CSPA

Conservation Alert Arroyo Grande Steelhead

Subject: Arroyo Grande Creek Steelhead

Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 13:32:36 +0000

From: Bob Baiocchi <cspa@psln.com>

Organization: CSPA

To: CSPA Mailing Distribution

CALIFORNIA SPORTFISHING PROTECTION ALLIANCE

CONSERVATION ALERT

Arroyo Grande Creek Steelhead Abused To Nearly Extinction By San Luis

Obispo County in Cooperation With State Agency

The steelhead resources of Arroyo Grande Creek were abused when San

Luis Obispo County constructed Lopez Dam. When the State Water Resources

Control Board issued the water right permit to the County for Lopez Dam

that agency did not order any water to be released daily from the dam to

sustain the steelhead resources of Arroyo Grande Creek.

The number of adult steelhead that migrated into Arroyo Grande Creek in

1940 and earlier were 500 to 5,000 fish annually (pre-Lopez Dam). In

1940 and 1941 adult steelhead that migrated into Arroyo Grande Creek

ranged from 3,000 to 5,000 fish (pre-Lopez Dam). Today, there are so few

steelhead in Arroyo Grande Creek that DFG should name them and not count

them because of Lopez Dam. The steelhead were recently listed for

protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. The prime

steelhead spawning area of Arroyo Grande Creek was above Lopez Dam

(pre-Lopez Dam), but a fish ladder was not required by the state.

In 1994, Bill L'Hommedieu of the Santa Lucia Fly Fishers representing

the CSPA filed a formal complaint with the SWRCB requesting that agency

to require the County to release water for the steelhead from Lopez Dam.

State law (California Fish and Game Code 5937) requires all dam owners

to release water at all times to keep fish in good condition. That CSPA

complaint is still pending before the SWRCB after nearly four years.

As a result of the CSPA complaint, it was found that the County was

making unauthorized diversions of the state's water on Arroyo Grande

Creek. The CSPA recently requested a status report from the staff of the

SWRCB regarding whether or not the County has stopped making

unauthorized diversions; and whether or not the SWRCB would take

enforcement action against the County ($500 per day fines). The CSPA

also requested a status report from the SWRCB regarding the CSPA

complaint.

To date the SWRCB has not ordered the County to release any water at

all for the steelhead from the dam.

Recently the CSPA advised the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service

(USNMFS), the agency responsible for protecting the federally listed

threatened Arroyo Grande Creek steelhead, to take actions against the

County requiring water be released from the dam; and also advised the

USNMFS to prepare the Arroyo Grande Creek Steelhead Conservation Habitat

Plan in cooperation with other state agencies and the SWRCB.

The SWRCB is a rogue state agency under the present administation and

leadership that simply do want to modify water right permits to provide

water for the state's coastal threatened or endangered fish species.

i.e. Steelhead; Coho Salmon; Santa Ynez River; Russian River, etc.

However, the SWRCB has a duty and responsibility to protect the state's

fishery and provide water for the fish and the environment. That agency

gave the state's water away to the County without considering the

steelhead. And the DFG has done nothing to enforce their own fish and

game code to obtain water for the Arroyo Grande Creek steelhead.

This is not the end of the story. More to come.

For further information contact Bob Baiocchi at either 530-836-1115 or

at e-mail address: cspa@psln.com