SYRCL is seeking a full-time River Restoration Projects Manager to manage a major restoration project on the Lower Yuba River. The “Yuba River Wild Salmon and Wildlife Interpretation and Recreation Facilities” project is funded by the California Department of Transportation, and includes the establishment of a conservation easement on private property, and the construction of trails, signage and interpretative kiosks. Implementation of this project will require extensive coordination with local agencies, multiple stakeholders, and volunteers.

There may also be opportunities for the project manager to assist with other ongoing SYRCL projects in the Yuba River watershed related to habitat improvements and meadow restoration.

Click here for job description. Position will be open until filled. SYRCL is an equal opportunity employer.

State Parks District Superintendent Marilyn Linkem told SYRCL staff this week that she shares our goal to keep Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park open. Although the park will be closed this summer, it will be under “caretaker status” which means that park rangers will still be responsible for ensuring security there. Linkem encouraged park supporters to seek creative solutions for Malakoff including new partnerships to operate the park, and the installation of a solar system to reduce energy costs of nearly $80,000 per year to run the diesel generators. Park staff  are also evaluating the economic feasibility of keeping the park open with reduced hours or seasonally as one way to reduce costs. According to a recent interview with Linkem in The Union, she said, “Keeping the park open on a full-time basis appears cost prohibitive.”

Getting the South Yuba River State Park off the closure list provides yet another reason for community celebration this spring. On April 29^th, the Bridgeport Covered Bridge will celebrate its 150^th sesquicentennial birthday and the public is invited.

Only one month since the new Biological Opinion for Daguerre and Englebright Dams was issued, the Salmonid Restoration Federation is having their 30^th annual conference in Davis, April 4-7.  A bright conversation piece among the hundreds of conservationists will be magnificent list of actions now required of the Army Corps of Engineers for the sake of Yuba River salmon and steelhead.  SYRCL’s Science Director and Watershed Coordinator will be there to present a poster table, and participate in workshops on floodplain restoration, dam removal, and the genetic effects of hatchery strays on wild populations.  The large community of salmon enthusiasts knows that SYRCL is responsible for the “win” on the Yuba, and the newly improved odds for recovering these fish from the threat of extinction.  Come celebrate (and learn) with us!  The poster session is Friday evening, and many great keynote speakers take the stage Friday.  See a more detailed description of the conference, or the full schedule at www.calsalmon.org.

Once again standing as a model for other organizations with ambitions for citizen-powered science and stewardship, SYRCL has released a package of tools including our custom River Monitoring Database, and an entirely new version of “Yuba Shed”, the Yuba River Watershed Information System.  These tools enable SYRCL to make the best use of River Monitoring data, and to present that data within the context of all relevant information for the Yuba River watershed.  Yuba Shed has been designed to support cooperative watershed assessment, and includes a dynamic watershed mapping utility.   Both products are based on open-source coding and available to other organizations.  The full set of products, including resources for SYRCL volunteer monitors, has been posted at the River Monitoring page.  The development of these tools was supported by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and the outstanding contributions of some brilliant and hard-working SYRCL members.

The South Yuba River State Park and California State Parks invite you to celebrate the 150th birthday celebration of the Bridgeport covered bridge, the longest single-span wooden covered bridge in existence.  This FREE sesquicentennial birthday party takes place on April 29, 2012 from 11:00 AM – 4 PM at the South Yuba River State Park.  For more information, please call the Park, (530) -432-2546 or go to www.southyubariverstatepark.org.

This family-friendly celebration will be the largest part of the annual spring festival with great food, wagon rides, music, pioneer games, barn tours, gold panning and a return of the first owners of the property during a theatrical production by local actors.  The park visitor center will be open for browsing.

Join SYRCL in celebration of this success.  Because of our community’s diligent and enthusiastic efforts, this remarkable park is off the closure list allowing access for all to enjoy the wild & scenic South Yuba River, the historic bridge and barn, and restored shell station.

Fine wines and craft brews will be flowing on April 21^st at the Grass Valley Vets Hall at the 2^nd annual Wild for the Yuba, a fundraiser for SYRCL’s programs.  Mingle with your friends nibbling on delicious food from Emily’s Catering and Cakes, bid high on auction items generously donated while listening to the  tunes by Ragged But Right.

We are still in need of just a few more volunteers for the night of the event (food servers, check-in, auction, etc.).  If you are interested, please contact Miriam Limov.

Rally your Yuba-loving friends and purchase your tickets TODAY on-line, or at the SYRCL office. Tickets include an etched tasting glass, complementary beer and wine tastings, hearty appetizers and dessert, entertainment and access to the silent auction.

Get Wild for the Yuba
A Benefit for the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)

 When:  Saturday, April 21, 2012 from 6-9 PM
Where:  Grass Valley Veterans Memorial Hall – 255 South Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA 95945
Ticket info:  SYRCL Members ($30), Non-Members ($35), Designated Drivers ($20)
To purchase tickets in person:  At the SYRCL office at 216 Main Street, Nevada City, CA 95959, Monday-Friday 9 am – 5 pm

Event info and to purchase tickets online:  www.yubariver.org

John Nuffer, River Monitor

On March 10^th, SYRCL launched the 12^th consecutive River Monitoring season and started the day with a tasty breakfast social.  The river monitors then headed out to collect data at their sites, dispersing to all parts of the Yuba watershed from the north fork of the Yuba River, to the headwaters at Donner Summit and down the river near Marysville.  Everyone returned successfully with full data sheets and stories of their day.  Many of the monitors commented on how low the water is in the river; we’re guessing that has changed with the recent storm!

If you are interested in joining our monitoring team, please email Eric Rubenstahl, SYRCL’s River Monitoring coordinator, in order to sign up and get involved. The training for new monitors will take place April 21 during the day.

Volunteers removing Scotch Broom

Thank you to the John Woolman School students and all the wonderful volunteers who participated  in our first Scotch Broom Challenge in connection with the Bear Yuba Land Trust on March 3. By the end of the day, many 5-foot high piles of Scotch Broom were removed from the Burton Homestead trails.  Many thanks to the Bear Yuba Land Trust for leading this important effort.

Although admired for its yellow blossoms, the Scotch broom shrub is a fierce invasive species quickly out-competing our precious native plants.

BYLT giving the safety talk

Register today to help remove this invasive plant with Jessica Roberts, SYRCL’s Watershed Coordinator, for the next Scotch Broom Challenge day on April 14th at Hirschman’s Pond.

For the full Scotch Broom Challenge schedule and series of events please refer to the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County’s website.

The South Yuba River Citizens League is enrolled in an e-scrip program sponsored by SPD Markets.  3% of your total purchases can benefit SYRCL if you sign up and designate us as your charity of choice—at no cost to you!  To start supporting us, follow these  steps:

1)    Visit an SPD market and sign up for their community card

2)    Write-in “South Yuba River Citizens League” as your charity of choice, group ID #   500030120 since we are not listed on the printed form

3)    Use your card every time you shop at SPD to benefit SYRCL

If you already have a community card and need to designate SYRCL as your choice organization, you can register your card by calling (800) 931-6258 or visiting www.escrip.com/SPD.

Enormous thanks to our locally-owned market, SPD for this opportunity and to you for shopping in support of SYRCL.

Nevada City, CA - On February 29, 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) released a formal decision finding that the operation of two Army Corps of Engineers dams and related water diversions on the Yuba River is likely to jeopardize the survival of three species of endangered fish: spring-run Chinook salmon, steelhead, and green sturgeon.

The decision, known as a biological opinion, was issued as the result of a lawsuit filed in 2006 by the South Yuba River Citizens League (“SYRCL”) and Friends of the River. In 2010, federal judge Lawrence K. Karlton found the previous biological opinion did not comply with the Endangered Species Act and required NMFS to conduct a new analysis which it released on Wednesday.

SYRCL Executive Director Caleb Dardick said, “The new biological opinion is an important first step towards preventing the extinction of Yuba River salmon, steelhead and sturgeon. These threatened fish need to be able to move freely upstream of Daguerre Point and Englebright dams to the upper Yuba River watershed.”

Spring-run Chinook salmon were once plentiful in the Central Valley, with over 600,000 returning to their natal streams each year. But the construction of impassable dams in the 20th Century reduced the habitat available to the species by 80%, resulting in substantial population declines. In 2011, fewer than 5,000 spring Chinook returned to the Central Valley, a reduction of over 99% from historical levels. Removing barriers to upstream fish passage is urgently needed to halt this continuing slide toward extinction.

Dardick emphasized that the biological opinion itself will not save the Yuba River fish, unless the Corps actually complies with the requirements. “What is crucial now is for the agencies with responsibility over these dams to show leadership by fully implementing the actions outlined in the biological opinion without delay,” he said.

The biological opinion finds that the Corps’ Daguerre Point and Englebright dams have contributed to population declines for the three species, due mainly to the fact that the dams block the fish from migrating upstream to adequate spawning habitat. By forcing the fish to spawn in degraded and inadequate spawning habitat below Englebright Dam, salmon suffer from competition for scarce spawning space, disruption of gravel spawning nests, and interbreeding with hatchery strays and other runs, which is diminishing the fishes’ genetic vigor, resulting in weaker fish stocks.  Daguerre Point Dam is a complete barrier to the upstream migration of green sturgeon.

Based on these and other findings, NMFS concludes that the Corps of Engineers must take a number of actions to reduce the harm being caused to the threatened species. Most importantly, the biological opinion requires the Corps to implement a program to provide fish passage past the dams by 2020. In addition, the biological opinion calls for annual additions of spawning gravel below Englebright Dam to replace gravels captured by the dam and the restoration of habitat through removal of rock debris left over from the construction of the dam more than 70 years ago.

“The authorities responsible for recovering threatened fish stocks have accurately assessed the situation on the Yuba River and finally required actions that will substantially reduce extinction risk for Central Valley populations of salmon, steelhead and sturgeon” says Gary Reedy, Fisheries Biologist and Science Director for SYRCL.  “The new requirements include a variety of helpful short-term measures, and yet full fish passage is what is needed to actually avoid the substantial harm to the survival and recovery of the species being caused by Daguerre and Englebright dams, as the biological opinion concludes.”

Echoing the biological opinion’s call for collaboration among all stakeholders, Caleb Dardick pledged his organization’s commitment to working together to find the most effective means of achieving the biological opinion’s mandates. “We believe this decision signals that the preservation of these species is not the responsibility of any one organization alone, but of all parties in the Yuba River watershed,” Dardick said. He pledged his organization’s support for efforts to secure congressional appropriations, where needed, for the implementation of these projects and for participation in all stakeholder planning proceedings.

“Although the Corps claims that the biological opinion requires actions that are outside of the Corps’ authority, NMFS took care to enumerate the various laws and Corps regulations which give the Corps the necessary authority,” said Christopher Sproul at Environmental Advocates, lead counsel for SYRCL in the lawsuit.

For a copy of the Biological Opinion, please click here; also recent coverage in the Sacramento Bee.