A special award, the “Advance Warning” award, goes to Jim Martin, West Coast director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, who keeps on top of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) like no other guy in the industry, for alerting anglers in the recreational fishing community about the potential closure of the recreational ocean salmon seasons months before it happened. Just as Martin forecasted, the DFG reported on the dire status of the Klamath stocks at the Salmon Fishery Informational meeting in Santa Rosa in February.

The grim news released at the DFG meeting was followed by a vote of the PFMC, under direction from the White House, on March 10 to delay the opening of recreational salmon season from Point Arena to Point Sur set for April 1. Fortunately, the DFG responded by stating that state waters, within 3 miles from shore, from Point Arena to Pigeon Point would remain open until further notice.

Angered by the proposed closure by the Bush administration, an array of recreational and commercial fishing organizations organized rallies and packed PFMC meetings to draw attention to the dire need to fix the water quality problems on the Klamath and bring down the Klamath River dams owned by PacifiCorp.

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) set up an easy-to-send action alert on their website to send letters protesting the closure and supporting the restoration of the Klamath, while the Coastside Fishing Club and other organizations mobilized anglers to sign letters and send thousands of letters through the ASA website. The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA) also mobilized hundreds of commercial fishermen to sign its petitions. For their successful letter writing campaign, Dick Pool of the ASA, Chris Hall, president, and Bob Franko, founder of the Coastside Fishing Club, receive the “Letters to Washington” awards. 

During this time, Zeke Grader, executive director of the PCFFA, made one of the most hilarious statements of the year to the press. “Closing salmon fishing to put fish back into the Klamath River without fixing the river’s water problems is like throwing virgins into a volcano. Neither action will save us,” said the always-quotable Grader, who receives the “Zany Zinger” of the year award.

Likewise, Troy Fletcher, a Yurok tribal member and natural resources consultant for the tribe, gets the “Speak Sense to Nonsense” award for his call to action at the PFMC meeting in Sacramento in April, reiterated at a rally in San Francisco on April 24 announcing Mike Thompson’s salmon fishing industry disaster relief bill.  “What we need is not another Blue Ribbon Panel, but a Blue Collar Panel with the guys who get their hands wet,” said Fletcher. 

Meanwhile, a coalition of Indian Tribes, recreational anglers and commercial fishermen spent the year battling for the removal of the Klamath River dams by packing hearings and sending out action alert after action alert and press release after press release calling on Pacific Power, now under the ownership of a Warren Buffet subsidiary, to pull down the Klamath Dams.  For their leadership roles, Klamath campaign coordinator Craig Tucker, cultural biologist Ron Reed and Vice-Chairman Leaf Hillman of the Karuk Tribe and Mike Hudson, president of the Small Boat Commercial Salmon Fishermen’s Association, receive the “Take Down the Dams” awards for the monumental efforts they made on this front.

While anglers battled to save the salmon season and restore the Klamath, the Delta food chain continued to decline as state and federal scientists released data documenting how the Delta smelt population and juvenile striped bass index collapsed to the lowest levels ever recorded. Anglers, duck hunters and local residents upset with state and federal plans to export water through the South Delta vented their fury during a public hearing regarding the South Delta Improvements Program (SDIP) in Stockton on January 26. Again on February 28, a diverse array of fishing and environmental groups appeared at Rep. Richard Pombo’s Delta hearing.

In June, a coalition of anglers, farmworkers and environmental justice advocates organized an excellent turnout at the Central Valley Regional Water Control Board meeting in Sacramento to subject agribusiness to the same general discharge permit that others have to abide by. Unfortunately, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board voted on June 22 to extend waivers for discharges from irrigated farmland for five years.

For organizing such a diverse group of people with superb testimony and presentations, Carrie McNeil, the Deltakeeper, Bill Jennings, executive director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Susana de Anda of La Association de Gente Unida por el Agua, Laurel Firestone of the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment, and Bob Strickland, president of United Anglers of California, receive the “Stop the Ag Pollution” award.  

Throughout the year, one guy who showed up at virtually every hearing or meeting regarding the Delta was Gary Adams, president of the California Striped Bass Association (CSBA), along with John Banks and other members of the group. For their dedication to fighting the exporters and polluters, Adams and the CSBA win the “Delta Ironmen” award.

Another person who is on top of every development in the Delta is Mindy McIntire, water program manager of the Planning and Conservation League. It was through her diligence that she broadcast another threat to our fisheries, the Delta Intertie Project that would allow the state and federal projects to export more water. For her excellent work, she receives the “Delta Sleuth” award.

David Nesmith, Environmental Water Caucus facilitator, serves an invaluable role linking a wide-ranging and often contentious coalition of environmental and fishing groups over a variety of Central Valley and Bay-Delta Estuary issues. For his dedication and great work, he is given the “Fish Networker of 2006” award.

Probably the most surprisingly hard battle of 2006 was the struggle by fishing groups, environmental activists, and white water recreational boaters to pressure the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to go back to the bargaining table with the state and federal government agencies. Jim Shetler, head of the negotiating team of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), on November 16 finally announced a historic "agreement in principle" between federal and state agencies, NGOs and the public utility over the terms and conditions of its 50-year license for its Upper American River.

Although there are plenty of folks who helped out, five dedicated people who spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in the negotiations were Ron Stork, senior policy analyst for Friends of the River, Bill Center of the American River Recreation, Association, Chris Schutes of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Nate Rangel, president of California Outdoors, and Hilde Schweitzer. For their perseverance, they are bestowed   the “Wild Rainbow Trout" awards.

For their constant action alerts and emails, Teresa (Tree) Simsiman, recreational white water boater, and Soren Jesperson, campaigns organizer with Friends of the River, win the “Victory in the Sierra” plaques. Likewise, Bill Templin, watershed coordinator of the North Fork American River Watershed, gets the “Preserve the American” award for his superb work in organizing folks to preserve and restore the Upper American.