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Endangered Species Spotlight: Ozark Hellbender

October 26, 2012 By 2 Comments
ozark hellbender1 300x200 Endangered Species Spotlight: Ozark Hellbender

courtesy of Kory G. Roberts

What is it?

The Ozark Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) is one of the world’s largest salamanders.  It can reach lengths of nearly two feet long!  Yet despite its size, the Hellbender is a sensitive salamander that can live only in clean, clear rivers of the Ozarks. One of the most distinct features of the Hellbender is the fleshy folds along its sides, which provide more surface area for it to breathe underwater.  It absorbs oxygen through the frills under its side folds and needs high dissolved oxygen levels found in cold streams to survive.

Where does it live?

The Ozark Hellbender lives in a few counties in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, preferring the cold waters of the Current and Jacks Fork rivers.  It requires areas with swift moving water and irregularly shaped rocks to hide and breed. These salamanders are habitat specialists, requiring very strict conditions for survival.  They are predator and prey in their environment.

How many are there left?

One of the biggest threats the Hellbender faces is degradation of suitable habitat.  Their habitat is affected by siltation, sedimentation, water pollution, dams and other obstacles that block their migratory routes and cause water quality to decrease.  They are also affected by certain diseases and specimen collection.  The Ozark Hellbender was listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 5, 2011 (www.fws.gov).  It is estimated that there are fewer than 600 hellbenders left in the wild.

What can we do to help protect it?

There are many ways we can all help protect the Ozark Hellbender.  Discourage anyone from taking specimens for collection.  This has led to a decline in some cases.  You can also report pollution violations in areas where the hellbenders are known to reside.  Sediment buildup from roads is one of the largest causes of water pollution in the Ozarks.  If you have roads on your property, make sure there is a buffer between the roads and creeks nearby so that sediment does not run off into the creeks during storms.  You can also volunteer with local organizations to help clean up natural areas where you live to improve habitat.  Also, do not let oil and other fluids from your vehicles leak on roadways because these eventually end up in streams and rivers.  Lastly, you can use less toxic chemicals for garden and home care that are safe for wildlife and practice permaculture when possible.  Together we can make a huge difference!!!

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Endangered species spotlight: ivory billed woodpecker

October 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ivory billed woodpecker 300x168 Endangered species spotlight: ivory billed woodpeckerThe endangered ivory-billed woodpecker holds a special place in my heart. It inhabited the same wetlands in which I spent a large amount of time as a child duck hunting with my father. The decline of this magnificent bird during the late 1800′s and early 1900′s is mostly attributed to the timber industry and its expansion after the Civil War. Before this time, the delta regions of the South were blanketed by millions of acres of bottom land forests.  This area, called the Big Woods, is also known as the “Amazon of North America.” Today, only small fragments of these forests remain leaving little space for the ivory-billed woodpecker to make its home.

The woodpecker enjoys eating beetle larvae, which can be found in the trunks of decaying trees in such bottom land forests. Amazingly, bird collectors in the post Civil War era also prided themselves on collecting these woodpeckers, a factor that also contributed to their decline.

The woodpecker was first sighted again in 2004 in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in the Big Woods region of Arkansas.  Some people still believe that the sighting was a hoax, but there is significant audio evidence which suggests that the bird may still be flying the bayous of the Big Woods.  Less than 10 percent of the old growth forests in this region remain today.  Much of this land is now covered with agricultural fields that produce rice, soybean and cotton among other crops.  Bears, panthers and wolves once roamed these dense forests. The sighting of the woodpecker has provided much fuel for efforts to preserve the remaining forests in this area.

Ivory-billed woodpeckers mate for life and each pair needs about ten square miles of uncut forest to live. There are few areas of the South left with that much uncut forest where these birds can inhabit.  Habitat fragmentation from development is one of the largest causes of decline in suitable habitat for the woodpecker.  Other culprits include the extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers for agricultural and other applications, alterations in the hydrology of its habitat via dams, levees and channelization.

One of the most important things you can do to help the recovery of this bird, if they do still exist, is to spread knowledge about it.  One of the biggest threats to its habitat and habitat for other sensitive species in the mid-South and deep South are the expansion of the timber industry.  You can help on an individual level by buying lumber is that is responsibly sourced and for which you know the source of the lumber.  Also, check out the National Audubon Society‘s work as well as Ducks Unlimited in their efforts to preserve areas that may provide habitat for such species.

 

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Endangered species spotlight: California tiger salamander

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

cal tiger salamander Endangered species spotlight: California tiger salamanderThe California tiger salamander is a stocky, colorfully spotted salamander that enjoys vernal pools found in California’s grasslands and small streams for breeding.  They do not breed in years where there is not enough rainfall.  This salamander is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  In Sonoma County, the expansion of housing and other development projects threatens 95% of the tiger salamander’s habitat. Most of their populations in the central valley have been eliminated by development and agriculture.

Burrowing amphibians

The health of tiger salamander populations is also threatened by the use of pesticides in and upstream of areas of their habitat.  Due to their sensitivity to chemicals such as pesticides, salamanders are good indicators of the overall ecological health of an area.  The absence of native tiger salamanders is a good indicator of poor ecological health.  Tiger salamanders rely on the burrows of ground squirrels, gophers and other burrowing critters for shelter.  They spend most of their lives underground. The elimination of these ground squirrels due to concerns about their effect on cattle grazing is a threat to native tiger salamander populations.

Don’t smash me!

The best time to spot a tiger salamander is during the rainy season (November to May) when they make their mass migrations to vernal pools for breeding.  Unfortunately, they often have to cross roads, which leaves them vulnerable to traffic when they are making their way to vernal pools at night.

Predation by non-native bullfrogs and hybridization are additional threats to California tiger salamanders.  According to one study, when non-native tiger salamanders breed with native tiger salamanders, the hybrid offspring survive in higher numbers than the native offspring.

That is my wetland, buddy!

In August of 2011, with the diligent legal efforts of the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 47,383 acres as revised critical habitat for the California tiger salamander in Sonoma County.  This decision still left out important pieces of their habitat, but it was a big step in the right direction for the survival of the California tiger salamander.

How you can help

There are many things that we can do to help improve and preserve habitat for the California tiger salamander. We can use less water for showers, washing dishes and watering plants by always turning the faucet/hose off when we are not using it.  Less residential water use means more water for rivers and wetlands that provide habitat for native tiger salamanders.  One way to be sure where your food comes is to know your farmer.  Knowing your farmer also gives you information on whether the farmer uses chemicals on his/her crops.  Pesticides pollute streams and wetlands in which tiger salamanders live.  You can also help out this salamander by donating time and/or money to organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity that are working hard to secure habitat for endangered species such as the California tiger salamander.

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Endangered species spotlight: northern spotted owl

March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
northern spotted owl1 Endangered species spotlight: northern spotted owl

courtesy of USGS

The northern spotted owl is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  It inhabits the old growth forests of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.  Studies estimate that there are fewer than 2,360 pairs of these owls left on earth.

 

 

 

 

Silent Raptors

These owls are adept predators and the have a distinct flight pattern that allows them to sneak up on their prey.  They also have special feathers that are serrated like a comb at the edge, which reduces turbulence thus reducing sound.  They have large wings that allow them to flap less making less noise in flight.  These features combine to make the owl a stealthy hunter.

Owls vs. jobs

The northern spotted owl is a symbol of the larger conflict that exists between balancing economic opportunities with the preservation of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. These owls like to make their homes in the cavities of large, broken or hollowed out trees that are more prevalent in old-growth forests.  Such forests provide cool and damp conditions preferred by the owls and are home to their favorite food source, small mammals.

These owls are an indicator species for old-growth forests.  This means that they give us a larger picture of the health of the ecosystem in which they live.  If the owls become extinct it is a good indicator that the health of their forest ecosystems are declining.

Good decisions

On March 7, 1991, U.S. District Court judge William Dwyer made a decision to block all logging in old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest.  This was a monumental victory for the habitat of the northern spotted owl, but a harsh blow for the timber industry in this part of the country.  The argument between environmentalists and the timber industry was often coined “owls vs. jobs.”  This is a familiar argument.  It represents the larger battle between balancing economic development with environmental conservation.

Do we really need more wood?

This conflict is often seen as a zero sum situation: if we preserve more forest, this automatically means fewer jobs for people in the timber industry.  However, there are many other options for jobs.  One possibility is to create organizations that offer jobs in conservation to those that lose their jobs in the timber industry.  These could be positions that help manage the forest sustainably rather than just cutting it all down.  Tourism is also another possibility.  There are many possibilities for tourist ventures such as eco-resorts, retreat centers and camps that would have much less impact on the forest ecosystems and provide good jobs for people who live in these areas.  It only requires some flexibility and ingenuity on our behalf.  Change in our culture and our economy is inevitable.  We control the direction of change.

How we can all help

Our decisions impact not only our well-being as the dominant species on this planet, but also the well-being and survival of many other species like the spotted owl that have no voice other than a soft cry only heard in the canopies of the largest and oldest trees in the world.  There are ways that we can all help ensure the health of owl habitat.  One of the easiest things we can do is buy sustainably certified wood and/or use old/recycled lumber for building projects. We can also contribute to organizations such as the Nature Conservancy that are working to preserve habitat for northern spotted owls.

 

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Top ten ideas to reverse climate change

March 5, 2012 By 1 Comment
grab a paddle Top ten ideas to reverse climate change

Now that is a paddle!

After a bit of brainstorming,  I have come up with a short list of interesting ways that we can turn around the trend of climate change.

1. Drive golf carts: if everyone drove solar-powered golf carts, the demand for fossil fuels would decline rapidly.  Also, most golf carts have a maximum speed of about 20-25 mph.  It would be very difficult to be in a hurry if everyone were driving golf carts.  This would lead to a more leisurely and pleasant lifestyle as well as reduced carbon emissions. This may seem like an unrealistic goal, but several communities have already adopted this practice.

2. Walk barefoot: walking without shoes will make you reconsider how important and necessary concrete is.  I was in Hawaii years ago talking with a guy that was born there and somehow we got on the topic of concrete.  He said, “yeah that stuff is so hard, it will break your feet.” Then I started thinking about all the locals I had seen walking and hiking barefoot and it began to make sense.  Of course, one has to be careful about walking barefoot because there are so many sharp things that we might cut our feet on.  Less concrete means more soil, which can store more carbon.

3. Let your kids play in the dirt: nature deficit disorder is becoming a serious threat to the health of many children. One easy way to fix this problem is by encouraging your kids to play outside and get dirty.  You will find that most kids prefer playing outside to video games and tv once they get used to it.  Also, playing outside requires no electricity.

4. Build something out of old materials: this is a green and creative challenge.  One of my favorite things to build out of old materials are treehouses.  Instead of buying new lumber to build a treehouse, scour the neighborhood for old boards and other building materials to make a tree hideaway.

6.  Go hunting: hunting may seem primitive and barbaric to some people, but for those that eat meat, killing one’s own food can be a very connecting experience.  Factory-farmed meats uses lots of energy, water and chemicals to produce the delicacies that we buy in the grocery store.  When you have to hunt, kill and clean your own food you become more aware of what is involved in eating meat and use fewer resources doing so.

7. Pee outside: peeing outside saves water and energy and it is fun if no one is watching.  According to the American Water Works Research Foundation, flushing the toilet accounts for 26.7% of total daily residential water use.  It is most likely the single largest use of water in your home.  This means that if everyone pees outside half of the time, we could save about 2.4 billion gallons of water every day in the United States!!!  Imagine how many wetlands could be restored with this saved water.  Wetlands store more carbon than any other form of vegetation and thus greatly help reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. They also provide habitat for thousands of different plant and animal species!

8. Buy local food: local food uses less energy for transportation and growing than food shipped over long distances.  Some studies estimate that the current industrial food production system uses 7-10 calories of energy to produce just one calorie of food.  We can use of energy much more efficiently by buying local food, which requires less fossil fuels to transport the food.

9. Plant a native tree: native trees are adapted to local climate conditions and water availability.  This means that they use less water, provide shade, hold soil in place to prevent erosion and capture carbon dioxide from the air, which decreases the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.  Planting a tree is also a very real and rewarding experience that has benefits for years to come.

10. Grab a paddle: if you are thinking about an outing on the water, try a canoe instead of a powerboat.  There are many things you can do in a canoe (fishing, whitewater, lounging) and it is good exercise.  Canoes do not use any gas or oil so they do not contribute to greenhouse gases. You will be surprised at how much more you take in your surroundings while riding in a canoe compared to a faster, gas-powered boat.

I would love to hear about your ideas to reverse climate change. Please send them to me!

 

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Endangered species spotlight: California red-legged frog, el mariachi

March 2, 2012 By 1 Comment

California red legged frog Endangered species spotlight: California red legged frog, el mariachiThe California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is currently listed as endangered.  It is found primarily in the state of California.  This was frog was made famous for its mention in Mark Twain’s short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

 

 

Froggy serenades

The male red-legged frogs arrive early at the breeding grounds in groups to serenade the females with their guttural grunts.  For this reason, the title of this blog post has the phrase “el mariachi” at the end. They are the mariachis of the amphibian world.

Red-legged frogs enjoy the shade.  They cannot tolerate excessive heat and they like to hang out in ponds and streams with slow-moving water.  The population of red-legged frogs has decreased significantly in recent decades and they are now reported in only 238 streams in California. The frog has disappeared from 70 percent of its original range.  Amphibians such as the red-legged frog are good indicators of ecosystem health.  The fact that this frog population is in decline reflects the declining health of many wetlands and streams which it inhabits.

Adiós wetlands

The main threats to red-legged frogs include habitat loss, predation by invasive American bullfrogs and dwindling water resources due to increased demand for water from human activities. California has lost an estimated 90 percent of its original wetlands.  Most of this loss is due to increased water use by irrigation and energy generation.

Your call to action

There are many simple ways we can all help save critical habitat for endangered species like the red-legged frog.  We can decrease our personal water consumption by turning the water off when we are not using it, taking shorter showers, watering plants with recycled water, use a water catchment system and we can buy food that is grown locally and organically to decrease water and energy used in transportation and growing of food.   Many organizations in California are working to help conserve habitat for the red-legged frog. They include the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many others like the Sonoma Land Trust and Pepperwood Preserve.

Watch this cool video of a red-legged frog gobbling up an earthworm with its quick tongue!

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Laissez les bon temps rouler

March 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

buffalo river 300x147 Laissez les bon temps roulerRites of passage are one of the most important occurrences in children’s lives.  Often the most meaningful rites are those that involve a deep connection with the natural world.  I had an arduous rite of passage one summer on the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas.

 

Silly plastic toys

I had just acquired my driver’s license a few months before and was eager to strike out into the wild.  My brother and I loaded up my GMC Jimmy with what I thought were adequate supplies and made our way to my friend Jeff’s house to pick him up for the journey. We stopped at a sports store and bought an inflatable kayak.  I had little experience with paddling and thus did not realize the uselessness of an inflatable kayak, but would soon find out the hard way.

Nutritious camp meals

We arrived at the Buffalo River campground late in the afternoon and made a fire for our hot dogs.  After a satisfying meal of hot dogs, marshmallows and Coca-Cola, we tried to set our sleeping quarters in the back of my SUV.  For some reason, I thought we could all fit comfortably in the back of it.  It never got below 85 degrees that night and we got very little sleep.

The next morning, we rented a funyak from a canoe rental shop and hopped in the car with an old Cajun man that shuttled us to the launch point up the river.  He told us dirty jokes that we mostly did not understand and when he left us at the boat launch the last thing he said was, “Laissez les bon temps rouler.”  I did not know what he meant, but no words could have been further from the reality of our river journey.

Delivered

We quickly realized that the inflatable kayak was not fit for the river.  You could not move it forward by paddling.  It had to just float with the current, which was non-existent at several places in the river.  After two or three arduous miles of dragging the kayak over rocks and unwrapping it from trees in the river, we stopped for lunch.  We had plenty of sandwiches and fruit bars until we flipped the kayak after lunch and the entire contents of our cooler went floating down the Buffalo River.  The sun was setting, we had ten more miles to go with a lot of still water and the only sustenance we had left was a single Nutrigrain bar between three people.

We tried to sleep on a sandbar in the river that night without any sleeping bags or tents.  I managed to curl up on the kayak while my brother and friend slept on a tarp spread out over the large rocks.  The one time I did manage to drift off a bit, I woke up to find a black widow spider on my leg.  Fortunately, it did not bite.  We were hours away from the nearest medical facility.

The home stretch

The next day was one of the most difficult of my life.  I had to drag the kayak with my large, lazy friend in it across ten miles of shallow rocky river on a completely empty stomach.  It took us all day and when we finally reached the launch point where my vehicle was parked, the only thing I could think about was FOOD!

As we made our way back south to my house, we heard on a local radio station that there was an escaped serial killer roaming the wilderness area very close to where we were camping.  Fortunately, we never saw him.  We had nothing to defend ourselves with on the river save the large rocks all around us.

Your call to action

This trip was rite of passage for us.  It taught us the value of preparation and knowing the river conditions that we would encounter.  I believe that every youth should have the opportunity for such experiences, but this is only possible if we preserve the places in nature like the Buffalo River.  In a time when state budgets are crunched and state parks are some of the first budget items cut, we need help preserving wild areas more than ever.  One of the greatest organizations I have ever worked with is the Nature Conservancy.  They preserve and manage wild areas all over the U.S. and many other countries.

The Buffalo River was the first national river in the United States and it is one of the few undammed rivers left in the lower 48.  It is a wonderful place to camp, hike, fish, swim and enjoy the beauty of the oldest mountains in the country.

 

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Endangered species spotlight: polar bear

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

polar bear Endangered species spotlight: polar bearWho wants to live in a world without polar bears?! There is no other animal that conjures up such majestic and fearful images of the wild Arctic than Ursus maritimus.  Polar bears are the largest land-based predators on the planet.  They survive exclusively on ringed seals, which provide them with a very high calorie source of fat for surviving the extreme cold of the Arctic. They are actually thought to be as smart as apes and must employ this intelligence to hunt down tricky ringed seals.

Nicknames

I have a very close attachment to the fate of polar bears because of a nickname that I developed while in my first year in undergraduate school.  I was going home one weekend with some friends to a high school football game and it was quite frigid outside.  I believe the temperature was around 27 degrees.  I had the urge to stick my head out the window and feel the chilly air so I did.  One of my friends yelled at me to close the window and then said, “It’s freezing out there, close the window!  What the hell are you, some kind of polar bear?!” Because of this comment, my height and my fair skin and hair, the nickname stuck and I have been interested in polar bears ever since.

Where’s the ice?

Like many other species on the planet, the survival of polar bears is threatened by habitat loss.  However, the effects of global warming on the habitat of polar bears are greater in polar bear habitat because temperatures at the poles are rising faster than those on other parts of the globe.  This means that much of the sea ice that polar bears depend on for hunting and breeding is melting away, leaving them with smaller amounts of ice to inhabit.

Research by the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group show that 8 out of 12 polar bear populations studied in 2009 are declining compared to only 5 populations that were declining in 2005.  Even if we stopped pumping out all  the greenhouse gases we put into the Earth’s atmosphere tomorrow, the results of global warming would still carry on for several years into the future.  This means that we have to act soon to reverse the trend of warming in time to save enough sea ice for polar bears to survive. If we do not, I will have a meaningless nickname and this would be horrible.

Your call to action

There are many simple ways that we can all reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere: carpooling, buying a fuel-efficient vehicle, composting our food waste rather than sending it to the landfill, conserving water in domestic use helps reduce energy use significantly and buying local and/or organic reduces the amount of fuel burnt for food transportation and pesticide use.  These are all simple things that we can do without putting a large dent in our wallet to help curb greenhouse gases.

Here is a great informational video on polar bears and the threats they face.

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Rare nature moments in Hawaii and cheap beer

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

whale Rare nature moments in Hawaii and cheap beerThe Hawaiian islands are the most isolated land mass in the world, but you would never realize this standing in the middle of Waikiki. As much as I tried to avoid this area during my two years of graduate school in Honolulu, I often found myself there for one reason or another.  Hawaii also arguably has more endemic species (those found only in one place) than any other place in the world, but habitat destruction and invasive species are quickly making this phenomenon a thing of the past.

One of the most popular tourist trips to take in Waikiki is a giant catamaran ride around the bay.  Against my better judgement and with the convincing smile of a beautiful Indian woman, I decided to take a catamaran tour one sunny day.  There were about 40 people stuffed onto the boat, which was equipped with a full open bar and lot of rail space to view the beauty of the Pacific and whatever marine life decided to show itself. After several glasses of champagne and several well-known island tunes, the trip was entertaining, but rather uneventful until I spotted something unusual in the distance. It was a large whale and it was coming closer.  It is fairly common to see whales at a distance in Hawaii, but much less so to have a close encounter with the world’s largest mammal.  No one else on the boat seemed to notice the beautiful beast for a while until we started coming closer to it.  Once a few more people had taken notice of the whale, everyone swarmed the side of the boat closest to the creature and to our surprise the intoxicated boat captain headed directly towards it!  As we got closer, I became concerned that we might hurt the whale, but we kept barreling forward.

Peak moments

At this point, everyone on the boat was hanging off the edge trying to get a glimpse of the whale and it did not seem to be bothered by how close we were.  When we got close enough to almost touch the whale, everyone stopped talking and a sense of awe fell over the crowd. Just as we were at the closest point to the whale, some guy belted out in a drunken voice, “Pour some beer on it!” I had to process what he said for a second to make sure my ears were not deceiving me.  Then he said it again.  Most of the people thought it was pretty funny, but I could not believe that in such an amazing moment, this was the most inspiring thing he could say. I continued to ponder the wise words of this drunk tourist after we reached the shore and realized that they were both mindlessly funny and disturbing.  Are we really so lost in our urban and suburban cultures that this is how best we to know to interact with the natural world?

Hawaii is particularly effected by environmental problems such as invasive species and habitat destruction because it is small and isolated.  Native plants and animals on Hawaii evolved without large predators that are present on continents and thus never developed defense mechanisms like thorns and poisons. When a foreign species such as a rat is introduced, it multiplies quickly and causes much destruction because it has no or few predators on the islands to regulate its spread.  This means that we must be particularly cautious about bringing any foreign plants or animals into the islands.

Doing our part

The question we must ask ourselves is are we going to take the approach of “pour some beer on it” whenever we see something new in nature or are we going to take the time to respect and understand the natural world. The answer to this question determines the fate of many other creatures that inhabit the planet with us and ultimately our own fate as well. Some of the biggest threats to whales today include habitat loss, noise pollution and chemicals in the oceans and climate change. We can all do our part to help by disposing properly of our wastes and buying products made locally to decrease the amount of shipping, which causes noise pollution.

 

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Endangered species spotlight: Coho salmon

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

coho salmon2 Endangered species spotlight: Coho salmonCoho salmon is the first species featured in the endangered species spotlight.  This spotlight series will focus on the factors responsible for the decline of key species that have become endangered and simple ways that we can help the recovery of these species.  Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) existed historically in the entire west coast of the United States, Alaska, Japan, regions of eastern Russia and possibly as far inland in the U.S. as Idaho.  Current levels of the Coho salmon are only 6-15% percent of what they were in the 1940s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Why are they endangered?

Some of the biggest obstacles for this species include dams, erosion and siltation in breeding areas of freshwater streams/rivers, lack of water due to the diversion of freshwater for irrigation and electricity generation purposes and a rapid decline in the quality and quantity of wetlands in areas where Coho salmon exist and breed.  This salmon species is particularly sensitive to stream quality issues in their fry stage.  Dissolved oxygen is very important for their survival and may be affected by human activities such as recreation, mining, logging, channelization of steams and other changes in the banks of streams. Human activities have had a pronounced effect on Coho salmon habitat in the state of California, where only about 9% of the original wetlands in the state still exist!

WE NEED OXYGEN!

Dams and erosion into streams/rivers cause increases in water temperatures, which lessen the amount of dissolved oxygen for salmon necessary for breathing.  Dams also pose a physical obstacle for Coho salmon that are trying to reach spawning destinations upstream in coastal rivers.  Irrigation systems take water from rivers such as the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, and divert it to agricultural use such as growing grapes for wine.  Many agricultural areas that are close to such rivers containing Coho salmon and other species contribute to pollution in the water from fertilizers (particularly nitrates and phosphates) and pesticides.  Storm water drains in urban areas that drain in to rivers where Coho salmon live and breed may also create pollution from runoff and products thrown into storm drains near residential areas. These fish must have good gravel beds to lay their eggs in or their offspring will not survive!

What YOU can do to help

There are many small things that we can all do to help the recovery of endangered Coho salmon and other endangered species.

-Do not throw trash or any liquids (other than water) onto the street or in storm drains.  These drains go directly into streams and rivers that effect fish and other river dwellers.

-Buy dry farmed wine and sustainably farmed produce. One of the biggest users of water in our country is agriculture.  Wine grapes and other crops that are dry farmed use no water and thus  do not take water away from local streams or rivers.

-Follow fishing regulations.  If you are fishing, do not take more fish than is allowed by the law.

-Do not buy farmed salmon.  In some areas, farmed salmon populations threaten wild populations of salmon.  The best way to find out is know your salmon source.

-Volunteer in environmental restoration activities.  There are many local and national organizations that restore habitat to help endangered species recover.  The Nature Conservancy does great work in restoration.  Google your local watershed and find out what group is actively restoring the watershed.

If we all take these small steps in caring for our natural world, species such as Coho salmon may soon be as plentiful as they were 70 years ago!!! Check out this great video on Coho salmon in West Marin!

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