By Bryce Lundberg, Fritz Durst and Nicole Van Vleck
This week we sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimundo supporting the April 6 request by Governor Newsom and Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis for a Federal Fishery Disaster Declaration for the California salmon industry with the anticipated closure of the 2023 salmon season.
The recent dry years in California have been challenging for every part of our water system. In the Sacramento Valley, we have felt the impacts of the dry years in various ways and we fully understand and empathize with the families and fishing communities financially impacted by a closure of the 2023 salmon season. Our Dry Year Task Force is committed to address these issues; thus, we support the Federal Fishery Disaster Declaration and any relief that can help these communities.
In the Sacramento Valley, the leaders care deeply about the four runs of Chinook salmon that grace our region and we have been working for the past several decades with the team at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to help implement its recovery plan for salmon in the Central Valley, with a focus on the Species in the Spotlight. As part of this Sacramento Valley Salmon Recovery Program, we have worked with our partners to complete more than 35 projects in the past several years to help address the freshwater life-stages for all runs of salmon, including efforts to improve the commercial fall-run that both commercial and recreational fishermen and women depend upon. With the dry year experiences from the past several years and the identification of the impact thiamine deficiency is having on egg-to-fry survival, we are currently working with NMFS and our partners to accelerate fishery actions on the Sacramento River.
Last year, more than 600 square miles of farmland on the west-side of the Sacramento Valley was left fallow without water supplies. This significantly impacted farms, rural communities, and fish and wildlife as you can see in a short film on drought in Colusa County. To help address these impacts, Governor Newsom advanced Small Business Funding Relief for these communities and there was other support provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Interior for drought and disaster assistance. We appreciate this support and we now call on federal and state agencies to provide support for the families and fishing communities impacted by the closure of the 2023 season.
While some in California point fingers during challenging times, we instead recognize there are impacts to every use of water during dry years and we prefer to roll up our sleeves, take actions with respect to every freshwater life-stage for salmon and show our support for every part of the water system. We recommend four short films that describe the spirit and esprits de corps in the Sacramento Valley to collaborate, support water for multiple benefits (including salmon) and support each other when we have challenges as seen with the closure of the 2023 salmon season. The films can be seen at Floodplains Reconnected.
Bryce Lundberg is the Chair of the NCWA Board of Directors, Fritz Durst and Nicole Van Vleck Co-Chair the NCWA Dry Year Task Force, which has been convening over the recent dry years to improve communication among agencies and to help develop solutions to the challenging years in California.
