Manmade Habitat For Spring Salmon Spared Knoll Fire’s Destruction

KLCC — The recent Knoll Fire in the McKenzie River Corridor threatened a fisheries restoration project in nearby Deer Creek. On a recent survey of the fire damage, Darren Cross. acting deputy Forest Supervisor for the Willamette National Forest, pointed out what is essentially a man-caused landslide. Cross said the Knoll Fire came very close when it first started in early August. “Of Read More…

Work to open access to 21 miles of Chico Creek fish habitat near…

Washington State Department of Transportation — Work to help return Chico Creek under State Route 3 to a more natural state is about to get underway. As soon as Monday, Sept. 20, contractor crews working for the Washington Department of Transportation will install orange signs in and around the Chico Way interchange near Bremerton to notify users that construction is imminent. "There’s Read More…

Massive algae bloom in the Gulf of Alaska could be good for marine…

Alaska Public Media — The tiny but mighty phytoplankton live at the base of the food chain in the Gulf of Alaska. They’re a food source for small crustaceans, which in turn feed small fish, then bigger fish, then seabirds and marine mammals. Each spring and summer, a large concentration of phytoplankton blooms in the gulf. This year, researchers recorded the biggest bloom they’ve ever Read More…

Why are Columbia River steelhead having such a bad year?

Oregon Public Broadcasting — It’s an extremely tough year to be a steelhead. Fish are returning from the Pacific Ocean back to their freshwater spawning grounds in some of the lowest numbers on record, prompting widespread fishery closures and dire warnings of a race toward extinction. On the Columbia River, just about 54,000 steelhead have made it past Bonneville Dam as of this week. The Read More…

Low oxygen levels are pushing fish into shallower waters

PhysOrg — Fish can drown. While it may not seem like it, fish do require oxygen to breathe; it's just that they get what they need from the oxygen dissolved in water rather than in the air. Too little oxygen spells trouble for our finned friends, which have to move or else suffer ill effects. Unfortunately, oxygen concentrations are dropping throughout the oceans. A new study out of UC Santa Read More…

Feds OK plan to cut salmon fishing when needed for orcas

The Spokesman-Review — Federal officials have approved a plan that calls for cutting nontribal salmon fishing along the West Coast when the fish are needed to help the Northwest’s endangered killer whales. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries adopted the plan Tuesday as recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. It calls for restricting commercial and Read More…

Fort Bragg upgrades its water emergency to Stage 4 as Noyo River at…

The Mendocino Voice — ontinuing low flows in the Noyo River have prompted the city of Fort Bragg to once again upgrade its drought emergency level. On Monday, the Fort Bragg City Council unanimously approved upgrading the emergency from a Stage 3 to a Stage 4 water crisis, which will require residents and businesses to conserve an additional 10% of water, bringing their total reduction in Read More…

Who Is to Blame for California’s Drought?

UC Davis — Social media users are playing the blame game when it comes to California’s drought. Read enough comments online and you’ll see many similar responses blaming the state government for its management of water: California should have more water storage. California dumps water into the ocean. Northern California sends too much water to Southern California. UC Davis experts Read More…

Dam Battles Converge on Cambodia’s 3S Rivers

Circle of Blue — For decades, Nov Lun and his fellow fishermen harvested the rich bounty of the Sesan River in northeastern Cambodia. Then, three years ago, a giant hydroelectric power plant opened upstream from his village of Kumpun. Irregular water releases from the dam began regularly entangling his nets and dislocating his fishing boat. Fish started disappearing, and soon most of his Read More…

The Colorado River Can’t Be Divvied Up Without Indigenous People at…

Gizmodo — Percy Deal lives in Black Mesa, a bowl-shaped region in northeastern Arizona that’s part of the Navajo and Hopi reservations. The mesa is situated along the Colorado River and two of its tributaries, the Little Colorado and San Juan. Yet Deal, like some 40% of Navajo people, doesn’t have running water in his house. “So what we do is we go to a watering facility, which is Read More…