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DEDICATEDTO RESTORING
A Gf{EA T RIVER

Beard of Dlreeton
Gary Seput
~ Weseloh
Byron Leydccker

FRIENDSOF TRINITY RIVER NEWSLETTER

November 11,2004

RESTORATION PROGRAM LEADERSHIP INFUSION

Two of the principal architectsof the Trinity Restoration Program haveagreedto work
towardachievingits objectives. Dr. Clair Stalnaker, retiredUDtted StatesGeological
Survey scientist,andDr. Rod Wittler haveagreedto acceptmajor roleswithin the
Program.

Dr. Staloaker, who serveson the ScienceAdvisory Board, an independentpeerreview

panelfinally appointedlast springandconsistingof five scientists,alsobasagreedto
spendup to one-thirdof his time to help insurethat the original "vision" of the Program,
datingbackmorethan 12 years,achievesits intendedgoals.

Dr. Wittler, who hasbeenwith the Bureau of Reclamadon(Bureau)in De8ver andhas

considerablerelevantexperienceon a restorationadaptivemanagementproject,has
agreedto servetemporarily- nine monthsor so - in WeavervUleasheadof the science
functionwithin the Program. He is detenninedto seethat the Program succeeds,and
that it achievesits objectives:restorationof fisheriesandwildlife populations.

The talentandknowledgeof theseindividualsprovidesa major boostin moving

Program actionsfoNard rationally andbaseduponsoundscieoce.With the excessive
turnoverof personnelin the Program, andwith the "vision" still not fully understoodby
manyProgram participants,this is very welcomenews.

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 RESTORATION PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

Brid2e CODStruCtiOD

The Poker Bar, BucktaJi, Blggen and Salt flat Bridges are under construction and at]
should be comp]eted ear]y next year. The temporary Poker Bar Bridge will not be
removed unti] next year, but much of the other old bridges shou]d be removed soon.

An enonnousamountof work in the Poker Bar andIndiaD Creek floodplainsremains

to be identified,much lessimplemented,to allow for increasedflows,. Someflood plain
work is underwayin the Poker Bar area,but muchwork remains. (SeeBudget section
below).

Until necessaryfloodplain changesarecomplete,therewin be no increasein flows

beyondthe 6,CXX> cubic feetper second(cfs) we've had in the springthe pastcoupleof
years. The 11,000and 8,500cfs flows providedin the Record of Dedslon (ROD)
cannotbe implemented.If theseflows wereto becomeavailablebecauseof extremely
wet or wet water-typeyears,they cannotbe returnedto the river, andthey cannotbe
carriedover for usein later years. That returnofwater to the river will be lost.

NOT A BIT GLAMOROUs, BUT ESSENTIAL

Overview

What arewe doing? What arewe accomplishing?rve written previouslythat the

Tri8ity Restoration Program (Program)was seriouslyoff track, andthat down the line
we could losethe water intendedto be returnedto it Wlderthe ROD unlesssome
quantifiedobjectivesareachievedwithin a few years. Here aresomeof the activitiesin
which FOTR hasbeenengagedthat haveinfluencedpositively achievementof that
objective.

The big picture is that we havea United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
paneldecisionthat would providethe waterTrinity River needsto reestablishfish and
wildlife populations.That decisionaffinns the ROD. WestlandsWater District
(Westlands)andthe Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) appealedthis decision
to the full court. On November8, the full court denieda rehearing.However,further
litigation on this or other issuescould be pursuedandpossiblydelay Trinity restoration.

At the sametime, unlessthe Program initiatesactionsto allow for increasedflows, the

river will NOT havethat waterreturnedto it. Four yearsafter the ROD, the Program
hasnot mademuchprogressin implementingmanyprovisionsof the ROD that are
imperativeif Trinity River is to be restoredasenvisioned.The State Water Resources
Coatrol Board's (SWRCB)permit to the Bureau for water in TriDlty River still stands
atjust 120thousandacrefeet annually. Ifwe can't demonstratesignificantquantified

2
progress,counton Westlandsto assertthat TrlDlty's increasedflows are"wastingto the
sea,"andthe water shouldgo to it.

Pro2ram EvaluatioD Review and ReDOrt

Tom Weseloh,NorthcoastManagerof California Trout, Inc. (CaJTroDt),and FOTR

boardmember,andto a very minor extentLeydecker,providedsignificant input into the
work that resultedin the Program Evaluation Sub-CommitteeReport. This analysis
andreview,including interviewswith Program staff, involved a greatdealof time, work
andeffort. Curtis Aadenon, of the CaHfornla DepartmeDtof Water Resources,
chairedthis sub-committeeandperformedcommendably.TriDity MaDagement
CoDDcD(TMC) hasadoptedmanyof the committee'srecommendations.

Amongthe sub-committee'srecommendations wasthat specificationsfor restoration

work be detemlinedby Program statTandthencontractsadvertisedand awarded.
Cunently,potentialcontractorssubmitapplicationsto fund projectsthey want to pursue,
andthe Program's action agendais detem1ined by selectingfrom amongthese
proposals. In otherwords, potentialcontractorslargely havebeendetenniningbow
Program fundsfor restorationactionswould be spent. Clearly,that makesno sense.

A sub-committeerecommendationwasto haveat leasthalf of all contractsawardedthis

yearin responseto specificneedsof the PrOIr8m asdetenninedby Program staff and
to haveall contractsawardedin that mannernext fiscal year. This merely is one
representative recommendationof the major issuesthe sub-committeedevelopedand
includedin its Report.

Whetheror not TMC actuallyimplementsrecommended correctiveactionsremainsto be

seen.The changesneededareessentjaJ to acmevingeffective Program results. We will
continueto pressfor jrnplementationof the sub-committee'srecommendations.

F1oodDlaiaWork to AccommodateROD's HiDer River nOWI

We alsowrote to the Program's executivedjrector,Douglal SchleulDer,with copiesto

all Program participants,to deterntinewhat infonnationhadbeendevelopedon required
floodplainworlc:to accommodatehigherflows asprovidedin the ROD. It turnedout that
the infonnationwas Wlknown. (SeeBudget sectionbelow). Subsequently,an engineer
hasbeenemployedto inventoryandestablishcostsfor this work.

PrO2ramBude:et

A budgetis merelythe financial expressionof a plan. In this caseit reflects,amongother

things,costsof actionsthe Proanm intendsto undertake.Within T AMWG, we have
beeninvolved heavily in its previousandcurrentyear(startedOctober1) budget. Given
the scantyinformationwe havebeenprovided,we neverthelesswere able to influence
T AMWG to recommendsomebudgetchangesto TMC. Our position on budgetissues

.1
wasconcernedparticularly with infrastructureandflow relatedneedsthat require
implementationby the Program, aswell ascertaincoststhat werenot understandable
or
explained.

The final budgetfor fiscal year2005totals $10.8million. Of this amount,almosteight

percent($818,911)was for Non-ProjectAdministrativecosts- "Trinity ProgramSupport
Non-ProjectCosts." Thesefundsgo only to severalmemberagenciesof the TMC for
purposesthat T AMWG members,for the mostpart, havebeenunableto detennine.
Includedare fundsfor the Bareau ($53,073)ad U. S. F1sh& WfldUfe Service
(USF&WS)($139,667).

Fundsallocatedfor floodplain structurerelocationin the Poker Bar andIndian Creek

areastotals$325,900,of which $93,100is for DesignandPlanningand$232.800is for
implementation.The forD1erfigure essentiallyrefersto detenniningwhat needsto be
done.andthe latterto gettingit done.

It is clearthat work in the floodplain- removalofhouse(s?),posSlolerelocationof

houses,possiblerelocationof waterwells, resolvingproblemwith a "to be" island
propertyat Poker Bar andother actionsrequiredto providea floodplain to allow
increasedflows of 8.500and 11,000cfs is goingto be very expeosive- it appearsit may
be in the millions of dollars. Beyondthis year,only $140,000is reflectedin tentative
budgetsfor years2006through2008.

Thesecostsshouldhavebeendeterminedlong ago,fundedandimplementationshould
havebeenunderway. At this point, we will not get increasedflows until this Proaram
imperativeis fulfilled. We will pressfor determinationof total costsof theseneedsand
for adequatefunding in next year'sbudget. Meanwhile,if we havewet or extremelywet
water-typeyears.TriDlty River will not receivethe water it is supposedto receive. In
addition,that waterwill be lost foreverto the river. It Cam1ot
be carriedover to
subsequent years.

This year'sbudgetprovidesfor implementationof the Hocker flat ($546,000)and

Canyon Creek ($93,111)areamainstemchannelmanipulationprojects. The latter is
merelyto startconstructionof the project. Theseareonly constructioncostsanddo not
includedesign,environmentalreview, andotherpre-projectcosts.

Gnvel Introd8cdoD'

On our behalf,Joe NeD,an FOTR member,providedimportantinput andideasat the

science-basedworkshopon gravelintroductionsinto the river to compensatefor gravel
replenishmentblockedby Trinity Dam. Scientistsfrom the UDiversity of California
Davis anda Program scientist,Aadreas KrauH, havemadeimportantprogressin
developinga gravelintroductionplan that is moving in the right direction ftD.ny.

FOTR blocked a plannedgravel introductionlast yearbecauseit was more of the same-

dumpit whereverit's convenientwith no particularthoughtaboutwhat it would

4
accomplish.We alsohavelaboredfor yearsfor developmentof an overall Gnvel
ManagementPlan. It appearsthat underMr. KRuse's leadership,that is now on the
way to realization.

FOTR wasengagedfully in a three-dayTriDIty ScleDtific Framework Workshop in

EurekA in October. Many Program participantswereinvolved, including TMC
technicalrepresentatives, membersof the ScieDceAdvisory Board, someT AMWG
members,andothersthat long havebeenactivein TriDity restorationactivities.
Currently,outsideconsultantsareestablishingthe basicframework,with somestaff
input,but this critically importantProgram elementmustbe fulfilled andhousedwithin
the Program. The scheduleis to haveit in-housewithin two years.

Includedin the frameworkis establishmentof the "scientific databaseline"to enable

quantifiedassessment of Program actions/results,monitoringneeds,andother Program
activities. This hasyet to be establishedasthe ROD approaches its fourth anniversary.

Flow Schedules.Fisberv BiolO2is~ Interaction with Proe:ramLeaders. Others

We wereinvolved in establishmentof the Trinity River flow schedulefor the 2005

wateryearthat startedMarch 1. Involvedweredecisionsaboutspring/summerflows and
a secondsetof considerationsfor increasedfall flows designedto protect fish in the
Lower Klamath. That effort extendedwell into springand summer,andincluded
meetingsandconferencecalls with TMC membersandothers.

We alsowereone of five personsinvolved in interviewsof for one of two

vacantfisheriesbiologist positionsin the Program.

We havecommunicatedextensivelywith somemembersof the SdeDceAdvisory Board

aboutissueswe believearecritical to the Prognm's success.We havehaddiscussions
andprovidedinput to the Proaram'l BranchChiefs- scienceandimplementation-
regardingrestorationissues.

We havebeenfully engagedin meetingsof the stakeholdergroup,T AMWG, andalso

haveofferedour own input to the TMC. Objectivelystat~ asa memberand an
alternatememberofT AMWG we haveprovidedsignificantleadershipin this group.
We haveforcedcrucial restorationissuesto be consideredandpursuedwith
recommendations forwardedto TMC. Thesemeetingsaregrueling,or in GeorgeBush's
words,~ work."

s
Trinity Adantive Mana2emeotWorkio2 Groan Status

T AMWG, the stakeholdersgroupon which we serve,is a Federal Advisory Committee

Act organization.It is charteredfor two yearperiodsunderthat law, and eachmember
mustreapplyfor appointmentby the Secretaryof the Interior (Secretary),asmay others
who wish to serve,when a charteris renewed.Our charterexpiredin October,andthe
personwith USF&WS responsiblefor renewingit, simply didn't to renewit timely.

AnotherT AMWG memberandLeydeckerwrote to the Secretary aboutthis gross

oversight,or negligence.The Secretary subsequentlysigneda new charterthis month,
alsoindicatingthat the entity will continueto operate,andthat existingmemberswill
retaintheir positionsuntil new nomineesareselectedandappointed.

ProoosedCanyon Creek Gold Minin2

We alsowrote extensivescopingcommentsfor the CanYO8Creek E8viro8D1e8tai

Impact Statemeat(EIS) to be preparedfor a proposed2S acregold mining operation(8
U. S. Forest Service (USFS)land adjoiningthe creek. That operatio~ if allowedto
proceedwithout establishingmajor requirementsprotectingthe creekand land.could
resultin significantadverseimpactsto Triaity River. The creekis a tributary of the
Triatty .

The USFShasallowedthe felling of trees,including old growth, on a five-acre"test

site," while the EIS barely basbegunto be develope<lA significantnumberofTriDity
CHDty residents - some1,700- havecommentedunfavorablyon the proposedmining
operation.Under federallaw datingbackto 1872,the USFShaslittle choiceaboutthe
grantingof a mining permit. However,it canestablishall necessaryconditionsunder
which potentialdamagemust be containedand/orrepaired,andrequirethe postingof a
bondto ensurefulfillment of its conditions.

AUocatlonof DevelooedWater Resources

Peripherally,FOTR and Caffrout havebeenattackingthe Bureau's proposed

Operating Criteria and Plan (OCAP),the South Delta Improvement Plan (SDIP) the
secretlydevelopedNapa AgreemeDt,(in short,thesethreeproposalswould meanthe
shipmentof up to onemillion moreacrefeet of watersouthof the San Frandsco Bay
Delta annually),andCentral Valley Project (CVP) Long Term Contract Renewalsfor
delivery of waterto CVP irrigatorsandmunicipalandindustrialbeneficiaries. We've
beenengagedin that effort becausethe Bureau hascontractedto deliver far morewater
thanexists(paper water). That will makeworseour state'swater shortagesand further
distortrationaluseof developedwaterresources- principally from Northern
CaHforala. That reality potentiallycould affect the Trinity adverselyat somepoint.

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 RENEWAL MEMBERS, CONTRIBUTORS AND SPECIAL RECOGNmON

As you know. FOTR only asksonce. year for membersto renew. Sinceour July
Newsletter.severalpeoplehaverenewedtheir membershipor joined FOTR. Several
otherpersonshaveprovidedsupportfor our Trinity effort in otherways. If you have
renewedyour membenhip siDceour July Newsletter and your name(s)has been
omitted here, pleaselet us know - we want to recognizeyour support.

Our very genuine appreciation to the following peopleandorganizations:Chico Area

Flyflshers, Inc.. Kurt Christiansen. Joel Cohen,SamuelD. Cohen, Joe NeD.Janice
ParakDasandRoy Baker, Gale Pike. JamesPowell, S.N. Roscoe.FrancesandHarry
Salstrom,Caroline and Kevin Scarpelli, Linda andCoach George Seifert, Mary and
John Simons,andJanis and Warren Watkins. Thank you!

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Friends of Trinity RIver
P. o. Box 2317
Mill Valley. CA 94941-1317

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My check is eaclc8d "'- 175- 1100- Other

Friends of TriDity River

PO Box 2327
Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327