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Coho Salmon Big Creek Lumber Co v. County of Santa Cruz Steelhead Trout

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Coho Salmon South of San Francisco

In 1995 the California Fish and Game Commission listed coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) south of San Francisco as endangered. The following year the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; NOAA Fisheries) listed the Central California coast coho salmon evolutionary significant unit (ESU) as a threatened species.

Recent scientific and historical research has raised serious questions concerning the historical origin of coho salmon south of San Francisco and their ability to naturally maintain populations here even under the best natural conditions. An independent review, Were Coho Salmon South of San Francisco Ever Native, Indigenous?, has confirmed the validity of this research. CCFA believes Central Coast residents should not be held accountable for the failure of an otherwise nonendangered species to survive in nonnative, fringe habitat. Nor do we believe California taxpayers should be forced to spend over $250 million to recover an unrecoverable species that has never maintained a presence here without hatchery support. Despite the obvious benefit to those on the receiving end of this money, efforts to establish self-sustaining coho salmon populations south of San Francisco will continue to fail much as they have for the last 100 years. In addition, since coho salmon south of San Francisco coexist and compete with the native steelhead, artificial coho salmon habitat enhancement efforts will likely have detrimental effects on our local ecology. CCFA is opposed to repeating the government's misguided wildlife management mistakes of the past.

CCFA is dedicated to bringing you the latest information as it becomes available.

2010: The National Marine Fisheries Service presented a public workshop on Central California Coast coho recovery plan.

2010: Salmon Rules Changes

2006: Comments Regarding the Impending NMFS Central California Coast Coho Salmon Recovery Strategy submitted by Fabian Alvarado 3 April 2006.

2006: Complaint Regarding NMFS/NOAA Fisheries' Failure to Comply with the Law by Reaching a Decision After 90 Days Concerning Our November 6, 2003 Petition. Submitted by James Buchal 12 January 2006.

2005: CCFA and Big Creek Lumber Company vs. California Fish and Game Commission, Answer to Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Complaint for Declaratory Judgment submitted by California Fish and Game Commission 28 December 2005.

2005: Letter to Russ Strach, Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Region. Submitted by James Buchal 5 December 2005.

2005: Fax from Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project Big Creek (Kingfisher Flat) Hatchery manager, Dave Streig, acknowledging some of the erroneous conclusions reached by Pete Adams, Fisheries Branch Chief, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz Laboratory, regarding early coho populations south of San Francisco. 29 November 2005.

2005: CCFA and Big Creek Lumber Company vs. California Fish and Game Commission Verified Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Complaint for Declaratory Judgment submitted by CCFA 4 November 2005.

2005: Response to NOAA Fisheries Bureaucrat, Craig Wingert, Regarding His Failed Committment to Accept Our Petition submitted by James Buchal 11 October 2005.

2005: Email from NOAA Fisheries Bureaucrat, Craig Wingert, Reneging on His Prior Committment to Accept Our Petition. 5 October 2005.

2005: Freedom of Information Act Response but still no evidence that coho are native to coastal streams south of San Francisco. 8 September 2005.

2005: Freedom of Information Act Request submitted by Peter Twight to Craig Wingert, Fishery Management Specialist, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Region 28 July 2005.

2005: California Forestry Association et. al vs. California Fish and Game Commission Regarding Illegal CESA Listing of Coho Salmon in California. 28 June 2005.

2005: NOAA Fisheries, Santa Cruz Laboratory Second Review of the November 6, 2003 Petition from Homer T. McCrary Concerning Coho Salmon South of San Francisco and Response submitted by Homer T. McCrary to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 10 May 2005.

2005: Another human casualty of the coho salmon south of San Francisco Endangered Species Act listing. The Sierra Club strikes again, using bogus "endangered species" to bankrupt responsible citizens... not exactly what you thought your donation was being used for. 19 February 2005.

2005: Were Coho Salmon South of San Francisco Ever Native, Indigenous? Testimony of V. W. Kaczynski, Ph.D. Before the California Fish and Game Commission. 3 February 2005.

2005: The CDFG Review of the June 17, 2004 Petition to Delist Coho Salmon South of San Francisco and our Response submitted by Big Creek Lumber Co. and the Central Coast Forest Association to the California Fish and Game Commission. 26 January 2005.

2005: Unanswered Letter Regarding Pete Adams' Second Review of November 6, 2003 Petition Concerning Coho Salmon South of San Francisco submitted by Homer T. McCrary to Pete Adams, Fisheries Branch Chief, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz Laboratory 18 January 2005.

2004: Letter Regarding November 12, 2004 Telephone Conversation With Rodney McInnis, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Region submitted by Homer T. McCrary to Rodney McInnis, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Region 2 December 2004.

2004: Inquiry Regarding Postponed Determination As To Whether Petitioned Action is Warranted submitted by Homer T. McCrary to Craig Wingert, Fishery Management Specialist, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Region 2 December 2004.

2004: Inquiry Regarding Determination Whether Petitioned Action is Warranted submitted by Homer T. McCrary to Craig Wingert, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Region 12 November 2004.

2004: What is an Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU)?

2004: Addendum to Response to NOAA Fisheries, Santa Cruz Laboratory, review of November 6, 2003 petition concerning coho salmon south of San Francisco submitted by Homer T. McCrary to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 25 October 2004.

2004: NOAA Fisheries, Santa Cruz Laboratory Review of the November 6, 2003 Petition from Homer T. McCrary Concerning Coho Salmon South of San Francisco and Response submitted by Homer T. McCrary to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 19 October 2004.

2004: CRFM's Distortion of NOAA Coho Salmon Genetic Research Findings by Robert O. Briggs. 30 June 2004.

2004: A Petition to the California Fish and Game Commission to Redefine the Southern Boundary of the Central California Coast Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Evolutionary Significant Unit submitted by Big Creek Lumber Co. and the Central Coast Forest Association. 17 June 2004.

2004: Were Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) South of San Francisco Ever Native, Indigenous? by V. W. Kaczynski, Ph.D., Certified Fisheries Scientist Emeritus. 24 April 2004.

2004: Addendum to the Petition to Redefine the Southern Extent of the Central California Coho ESU, Submitted to NOAA Fisheries on November 6, 2003 by Homer T. McCrary. Submitted to NOAA Fisheries 6 February 2004.

2004: Followup Letter to Response to Comments on the Draft Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon by Homer T. McCrary. Submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission 30 January 2004 .

2004: Addendum to Memorandum Concerning Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon (CDFG, 2003) With Regard to Coastal Streams South of San Francisco Submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission on December 18, 2003 by Homer T. McCrary. Submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission 22 January 2004.

2003: Memorandum Concerning Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon (CDFG, 2003) With Regard to Coastal Streams South of San Francisco by Homer T. McCrary. Submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission 18 December 2003.

2003: Petition to Redefine the Southern Extent of the Central California Coho ESU by Homer T. McCrary. Submitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 6 November 2003.

2003: Captain Edgar (Ned) Wakeman and the Coho Salmon of the Central California Coast by Fabian Alvarado.

2003: Recommendation to the Scotts Creek Watershed Council Regarding Frediani's Critique of the 2002 CCFA Petition by Robert O. Briggs.

2003: Coho Salmon South of San Francisco: Indigenous or Not? An opposing mindset by Jodi Frediani.
Jodi Frediani is the Executive Director of Citizens for Responsible Forest Management (CRFM) and the Chair of the Forestry Task Force of the Sierra Club's Ventana Chapter. For this and more benighted proselytism please see the CRFM website: http://www.crfm.org

2002: Summary of the CCFA 2002 Petition to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; NOAA Fisheries) to Correct the Southern Boundary of the California Central Coast Coho Salmon ESU by Robert O. Briggs.

2002: Petition to Correct the Southern Boundary of the Central California Coho ESU by CCFA.
This is the original petition to delist which makes a strong case based on the data available at the time.

1993: A Petition to the State of California Fish and Game Commission by Dave Hope.
This collection of errors and fabricated misstatements, submitted by the Santa Cruz County Fish and Game Advisory Commission, is the petition by which the California Fish and Game Commission listed Coho Salmon south of San Francisco as endangered.