Chinook salmon in the Tuolumne.

MEDIA CENTER - Press

Open Forum - '95 pact still working to save Tuolumne salmon

Source: Modesto Bee

August 19, 2005

In California, the famous quote attributed to Mark Twain "Whiskey is for drinking and water for fighting over" is too often true. Recently, the Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and other waterways have been the subject of acrimonious debate over the proper balance of environmental protection and human uses.

But in Stanislaus County, parties sought a different course 10 years ago when they agreed to work together in an accord known as the Settlement Agreement. The pact created a roadmap for improving Tuolumne River salmon populations, which had crashed in the early 1990s to fewer than 100 fish.

Signed by two local irrigation districts, conservation groups, state and federal agencies, and Bay Area water providers, the agreement settled disputes that arose about Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license provisions for Don Pedro Dam, which is owned and operated by the Turlock and Modesto irrigation districts.

Don Pedro provides water to Stanislaus and Merced counties' farms, residents and businesses. The dam also controls how much water flows in the Tuolumne River for its 52-mile journey to the confluence with the San Joaquin River, 10 miles west of Modesto.

The agreement identified measures to improve conditions for fish, such as increased flows, projects to enhance spawning habitat, and a program to monitor the fish and river conditions.

The accord also created a Tuolumne River Technical Advisory Committee to oversee the implementation of the agreement.

In the past decade, the group has accomplished much, such as:

Developing a habitat restoration plan for the lower Tuolumne.

Completing two large habitat restoration projects, one near Fox Grove and one near Roberts Ferry Bridge, both implemented by the irrigation districts.

Identifying eight other restoration projects that ultimately will restore more than six miles of river habitat.

Coordinating several additional projects to restore the floodplain, to improve conditions for fish, birds, mammals and other wildlife.

Monitoring various aspects of the river's health.

Implementing the flow schedule with the goal of ensuring adequate water in the river for salmon to successfully carry out their life cycle while in the Tuolumne.

April marked the 10-year anniversary of the agreement. The TID and MID completed their required report documenting the results of their work and submitted it to the federal commission for review. Committee members and the public have submitted comments and questions.

The good news is that all parties continue to find common ground in the goal of restoring salmon populations to the lower Tuolumne River. But many questions remain:

Are the actions described in the 1995 agreement helping to make the Tuolumne salmon population healthy?

How should we further address the needs of rainbow and steelhead trout in the Tuolumne?

What further studies should be required over the next 10 years?

Why do salmon numbers vary so much in the river? And how much of that is because of factors downstream in the San Joaquin River, delta and ocean?

The parties to the agreement are committed to improving habitat and increasing salmon in the Tuolumne. Finding the answers to these questions will not be easy, but we hope to continue to work together cooperatively.

Perhaps our experiences will provoke modern-day Mark Twains to coin a more optimistic phrase about water.

Koepele is Central Valley program director of the Tuolumne River Trust.