On the heels of being internationally recognized this year by the United Nations as a viable indigenous-led solution to the multitude of climate challenges California is facing, the annual Run4Salmon Prayer Journey of 300 miles is going virtual again in 2021 to ensure COVID safety. While the Winnemem Wintu Tribe will continue this journey privately, […]
In a big step toward the removal of four PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today approved the transfer of the license for the Lower Klamath Hydroelectric Project (Project) from PacifiCorp to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation and the states of Oregon and California, as co-licensees. By Dan Bacher The approval […]
On June 11, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) supporting the removal of four PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River located in Northern California and Southern Oregon. By Dan Bacher The letter was issued as a massive fish kill continues on the Klamath River, the second biggest salmon […]
The already horrific juvenile fish kill on the Klamath River in this unprecedented drought year is getting even worse. On Friday, June 4, the Yurok Fisheries Department’s Fish Disease Monitoring Crew counted 361 dead juvenile Chinook salmon in a rotary screw trap on the Klamath River, near Weitchpec. By Dan Bacher “This is by far the single […]
As endangered winter-run Chinook salmon die before spawning below Keswick Dam, a coalition of environmental, fishing, and social justice organizations yesterday filed a formal protest with state and federal water officials against the proposed “Temporary Urgency Change Petition” (TUCP) submitted by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). By […]
The Karuk Tribe in Northern California has declared a state of climate emergency in response to record low precipitation in the Klamath Basin as a massive juvenile salmon kill unfolds on the Klamath River. “This emergency declaration acknowledges the reality that climate change is upon us, and the dangers that it poses to rivers, forests, wildlife […]
Below is my brief testimony yesterday morning to the State Water Resources Control Board in support of the emergency water plan to save California salmon from extinction, submitted by the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, California Water Impact Network and Save California Salmon. By Dan Bacher My name is Dan Bacher, an independent investigative journalist focusing […]
Over 30 years ago, my boss, Hal Bonslett, and I went to meeting after meeting and wrote article after article demanding that winter-run Chinook salmon be listed under the federal and state Endangered Species Act. The fish was finally listed under both state and federal law, yet winter Chinook are now dying before spawning below […]
Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers joined the Yurok Fisheries Department’s fish disease monitoring team this weekend while they documented the catastrophic juvenile salmon kill on the Klamath River, according to a statement from the Yurok Tribe. By Dan Bacher “When we see our juvenile fish dying, it’s heartbreaking,” said Myers. “It’s heartbreaking because you know it’s […]
Here is a revised version of my brief presentation to the State Water Resources Control Board on March 4 regarding the Bureau of Reclamation’s temperature management that will devastate salmon populations on the Central Valley rivers: By Dan Bacher I’m Dan Bacher, an independent journalist that has been covering fish, water and environmental justice issues for over […]
Governor Gavin Newsom expanded his drought emergency declaration on Monday to 39 additional counties, including the Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed counties where he said “accelerated action is needed to protect public health, safety and the environment.” By Dan Bacher A total of 41 counties are now under a drought state […]
San Francisco — Responding to requests by the Golden Gate Salmon Association (GSSA), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Wednesday that it is trucking all of its hatchery baby salmon to release sites in and around San Francisco Bay this year to minimize drought-related losses exacerbated by the draining of Central Valley Project and State Water Project reservoirs to supply irrigation water […]
Having lost their hatchery habitat during the CZU Lightning Complex Fire, endangered young Southern Coho salmon, known as smolts, are being released to the wild by the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project (MBSTP), Davenport based 501(c)3. By Dan Bacher On Friday, April 23rd, 2021 at 9:30 AM. 12,000 native salmon smolts that were evacuated during the […]
On a dry section of extremely low Lake Mendocino on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a regional state of emergency for the Russian River Watershed in Mendocino and Sonoma Counties to protect communities and reduce environmental impacts from the drought, but he didn’t issue a statewide drought emergency as many had hoped he would. By Dan Bacher Governor […]
Rocky Barker knows a thing or two about salmon conservation in Idaho. This now-retired but still very engaged journalist used to write for the Idaho Statesman, where he spent decades reporting and elevating environmental issues important to the region. He spent 2017 writing a series on the Columbia River called Salmon and Energy. Chelsea Henderson EcoRight […]