Update - 10/30/25 - What's at Stake on the Lower Yuba River
By Peter Burnes, Gold Country Fly Fishers Conservation Committee
To all conservationists and people concerned about the Lower Yuba River,
Below are a few updates on efforts to save the Lower Yuba River Wild Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout sanctuary from unmitigated predation by introduced striped bass.
First, please note that there is a new email address will be used for facilitating communications. Replies and emails sent to this address will be seen and addressed by either Frank Rinella or Peter Burnes within a few days.
Next, the Daguerre Point Dam Nature Like Fishway Information Center website hosted by Gold Country Fly Fishers is launched. Please check it out here: Gold Country Fly Fishers DPD-NLF Information Page
Click on one of the tabs on the website to see content. This is very much a work in progress, so please be patient. You will be informed by email when significant new content is added. Also, please send suggestions or website problems to this email address: saveyubafish@gmail.com
Most important, the first draft of what the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is now calling a ‘Position Paper’ has been released for comment to the ‘Pre- and Post- Project Monitoring Technical Team’ which (as of this past June) includes Frank Rinella, Peter Burnes, Wilton Fryer, and Roger Bloom (‘Yuba stakeholders representatives’ for lack of a better title). The draft document is an important milestone, but is only a small step toward the goal of convincing project leaders to adopt a strong goal for the Nature Like Fishway (NLF) project to effectively address predation issues created by the project.
The draft paper reveals the expected lack of knowledge about Yuba specific predation issues and the significant uncertainties about future outcomes faced by the project and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed fish that rely on the Yuba for survival. The draft paper briefly addresses knowledge gaps and information needs, which is also an important step for CDFW to take because, until now, these gaps and information needs have not been specifically acknowledged in any formal way.
Discussion of the paper will occur with the Technical Team early next week and you will receive a brief report out via this email address. If you have time to dive in deep, the ‘Yuba stakeholders representatives’ need substantive review and comment on the draft ‘Position Paper’ to bring forward to the Technical Team in October. CDFW has requested that comments be consolidated together so if you would like to contribute edits, comments, or suggestions, please request a copy of the draft by sending a separate email to this address: saveyubafish@gmail.com
The primary audience for this paper are the NLF project leaders from CDFW, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Yuba Water Agency. While the paper will inform discussions about a predation management goal, it is not in any way the goal in and of itself. The simple fact is that ‘Predation of juveniles’ is a well known ‘key stressor’ on ESA listed fish on the lower Yuba and the NLF project currently has no stated intent (goal) to address it.
Publication of the draft ‘Position Paper’ does not reveal much about what project leaders will propose as a goal or how amenable they will be to adopting a strong goal statement to guide the NLF project to successfully address the predation threats.
Stay tuned! Much will be learned in the next few weeks, and face-to-face discussions with project leaders are expected in early November. Your support for a good outcome will be needed at some point in November when the direction of the discussions about a strong goal will finally be known.
Thank you for your support,
Peter Burnes, GCFF Conservation Committee