May 11, 2010
In March, Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) and the California-Nevada American Fisheries Society (AFS) chapter hosted a historic joint 28th Annual Salmonid Restoration Conference and 44th Annual Cal-Neva AFS Conference in Redding, California. This was a truly collaborative effort that engaged both the habitat restoration community and fisheries scientists. More than 700 people attended the conference from all over the Pacific Northwest. Its theme was "Fisheries Restoration and Science in a Changing Climate" since the talks and workshops addressed the challenge of recovery and restoration efforts in the face of global climate change and water shortages, among other issues. In this era of climate uncertainty, a California state budget crisis that has paralyzed the restoration field, and diminishing salmon returns, it is more important than ever for fisheries scientists and restorationists to gather together to share resources, techniques, strategies, and methodologies to restore habitat and recover wild salmon populations.
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Field tours visited restoration projects in Clear Creek, Battle Creek, the Upper Trinity River, the Shasta River, and the Upper Sacramento River, while a Redding urban streams tour featured Sulphur Creek, Salt Creek, and gravel augmentation projects. Redding was an exciting place to host the conference since it is close to many large-scale restoration projects and inspiring collaborative efforts.
Tribal leader Caleen Sisk-Franco of the Wimmenu Wintu tribe gave an opening ceremonial prayer and an impassioned call to bring back the native Mokelumne wild salmon that are now extinct but whose genetic stock was introduced in the past in the Maori ancestral homelands in New Zealand. Her opening blessing and plea provided a global context to the plenary session. Plenary keynote presenters included David Montgomery, author of ,i>King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon and Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization; he spoke about the demise of civilizations based on agricultural practices that depleted soils, denuded upslope areas, and brought sediment to rivers thus impacting fisheries. Among other speakers, Larry Brown from the US Geological Survey discussed climate change and native fishes in the San Francisco estuary and watershed; Dan Bottom from the National Marine Fisheries Service discussed "Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads and How Resilient Are Salmon Ecosystems"; and Maria Rea from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discussed salmonid recovery planning efforts in California.
Next year's SRF conference will be in San Luis Obispo, California. For more information about other SRF educational opportunities, please visit *www. calsalmon.org*.
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TOC for Forest & River News, Spring 2010