West Branch Flow Is Cut 90 Percent Overnight!

Reckless Watercrats Endanger Delaware Trout As West Branch Flow Is Cut 90 Percent Overnight

As the critical brown trout spawning season arrives on the upper Delaware River, the government water bureaucracy throttled back the flow out of Cannonsville Reservoir by 90 percent this week—a reckless and irrational act.

“It is incomprehensible how the authorities charged with the stewardship of this famous fishery and its magnificent environment could be so reckless,” says Al Caucci, vice president of Friends of the Upper Delaware River, a nonprofit environmental conservation group. “Under current conditions, more than 50 miles of prime wild trout water on the West Branch and main stem Delaware, from Deposit to Callicoon, N.Y., is in serious jeopardy.”

Water releases from Cannonsville were cut from 1,100 cubic feet per second to 115 cfs overnight Sunday. Within hours, gravel beds were exposed downstream.

If trout spawning has begun, the exposure of the eggs is probably fatal, said Caucci, who has written three reference books about the relationship between trout and aquatic insects, including the seminal “Hatches.” Also imperiled are aquatic insects, dwarf wedge mussel beds and the shad fry trying to make their way downstream to the ocean.

This is the fourth time since May that FUDR has been prompted to issue a “Crisis Alert” over irrational yo-yo dam releases by the water bureaucracy.

“They have proven once again that there is absolutely no stewardship whatsoever by the water authorities in matters of the fishery,” says Caucci.

The Delaware River Basin Commission, a multi-state entity, is charged with overseeing the river system. Also to blame is the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which has extraordinary influence with the DRBC.

Protocols for water-release rates are spelled out in the so-called Flexible Flow Management Program, approved in 2007 by the commission.

FUDR has long been a critic of the program, which leads to heavy flows when trout need it least and a trickle when the fish need it most, like now and during heat waves. FUDR advocates a common-sense release plan that would benefit the wildlife as well as those who live on and visit the river for recreation.

The simple solution, supported by environmental groups and fishery experts, is a steady release of a minimum flow rate of about 600 cubic feet per second out of Cannonsville into the West Branch from April through September. For the past month, water was being released in a muddy torrent at nearly double that rate. As of Tuesday, the flow was measured at one-fifth of FUDR’s target rate.

Last year, FUDR gained assurances from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that any early-fall flow reductions would be done gradually to protect spawning trout.

“And now they close the spigot 90 percent overnight, without warning,” says Dan Plummer, FUDR’s board chairman. “It’s frustrating that our endless discussions with–and promises from–the water bureaucracy lead us right back where we started.”

FUDR has called upon the DRBC to devise a rational water-release plan. The organization is urging the river’s residents, fishing enthusiasts, those who use the river system for recreation, and those in the region who earn a living from outdoors tourism to contact their elected officials or the DRBC to let them know that they value a healthy river and oppose the flawed flow plan.

For photographs of the main stem Delaware River below Hancock, N.Y. that show some of the results of the sudden and unannounced drop in water release from Cannonsville Reservoir, visit www.fudr.org

American Shad Migration in the Delaware River: 2010

The biologist's at the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission released their annual American Shad Migration Report.  Findings show the shad run was the fourth highest since 1997.  Good news for a fish that has seen a decreasing trend taking place throughout its range from Florida to Nova Scotia. The decline that has been so bad that the fishery was completely closed this year in New York's Hudson River.

Interesting is the size of females shad have shrunk to 2.4 – 4.9 pounds or 17.1 – 22.2 inches.  This has the biologists scratching their heads. Possibilities include a combination of gear avoidance, more younger females from the 2007 year class as three year olds, natural mortality of larger females from the spawning population (i.e., the loss of the 2005 female year class as five-year-olds or they simply did not return to spawn this year), poor young of year survival from the record June 2006 flood, slow growth in the ocean, etc. In contrast, the size of males from the 2010 run were about the same as in past years.

Hopefully the shad run will continue to increase and we can look forward to seeing the abundant runs of the past.

Marcellus Shale Funding Support for Fish and Boat Commission Reccomended By Budget & Finance Committee

Harrisburg, PA - In releasing its triennial performance audit of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) recommended that the General Assembly “consider providing additional resources to the PFBC so it can continue to make efforts to protect water resources from potential degradation by Marcellus Shale drilling efforts.”

The LBFC audit specifically cited results from PFBC and state Department of Environmental Protection inspections which showed environmental and water quality problems. “These statistics suggest that, in all likelihood, Pennsylvania will continue to experience high rates of environmental, health, and safety violations at Marcellus Shale drilling sites,” the LBFC reported. “Given this new threat, we recommend the General Assembly take action…to ensure the PFBC…has sufficient resources to carry out its mission.”

PFBC Executive Director John Arway, testifying before the committee this morning, reminded lawmakers that the Commission relies almost entirely on fishing license sales, boat registration fees, and federal funding tied to fishing and boating to support everything it does.

“This includes trying to keep pace and stay ahead of the current and projected impacts of energy development to fishing and boating recreation and on the resources the PFBC is mandated to protect,” said Mr. Arway. “If the Commission received a portion of a severance tax, we would be in a much better position to work with industry and other agencies to ensure that aquatic resources are protected during the planning, development, and production of the Marcellus Shale natural gas field.”

Bringing attention to the ongoing debate in Harrisburg, Mr. Arway asked the legislature to take advantage of the “historic opportunity to allocate a portion of the proceeds to conservation and to dedicate a part of its revenues to the Commission to protect the future health of our aquatic resources and the fishing and boating recreation they provide.”

The Marcellus Shale drilling industry has come into Pennsylvania in full force and has substantially increased the responsibilities of conservation agencies like the PFBC. Since 2001, the PFBC has tripled the number of oil and gas well permit reviews it conducts each year, and Mr. Arway said his staff are struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing volume. Within the past year, PFBC staff also have conducted approximately 175 field views of gas well sites and have observed water quality degradation from a number of these facilities.

“This limited field presence is completely inadequate if we are expected to live up to the charge given to us by the General Assembly in 1909 to enforce water pollution laws and – just as importantly – to work with other agencies and the industry to try to prevent problems before they occur," Mr. Arway said.

Referring to the Commission’s formal response found in the appendix of the audit, PFBC Board of Commissioners President William Worobec explained that “we must diversify our funding streams if we are going to meet the growing expectations being placed on the Commission as we implement our mission on behalf of all Pennsylvanians, visiting anglers and boaters, and our fragile natural resources.”

The LBFC’s audit is available online at http://lbfc.legis.state.pa.us.

Fish & Boat Commission to Host Special Session on Marcellus Shale at Quarterly Meeting

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) will hold its fall quarterly meeting on Oct. 4-5 at the Genetti Hotel and Suites in Williamsport. In addition to the regular meeting, the PFBC will host a special public meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at the Genetti to discuss water quality issues surrounding the Marcellus Shale drilling industry.

 

The evening session allows members of the public who cannot attend during normal business hours the opportunity to hear about current issues and to interact with Commissioners, the executive director and agency staff.  Titled “Water Quality and Marcellus Shale: An Aquatic Resource Perspective,” the evening meeting will feature several guest speakers.

 

The agenda includes:

• Welcome - John Arway, PFBC Executive Director
• Pine Creek Water Dogs - Jerry Walls, Retired Director, Lycoming County Planning Commission
• In-Stream Data Loggers - Len Lichvar, District Manager, Somerset Conservation District and PFBC Commissioner
• Perspectives, Concerns, and Responses of a Municipal Water Supply - Walt Nicholson, Interim Executive Director, Williamsport Sanitary Authority and Williamsport Municipal Water Authority
• Fish and Boat Commission Roles, Observations, and Recommendations - Tom Kamerzel, PFBC Director of Law Enforcement, and Mark Hartle, Chief, Aquatic Resource Section, Division of Environmental Services, PFBC
• Closing Remarks - Bill Worobec, President, PFBC Board of Commissioners

Commission committees will meet beginning at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 4, and again at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5. Formal consideration of the agenda by the full Commission will begin at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5. All committee meetings and the formal meeting are open to the public.

 

Commissioners will address a variety of issues during Tuesday’s formal meeting, including property acquisitions in Huntingdon and Blair counties; boating regulation changes; and a final rulemaking order to prohibit the collection of live, freshwater mussels.

 

A complete copy of the meeting schedule and the full agenda for the meeting can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.fishandboat.com/minutes.htm.

 

The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.

Trout Unlimited’s NJ, NY and PA Councils Seek Federal Intervention to Manage the Delaware River

Bedminster, N.J. - Trout Unlimited’s (TU) New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania Councils are requesting that the federal government intercede to better manage the flows in the Delaware River system.

In order to ensure that a fair and equitable apportionment of the limited resources provided by the Upper Delaware system’s reservoirs is safely afforded to all Parties, Trout Unlimited has formed a three state council workgroup whose mission has been to review the cause & effect impacts to the upper Delaware Watershed.  This workgroup’s primary focus has been to review the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) Flexible Flow Management Program (which was established in 2007 as a means to regulate flows which dictate the amount of water within the Delaware Watershed) and insure the “program” is indeed providing the water needed for a well balanced watershed. 

“The FFMP as a model for water distribution is inadequate and has failed on several occasions over the past two plus years of its existence,” said Richard Thomas. Richard Thomas, the tri-state council chair for TU’s Delaware Conservation Workgroup “We have seen water levels drop and, as a result, expose critical aquatic wildlife and warm water conditions through areas of river which once ran cold, all while reservoir capacity levels are above normal,” Thomas said.

The three TU councils have developed a position paper called, “Root Causes” that spells out the reasons for this request for federal intervention. One reason is “over-drafting” taking more water than is needed, and “withholding,” retaining more water than is needed. Also, the paper addresses practices by New York City as the primary cause of release/flow issues from its dams that have been impacting the Delaware River for more than 40 years.

At issue is the “safe-yield,” that is, the measure of how much water can be continuously withdrawn as an out-of-basin diversion, from the system without causing a detrimental effect of the Upper Delaware system. It also looks at New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection and its inaccurate calculation of its water usage when determining the amount of water to release downstream from its three reservoirs.  It is the belief by the TU Councils that New York City has been overdrafting the system and inflating water usage estimates in order to hoard water.  The paper explains that this is adversely impacting the ecological health of the balance of the Delaware River and puts this national treasure at risk.

“Without intervention, these TU councils are concerned that the management of the Upper Delaware system will not change and thus the ecological conditions of the balance of the river will continue to deteriorate,” said Ron Urban, New York’s TU Council Chair.

 

2011 One Bug Dates Announced

The Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR) have selected April 29, 30 and May 1, 2011 as for the 2011 One Bug Fly Fishing Tournament on the Upper Delaware River.

Since the very first One Bug, three years ago, FUDR has raised over $150,000 slated specifically for spawning habitat improvements on the tributaries of the Upper Delaware River System. Work has been completed on both Sands and Cadosia Creeks with additional restorations and improvements planned in the near future.

To compete in the 2011 One Bug call Dan Plummer at 607-363-2001or email catskilldan@mac.com

Mismanagement of Upper Delaware River Again Imperils Trout

September 2, 2010

For more information:
Dan Plummer, FUDR chairman
catskilldan@mac.com
(607) 363-7848

Summer 2010 Crisis Alert No. 3:

The summer season is ending the way it began, with the upper Delaware River’s wild trout at peril from rising water temperatures. Government mismanagement of this precious natural resource is largely at fault.

Friends of the Upper Delaware River, a nonprofit environmental group, is again calling on officials to respond to this emergency by ordering additional releases of cold water from the New York City reservoirs that feed the river.

“We are going to relentlessly keep the pressure on the water bureaucracy until they use some common sense to deal with this recurring crisis,” said Al Caucci, FUDR vice president and a legendary flyfisherman, guide and author. “All they need to do is open the spigot to allow more life-sustaining cold water to flow from the reservoirs. There is plenty of water to go around.”

On Monday, as water temperatures on the river reached 70 degrees in places, the New York City reservoirs were 75 percent full overall, with Roundout at 94 percent of capacity and the Croton system at 86 percent.

Water temperatures were expected to go even higher as air temperatures in the Hancock, N.Y., area were forecast to reach the 90s through Thursday. The river stretch from Hancock downstream to Lordville, N.Y., is regarded as the heart of the Delaware’s wild trout fishery.

Trout are subjected to potentially lethal stress when water temperatures rise above 68 degrees. The aquatic insects essential to keeping the trout healthy are at risk, as well.

FUDR is issuing its third water temperature “Crisis Alert” of the summer. Temperature spikes in late May and a sustained heat wave after July 4th took a deadly toll on the brown and rainbow trout that thrived in the Delaware’s main stem for more than 100 years.

Caucci says it has become abundantly clear that this federally designated National Wild and Scenic River has been subjected to mismanagement by the Delaware River Basin Commission, the multi-state entity charged with overseeing the system. Also to blame is the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which has extraordinary influence with the DRBC.

Water temperatures are based largely on the volume of cold-water releases from the bottom of reservoirs, and protocols for the rates of release are spelled out in the so-called Flexible Flow Management Program, approved in 2007 by the commission.

FUDR has long been a critic of yo-yo water releases from the New York City reservoirs, which often flow heavy when trout need it least and are throttled down to a trickle when the fish need it most. FUDR advocates a common-sense release plan that would benefit the wildlife as well as those who live on and visit the river for recreation.

The simple solution, supported by environmental groups and fishery experts, is a steady release of water that will keep the water temperature below 68 degrees at Lordville.

FUDR and other interested parties have suggested a minimum flow rate of about 600 cubic feet per second out of Cannonsville Reservoir into the West Branch of the Delaware from April through September. Currently, the flow rate often is throttled back to about half that.

Even those who devised the flow plan now admit its shortcomings, but the water bureaucracy has refused to make the adjustments it knows are needed.

At the very least, the bureaucrats must devise a new water-release agreement that includes a rational emergency response mechanism to deal with these inevitable heat crises, or more preferably get a plan in place that actually works.

“It’s time, once and for all, to revamp and modernize the management plan to take into account the health of the river corridor, its fish life and the millions of folks who live here,” said Joe Demalderis, an upper Delaware River flyfishing guide and FUDR board member.

FUDR is urging the river’s residents, fishing enthusiasts, those who use the river system for recreation, and those in the region who earn a living from outdoors tourism to contact their elected officials or the DRBC to let them know that they value a healthy river and oppose the flawed flow plan.