If you want to make your voice heard on the proposed fishing closure of the American River in February and March during low flow periods, you need to contact the California Fish and Game Commission right away. 

You must get your letters to the Commission before their meeting in San Diego on February 7. The best and quickest way to send a letter is by fax at 916-653-5040 or by email, fgc@fgc.ca.gov.  

The announcement of this proposed closure came as a complete surprise to most of the fishing organizations and conservation groups concerned about fishery restoration on the American River. It was only brought to my attention through an article in the Sacramento Bee on Thursday and Friday.  

To say I was stunned by the lack of communication between the proponents of the closure, Dave Ford and Wayne Chubb of the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers, and fishing and environmental organizations is an understatement.  

When I spoke to Ford last night, he told me the closure was proposed “to try to protect the wild fish from snagging when flows go below 1,100 cfs” and to “shine the spotlight on the need to get more wardens on the river to enforce Fish and Game laws.”  

“The DFG has low flow closures in place on the Smith, Eel, Van Duzen, Mattole and other coastal rivers to prevent snagging when the flows go below certain flow levels,” said Ford. “Why can’t they do a similar thing with Central Valley rivers to protect steelhead?”

He had no explanation why he and other proponents of the closure hadn’t consulted with the angling community before submitting the proposal to the Commission. But at this point, pardon the pun, that’s water under the bridge.  

I don’t support the closure because I think that recreational anglers already have too many regulations and closures imposed upon them by the state and federal governments. We don’t need yet another fishing closure on our public trust rivers – we need enforcement of the existing laws! Snagging is an enforcement problem, but the Governor refuses to hire wardens to enforce the Fish and Game Code on the American.  

However, I must emphasize that although I don’t support the closure and am shocked that Ford didn't submit this proposal for review by the angling community with more advance notice, we must now take advantage of the media spotlight to highlight the state and federal mismanagement of the American River fishery.  

Our enemies are not Ford and other anglers, but the Bureau of Reclamation and the Governor! Anglers need to unite and work together, although we often disagree, to make the American River a better habitat for steelhead, salmon and other fish!  

First, we must make it clear that the Bureau, after agreeing in principle to water flow and water temperature standards for the American River in 2006, still hasn’t adopted them. We must keep pressure on the Bureau to adopt water and flow temperature standards.  

Secondly, the low flows we are seeing now on the American are caused by the massive export of water to the Westlands Water District and Southern California. Every spring and summer Folsom is effectively drained so that there is little water in the fall and early winter for steelhead and salmon.  

At the same time that the Bureau reduces flows on the American to serve subsidized agribusiness, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger every year slashes the DFG budget so game wardens can’t be hired to patrol the American and other rivers. Snagging of steelhead is an enforcement problem; the problem is addressed by enforcing existing fish and game laws, not by adopting new regulations that won’t be enforced,  

Jim Crenshaw, president of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, suggests that the Bureau of Reclamation should, as mitigation for the fisheries it has destroyed over the years, provide funding to the state for DFG Wardens to patrol the river. I think that is a great idea!  

Here is a letter from Bill Back, a longtime steelhead angler and ardent conservationist that I have fished with many times on the American, submitted to the Commission today. Back wrote this letter after walking the banks of the river informing anglers about the proposed closure and urging them to write letters while giving them post-its with the Commission’s fax number.  

When you write your letter, write from the heart because it will have more impact on the Commission. Also, remember to keep it short and succinct.  

Here is Bill Back’s letter to the Commission. I like it because he addresses the key points of (1) the Bureau’s mismanagement of flows for fish and (2) the lack of DFG wardens on the river. Also, I like the fact that he stays away from bashing proponents of the closure and concentrates on the real issues.  

I suggest that you address these points also to make your letter most effective.  

Here’s the Commission contact information:
Mr. Richard B. Rogers, President
California Fish and Game Commission        
1416 Ninth Street        
Sacramento, California 95814 
(916) 653-4899        
FAX 916-653-5040
email: fgc@fgc.ca.gov 
Please email copies of your letter to danielbacher@fishsniffer.com, and Jim Martin of RFA, flatland@mcn.org, who will be attending the Commission meeting in San Diego on February 7.  

01/26/08
To: California Fish and Game Commission
From:  Bill Back
Re: Proposed American River Closure  

Commissioners:  

On Friday 01/25, I read an article in the Sacramento Bee dealing with the proposed two month closure of the lower American River to all fishing requested by the Northern California Council of The Federation Of Fly Fishers. I was extremely alarmed that a proposal of this magnitude could surface without the knowledge of the general fishing public at the eleventh hour. As a concerned citizen and avid angler, I could not sit and let this proposal come in front of you without sending you my comments.  

The American River, as I am sure you are aware is a very popular area for thousands of anglers to use every year. I have regularly fished this area since the 70’s and am very aware of the challenges this system brings forth.  

The article in the Bee states,” The state Fish and Game Commission is set to consider a two-month fishing ban on the lower American River as a way to ward off poaching and preserve the steelhead trout population.”

As I see it this, is really a two-fold problem that will not be solved by this closure. The first is the amount of water released into the river by the Bureau of Reclamation and the second is the illegal “snagging” that occurs. I would like you to consider my thoughts on both of these issues.  

First of all, the flows in the American River have been a problem for some time. It is my belief that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is and has been to blame for this problem. Their management of the watershed above Nimbus Dam is absolutely horrible.   

The health of the salmon and steelhead runs on the American River are totally dependent on adequate water flows or simply put “no water, no fish.” Folsom Lake is at extremely low levels due to releases being higher then needed during the spring and summer months and to the exporting of water to other areas. The Bureau needs to be held accountable for their mismanagement.  

Secondly, the fly fishing group is saying that unusually low flows make the fish more susceptible to “snagging.” I can tell you that “snagging” has been taking place on this river for a long time and that water levels have very little to do with it. I have seen “snaggers” hooking fish with every gate on Nimbus Dam open. This would be over 20,000 cfs.   

The real problem is that the people that practice this type of angling are quite good at what they do because there is not much chance of them being caught. Lack of enforcement is the real problem. The majority of this illegal activity takes place within the view of the region 2 office of the Fish and Game.   

Today is the 26th day that this lower section of the river has been open and until today, I have not seen one warden. Not one. Last year, I didn’t see any wardens the entire season. The two wardens I talked to today told me their area stretches all the way to the Bay Area.   

I feel that an area like the American River with the amount of people that use it needs a warden dedicated to it for the bulk of their time during peak periods (August-March). In the past, when we would see wardens regularly, poaching was noticeably minimized.  

Closing the American River will not solve any of the problems I have mentioned. It would at best be a band-aid. I would ask you to work with the Governor and legislature to hold the Bureau accountable for adequate flows on the American River and to acquire funding for one dedicated warden for this area.  

In closing, I would like to ask each of you to deny the proposal for the two-month closure on the American River.