Nearly twice as many salmon were spotted in the Tuolumne River this spawning season as last winter. Some people might consider this a success. But those who know realize this is no reason to celebrate.
"Twice as many" salmon as last year constitutes only half a disaster -- not a success. Numbers aren't official until March, but the Tuolumne River salmon population clearly is in dire jeopardy. The state faces myriad water problems, but around here this one is significant.
Each year adult salmon (2, 3 and 4 years old) swim to the streams where they were hatched and deposit thousands of eggs. Then they die. Once hatched, the salmon fry hang around until large enough to make it into the San Joaquin River, through the delta, into the San Francisco Bay and then out to sea. A few years later, they return to renew the cycle.
Biologists canoe the river in early winter, counting salmon carcasses. Last year's counts varied, but all were disappointing. One scientist figured 115 salmon returned to the nests near La Grange to spawn; another put the number at 211. For a river where 40,000 salmon spawned in 1985 and where nearly 18,000 returned just eight years ago, such numbers are a disaster. So is "twice as many."
But even this insignificant increase shows the importance of water. In 2005, when most of these fish were heading out to sea, the river had a lot of water -- 152 percent of average, according to figures kept by the Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts. The preceding year the flow had been only 71 percent of average and the year before that 83 percent. More water generally means more fish.
Salmon populations all across the West have crashed. There are many explanations: an "upwelling" of warm water in the Pacific Ocean, deteriorating conditions on the rivers where the salmon spawn, etc. Most environmentalists and scientists believe more fish will survive by improving habitat and conditions, but a few say it's already too late. They say most of California's salmon populations are mostly remnants and should be abandoned. We're not ready to give up. Neither are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cal Trout, the Tuolumne River Trust and others.
Survival of salmon has far-reaching impacts for everyone who depends on the Tuolumne and who buys electricity from the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation districts. The TID and MID generate the cleanest electricity possible at Don Pedro dam, a great economic and environmental benefit. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grants a license to operate the dam, and the relicensing process starts in two years. Impacts on endangered and threatened species must be considered.
The districts should work more closely with organizations trying to save the Tuolumne's salmon. Or they very likely will find themselves working against those groups later on.
