November 14, 2003

Fish spawning season is upon us again and late November and early December are the times to keep an eye out for chinook salmon in the lower creek in the flood control channel. Steelhead trout will likely arrive January-March (we hope to have federal and state permits by February for transporting fish blocked at the BART weir upstream into Stonybrook Creek). Our salmon cannot get upstream to spawn yet, but it is important to document any fish that do arrive - contact the ACA if you see any fish that could be salmonids in the lower creek.

If you want to view spawning coho salmon this winter in the Bay Area, head out to the Lagunitas Creek watershed in western Marin County. SPAWN, the Salmon Protection And Watershed Network, gives guided salmon spawning tours all winter. Go to www.spawnusa.org for information.

Congratulations to Zone 7 Water Agency! Zone 7 has finished construction of two fish ladders in Arroyo Mocho as part of a realignment of Arroyo Mocho and Arroyo las Positas in Livermore. The project removed two existing fish passage barriers, added the two fish ladders to steep sections of the creek, and is restoring a more natural stream channel with native vegetation and enhanced stream wildlife habitat. Check out the photos of the new fish ladders and get more information on our web page at www.alamedacreek.org/Fish_Passage - click on Arroyo Mocho.

If you are not already an ACA member, please consider joining to support our restoration work. If you are a member, help us build our membership by sending us addresses of 5 friends you think might be interested in our steelhead restoration project and efforts to protect wildlife in the Alameda Creek watershed. Membership details are on our web site at www.alamedacreek.org - click on Join/Volunteer.

Fish notes from around the state:
A 334 page report by the National Research Council recommends removal of 3 major dams from the Klamath River basin to protect salmon and other fish (see www.fishsniffer.com)
Sad but true - only three (3) anadromous sockeye returned to Idaho in this year's sockeye spawning run to Redfish Lake, reminiscent of Lonesome Larry, the lone sockeye that returned in 1992 (see www.newsdata.com/enernet/fishletter/fishltr170.html#3)
Governor Arnold has already broken his campaign promise to be a "friend of the environment." Arnold appointed anti-environmentalist Bill Jones, as head of the California Resources Agency and James Branham, an executive at timber giant Pacific Lumber, as his Deputy Director of the state Environmental Protection Agency.