Memorandum
Date: February 7, 2023
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Michael S. Green, District 4 Supervisor, Eddie “E.J.” Crandell, District 3 Supervisor
Subject: 1:30 P.M. - Consideration of Draft Proclamation declaring a Clear Lake Hitch Emergency.
Executive Summary:
The Clear Lake hitch, or chi, is a native fish species whose rapid population decline has been accelerated by the statewide drought emergency, competing water demands, legacy environmental impacts, predation by non-native fish, and many other complex factors. While the chi was listed as “threatened” in 2014 under the California Endangered Species Act, that listing and subsequent state, federal and local actions have not been sufficient to protect the fishery.
On Jan. 24, 2023, your board heard extensive written and oral testimony regarding the status of the Clear Lake hitch, along with concerns about some emergency actions proposed in recent weeks by native sovereign nations within Lake County, government agencies and commissions. Because that discussion spanned nearly five hours, covering multiple subjects, consideration of a draft emergency proclamation was continued by board consensus to the Feb. 7 board meeting. An updated draft incorporating feedback from multiple agencies and interested parties is attached for discussion purposes and possible action, along with the original draft version from Jan. 24. Another draft resolution, which removed all of the requests or “asks” found in the original draft, was circulated for discussion but is not presented here because it is not a preferred option.
Several attachments are included with this memo to provide background information, including all of the multimedia slides presented at the Jan. 24 meeting. The hearing is viewable on the county’s digital channels, including YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si7xIiWgE2c. No presentations are scheduled today, but some of the Jan. 24 presenters are planning to attend and may be available to answer questions. Additional public input is expected and encouraged.
Background: In April 2022, a stipulated agreement was filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, which settled litigation filed in 2021 by the Center for Biological Diversity (“Center”), an environmental advocacy organization, against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”). Under the terms of that settlement, USFWS agreed to reconsider its 2020 decision that listing the Clear Lake hitch as “endangered” was not warranted at that time. However, because USFWS is not expected to complete its review before January 2025, and given the dire picture painted by population data, concerns about the short-term viability of the species persist.
Following presentations to the California Fish and Game Commission by representatives of several native sovereign nations within Lake County, in November 2022 the commission’s president sent a letter to the USFWS director requesting the Clear Lake hitch be listed as “endangered” on an emergency basis. This request was expanded upon in a December 2022 letter sent by four native sovereign nations and the Center. While USFWS has not yet acted on the emergency listing requests, state and federal chi recovery efforts have accelerated rapidly:
On Dec. 8, 2022, an emergency summit was convened at Big Valley Rancheria through the cooperative efforts of native sovereign nations, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and state, federal and local agencies.
On Jan. 13, 2023, the county received a letter from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife requesting the county to take certain emergency actions.
On Jan. 19, the California Fish and Game Commission sent a letter expressing support for the Lake County Watershed Protection District’s participation in hitch recovery efforts. Among other requests, the commission asked the district to manage spring flows in Adobe Creek and to “formally acknowledge the emergency status of the Clear Lake hitch.”
On Jan. 25, the Blue Ribbon Commission for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake sent a letter to Gov. Newsom and other state and federal officials expressing its support for emergency efforts to save the Clear Lake hitch, including emergency listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, and offering to provide neutral, third-party facilitation services.
The State Water Resources Control Board has conducted several virtual and in-person “listening sessions” in Lake County, most recently on Feb. 1, as it weighs whether hitch-protective voluntary actions and/or emergency regulations are needed this year.
Certainly, it is encouraging to see new focus being applied to long-term chi recovery efforts, but it is concerning that no coordinated, short-term plan exists for the critical 2023 spawning season. While it is reasonable to expect that several chi-beneficial action items will come before your board in future weeks and months, the scope, purpose and total cost of those items is unknown. Further, the county is not able to instantly analyze or respond to the agency requests received, nor has the county identified resources to plan, fund and execute rapid-response chi activities.
Accordingly, the emergency proclamation before your board today does not pretend to address, much less answer, questions that have been raised regarding the roles and responsibilities of the County of Lake and the many departments, agencies and commissions that the county oversees. Rather, it attempts to provide broad direction to sister governmental agencies and other parties without committing them, or the county itself, to any specific plan, project or course of action. Most, if not all, of the proposed board requests have been vetted in consultation with agency representatives to ensure they are reasonable, actionable and limited in scope and purpose.
Emergency proclamations can be useful tools to draw attention and funding to important issues. The co-sponsors understand that the draft proclamation(s) presented today will be subject to discussion, debate and possible amendment by members of the board following public input. Whatever the outcome of that debate, we wish to thank everyone who contributed their ideas.
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Recommended Action:
a) Approve proclamation declaring a Clear Lake hitch emergency, as presented today with preferred, consensus language incorporating ideas and feedback from multiple sources, or
b) Approve proclamation declaring a Clear Lake hitch emergency, as presented originally with only minor modifications, or
c) Approve proclamation declaring a Clear Lake hitch emergency, as may be amended following public input and board discussion, or
d) Postpone consideration to a future date, or
e) Take no action