Yreka, Calif. — Richard Harris, Ph.D and Sandra Perez of the Five Counties Salmonid Conservation Program (5C) told the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that, since 1998, there have been a lot of improvements in county policy and procedures regarding roads and their impacts on salmon.

The 5C staff was at the meeting to present the results of a reassessment of county policies and procedures throughout the program area.

The 5C program began in 1997 when the five counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Siskiyou and Trinity agreed to collaborate on a proactive response to the ESA listing of coho salmon as a threatened species.

“The primary 5C goal is to strive to protect the economic and social resources of northwestern California by providing for the conservation and restoration of salmonid populations to healthy and sustainable levels and to base decisions on watershed rather than county boundaries,” the 5C website says.

In 1998 the program completed an initial assessment of policies, procedures and conditions with the potential to impact salmonid populations within the five counties, focusing primarily on road related impacts. According to 5C, that initial assessment has guided the 5C program and its restoration efforts – including fish passage improvement and sediment reduction – ever since.

In 2007 the program began the first phase of a reassessment of policies, procedures and conditions. The goal of the reassessment was to determine if the procedural and policy changes as well as restoration efforts undertaken have resulted in improvements over conditions observed in the initial assessment 10 years earlier.

According to Perez, fish passage and sediment reduction have been the two major focal points of the program since the beginning.

Harris explained that there were two phases to the reassessment.

“The first phase was an evaluation of all the policy changes that had occurred in the five counties since 1997,” Harris said. “That means changes to general plans, general ordinances and state regulations.”

The phase one report was published in 2008. He said there have been a lot of changes at all levels of government since the initial assessment in 1998.

The second phase of the reassessment, Harris said, was an evaluation of practices “on the ground.” He estimated the phase two final report will be published within a month.

Harris listed a variety of improvements observed throughout the five county area. In regards to Siskiyou County, he specifically noted the county’s efforts to create a land development manual and the fish-centric consciousness and care taken by the roads department in their emergency response practices. Harris also added that Siskiyou County is “ahead of the curve” in the area of streambank stabilization.

One of the main findings of the reassessment, Harris said, was the recognition of what he called the “regulatory morass.” He expressed frustration with regulatory agencies’ unwillingness to ease regulatory requirements for in-stream projects intended to improve conditions for salmonids.

“We’re doing beneficial projects and yet the same regulatory process applies as if you were doing a project that’s going to impact fish,” Harris said. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Harris and Perez said the recommendations resulting from the reassessment were not specific to any one county. One of the recommendations that were recurring in several categories was the streamlining of permitting for projects benefitting salmon.

 

Recommendations also included investigations into the cumulative impacts of unregulated or illegal surface grading, driveway or road cutting and water diversions. In addition, 5C recommends counties continue to refine their Best Management Practices (BMPs) policies and continue to have county staff attend 5C-sponsored trainings.

Harris told the board that in the other counties, illegal earth moving and water diversions from marijuana propagation are a substantial threat to salmonid habitat.

Siskiyou County natural resource policy specialist Ric Costales asked, “At what point are you guys going to say everything that can be done has been done, and essentially the focus is no longer on the county roads department?”

Harris said he doesn’t have a good answer for that question and shares Costales’ frustration. He referred to the state water pollution regulatory process known as the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) rhetorically asking, “When have you changed from non-attainment to attainment? And who’s going to determine that and on what basis?” He added, “I think the TMDL process is a sorry substitute for good stewardship.”

District 5 Supervisor Marcia Armstrong said, “We’ve been beating our heads against the wall trying to help salmon and we get nothing for it except kicked in the face. It’s not a matter of salmon anymore, it’s a matter of controlling us and pushing us off the land.”

District 3 Supervisor Michael Kobseff said he appreciated the good news that the county is doing a good job in managing its roads and commended the roads department on their efforts. He requested that 5C assist the county in getting that message out to state regulators and legislators.

District 2 Supervisor Ed Valenzuela said he feels that regulatory relief is a high priority.