Correction: There was an error in the broadcast version of this story. The recent removal of the Iron Gate dam on the Klamath River did not affect the salmon in the Shasta and Scott Rivers, because these rivers are downstream from that dam.
Mendocino County supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a resolution backing state legislation aimed at protecting threatened salmon runs in the Scott and Shasta rivers, two key tributaries of the Klamath River.
Assembly Bill 263, authored by Assemblymember Chris Rogers and supported by the Karuk and Yurok Tribes along with the California Coastkeeper Alliance, would extend temporary drought-related flow requirements in the rivers until permanent state rules are in place. The bill seeks to maintain stream flows critical to salmon spawning, as well as support tribal cultural practices and the region’s struggling fishing industry.
"If those temporary flow regulations disappear, you end up having specific spots of distress, the Shasta and then also the Klamath that will run dry
as people pump more and more from those streams,” Rogers said. “Even with these minimum flows, we have a hard time maintaining that fish population in different parts. Actually, the backs of the fish are exposed as they make their way up north just because there is so little water in those streams."
Supervisor Ted Williams is urging his colleagues to support the measure. Humboldt County's Board of Supervisors passed a similar resolution of support on March 18. Humboldt County Supervisor Steve Madrone warned that, without sustained efforts to maintain river flows, native fish species could vanish, with dire consequences for ecosystems and coastal economies.
The Scott and Shasta rivers are vital to the survival of salmon in Northern California, wildlife experts say. Rogers said letting the temporary flow protections lapse now could undo years of restoration work.
