The incredible stretching Endangered Species
Act: Is the Endangered Species Act being
used to protect true declining native species or
to exert power and control over privately owned
natural resources?
Coho salmon:
Regardless of whether you believe coho salmon is
native to the Klamath River
system, there is a real question as to whether
today’s coho are native salmon. Figure 2
from NOAA Technical Memorandum 17, (Application
of DNA Technology to the management of Pacific
Salmon,) indicates that Klamath River Iron Gate
Hatchery stocks are genetically related to coho
of the South Puget Sound, North Oregon and
Washington
Coast cluster. Iron Gate
Hatchery (IGH) coho were determined to be of an
entirely different genetic cluster than the
Rogue River
and Cowlitz coho, which are in the Southern Oregon Northern
California Coho unit.
http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/publications/techmemos/tm17/figures/bermfig2.htm
This is actually consistent with the history
of artificial coho plantings in the Klamath
system which are mentioned in Chapter 5 of the
Klamath
River Basin Fisheries Task Force Long Range Plan
(LRP) and Appendix D of the 2002 state listing
analysis done by the CA Dept. of Fish and Game:
Historical Occurrence of Coho Salmon in the
Upper Klamath, Shasta and Scott Rivers. http://users.sisqtel.net/armstrng/native%20Klamath%20coho.htm
A 1994 report called the “Historic
Decline and Current Status of Coho Salmon in California” stated:
"Like the Iron Gate stock, the
Trinity River
stock is primarily of nonnative origin. The
first significant planting was of
Eel River stock in 1964, followed by Cascade River
(Oregon)
stocks in 1966, 1967, and 1970.
Noyo
River (California) stock was planted along with Cascade River
fish in 1970, and Alsea River (Oregon) stock
was planted along with Cascade River fish in 1970…"
These non-native fish were widely outplanted
in our tributaries...According to the LRP: "From
1979 to 1988 the average number of coho
juveniles planted was 670,531 annually. Plants
ranged from a high of 1,198,696 in 1981 to a low
of 156,150 in 1984..."
Proposed Listing
of the Gray Wolf: On another front, the
federal government has listed the gray or
“timber” wolf (Canis
lupus) as an
endangered species and the State of California is in the process of considering it
for state listing. Keep in mind that there was a
museum search in CA for specimens in 1916 and
only two were located. Most of the specimens
brought in turned out to be large mountain
coyotes. Although early explorers and settlers
recorded seeing wolves, it is not clear whether
these were actually wolves or the large coyotes
that live in our mountains (canis
latrans lestes.)
In 1922, a wolf was
collected from
San Bernardino
County.
It is likely
from the description that that this was a
Mexican wolf (Canis
baileyi.) The only other wolf specimen collected
was in Lassen County in 1924.
The two specimen’s
that were located were both under 100 pounds in
size. The Lassen wolf is
the last known wild wolf ever trapped in California, except for an adult male weighing 56 pounds
trapped in
Tulare
County in 1962. (This was
assumed to be an introduced wolf of Southeast
Asian origin.) Nevertheless, a CA Dept of Fish
and Game (DFG) report concludes that: “wolves
were not abundant, even though they were widely
distributed, in California.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/docs/Gray_Wolf_Report_2012.pdf
So the question
arises what is the origin of the wolves coming
into California that the federal government and the
DFG wants to protect as endangered? In 1995-96,
sixty eight
Mackenzie Valley wolves captured in Alberta, Canada were released in Yellowstone. Historically, the native male wolf (Canis
lupus irremotus) of the
Northern Rockies
averaged around 90 to 95 pounds at maturity.
These native wolves ranged about 100 square
miles, hunting alone or in small packs of
four-five at the most. Small pockets of this
native species still existed in the Rockies when
the
Alberta strain
was introduced. Mature males of the Alberta
Canada sub-species often top 140-150 plus
pounds, typically hunt 300 or more square miles,
with packs often numbering 20 or more.
The total population
of wolves in Canada exceeds 50,000, with a large percentage if
these consisting of the Alberta sub-species Canis lupus occidentalis.
They are not endangered and they are not native.
This Canadian subspecies is the gray wolf the
federal government has protected as endangered
and the one
California is
currently considering for Endangered Species Act
protection.
Social and Economic
Impact Spotted Owl Critical Habitat: On
behalf of the western counties, a detailed
comment has been submitted to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service regarding the social and
economic impact of the proposed expansion of
critical habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl. Siskiyou County is featured. Please note, the
comment is 0 large but can be downloaded here:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/30650836/Sierra%20Instsitute%20Comments%20Final%20Report%208-20-12.pdf |