Fish ladders help salmon and sfeelhead to pass dams blocking passage 

 to upstream spawning beds, 



— Fish and Game Photo 



project or compensation for fishery damages in the 

 form of stream flow maintenance, hatcheries or other 

 facilities. Thirty of the 59 projects under review re- 

 quired investigations and negotiations of some magni- 

 tude. Seven projects were of major proportions and 

 would have serious effects upon fish and wildlife. 



Since about 1917 the flow of the Klamath River has 

 been manipulated by the California-Oregon Power 

 Company through its dam (Copco Dam) and power 

 installation near Copco, California. The severe fluctu- 

 ations in the river are a hazard to fishermen and annu- 

 ally strand millions of fish, including king salmon and 

 steelhead. 



Although the department has been negotiating for 

 many years with Copco to alleviate the condition, 

 little success has been attained. In 1950, the matter 

 was taken to the courts where a legal battle ensued 

 over matters of jurisdiction. In 1957, Copco applied 

 for an F. P. C. license to construct a dam and power- 

 house at Irongate (seven miles downstream from 

 Copco) and to license its existing plants. The depart- 

 ment intervened in the matter before the power com- 

 mission and negotiations were begun \\ ith Copco rela- 

 tive to provisions for fish and \\ildlife. 



During the biennium, negotiations have revolved 

 around eliminating the nuisance caused by the severe 

 fluctuations in the river and matters relative to a 

 hatchery and facilities to compensate for loss of 

 salmon and steelhead spawning areas above the Iron- 

 gate Dam site. 



At the close of the biennium, an extensive two- 

 month survey was under way to determine the magni- 

 tude of fish losses under a revised schedule of releases 

 proposed by Copco. 



The department has intervened in the applications 

 of P. G. & E. and Copco for Federal Power Commis- 

 sion licenses for power developments on the Pit and 

 McCloud Rivers. Studies of the probable effects of the 

 projects on fish and wildlife were initiated. 



The applications of the East Bay Municipal Water 

 District for a power license and water rights permits 

 for further development of the waters of the Alokel- 

 umne River have posed a threat to the salmon and 

 steelhead runs of that river. Field studies and negotia- 

 tions with E. B. M. U. D. continued through the 

 biennium. No permanent solution to the problem of 

 maintaining the A'lokelumne River fisheries which 

 A\ould be satisfactory to both agencies had been found. 



The Belden Project proposed by the Pacific Gas 

 and Electric Company on the North Fork Feather 

 River was the subject of study. Recommendations 

 proposed by the department. United States Fish and 

 Wildlife Service and Forest Service have not yet been 

 accepted by the company and the matter remains un- 

 resolved. 



The Federal Power Commission license for the state- 

 sponsored Oroville Dam Unit of the Feather River 

 Project was conditioned for protection of fish and 

 wildlife based on recommendations of the department, 

 and Fish and Wildlife Service. 



U. S. Army Corps of f ngineers. Flood Control Projects 



The department investigated 26 flood control proj- 

 ects proposed by the Corps of Engineers. All but two 

 required extensive investigation as to the effect of the 

 projects on fish and wildlife; 1 1 required no action. 



Several projects, particularly one on the Russian 

 River, may have serious adverse eifects on anadromous 

 fishes. These projects are now under study and nego- 

 tiation. 



U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Navigaiion Projeefs 



Only four projects in this category were actively 

 investigated by the department in the biennium. Two 

 f)f these are still under investigation and recommenda- 

 tions have been made for two. They are the Santa 

 Cruz, /Monterey, and Princeton Harbor Projects and 

 a private undertaking on Lagunitus Creek. The latter 

 was unique in that it involved an exchange of state 

 lands for private lands in a stipulation between the 

 department and the applicant providing public access 

 to public fishing waters. 



U. S. Bureau of Rec/amofion Projects 



Twenty-four projects proposed, or being studied, 

 by the Bureau of Reclamation were received, but nine 

 of these did not require action. The others required 

 more detailed study and field investigation. 



Agreement was reached with the bureau on stream 

 flow maintenance below the Monticello Dam on Putah 

 Creek in Yolo and Solano Counties and similar agree- 

 ments were being consummated at the end of the 

 biennium on flow releases below the bureau's Lewis- 

 ton and Trinity Dams on the Trinity River and 

 Whiskevtown Dam on Clear Creek. 



