Wild coho salmon run in Marin County renews hope

One of the last runs of wild coho salmon in California has surged into the Lagunitas Creek watershed in western Marin County, bringing renewed hope to fisheries experts, watershed managers and those who have devoted their lives to salmon procreation.

The endangered fish had all but disappeared over the past two years, creating fear among biologists that the species was in the midst of a death spiral. Then, during rains this past week, the fish arrived and began laying eggs in the creek and tributaries, which wind through the lush San Geronimo Valley.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/MNCS1GQ185.DTL#ixzz18ac9iEgg

From the article:

"It is unique in that the primary spawning grounds are in the middle of developed communities. Some 40 percent of the coho in the watershed are hatched in tributaries surrounded by homes, golf courses, roads and horse corrals in the 9-square-mile San Geronimo Valley."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/16/MNCS1GQ185.DTL#ixzz18acEIAEB

Nature finds a way!

The recent rains have certainly helped.

Hoboy. I am pulling up an armchair and breaking out the popcorn for this. I live in an area cursed by coho salmon. Our activities are “permitted” and regulated and restricted to create suitable habitat in 100 degree plus ambient temperatures for a species we feel is not native to the area. We have jack booted armed thugs visiting our ranches and threatening people who will not comply and a whole lot of “coho happiness” going on from the water board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkq28er2xgQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRA_i1Yaclk

Let’s see if the housewives of Marin County get the same treatment.

Nature finds a way!

Not usually in this case.

The recent rains have certainly helped.

You clearly do not understand coho. It is a photoperiodic fish with a rigid three-year life-cycle. It must immigrate before mid January to spawn correctly or the eggs resolve and the fish dies. That means that not only did we have to have sufficient flow to blow out the annual summer sand bar at the mouth of the stream this year, but also three years ago. The species is simply not as well adapted to southern streams as steelhead, which can not only wait an indefinite period at sea to spawn, but can do so repeatedly. Hence, coho CANNOT build permanent colonies with continuously successful cohorts in these southern coastal streams. Usually they stray northward instead of waiting for the stream to open to take their chances with competitors instead of waiting sea lions. That is why there has never been a coho bone found in an Indian shell midden south of San Francisco.

I lived next to this creek for twenty years, and yes it was polluted. We had a bunch of "save the whales" types living upstream who couldn't be bothered to fix their septic tanks. Of course, if the County hadn't made is so expensive to fix the septics, more people would have taken care of it sooner. Now they want an engineering study, sand filters and who knows what else.

Now there's ECO-NAZI control freaks

like this guy Todd Steiner, self appointed Salmon God, telling people what they can and can't do with their own land.

....................

Woodacre resident Marylu Giddings, who lives adjacent to San Geronimo Creek, stands behind yellow tape that shows where development restrictions would come up to her house. Giddings says she worries she may need a smooth, paved driveway or a ramp to her porch as she grows older but she may be prevented from building. (IJ photo/Robert Tong) In the 49 years she's lived in Woodacre, just a few feet from a branch of Lagunitas Creek, Marylu Giddings has seen hundreds of endangered coho salmon - and dozens of plans and projects to protect them. Yet Giddings is particularly frustrated by the county's latest proposal, which recommends the creation of a 35-foot no-build zone between the creek bank and the side of her home. County officials insist their new Salmon Enhancement Plan is just a series of recommendations property owners can use to voluntarily restore habitat for migrating fish. But many of her neighbors in the San Geronimo Valley fear those recommendations may take on the force of law, preventing homeowners like Giddings from paving their driveways, repairing docks or even planting vegetable gardens. "I'm 76 now, and as I get older, it might be important for me to be able to put in ramps, or to have a smooth surface for a walker," Giddings said. "These are the kinds of things that make me cranky." What really bothers Giddings, however, is the idea that she and her neighbors are somehow responsible for a 10-fold decline in the San Geronimo Valley's salmon population during the past 30 to 40 years. "My whole life has been spent in watching these fishes. My husband patrolled up and down this creek," said Giddings, whose late husband Al served as a warden for the California Department of Fish and Game for 30 years. "To me, this plan feels like it's putting the responsibility for the lack of salmon on us. And I don't want any part of that." Where have all the salmon gone? Todd Steiner believes Giddings and her neighbors need to accept their share of the blame. As executive director of the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network, an environmental advocacy group based in Forest Knolls, Steiner tried for seven years to get county officials to acknowledge the effect development of the San Geronimo Valley has had on the survival of coho salmon.

rest of article here:

http://www.sgvcreekdwellers.org/drupal/node/93

You clearly do not understand coho. It is a photoperiodic fish with a rigid three-year life-cycle. It must immigrate before mid January to spawn correctly or the eggs resolve and the fish dies. That means that not only did we have to have sufficient flow to blow out the annual summer sand bar at the mouth of the stream this year, but also three years ago. The species is simply not as well adapted to southern streams as steelhead, which can not only wait an indefinite period at sea to spawn, but can do so repeatedly. Hence, coho CANNOT build permanent colonies with continuously successful cohorts in these southern coastal streams. Usually they stray northward instead of waiting for the stream to open to take their chances with competitors instead of waiting sea lions. That is why there has never been a coho bone found in an Indian shell midden south of San Francisco.

Wow, well done C_O! I don't know what I think about Coho vs. Humans in any particular area, but this is an excellent nailing of the relevant issues determining Coho survival. Your clarity is exhilirating - would that all science-based discussions were so ably briefed!

Your clarity is exhilirating - would that all science-based discussions were so ably briefed!

There's a reason for that. This is a quote from Dr. Jennifer Neilsen's review of my book Natural Process, published in 2001:

Clear, concise, and forward thinking in a manner seldom seen in the current literature on this topic. The vision of resource management presented and the sea change of consciousness, necessary for the implementation of sound policies, deserve a broad readership.

Dr. Nielsen was recently elected President of the American Fisheries' Society.

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