The South Fork Trinity River basin is a large watershed with a multitude of land use activities. Numerous agencies play key regulatory or management roles that affect salmon and steelhead stocks. However, over-lapping jurisdictions and conflicting missions can hinder cooperation in resource protection. Shifting priorities within these organizations, and changes in staffing levels or key personnel, have also caused a loss of continuity in fisheries and watershed restoration efforts. This chapter focuses on the role of various agencies with regard to protection or restoration of salmon and steelhead in the South Fork Trinity River basin, and on institutional barriers that may impede restoration. Indian Tribes within the basin are also discussed because of their role in restoring fisheries.
Authority and Responsibilities of Agencies
Although the California Department of Fish and Game is the only regulatory agency with direct authority to manage fisheries in the South Fork Trinity River, any land use activity or decision regarding water management can have critical impact on fisheries resources. Therefore, the review of authority and roles below includes all land and water management agencies. Chapter VII discussed agency involvement in commercial and sport fish harvests in greater detail.
State of California
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG)
The Department is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting and managing the State's fish and wildlife. A chief activity of CDFG is to enforce hunting and fishing regulations which are formulated by the California Fish and Game Commission (see the Harvest Management section). CDFG has the authority to review Environmental Impact Reports (EIR), Negative Declarations, timber harvest plans, water rights applications, and projects as specified under the Federal Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. In addition, the Department issues stream alteration permits, operates fish hatcheries, oversees private fish culture activities and has the authority to enforce certain water pollution statutes. Protection of species listed as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act also is a CDFG responsibility.
Funds for CDFG come largely from fishing and hunting license sales, a special tax on commercial fishing, Federal aid and environmental filing fees on THP's, Negative Declarations, and EIR's. Some revenue from non-game fish and wildlife programs now come from the State's General Fund, however.
In the South Fork Trinity River basin, a resident game warden enforces hunting and fishing seasons and acts on other violations of Fish and Game codes. The Inland Fisheries Division of CDFG conducts research on the South Fork Trinity River fish stocks with personnel based in Weaverville and Arcata. The Arcata CDFG office has studied and reported on fall chinook salmon, and staff from the Weaverville office have been working on spring chinook and winter steelhead assessments for the South Fork Trinity River basin.
Region 1 of CDFG also has staff dedicated to timber harvest review on private land. The lower South Fork Trinity River basin, within Humboldt County, falls under jurisdiction of the CDF timber harvest review team in Fortuna, with CDFG staff based in Eureka. The remainder of the basin is covered by personnel based in Redding.
California Department of Water Resources (CDWR)
The principal functions of CDWR are management of the State Water Project, dam safety regulation, promotion of water conservation, and flood control. Because there was a plan for a major dam on the South Fork Trinity River, CDWR took a strong interest in the basin in the 1960's and 1970's (CDWR, 1967). The substantial problem with sedimentation, resulting from the 1964 flood, prompted CDWR to conduct several studies on land use and its relationship to water quality (CDWR, 1979; 1982a). Although this agency has substantially decreased its involvement in the basin in the last decade, it recently completed an additional South Fork Trinity River sediment study (CDWR, 1992).
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF)
CDF regulates logging on State and private lands under the Z'Berg-Nejedly Act of 1973 and the Forest Practices Rules as established by the Board of Forestry. Additional functions of CDF include range land management, research, operation of State forest nurseries, and providing technical assistance to land owners on forest, range, and watershed management. Authority to protect water quality under the Clean Water Act should fall to CDF as a result of delegation by the Environmental Protection Agency through the State Water Resources Control Board. Because timber harvest practices (THP) have yet not qualified as Best Management Practices (BMP's) under the Clean Water Act (SWRCB, 1988), EPA still maintains some degree of control over timber harvest in the state. Where fisheries or water quality can be impacted by timber harvest, CDF must consult with CDFG and the Regional Water Quality Control Boards.
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
This agency has the responsibility to protect water quality and to oversee water rights permits (see Chapter VI). The enabling statutes for the SWRCB's activities are the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the Federal Clean Water Act under delegation from the EPA. The South Fork Trinity River basin falls under the jurisdiction of the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) based in Santa Rosa. The NCRWQCB formulates regional plans, conducts studies, issues and enforces waste discharge permits, and reviews timber harvest plans. Findings on water use and water rights are enforced by the SWRCB Water Rights Division based in Sacramento.
California Conservation Corp (CCC)
The CCC provides on-the-job training for its young members on many projects that help restore the natural resource base of the State. In the South Fork Trinity River basin the CCC has provided labor for fish passage projects, instream fish habitat improvement structures, riparian restoration (including fencing), slide stabilization, erosion control, watershed restoration after fires, and assisting in the installation of water conservation systems. Their base camp was formerly in Forest Glen but has recently been moved to the town of Hayfork.
University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor
The U.C. Cooperative Extension Program offers education and technical assistance to farmers, ranchers and timber land owners. Staff for the office in Hayfork has recently been cut so that a full time farm advisor is no longer available in Trinity County. Advice pertinent to fisheries resources that could be offered through this program would be on water conservation, grazing and riparian management, and timber harvest practices.
Federal Government
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
This agency operates under the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and manages National Forest lands under the mandates of many laws, such as the National Forest Management Act and the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act. Over 80% of the land base in the South Fork Trinity River basin is controlled and managed by the USFS. The Six Rivers National Forest's Lower Trinity Ranger District manages the lower basin, as far upstream as Grouse Creek. The Yolla Bolla Ranger District of the Shasta Trinity National Forest encompasses the headwaters of the South Fork, down to Smokey Creek and upper Hayfork Creek. With the exception of a small portion east of Hyampom managed by the Big Bar Ranger District, the Hayfork Ranger District covers the remainder of USFS land in the basin.
Central planning, authority and policy direction within the U.S Forest Service comes from the Washington D.C. headquarters, and is transferred to the field through various regional offices. All California forests are coordinated through the Region 5 office in San Francisco. The Supervisors Office for Shasta- Trinity National Forest is located in Redding, while the Six Rivers National Forest Office is in Eureka. Decision making in the USFS is decentralized, with much authority for land management delegated to the Ranger District level.
While the USFS has jurisdiction over land management, it defers to CDFG which has primary responsibilities for management of fish populations. Coordination between agencies in fisheries habitat restoration efforts is aided by the Sikes Act Cooperative Agreement. Cooperation between the USFS, CDFG and California Trout led to the Model Steelhead Stream Demonstration Program (Irizarry et al., 1985). The USFS has had several nationwide programs to benefit fisheries resources, including "Operation Swim Up", to remedy migration barriers, and more recently, "Rise to the Future," a program to increase habitat for anadromous fish.
Soil Conservation Service (SCS)
This agency also operates within the USDA and has the responsibility for preparation and interpretation of soil surveys. The SCS also provides technical assistance to conserve soil and water and may become involved in programs to assist private land owners through Resource Conservation Districts (RCD). The Trinity County RCD and the SCS have played a major role in conducting erosion control work in the Grass Valley Creek watershed. The local office of SCS is in Weaverville, while the regional office is located in Red Bluff.
The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS)
The ASCS is another arm of the USDA which administers programs that provide matching funds to private land holders for investments in soil and water conservation measures. It is separate from the SCS, but relies heavily on that agency to provide technical assistance in project assessment and design. Shasta County and Trinity County are served by the ASCS office in Redding. (For more information on ASCS programs see Chapter XVI).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The EPA was created in 1970 to coordinate efforts to abate pollution problems throughout the nation. Its staff for the region that includes California is located in San Francisco. EPA sets and enforces Federal standards on pollution and assists states and local governments in pollution control. Although it has delegated its authority for timber harvest oversight under the Clean Water Act to the SWRCB, EPA retains control over designation of California Forest Practices Rules as Best Management Practices (BMP's).
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
The USFWS is the principal scientific authority on fish and wildlife resources for the U.S. Department of Interior. The chief duties of the USFWS are to mitigate for damage caused by Federal water projects, assist in resource management on Federal land or Indian Reservations, and in helping to restore nationally significant fish species. USFWS staff stationed in Lewiston continue to study the Trinity River to determine how much water is needed below the Lewiston Dam to restore and maintain anadromous fisheries resources. Salmon and steelhead restoration efforts on the Klamath and Trinity River both enjoy staff support from USFWS. The Trinity River Field Office of USFWS in Weaverville helps provide services and acts as co-lead agency of the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program.
The Klamath River Basin Fisheries Conservation Area Restoration Program is staffed by the USFWS Klamath Field Office in Yreka. USFWS also guides recovery of fish and wildlife listed under the Endangered Species Act. It splits that responsibility with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for anadromous fish species (see discussion of ESA, Chapter II).
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
The Bureau is one of the agencies under the Department of Interior. It has acted as the co-lead agency (with USFWS) for the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program. The stated objective of the Restoration Program, under Public Law 98-541, is to restore fish and wildlife resources throughout the Trinity basin to circa-1960 levels and to mitigate for the construction and operation of the Trinity Division of the Central Valley Project which the Bureau oversees. The Trinity Field Office of the Bureau of Reclamation in Weaverville administers contracts for restoration. It has also played a key role in construction of Buckhorn Dam to trap sediment from Grass Valley Creek and prevent its entry into the Trinity River where it degrades fisheries habitat.
Local Government
Trinity County
Because its economy is strongly reliant on tourism related to fishing, Trinity County has played an active role in the Trinity River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. It has a seat on both the Klamath River and Trinity River Task Forces. The county has provided considerable staff support for the Trinity River Task Force Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC), with the Trinity County representative serving as chair for the past 4 years. The county administers funds from the restoration program annually so that private, non-agency cooperators can participate in restoration activities. The county also encompasses most of the South Fork Trinity River basin and exerts considerable influence through its administrative powers on land and water use. In the past, the County actively participated in the Timber Harvest Review process with CDF. It no longer does so, largely due to lack of staff (Tom Stokely, personal communication).
Humboldt County
Although also retaining a seat on the Trinity River Task Force, Humboldt County has played a much smaller role in the restoration program. The lower South Fork Trinity River basin falls within Humboldt County, but this area is sparsely populated. The county exerts little direct administrative authority over lands within the South Fork basin because most of it is managed by Six Rivers National Forest.
Indian Tribes
Nor-El-Muk Wintu Tribe
This band of Wintu Indians inhabited much of what is now Shasta and Trinity Counties for at least 3000 years. Wintu people still live throughout the two counties, with the center of the Tribe in the community of Hayfork (Woolley, 1993). The Wintu were considered a fishing tribe and very dependent on riverain resources. They have petitioned the Federal government for formal recognition as an Indian Tribe, providing extensive documentation of history, the genealogy of members, and an analysis of historic and current cultural activities (Woolley, 1993). The Wintu Tribe is recognized by the State of California through many of its actions, including an active and current non-profit organization through which it contracts certain activities. Members of the Wintu Tribe would like to see fisheries restored in the South Fork Trinity River as well as wildlife such as elk (Ray Patton, personal communication).
Tsnungwe Tribe
The center of Tsnungwe activity past and present is the area near the confluence of the South Fork with the main stem of the Trinity River. Although the Tribe was displaced by white settlement, families returned to their traditional homelands where they remain today (Tsnungwe Council, 1992). Several prior surveys of Indian Tribes in California recognized the Tsnungwe as a landless Tribe without official recognition (Kelsey, 1906 as cited in Tsnungwe Council, 1992). Today the Tribe operates in a traditional fashion with all members participating on a tribal council which proposes initiatives and carries out actions, but only with the advice and consent of an elders council. Application to the federal government for formal recognition of the Tribe is pending.
Hoopa Tribe
Although the Hoopa Reservation does not extend into the South Fork Trinity River basin, the Hoopa have substantial influence on restoration of the Trinity River basin. The Tribe holds seats on both the Trinity Task Force and the Klamath Task Force and provides some staff support for technical teams that function under both of these programs. The Hoopa used arguments based on their Reserve Rights to healthy fish populations to win additional flows from the Secretary of the Interior for the Trinity River. The Tribe has considerable interest in fisheries restoration on the South Fork Trinity River, and they continue to utilize fish from the river (see Chapter VII for discussions of fishing rights and harvest monitoring).