Memorandum
Date: January 10, 2023
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Michael S. Green, District 4 Supervisor
Eddie “E.J.” Crandell, District 3 Supervisor
Subject: Consideration of Proclamation Declaring the Existence of a Local Emergency Due to Persistent Drought, Habitat Loss and Potential Extinction of Clear Lake Hitch
Executive Summary:
On Dec. 8, 2022, an emergency summit was convened at Big Valley Rancheria through the cooperative efforts of local tribes, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other state and federal agencies. The subject of the summit was the Clear Lake hitch, or chi, a native fish species whose rapid decline has been accelerated by the drought emergency, competing water demands, legacy environmental impacts, predation by non-native fish, and other complex factors.
Evidence of the Clear Lake hitch’s precarious state was presented in great detail by tribal council members, elders and staff. While efforts to improve the health of Clear Lake and its sensitive fish populations are ongoing, those assorted efforts span multiple agencies and revenue streams. Short-term programs, inter-agency partnerships and/or funding sources that can be immediately utilized to protect the chi’s 2023 spawning season are not easily identified or accessed. While the chi was listed as “threatened” in 2014 under the California Endangered Species Act, that listing and subsequent state/federal/local actions have not been sufficient to protect the fishery.
In late 2022, four of Lake County’s sovereign nations, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the California Fish and Game Commission petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) to list the Clear Lake hitch as being “endangered” on an emergency basis. These requests followed an April 2022 stipulated settlement agreement and federal court order, under which FWS agreed to reconsider its 2020 decision <https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-12-03/pdf/2020-26139.pdf> that listing the chi as “endangered” under the federal Endangered Species Act was not warranted at that time. The calls for emergency listing arose because FWS is not expected to complete its review and make a new listing decision before January 2025.
While the intergovernmental consultations that took place at the Dec. 8 summit were important, by their nature they precluded participation by the general public and interested stakeholders. This item is brought forward to inform the board of important Clear Lake hitch developments, to facilitate public input and discussion, and to consider what emergency actions may be necessary as the 2023 hitch spawning season nears. As was noted at the summit, federal listing of the species is not necessary to initiate immediate protective actions at the state and local levels.
A draft proclamation declaring a Clear Lake hitch emergency is presented for discussion and possible approval. As presented here, the proclamation asks FWS to not list the Clear Lake hitch as “endangered” while that agency’s re-evaluation process continues. Instead, the resolution proposes a multi-jurisdictional call to acknowledge the chi emergency and take appropriate measures; to rank and prioritize projects and funding sources to support chi repopulation; to assess enforcement and compliance of existing laws and regulations; and to encourage robust discussion and public participation as the county and its partners consider next steps. The proclamation can be amended, if desired, to indicate support or neutrality for emergency listing.
Four attachments are included with this memo to provide background information:
• April 14, 2022, stipulated settlement agreement and federal court order directing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-evaluate its prior conclusion that listing of the Clear Lake hitch as “endangered” was “not warranted” at the time (December 2020).
• Oct. 12, 2022, slide presentation by California Department of Fish and Wildlife staff at Fish and Game Commission meeting.
• Nov. 3, 2022, letter from California Fish and Game Commission president to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director seeking emergency listing of Clear Lake hitch.
• Dec. 5, 2022, letter from the Center for Biological Diversity and four Lake County tribes to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director seeking emergency listing of Clear Lake hitch.
Two presenters have been tentatively scheduled to provide information and answer questions:
• Sarah Ryan, environmental director/emergency management director for the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians.
• Erik Ekdahl, deputy director, Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board.
County staff also will be on hand to answer questions, subject to availability.
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Recommended Action: Offer the resolution.