salmon, Freeman
House, singer-songwriter Joanne Rand, co-author of
Salmon Nation, Seth Zuckerman, and David Simpson and
Jane Lapiner of the theatrical troupe, Human Nature.
Saturday night will culminate with a wild salmon feast,
a cabaret, and the Joanne Rand band. The Sunday morning
workshops include riparian tree planting, flow monitoring
in the Mattole, and “how to build a successful
watershed group.”
The
cost of the Confab is sliding-scale $100-125 and
includes all food and camping sites. Alternative
lodging facilities are available. Limited scholarships
and work trade positions are available. For more
information about the Confab, please contact the
SRF at (707) 923-7501 or visit our website:www.calsalmon.org or
contact Trees Foundation (707) 923-4377 or go to www.treesfoundation.org.
26th
Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference Call
for Abstracts
The
26th Annual Conference Salmonid Restoration Conference
will be held March 5-8, 2008 in the northern San Joaquin
Valley. The conference will probably feature all day
field tours of Toulumne River restoration projects,
Delta Water Systems, East Bay MUD Fisheries Monitoring
and Management and a tour of the Mokelumne River.
Workshops
will include Fins and Zins: Sustainable Agriculture
and Watershed Management, Fluvial Geomorphology,
Floodplain Management and Tidal Marsh Restoration,
Restoring Natural Hydrographs, and Invasive Species
removal. Concurrent sessions will focus on the Delta
Smelt, Coho Salmon Recovery efforts, the San Joaquin
Restoration Plan, Native Trout restoration, Recovery
Planning models, Central Valley Chinook and Steelhead,
Recovery Planning models, Climate Change, and Natural
Flow Regime and Delta Management. For more
info and to see how abstracts should be formatted,
please Click
Here.
NOAA
Releases Klamath River Coho Salmon Recovery Plan
NOAA
recently released their Coho Salmon Recovery Plan
which according to NOAA officials, relies heavily
on existing coho salmon recovery strategies developed
by theCalifornia Department of Fish and Game.
“Using
up-to-date scientific information, this recovery
plan provides prioritized actions for restoring
coho salmon in the KlamathBasin,” said Rod
McInnis, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries
Service’s Southwest Region, in a news release.
The
primary goals listed in CDFG’s Recovery Strategy,
published in 2004, are to maintain and improve
the number of key populations of coho salmon, increase
the number of spawning adults, maintain the range
and increase the distribution of coho salmon, maintain
existing habitat essential for coho salmon, and
enhance and restore coho habitat.
Pat
Higgins, a fisheries biologist who has been working
on Klamath issues for nearly 20 years stated that
the NOAA’s document is logical and contains
a lot of useful scientific information (but) it
appears to mostly list existing conservation and
restoration efforts. The plan also fails to recognize
the controversial measures necessary, such as the
removal of dams in rivers that flow into the Klamath
River, which he said must be considered in order
to accomplish a salmon recovery.
The
Klamath River Coho Salmon Recovery Plan is available
to download on the NOAA Web site. Click
Here.
Klamath
River Conditions Threaten Another Fish
Kill
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 5 issued
a warning about bodily contact with the toxic
blue-green algae in Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs
on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California “Due
to its potential health risks, federal, state, local, and
tribal agencies are urging swimmers, boaters and
recreational users to avoid contact with the
blue-green algae now blooming in Iron Gate and
Copco Reservoirs,” said Lisa Fasano, spokesperson
for the EPA’s San Francisco office. California
agencies including the North Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board, State Water Resources Control
Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment and Department of Public Health and
the Yurok and Karuk Tribes are urging residents and
recreational users of the Klamath river to use caution
or avoid getting in the water near these blooms,
especially during the upcoming summer months.
Native tribes are concerned that the high temperatures
and algal blooms could spell another fish kill.
View
Article
|
