The treasured salmon runs of California’s rivers are in real danger of disappearing forever.

The return numbers for the 2008-09 spawning season are not yet final, but preliminary counts show no improvement over the previous year’s dismal figures. There is every indication that the recreational salmon fishing season will remain closed for all of 2009.

At last weekend’s International Sportsmen’s Exposition in Sacramento, a panel of experts and public officials was brought together to discuss the outlook for California’s salmon runs.

The consensus was clear — without immediate action, the California salmon will be extinct within the next couple of decades.

The salmon have already been in trouble for years. We have been keeping the runs on life support (so to speak) through extensive hatchery programs.

The truth is the majority of returning fish were reared in hatcheries. Only a small population of wild-born salmon still survives today.

This is hardly the self-sustaining species that thrived in these waters for millennia before humans arrived!

Out of Water

Water is at the heart of the issue. Salmon require consistent flows of cold, fresh water in the rivers and streams in order to successfully spawn.

Prior to human influence, winter rainstorms would create massive river flows, making for just the conditions salmon need to migrate upstream to their spawning grounds.

But in modern days, a combination of upstream dams and diversion programs has drastically reduced flows in most river systems. In many cases, so much water is extracted or held back that the salmon are left with far less-than-ideal habitats for spawning, and have great trouble even reaching the spawning grounds.

These issues become painfully evident in seasons of drought like we are experiencing right now. In wet years, there is enough water to go around to irrigate all the farms, supply all the cities, and leave good flows for the fish.

But when the rains don’t come, the demands on our state’s water resources become far greater than the supply. Farms have always been the “sacred cow” in this country, so their water deliveries are a priority.

And we selfish humans bristle at being inconvenienced with water rationing, so our local governments find ways to keep the water flowing to their people.

It is the fish, then, who get left high and dry.

There is no greater example of this than the San Joaquin River. Dams and diversion pumps have taken every last drop of water out of a 60-mile stretch of the river. Several hundred thousand Chinook salmon once spawned here each spring, but this run has now been completely eradicated.

More rivers may face this same fate. The state’s human population continues to expand, most dramatically in regions which Mother Nature had designed as a desert and suitable for only a small community of people.

These new desert-dwellers demand more water, and that water now comes from river systems in the north part of the state.

The California State Water Project transports billions of gallons around the state each year. Much of this goes to the farms of the San Joaquin Valley and the urban areas of Southern California.

But a significant allocation also goes to Northern California cities, including the city of Napa. Napa uses this water to supplement its own supplies, allowing it to avoid completely draining Lake Hennessey and Milliken Reservoir.

So before we go blaming L.A. for sucking dry all of our rivers, keep in mind that even in Napa we are part of the problem.

And we can be part of the solution.

Save Some For the Fish

Recycled urban storm runoff as well as treated sewage water can be used for many kinds of irrigation. Another great solution is good ol’ common-sense conservation. Cut back on the lawns and other water-intensive landscaping.

Use the low-flow shower heads and efficient plumbing fixtures.

And just generally be responsible with your water usage.

A potential solution that’s seldom mentioned is the concept of desalination.

For all of Southern California’s need for water, the most plentiful supply in the world is right on its front doorstep — the Pacific Ocean.

The problem is that removing the salts from seawater and making it suitable for drinking is very expensive and energy-intensive. But some cities in the state are already doing it, including Santa Barbara and Avalon.

Desalination plants are commonplace in extreme desert regions like northern Africa and the Middle East, where there is no immediate source of fresh water.

At some point it will make economic sense for California to use this process on a wider scale, reducing the demands on our river systems and eventually restoring them to historic flow levels that are adequate to sustain a salmon run.

Take Action Now

But the salmon can’t wait for “eventually” to arrive.

Immediate action is necessary to save them from extinction. So far the only measures taken have been the closures of the fishing seasons. As the 2008-09 runs have proved, that is not enough.

An organization called “Water For Fish” has stepped to the forefront of the effort to demand more action from state and federal governments.

Anglers and environmentalists alike have joined forces through Water For Fish to save the salmon runs.

The organization has created a petition to demand specific government actions on certain rivers, along with enforcement of environmental protection laws that are already in place but are being ignored by water agencies.

To read the petition details and learn more about the organization, visit the Web site at www.water4fish.org.

You can also sign the petition and send letters to government representatives right from the Web site.

California’s salmon issue has become a salmon crisis.

It is nearing the point of no return, after which there will be nothing we can do to save them from extinction.

It took all of us Californians to break the system, and it will take all of us to fix it.

Let’s get started.

Guy Carl is a CPA and partner with BDCo Accountants and Advisors in St. Helena (www.bdco

cpa.com). Contact Guy at GC.outdoors@sbcglobal.net.