Monday October 17, 2016
The Modesto Bee –
On the Stanislaus River west of Riverbank, a strange-looking contraption spans from bank to bank. A series of metal and plastic pipes, it is a weir that guides salmon and other fish through a boxlike piece where they can be counted via infrared and video technology.
Similar weirs exist elsewhere on the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers, meaning the folks at Oakdale’s FishBio can count the exact number of fish that head upstream to spawn in the fall as well as the number that depart in the spring.
That, you would presume, would be vital information in determining how much water should go downstream to help restore fish numbers, or whether the returns will be worth it.
You’d think the environmental groups, the salmon fishing lobby and particularly the state water board that will ultimately make the call on water flows would really, really be watching those numbers. And they would be particularly interested this year as the fight for cold, clear water is coming to, well, a boil.