AB 263 Advances in the Legislature

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, AB 263 passed out of the California Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife. The bill was introduced by Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) and sponsored by the Karuk Tribe, Yurok Tribe, and California Coast Keeper Alliance. The bill would maintain emergency flow regulations on the Scott and Shasta Rivers while a permanent flow standard is developed in coming years. 

“The Scott and Shasta Rivers are historically two of most productive salmon streams in California,” notes Karuk Vice Chairman Kenneth Brink, “but excessive diversions and groundwater pumping is slowly destroying the native salmon and trout populations.”

The Scott and Shasta Rivers are in Siskiyou County, and enter the Klamath River a few miles downstream from where the world’s largest dam removal took place last year. “Dam removal creates an unprecedented opportunity to restore the third largest salmon producing watershed in the lower 48 states,” said Yurok fisherman and policy consultant Frankie Myers. “If we want to take advantage of the opportunity, we must keep water in key tributaries where salmon spawn and rear, places like the Scott and Shasta Rivers”

Reports from the 1930s describe over 80,000 salmon returning to the Shasta River alone. Last year only 4,944 Chinook in the Shasta River returned. During recent drought years Governor Newsom declared an emergency in the Klamath Basin, giving Tribes and fishermen an opportunity to petition the State Water Board to set mandatory flows based on the best available science, curtailing diverters if flows not met. With the wet winter the drought emergency is set to expire, however the fishery crisis remains.

“Salmon are the lifeblood of the North Coast. They are a keystone species that keep our ecosystems healthy and fuel our historic fishing industry. They also hold great cultural significance for tribes in the region. AB 263 helps mainta in the momentum of the Klamath River restoration so that salmon have a home to come back to and spawn,” said Assemblymember Chris Rogers, author of the bill.

“Governor Newsom called for mandatory flows in the Scott and Shasta as part of the state-wide salmon recovery plan. This bill would keep the emergency flows in place while the water board slowly works through a long-term flow setting process. Unless flow protections remain in place while the water board works on long term flow requirements, there won’t be any fish left to save,” said Nathaniel Kane, an attorney with the Environmental Law Foundation who represents the Karuk Tribe and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

Groups heaped praise on freshman assembly member Rogers for introducing the legislation. “Assemblyman Rogers understands the importance of wild salmon to the Tribal members and fishermen in his district. We greatly appreciate his leadership on this issue,” concluded Myers.

“Today’s vote is one important step, in the midst of an existing process, to get us to long-term flow regulations before salmon go extinct in the Scott and Shasta rivers, “ said Sean Bothwell, Executive Director for the California Coastkeeper Alliance. 

“The Scott and Shasta Rivers are essential to the overall health of the Klamath River. When these important tributaries are out of balance, it negatively influences the interconnected river ecosystem and all of the species that rely on it,” said Joseph L. James, the Chairman of the Yurok Tribe.

“Ensuring basic protections for some of the most critical salmon waterways in California is crucial to advancing progress on water rights for all. Protecting these rivers means safeguarding sites of cultural significance and biodiversity in our state,” said Marquis Mason, Advocacy Partnership Coordinator, California Environmental Voters. “AB 263 is a common-sense effort to build on righting historical wrongs and fiercely protecting the health of our ecosystems.”

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