A tiny fish is on the brink of extinction. Does it matter that…

WHYY — California’s tiny delta smelt is not a terribly impressive fish at first glance, and not really at second glance either. It’s about the length and width of a finger, silvery and kind of see-through – looks a bit like a sardine. They’re not particularly clever or cute, but Mandi Finger, a University of California Davis population geneticist, says the delta smelt do have one Read More…

Lawsuit Launched to Protect Imperiled California Fish

Center for Biological Diversity — The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent today to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking Endangered Species Act protection for the Clear Lake hitch, a large minnow found only in Northern California’s Clear Lake and its tributaries. The Trump administration denied the fish protection in a December 2020 determination. Under Read More…

Water flows down Elk Falls Canyon to increase to accommodate…

Campbell River Mirror — BC Hydro will increase water flows within Elk Falls Canyon to assist steelhead migrating and spawning below Elk Falls beginning March 2. BC Hydro is commencing five, two-day in duration, steelhead migration and spawning flows down Elk Falls Canyon, Stephen Watson, BC Hydro stakeholde rengagement advisor, said. This is to enable fish to access good habitat from the Read More…

Coho numbers climb thanks to partnership

The Wenatchee World — On a golden autumn day, the reflection of bright yellow leaves in the river was broken by the movement of dark red fish. Leaning over the rail of a bridge, I could see salmon jockeying for position over the cobbles of the riverbed. Throughout October and well into November, visitors to Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery could expect to see coho salmon in Icicle Creek. Read More…

Indigenous input key to Columbia River Treaty negotiations

  Kimberley Bulletin — Indigenous input has been a key element in developing Canada’s priorities for renegotiating the terms of the Columbia River Treaty with the United States. The Ktunaxa Nation, Syilx/Okanagan Nation and Secwepemc Nation joined the treaty talks as observers two years ago. Beyond the negotiating table between Canada and the United States, Indigenous input has Read More…

Some irrigators on West Side of Stanislaus County can expect only 5%…

Modesto Bee — West Side farmers using the federal Central Valley Project can expect 5% to 75% of their contracted supply this year. Two straight dry winters brought that announcement Tuesday from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It involves water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to as far south as Kern County. Four irrigation districts totaling about 225,000 acres from Crows Read More…

Land use tied to ‘intersex’ smallmouth bass in Bay rivers

Bay Journal — Scientists are still trying to sort out exactly what’s causing sexual abnormalities among smallmouth bass in Chesapeake Bay rivers, but they may be getting closer to figuring out how to reduce them. Prompted initially by disturbing fish kills in the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers, researchers have been on a quest for nearly 20 years to understand what’s impacting the Read More…

When devastation strikes the oceans, sharks can hold the key to…

Florida International University — A world without sharks is a world less resilient to extreme climate events, scientists say. Predators, including some sharks, are known to be critical for maintaining stability and biodiversity in the world’s oceans. But according to a new study, they are also critical in helping ecosystems recover when devastation hits from hurricanes or marine Read More…

Thailand Court Rejects Appeal for Petition Against Laos’ Pak Beng…

Radio Free Asia — A court in Thailand has refused to hear an appeal on a case concerning a large-scale Mekong River mainstream dam in Laos, a blow to Thai civic groups concerned about the dam’s potential transboundary environmental impact. Laos’ Pak Beng dam project is the northernmost in a proposed cascade of 11 dams on the Mekong River’s main stream, part of Vientiane’s Read More…

EPA raises vessel sunken in January to protect Lake Tahoe

EPA — Today, weather permitting, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will raise a vessel first reported sunk in Lake Tahoe on January 15. EPA, in coordination with the El Dorado County Sheriff, the Lahontan  Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response is taking Read More…