Mr. Neil Manji

Director Region 1

601 Locust St.

Redding, CA 96001

March 22, 2013

RE: POW participation in Normandeau Project.

CC:   Director Charles Bonham, Senator J. Nielsen, Assemblyman B. Dalhe,

Congressman D. LaMalfa, Congressman T. McClintock, Governor J. Brown, Sheriff Jon Lopey, District Attorney K. Andrus, KSYC News

Dear Mr. Manji,

In November and December of 2012, six public workshops were held in Siskiyou County in order to justify the development of instream flow studies of the Scott and Shasta Rivers.  These meetings were conducted by Normandeau and Associates at a cost to the taxpayers of approximately $200,000 dollars.

First of all, your Department has retained Normandeau, using public monies, under false pretenses.  Your Department announced at the first Public meeting that CDFG was required to study flow under Public Resources Code 10000 -10005.  Since both the Scott and Shasta are fully adjudicated watersheds and no further water rights are possible, you have knowingly and willingly misstated the facts and the requirements for your project. The ten thousand codes are meant to be used when someone has applied for an additional water right. No further rights are possible in a fully adjudicated system.

Use of public money to perpetrate a fraud is poor judgment on your part, as well as a misuse of public funds.  This may possibly be a crime.

Second, your Department claims the reason for this project, is that low flow in the above mentioned rivers is the reason for the continued decline and possible extinction of the Coho Salmon, a threatened species. This claim is simply not true. Odd that Fish and Game would choose to tell a lie, which is so easily verified.

However, since by all accounts, even the Department’s own statistics, this is a record year for Salmon returns and next year is likely to be as good or better, one can only wonder what the true motives of CDFG are. Certainly telling the truth and dealing honestly with people are not among those motives. Once again, deliberately telling falsehoods to the public in order to achieve and end is poor ethic at best, and at worst is also a crime.

We can only surmise from the process, the end, which Normandeau hoped to achieve, on behalf of CDFG, was to marginalize property owners, water right owners, and taxpayers in order to construct a group of so called “stakeholders” who would agree with the end agenda of CDFG.

We also surmise from your behavior that your agenda is once again to insinuate your Department into Surface Water rights.  You have been sued twice already for much the same thing.  You have lost both times.  Does your department have so little regard for the people you are supposed to serve that the waste of taxpayers’ money means nothing to you?

POW and others who attended your meetings were shocked to see your political bar graph, upon which property owners were shown to be near to the bottom of the list of importance in your “stakeholders” chart.

The Delphic technique, which Normandeau employs is typically used to identify political opposition to a given project and not for true scientific research.  We the people are insulted by the behavior of you, your Department and of Normandeau.

It is so typical of CDFG to give groups who are never impacted by the consequences of your action more priority than those who are your obvious targets.  KS Wild and Center for Biological Diversity are not more important than the people who own the property in question.  These groups have nothing to lose by your lack of judgment and your poor ethics.  We property owners, on the other hand, have everything to lose and yet you do not consider the impact to people at all.

You also refuse to acknowledge Ocean Conditions, over fishing, tribal take or any of the impacts which may affect the fish, you claim, are near to extinction.

In Closing, no we will not participate in your illegal and fraudulent project.

No, we will not cooperate with you or Normandeau in any way except incident to gathering evidence with which you, your Department and Normandeau may incriminate yourselves.

We will not give you access to our property or to our equipment.

In short we will never cooperate in any way with liars and criminals.  We will not do this because, what you are doing is wrong and no possible good can come to our members from any cooperation we give you.

Cooperation to CDFG means you want to take something which you have no right to take.  We will fight you with all the means at our disposal to ensure that we maintain our Constitutional Right to property and the liberty to use our property to better the lives of our families.

Mr. Manji, you admitted to me in front of witnesses that you are willing to spend whatever monies are necessary to maintain even a small population of Coho in recognition that the Scott and Shasta are the Southern fringe of their range.

Your own Fish and Game Bulletin No. 34 shows us that all of the money and all of your wasted time and effort have not done one single thing to change a coastal spawning fish into something that it is not.

Shame on the Department of Fish and Game for wasting the hard-earned money of California Taxpayers at a time when we have no such funds to waste.

Shame on Normandeau for helping to attempt to perpetrate this fraud.

I suggest that you review your oath of office.

You may also be interested to review Title 18 sections 241 and 242 of the US Code as well as Title 42 Section 1983.  While you are at it, Article 1 section 1 of the Constitution of California may be of interest.

Sincerely,

Mark Baird

Vice President Scott Valley Protect Our Water

Fort Jones, California

PNP comment: So nice to hear honesty from Fish and Game (now Wildlife) that even the Sacramento River chinook salmon numbers will continue to rise. Wow. — Editor Liz Bowen

• By Damon Arthur

Redding.com

• Posted March 6, 2013 at 10 p.m.

The number of fall-run Chinook salmon expected to return to
the Sacramento River this year could be even higher than last year.

That was the report from a California Fish and Game Commission meeting on Wednesday in  Mount Shasta that members of the commission did not attend.

Commission Executive Director Sonke Mastrup said members of the panel were expected to fly in to either Redding or Weed on Tuesday night from Sacramento, but high wind kept planes grounded.

While there was snow on Interstate 5 near Dunsmuir and Mount Shasta on Wednesday, the highway was still open. More than 50 people attended the meeting, including state Department of Fish and Wildlife staff, members of the public and others.

READ it:

http://www.redding.com/news/2013/mar/06/fall-run-chinook-salmon-numbers-expected-to-to/?partner=newsletter_headlines

By SEAN SCULLY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 2:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 3:11 p.m.

On a warm February afternoon Game Warden Don Powers quietly watched a group of young men attempting to spear steelhead trout in a scenic and remote hole along the Garcia River.

FISHING INFORMATION

For current regulations on fishing and hunting in California, including licensing requirements and fees, visit www.wildlife.ca.gov. To report illegal fishing or other poaching, call 888-DFG-CalTIP (888-334-2258).
To report the illegal taking of federally-listed threatened or endangered fish, call NOAA at (800) 853-1964.

After a while of seeing them fumble with the equipment, wounding fish but landing only a few, Powers emerged from hiding and approached them.

“What are you guys doing,” he recalls asking. The men hesitated. “Uh,” they said slowly. “Poaching?”

“Poaching. That’s a good word; I like that word,” Powers said last week, laughing at the memory of the bust while playing with a pile of their confiscated spear guns and wetsuits in the back of his truck.

The men were among dozens that Powers and his fellow agents have cited along the river in recent years.

Poaching of the threatened steelhead and endangered coho salmon is common on the beautiful Mendocino County river, agents say, and is undermining more than two decades of pioneering restoration efforts by environmentalists, timber companies and private landowners. The issue is aggravated by a disagreement between state and federal agencies on how to enforce the law on a section of the river that goes through Native American tribal land.

“Poaching is a problem on every river I patrol,” said Powers, who is assigned to the Mendocino Coast by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, “But nothing like the Garcia.”

While officials won’t put a hard number on the losses to poaching, Powers said the picture is clear on the ground.

“They’re clubbing and gigging, and gill netting and spear fishing,” he said. “I’m like, Dude, how long do you think it’s going to take to have an effect on your fishery?”

READ it:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130302/ARTICLES/130309917/1350?Title=Illegal-fishing-threatens-Mendocino-river-officials-warn

PNP comment: Hum, wonder what nationality most of the ”poachers” are? Expecially the ones on the near the Native American lands. This sure sounds like there is lots of “spin” in this article. — Editor Liz Bowen 

PNP comment: Talk about a “spin” on this story. The bridge was designed as enviro-friendly as possible and “they” still have to complain? Because we have had such huge returns of chinook salmon during the last three years, I claim their numbers on the returning salmon as incorrect. Some news reporters just do not want to get it right. And we have found that the State wildlife officials lie, cheat and steal to achieve their agenda. – Editor Liz Bowen

By Damon Arthur

Redding.com

• Posted February 21, 2013 at 10 p.m.

Redding’s Sundial Bridge may be bringing about the demise of endangered winter-run Chinook salmon.

Since the bridge opened to walkers and bicycle riders in 2004, the number of winter-run Chinook salmon returning to spawn in the Sacramento River has plummeted from over 15,000 fish in 2005 to 824 in 2011.

The lights under the pedestrian bridge may be one of the reasons why the number of salmon is declining, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is studying the effects of the bridge lights.

READ it:

http://www.redding.com/news/2013/feb/21/state-wildlife-officials-say-sundial-bridge-may/

PNP comment: First, the “lone” wolf is NOT alone in  California and he has been in Modoc, Lassen and Siskiyou County a lot during the past year.  And under State statstics there are lots of coyotes in need of management (killed). Greenie or Coyote Rights groups use myths and lies to sway public opinion. Guess what? Livestock and wildlife have rights too then! — Editor Liz Bowen 

Officials say north state’s OR7 is far away

• By Tracie Cone Associated Press

Redding.com

• Posted February 1, 2013 at 11:52 p.m.

FRESNO — A once-obscure coyote-hunting contest in northernmost California has become anything but, as environmental groups lobby the state to call it off to protect a lone, roaming wolf.

The hunt is sponsored by a hunt club and outfitter supply store in Adin in Modoc County, with the team that kills the most coyotes between Feb. 8 and 10 winning a silver belt buckle.

Organizers say they’re trying to rid the Big Valley cattle ranching community of coyotes, a predator that can harm livestock. The state’s lone gray wolf is about 100 miles from the hunt, wildlife officials say.

Opponents argue that widespread slaughter of coyotes disrupts the balance of nature and leads to an increase in the number of ground squirrels and other vermin.

READ More:

http://www.redding.com/news/2013/feb/01/groups-trying-to-protect-wolf-oppose-coyote-hunt/?partner=newsletter_headlines

1/30/13  Buffalo Broadcasting News Service

 CA. Fish and Game Director Chuck Bonham met with Siskiyou County Ranchers, Farmers and Government Officials.

Chuck Bonham, Director of the California Department of Fish and Game, met individually with members of the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors yesterday.  Buffalo Broadcasting will bring you details of those meetings at a later date.  Later in the Day, Mr. Bonham met with 25 Siskiyou County ranchers, farmers and water right owners in an open forum setting.  The meeting was arranged by Siskiyou County Sheriff Jon Lopey in order that landowners could express opinions regarding resource issues which face our county.

There was nothing of substance forthcoming due to the one hour time restriction placed on the meeting by CDFG, however none of the participants missed the opportunity to express their displeasure with the agency.

Coho salmon and water issues were in the forefront, with mining and wolves also being discussed.

Leaving the meeting, one could say that perhaps none of our problems were solved, but there is no doubt that Mr. Bonham knows where the citizens of Siskiyou stand on these contentious issues.  Congressman LaMalfa and Senator Nielsen’s offices sent representatives.  Sheriff Lopey was also in attendance.

Among the points made:

Voters, taxpayers, property and water right owners object strongly to being given equal standing to the so-called “stakeholders” such as the Klamath River Keepers.

Mr. Bonham agreed that property owners should be held in much higher esteem than KS wild or other groups who have nothing to lose in resource decisions.

The property owners of Siskiyou County will not tolerate the illegal taking of property or water by CDFG or any other agency of the government.

No Comment from Mr. Bonham.

Mr. Bonham made the categorical statement that CDFG has no current plan to introduce wolves into California.

Mr. Bonham agreed to look at the destruction caused by the huge elk herds to Butte Valley ranchers.

It is fairly certain the CDFG will pursue the Coho salmon permit which it has been trying for years to get.  Under Mr. Bonham’s leadership, they will be smarter in the attempt to gain control over water rights and in stream flows.

The Fish and Game Commission is meeting in Mt, Shasta onMarch 7.  It would be in the interest of every property owner in Siskiyou County to attend this meeting.

Siskiyou mining interests were well represented by Mike Adams.  Mr. Adams insisted that CDFG comply with the law and finish the EIR, regulatory process and fee structure, so that miners could get back to work.

Mr. Bonham agreed to look revisit this issue from Sacramento.

One member of the Karuk Tribe also representing miners spoke of the greed and corruption which has been present in the Karuk Department of Natural Resources.  This gentleman also wishes to get back to making a living for his family.  Buster Attebury, Council Chairman, is trying to get a handle on these suspect activities in order to improve the situation for all of the Karuk people and not just a select few.

No Comment from Mr. Bonham on this issue.

The common theme from the people of Siskiyou County to CDFG is this:

Where is the Common Sense?  We would all like to know the answer.

This is your News Director Corkey Small reporting for Buffalo Broadcasting.

                                                -30-

　                       KBRA – KHSA- KLAMATH DAM REMOVAL BASED ON COHO SALMON RECOVERY PLANS

Coho recovery plans are based on the opinion by NMFS and California Fish & Wildlife that Coho were native to the Klamath Basin.

    NOAA, NMFS and California Fish & Wildlife have all illegally listed Coho Salmon in the Southern Oregon ESU and the Northern California ESU as this species is a non-indigenous species and is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. The Karuk and Shasta Tribes have both confirmed that this species was never present until they were planted in 1895. Genetic analysis in the Klamath River indicate their origin is from the Willamette River in Northern Oregon. Genetic analysis in the Rogue River indicate their origin is from the Columbia River in Northern Oregon.

Mr. Bonham of California Fish & Wildlife has issued a letter indicating that their efforts and cooperation of ranchers were responsible for the large Salmon runs in 2012

    This is a very cleverly written letter which lauds the work of our Siskiyou Ranchers on improving habitat for the Coho. What is not mentioned is that the volume of Salmon returns are dependent on the temperature of the Pacific Ocean. A drop in temperature over the last two years was the true deciding factor in the numbers of Salmon in 2012 as confirmed by NMFS, NASA and SCWUA. A historic rise in temperature in the Pacific Ocean from 1970 to 2009 was as a result of historic activity within the Pacific Ocean.

Coho recovery plan calls for control of water flows in the Klamath Basin for the benefit of Coho Salmon.

    Klamath Basin Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation Fisheries Research division model study indicating that changes in BOR controlled Klamath flows are insignificant to the life cycle of ‘endangered’ Coho salmon as confirmed by credible Biologists in both NMFS and SCWUA.

Coho recovery plans predict increase in future runs of Salmon in the Klamath Basin

    (Klamath Basin Area Office of the BOR) Fisheries Research division documents clearly indicate that the Klamath Project to remove dams could decimate future Salmon runs in the Klamath Basin. This statement also corroborates scientific data gathered by the Siskiyou County Water Users Association and other involved groups. This is further elucidated in the DOI EIR documents.

Removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River will allow for increased spawning grounds for Salmon species per NMFS and California Fish & Wildlife.

    BOR documents point out that the 20 million cubic yards of sludge from removing the dams contain toxic levels of Mercury, Chromium, Zinc and Antimony which could decimate not only Salmon, but, 34 other species that depend on the quality of water in the Klamath River.

Consequence of Dam Removal on the Klamath River.

    Perhaps it is difficult to understand that both Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs have been evaluated and are said to contain biomass quantities of Yellow Perch and Yellow Crappie by California Fish and Wildlife. Should these two species be allowed to have access to present Salmon spawning grounds they would consume all of the Salmon eggs laid and the viability of sustaining Salmon runs will likely be terminated within five years.

     The entire premise of removing the dams to allow Salmon to return to “historic” spawning grounds was based on conditions prior to 1918. At that time there were no Perch or Crappie to feed upon the spawning Salmon eggs nor did Salmon spawn above the present location of Copco 1 Dam.It is also to be noted that removal of dams or the addition of fish bypass around the dams would also introduce a plethora of diseases that Salmon carry and would substantially put at risk species that have been isolated from Salmon for the last 95 years above the dams.

Conclusion based on scientific data from BOR, NMFS and SCWUA

    Dam removal for an illegal listing is a travesty and listing of Coho Salmon in Southern Oregon and California ESU’s must be removed to halt this insanity.

Respectfully submitted;

Richard Marshall

President, Siskiyou County Water Users

Dr. Richard Gierak

Science Officer, SCWUA

Friends ,

I talked to Normandeau today.

There is NO meeting on Jan. 17 ,2013.

Normandeau is working on a meeting schedule for January and February, but don’t have dates at this time.

As soon as a schedule is available we will post it on PNP.

You can also check on the web site  normandeau/scottshasta/com

Tom Pease, president

Scott Valley Protect Our Water

 PNP comment: What a waste of $1.5 billion. And why isn’t DFG Director Chuck Bonham praising Scott Valley ranchers, when our coho return in 2011 was 360 — a 10-fold increase. Come on!  Where is the appreciation! — Editor Liz Bowen

By Mark Prado Marin Independent Journal

Posted:   01/14/2013 06:17:26 PM PST

Tom Cronin, left, facilities and watershed division manager for the Marin Municipal Water District, speaks to a group of fish officials at the Leo Cronin Viewing Area on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in San Geronimo, Calif. The officials toured the area as part of a discussion of issues facing Coho salmon. Leo Cronin was Tom CroninÕs father. (IJ photo/ Frankie Frost)
Frankie Frost

Click photo to enlarge

Tom Cronin, facilities and watershed division manager for the Marin Municipal Water District,…

LOCAL, STATE and federal officials and biologists gathered Monday in the San Geronimo Valley to celebrate a plan that aims to recover coho salmon populations in Marin and throughout the Central and North Coast of California.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service has finalized the plan that will serve as a road map for restoring the endangered central and northern California coho salmon — Oncorhynchus kisutch — to coastal rivers and streams along the state’s coast, including Lagunitas Creek in Marin.

A red ribbon on a tree marks a fish spawning area on Lagunitas Creek at the Leo Cronin Viewing Area on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in San Geronimo, Calif. Officials toured the area as part of a discussion of issues facing Coho salmon. (IJ photo/Frankie Frost)
Frankie Frost

“You still are one of the few salmon strongholds,” Chuck Bonham, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the gathering of more than 100 people at the San Geronimo Valley Golf Course.

The ambitious federal plan — which became final in September — aims to restore coho over 50 to 100 years and would cost about $1.5 billion to implement all its actions.

“It’s little pieces at a time to get it done,” said Rod McInnis, regional director of the  fisheries service. “We are at a particularly precarious spot in their status. We can achieve populations that are self-sustaining and not on the brink of extinction, and that’s where we need to go.”

In the past 50 years the fish have had a difficult time overcoming the natural perils of drought, poor ocean conditions and predation as well as human impacts such as development around creeks and streams.

The plan identifies specific actions that can be taken around the state, including in local watersheds, such as Lagunitas, Walker, Redwood and Pine Gulch creeks.

Among the steps suggested in the plan: increase spawning, pool and channel habitats; remove barriers; increase the amount of wood in streams; improve shade to cool streams; decrease the number of roads near streams, and reduce the impact of remaining roads.

While the plan does not provide money, it will enable local agencies and groups such as the Marin Municipal Water District, the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network, Marin County agencies and others, to get funds, officials said.

“The coho’s time is not up and we are the people to give the coho a chance to recover,” said Brian Stranko, regional director of the Nature Conservancy, which helped shape the plan, adding that recent efforts have paid off. “We have seen fish return to places they have not been seen in decades.”

Coho salmon were once abundant in the tributaries along the central California coast, from Aptos Creek near Santa Cruz in the south, to Punta Gorda above Fort Bragg in the north. Historical records estimate populations were as high as 400,000 as late as the 1940s.

Gregory Andrew with the Marin Municipal Water District guides a busload of fish officials into the Leo Cronin Viewing Area on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, in San Geronimo, Calif. The officials toured the area as part of a discussion of issues facing Coho salmon. (IJ photo/ Frankie Frost)

But as human population and development increased along the desirable coastal areas, coho numbers plummeted to fewer than 6,000. In 2009, just 500 fish were counted in the region. The federal government listed the species as threatened in October 1996 and in June 2005 it was re-listed as endangered.

Marin’s Lagunitas watershed has one of the largest remaining populations of wild coho salmon in Northern California, though the fish virtually vanished in the county three years ago. But this winter the coho’s migration from the ocean has been on the upswing.

So far 350 coho salmon have been seen this winter in the Lagunitas Creek watershed, along with more than 200 redds, or egg nests. The redds seen this winter represent a four-fold increase from three years ago. This winter’s run also is the largest count since the winter of 2006-07.

http://www.marinij.com/westmarin/ci_22373595/marin-at-center-new-federal-plan-restore-coho