Tuolumne River is sick, and only higher flows can cure it

The Stanislaus Audubon Society fully appreciates the economic value of water to our region and especially the value of our priceless farmland. However, we have found it increasingly difficult to ignore the effects when water is diverted beyond amounts sustainable for native wildlife.

Some of our longtime members remember when bald eagles gathered near the town of La Grange to feast on expired salmon during the fall salmon runs. Today, those salmon runs are gone and perhaps lost forever.

While there is plenty of controversy about the causes of disappearing salmon runs, there is agreement that 80 percent of the water from the Tuolumne River is diverted for urban and agricultural use. Imagine suffering an 80 percent loss to agriculture, or cities, or business. We are stunned that so many people have argued that 20 percent flows are enough to sustain living rivers, including salmon runs.

We’re also dismayed that so many people have decided that natural flows are wasted because “They just flow out to sea.” The San Joaquin Delta is one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. It sustains farms, fisheries and recreational uses, and is critically important to the health of the San Francisco Bay.

Living rivers are also important to wetlands, and we have already lost over 90 percent of our wetlands to agricultural and urban development. Those who argue increased flows will mean pumping more groundwater ignore the recharge effects of increased flows and healthy wetlands on groundwater reserves.

Today’s Tuolumne is a sick river. It’s clogged with nonnative water hyacinths that thrive only in warm, slow-moving water. Sustainable flows are necessary so that native species aren’t crowded out by nonnative intruders.

Public trust doctrine requires that natural resources like water be shared equitably. That means there must be diverse use of the water by the various interests that comprise the public.

We also believe strongly our rivers must promote sustainable use. Those of us who visit foothills have been alarmed for years at the exponential expansion of almond orchards solely dependent on groundwater. The orchards have replaced rangeland that provided habitat for a wide range of native wildlife and especially for foraging raptors, including bald and golden eagles, prairie falcons and numerous hawk species.

Many of these orchards are planted next to reservoirs and rivers and pull water from those sources with deep wells and powerful pumps. Pumping groundwater also affects small lakes, ponds, streams and vernal pools that are necessary for native wildlife.

We don’t believe these almond orchards, despite their short-term boost to the Valley economy, represent sustainable use of our public resources.

Living rivers are necessary for sustainable ecosystems, and sustainable ecosystems are necessary for a sustainable economy. We ruin our rivers at the expense of our future quality of life.

Audubon members have learned from over a century of firsthand observation that our mission to protect birds and nature necessarily involves an understanding of the web of life. Rivers and fish are vitally necessary strands in that intricate web.

This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Tuolumne River is sick, and only higher flows can cure it."