Tuscan Aquifer Investigation Open House
Wed., July 21, 2010, Chico

Above: A state guage on Big Chico Creek

Butte County Department of Water & Resource Conservation invites you to the Tuscan Aquifer Investigation Open House:

• Come “walk through” the details of the project
• Visit with the experts and staff
• Review the project tasks and goals
• View pictures and equipment associated with the project

When:
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 6-8 p.m. (There is no “start” time, just continual foot traffic through the project stations)

Where:
Chico Masonic Family Center, 1110 West East Avenue, Chico, CA 95926

Light refreshments will be served. More info regarding the Tuscan Aquifer Investigation Project is here.

5th Annual Spring-run Chinook Symposium
Thurs.-Fri., July 22-23, 2010, Chico

The Salmonid Restoration Federation, Friends of Butte Creek and Pacific Gas & Electric will host the On Thursday, July 22 the Butte Creek Ecological Preserve will offer tours of Upper Butte Creek Spring- run habitat, PG & E hydroelectric influences, as well as a tour of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) projects on the Lower Feather River and the Oroville Visitor's Center. A third tour will be offered of restoration projects in Big Chico Creek.

On Thursday evening the Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) will host a dinner and social with keynote speaker Lisa Thompson from UC Davis and UC Cooperative Extension. She will give a presentation on stabilizing Spring-run Chinook populations while we work towards recovery.

Friday, July 23 Symposium tours include a tour of restoration efforts in Deer and Mill Creek as well as a tour of Lower Butte Creek, the Western Canal and DWR weir retrofits.

The SRF has arranged a group discount of $84 at the Marriott Courtyard and the adjacent Residence Inn in Chico. To make a reservation at the discount rate, the hotel directly at (530) 894-6699 by June 28 and let them know that you are with the Salmonid Restoration block, marriott.com/ciccy.

To see the final agenda or to register, please visit calsalmon.org.

Scientists side with smelt, salmon protections

A National Academy of Sciences panel has concluded that the much-disputed fish protections that have curbed water deliveries to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California are scientifically justified.

The findings, contained in a report that will be released Friday, largely validate environmental actions taken by two federal agencies to save the imperiled delta smelt and protect declining populations of salmon that migrate through the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta.

Read the rest of the Los Angeles Times article here.

California Fishing Communities, Tribes and Conservation Groups Defend Salmon, Steelhead, Green Sturgeon and Killer Whales from Industry Attack

A broad coalition of fishing, environmental groups and tribes filed papers in federal court today defending California’s native salmon. The groups oppose legal efforts by commercial water users and large agricultural interests to overturn federal protections for salmon and other species.

Read more here.

Fisheries Service Issues New Rulebook to Protect Imperiled California Salmon

Current operations of state and federal water projects in California’s Central Valley jeopardize endangered California Chinook salmon and steelhead populations, according to a biological opinion filed today by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Today’s announcement also finds that current water operations jeopardize killer whales, which rely on Sacramento River salmon as a major food source.

The opinion establishes a new set of rules under which the state and federal water projects must be operated to protect California’s imperiled salmon. Key measures in the new biological opinion include:

• Requiring more cold water held behind Shasta dam for release during salmon migration and spawning seasons
• Reducing the amount of time Red Bluff Diversion Dam gates are closed, blocking salmon migration
• Modifying operation of Delta Cross Channel Gates to reduce the number of juvenile salmon unnaturally pushed to their deaths by predation and the delta water pumps
• Requiring better flows and colder water to enhance salmon spawning and habitat in the American and Stanislaus rivers
• Reducing water pumping when juvenile salmon are migrating through the delta

Read more about this issue here.