As MSG turns twenty-one, we are faced with challenges and excitement. This "rainy" season, among the driest we've known, has caused the modest chinook salmon run to spawn in the lower mainstem Mattole, which could be disastrous if heavy rains sweep away or bury the redds. The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) refused to let MSG capture chinook broodstock in the lower river for our natal-stock rearing program. Waiting for high water to bring the fish to our Ettersburg trapping facility yielded only three wild female chinook and approximately six thousand viable eggs. DFG also refused to let us trap and spawn coho, which can't reach their preferred spawning grounds. We will address these challenges at the Salmonid Restoration Federation conference in Chico.

Good news: On January 26, we released 4,800 native chinook reared over the summer. In October 2000, we moved to a new office ([707] 629-3433). We have multiple contracts, including phase two of sediment reduction work on Thompson Creek, further woody debris placement in South Fork Bear Creek, and streambank stabilization and instream habitat enhancement in the lower mainstem Mattole. We received a grant for infrastructure and administrative support, and we hope for Proposition 13 funds to conduct channel monitoring and stream assessment. MSG is initiating a capital campaign to increase capacities and upgrade rearing facilities.

Our executive director of twenty years, founder David Simpson, is stepping back, but he will stay on as a board member and consultant to the new executive director, Ray Lingel.
If you are interested in serving on our Board of Directors, reside in or own property in the Mattole watershed, and love salmon and the challenge of working on their behalf, please write P.O. Box 188, Petrolia, CA 95558 or email salmon@humboldt.net by April 1, 2001.


More Updates

• December, 2003 Update
  
• March, 2003 Update
  
• November, 2002 Update
  
• August, 2002 Update
  
• May, 2001 Update
  

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