HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-5-11 BMCC letterApril 27, 2011
Dear Butte County Board of Supervisors:
The Butte Meadows Community Coalition (BMCC) is comprised of local businesses, full time
Butte Meadows residerns, water-front land owners, and seasonal cabin land owners. The mission
of the BMCC is to preserve our community, promote and support our local merchants, protect
the numerous recreational opportunities that make Butte Meadows a highly desired recreation
destination, and to encourage both residents and visitors of Butte Meadows to be responsible
stewards of the land.
The BMCC is requesting assistance from you as a local leader in persuading the California
Department of Fish and Game to reinstate the fish stocking program on the Butte Creek in Butte
Meadows. In discontinuing the planting offish on a temporary basis in 2409, and on a
permanent basis in 2410, the California Department of Fish and Game has all but eliminated the
most vital source of revenue tv our local businesses-those related to sport fishing, and
fishermen/campers who recreate at our two local campgrounds. In addition to the decline of
revenue, the community has also experienced a significant decline in the wild life that also fish
the Butte Creek; the most evident of those being the osprey and river otters. We should also note
that the majority of community members who had previously purchased fishing licenses to be
able to fish the creek have stopped purchasing licenses because there is virtually nothing of any
size to catch. .
We as a community are very sensitive to environmental concerns as they related to the Cascades
frog which in this case is the reason for the elimination of the stocking program. However, from
the research conducted, information gathered from talking with employees of both Fish and
Game and the US Forest Service, and from the knowledge gained from people who have lived in
Butte Meadows for many years, we are not convinced that a total elimination of the planting
program on Butte Creek is the only means for dealing with problems that occur many miles
above Butte Meadows on Willow and Colby Creeks. What we do know is that these actions
have negatively impacted our way of life in Butte Meadows. We have communicated to the
Department of Fish and Game that we are willing to collaborate with them in any way possible
to bring the program back. Please stand with us in our request that the fish planting program be
reinstated in same fashion on the Butte Creek in Butte Meadows.
On behalf of our fellow community members and all who have felt the absence of this program,
we appreciate your assistance. We have compiled a list of background information for you. We
hope it will aid you in gaining some perspective on how we have gotten to this point. if you
have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Sinter ~~
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Dave and hleen Purvis BOARD OFg~E
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Butte Meadows Community Coalition Spokespersons f ; .
534-342-8359 '' ~ ~ Z~~~
Attachments; Background and signature pages
BO S~ oK;~ ;~,~~,~, CAL1fipRNlp
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Background:
• The state of California has been rearing and releasing fish in state waterways for over 100
years. Fish planning in Butte Creek has been ongoing for many years.
• In 1970, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was passed. It was DFG's
view that DFG stocking activities were exempt from CEQA and as such DFG was not
required to conduct Environmental Impact Reviews {EIR) or Environmental Impact
Statements an plarned waterways.
• In 2005 and 200b, Pacific Rivers Council advised DFG that under Pacific Rivers
Council's interpretation of CEQA, DFG was required to conduct EIR's on legally
protected and sensitive fish and wildlife populations. Pacific Rivers Council
subsequently sued DFG.
• In May, 2007 the Sacramento Superior Court ruled in Pacific Rivers Council, et al., v.
California Department of Fish and Game (Case No. 06 CS 01451} that DFG was in
violation of the provisions of CEQA as it pertains to EIR requirements. The ruling
required DFG to comply with CEQA by preparing an environmental evaluation of its fish
stocking activities on a schedule approved by the court.
• DFG did not meet the court's timeline and requested additional time to comply. Pacific
Rivers Council as the petitioner requested the court to suspend all fish stocking until the
EIR was complete. The request was denied but the court ordered interim measures that
limited DFG's ability to stock f sh where monitoring surveys have demonstrated the
presence ofcertain sensitive native aquatic and amphibian species or where monitoring
surveys for these species have not yet been conducted.
• Included in the suit, The Pacific Rivers Council submitted a list of known sensitive and
native species. Included on the list was the Cascades frog (Rana cascadae).
• The Cascades frog occupied wetlands throughout the Cascade Range from the northern
Sierra Nevada Mountains in California into northern Washington. In California,
Cascades frog populations were historically distributed from the Shasta-Trinity area to
the Modac plateau as two separate populations: one centered around the Lassen area, and
the other around the Klamath area. Currently populations appear to be moderately to
extremely abundant in fishless areas from the upper McCloud River system to the Trinity
Alps but are extremely rare in the southernmost part of its range.
• DFG now conducts aPre-stocking Evaluation Protocol {PSEP) on waterways that are
stacked. Evaluations are done in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS}.
• In making a determination an whether to continue or discorninue plarning offish on Butte
Creek, a study in search of the presence of the Cascades frog was conducted. Cascades
frogs were located on both Colby and Willow Creeks {above Cherry Hill in waters that
connect into Butte Creek). The most recent research reported the presence of 11 frogs
between these two waterways. The 11 frogs substantiated the continued existence of the
Cascades frog on those creeks. The numbers were low enough to continue the inclusion
of the Cascades frog on the "seriously declining" list.
• It is unknown exactly what factors are responsible for the decline. A study conducted by
Gary Fellers and Charles Drost in 2003 suggest a combination of local factors, including
1} the presence ofran-native, predatory fish which have restricted habitat and limited
dispersal of frogs; 2) loss of breeding habitat due to afive-year drought, and 3}the
gradual ions of open meadows and associated aquatic habitats maybe responsible. To
date researchers continue to Look for these answers.
• Alternative 3 of the DFG Final Hatchery and Stocking Program Environmental Impact
ReportlEnvironmental Impact Statement measures include, "DFG would not stock
nonnative fish in any California fresh water body where monitoring surveys performed
for or by the DFG have demonstrated the presence of any of 25 specified species. DFG
would also not stock nonnative fish in any California fresh water body where monitoring
surveys for the presence of any ofthose 25 specified species have not yet been
conducted. As a result of the DFG review findings, the PSEP resulted in a
recommendation to discontinue planting offish at ALL locations on the Butte Creek in
the Butte Meadows area.
• A 4-15-201.1 conversation with Melanie McFarland of the Lassen National Forest
provided that no studies by the USFS have been or are planned to be conducted in Butte
Meadows-because waterfrom properties in this area are privately owned and are not on
USFS lands.
• Neither the USFS nor the DFG can confirm at what point along the Butte Creek the
Cascades frog's range ends. There are no Cascades frogs as far south as Forest Ranch.
At what point between Colby Creek and Forest Ranch the range ends seems to be an
unknown.
• Fish planting continues by DFG on Deer Creek (I~ighway 32) and by private stocking
permit at the Lassen Boy Scout Camp {in Butte Meadows).
As Butte Meadows community members we are in support of the let#er asking for pour
assistance in getting the fish planting program reinstated on Butte Creek:
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