Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3909 April 10-24 | Page 19

VOL.39 • ISS. 9
FRESHWATER
17
April 10-24, 2020
FRESHWATER REPORTS:
On March 20, 2017,
About 2 million spring run
the first salmon to
Chinook and 5 million fall run
be released after the
Chinook were evacuated during
evacuation were 1 million
FEATHER RIVER
the two-day flood event. Those
state and federally listed
fish survived and were later
CDFW’s Salmon Evacuation
threatened spring-
released to the wild – helping
run Chinook salmon.
Decision Pays Exceptional
fuel a record class salmon
They were released
Dividends
harvest in the ocean two years
successfully into the
later.
OROVILLE - In February 2017, damage
Feather River. In all, a
Last year, most of the rescued
to the Oroville Dam’s spillways prompted
total of 2 million spring-
salmon had matured in the
the evacuation of more than 180,000
run Chinook and 5 million
ocean and were ready for
people living downstream along the
fall-run Chinook were
their migration home to the
Feather River. The raging muddy waters
released.
Feather River. Their survival
also triggered an emergency decision to
Their work did not
relocate millions of young salmon from the helped power strong ocean
go unnoticed. Team
fisheries with one of the largest
Feather River Hatchery to the Thermalito
members received a
commercial catches in decades.
Annex Hatchery to be raised and held
letter of appreciation
According to data collected
until river water conditions improved.
from then-Lt. Governor
by the California Department
Most, if not all, of the young salmon would
Gavin Newsom, and
of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW),
have otherwise died when mud from the
were later presented with
approximately 272,000
raging river overwhelmed the hatchery
the CDFW Director’s
salmon were harvested in the
waters.
“Team Award” for their
commercial fishery
ingenuity and dedicated
along with a catch
work to save the salmon
of nearly 88,500
and steelhead eggs.
in the recreational
California Department
ocean fishery,
of Fish and Wildlife
while returns to
the Feather River
basin exceeded
70,000 in 2019.
Ocean fishing
activities were
an economic
FOLSOM LAKE
stimulus for local
Folsom Lake
communities and
Todd paid Folsom Lake a visit on March 15 and battled this nice spotted
industries along
Closed to
bass.
the coast and
Vehicular
Traffic
Photo courtesy of TODD DOBBINS, Folsom.
inland. Commercial
SACRAMENTO – At
trollers landed 2.6
press time, anglers could
million pounds
still fish for black bass, rainbow trout and
and dedication of the hatchery employees
of salmon valued at more
other species at Folsom Lake, but you’re
and staff we could have ended up with
than $17.2 million, which
going to need to hike or bicycle into the
nothing.”
was the highest level of
State Recreation Area to fish. The State
The effort to save the young salmon
harvest since 2013. The
Recreation Area closed to vehicular
began on Feb. 9 and 10, 2017. More than
Feather River Hatchery
traffic on Thursday, March 26. Visitors are
60 people from CDFW, the California
was estimated to have
reminded to practice social distancing and
Department of Water Resources, the
contributed one quarter of
maintain at least six feet between other
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
all commercially harvested
visitors.
Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and
salmon and one third of the
“My wife, Denise, and I went out on the
other agencies worked night and day to
recreational ocean harvest.
lake,” said Don Paganelli of Paganelli’s
successfully transfer more than 5 million
“The return of the salmon
Bass Fishing Experience before the
Chinook salmon to the Thermalito Annex
released from Feather River
hatchery facility nine miles away. Fisheries lake was closed to vehicular traffic. “I
Hatchery after the flood
only fished for an hour and caught and
and engineering staff also constructed
event was exceptional,”
released two largemouth bss weighing 7
an emergency filtration system for the
said Kevin Shaffer, CDFW
and 3 pounds. The biggest bass hadn’t
remaining salmon and steelhead at the
Acting Chief of the Wildlife
spawned yet. I also released a 1 lb.
Oroville facility, saving an estimated
Branch. “At several points
spotted bass.”
1.5 million fall Chinook salmon fry that
in the crisis, the majority (if
Steve Lagoe limited out on big beautiful Lake Amador trout
“I hooked all of the fish in the top five
were too small to move and 1.6 million
not all) of the young salmon
during a March 19 outing.
feet of water,” said Paganelli. “The fish
steelhead eggs which lead to a returning
could have been lost. If not
Photo courtesy of LAKE AMADOR CAFÉ, Lake Amador.
CONTINUED ON PG 18
year class of 1,874 steelhead in 2018-19.
for the hard work, ingenuity
CONTINUED FROM PG 12
The COVID 19 Crisis: How Will It Change America?
I
t feels
funny,
doesn’t it?
Most fishing
shut down
on the West
Coast, many
businesses
closed and
folks ordered
to stay at home
as much as
possible.
A lot of folks
are asking themselves will the world ever get back to
normal? I would say yes and no.
For those of us old enough to remember 9/11, recall
that we had the jet aircraft attacks and we also had the
anthrax attacks going on at the same time.
There was lots of uncertainty. Lots of talk of terrorist
cells and perhaps backpack nukes being deployed in an
American city. Were the anthrax attacks linked to the jet
aircraft attacks and such...
In the rear view, we got over the initial shock and we
got on with our lives, but America changed and it was
never “the same” again...
Sure, we fought wars, killed our enemies and made
changes to protect ourselves, but we’d also learned that
we were vulnerable.
Vulnerable not to a military power, but in the case of
by Cal Kellogg
the jet attacks, vulnerable to
a relatively small terrorist
organization.
The COVID 19 pandemic
has changed and will
continue to change this
country much like 9/11.
Sure, we’ll get past the
curve and down the road
we’ll have a vaccine. We’ll
get on with business as
usual, but we will never
get past the sense of
vulnerability.
At this point, nobody would really be surprised
if one day we woke up and a terrorist organization
had detonated a homemade nuke in an American
city. 9/11 showed us that such things were very
possible.
Likewise moving forward, we will always be
looking over our collective shoulders for the next
worse virus, because we’ve learned we are vulner-
able and just how fragile our economy and way of
life is.
Yes, America will endure and prosper in the
wake of COVID 19, but know that our country
and more specifically our perceptions have
changed forever...As my mom, says, that’s the way
the cookie crumbles....
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