The Caddis Fly: Oregon Fly Fishing Blog

From the LA Times By ROSANNA XIA STAFF WRITER

When officials in Seattle spent millions of dollars restoring the creeks along Puget Sound — tending to the vegetation, making the stream beds less muddy, building better homes for fish — they were thrilled to see coho salmon reappear.

But when it rained, more than half, sometimes all, of the coho in a creek would suffer a sudden death.

These mysterious die-offs — an alarming phenomenon that has been reported from Northern California to British Columbia — have stumped biologists and toxicologists for decades. Numerous tests ruled out pesticides, disease and other possible causes, such as hot temperatures and low dissolved oxygen.

Now, after 20 years of investigation, researchers in Washington state, San Francisco and Los Angeles say they have found the culprit: a very poisonous yet little-known chemical related to a preservative used in car tires.

The chemical is just one of a vast number of contaminants that washes off roads whenever it rains. This giant soup of pollutants, which includes trillions of microplastics, rushes down drains and into creeks and ultimately into the sea.

“We pretty much figured out that anywhere there’s a road and people are driving their car, little bits of tire end up coming off your tire and end up in the stormwater that flows off that road,” said Ed Kolodziej, an environmental engineer and chemist at the University of Washington (Tacoma/Seattle), whose lab led a study that was published Thursday in the journal Science. “We were able to get all the way down to this one highly toxic chemical — something that kills large fish quickly and we think is probably found on every single busy road in the world.”

Coho salmon, also known as silver salmon, are prized among fishermen and an important indicator species — the canary in the coal mine for coastal watersheds along the northern Pacific Ocean. Their range has historically stretched from the creeks nestled in the redwood forests near Santa Cruz all the way north to the waters of Alaska. The few coho populations that still exist in California are either endangered or threatened.

The fish are born in freshwater streams, where they stay for about a year before making the long journey through rivers and estuaries and into the ocean. They return a year and a half later to lay and fertilize eggs before dying. Many obstacles have made this journey across different environments more difficult: Shrinking estuaries, blocked passages from dams and culverts, as well as drought and a changing climate.

“While we often monitor temperature and dissolved oxygen levels, much more could be done to test for toxicity,” said Mariska Obedzinski, a California Sea Grant fisheries biologist who leads monitoring and salmon recovery research on the Russian River and was shocked to see the findings out of Puget Sound.

“With so many chemicals out there,” she said, “it is overwhelming to know what to test for, so the results of this study will help us home in on testing for a chemical that we now know causes acute mortality.”

Peter Moyle, a longtime salmon expert and emeritus professor at UC Davis, recalled the four small streams in San Francisco Bay that once had coho. He has been following the Puget Sound research, which he is also not affiliated with, and now wonders whether all the roads and major freeways that crossed these creeks contributed to their disappearance decades ago, despite all the restoration efforts.

“The challenge when you talk about declines of really sensitive fish like coho salmon, is that there are so many things that are affecting them simultaneously, it’s hard to pinpoint one,” he said. “That’s why it’s so interesting that in these Puget Sound streams, they found this one chemical that seems to be the smoking gun.”

The scientists in Washington state spent years studying dozens of streams — looking for patterns and comparing samples from pristine creeks, to those in more urban areas. They narrowed the culprit down to stormwater, then to creeks that were near busier roads, and finally to the wear and tear of car tires.

Researchers then soaked tire bits in room temperature water for about 24 hours. As many as 1,500 to 2,800 chemicals would leach out and, using high-resolution mass spectrometry, the team methodically identified and analyzed these compounds.

They tried sectioning this tire cocktail into different chemical properties, such as removing all metals from the solution. Then they tested these different sub-mixtures to see which ones were still toxic to the salmon. They repeated this process until only a few chemicals were left — including one mysterious speck of purple that they knew very little about.

“We knew that the chemical that we thought was toxic had 18 carbons, 22 hydrogens, two nitrogens and two oxygens. And we kept trying to figure out what it was,” said Zhenyu Tian, the study’s lead author and a research scientist at the Center for Urban Waters at University of Washington Tacoma. “Then one day in December, it was just like bing! in my mind. The killer chemical might not be a chemical directly added to the tire, but something related.”

The smoking gun turned out to be related to a chemical called 6PPD, which is essentially a preservative to keep car tires from breaking down too quickly. When 6PPD hits the road and reacts with ozone gas, the chemical transforms into multiple new chemicals, including a compound known as 6PPD-quinone.

Not much is known about 6PPD-quinone, but it does appear to be very toxic (at about 1 microgram per liter) and does not degrade as quickly as 6PPD.

It remains unclear how exactly this chemical kills coho salmon, but it may be doing something to the lining of the salmon’s vascular system, said Jen McIntyre, an aquatic ecotoxicologist at Washington State University who has been studying this mystery for more than 15 years.

Once coho are exposed to 6PPD-quinone, they begin to breathe erratically — almost like they’re gasping for air. They lose equilibrium and start spiraling in circles, unable to stay upright in the water. Eventually they drop to the bottom, where they stop moving and die.

McIntyre has begun testing this toxin on five other Pacific salmon species, which have shown different levels of sensitivity. She’s also curious how 6PPD-quinone might affect other organisms, and more studies need to be conducted to understand whether this chemical has any impact on humans.

Worrisome concentrations of 6PPD-quinone were also confirmed in samples from L.A. and San Francisco. Rebecca Sutton, a study co-author who specializes in emerging contaminants, had reached out to the researchers in Puget Sound after coming across a number of tire rubber chemicals in her studies of San Francisco Bay.

These discoveries fit into a growing body of science that illuminates how driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem, she said. In a separate study last year, Sutton was surprised to find that tire particles were by far the largest source of microplastics in the bay.

Tires containing zinc have also been known to harm wildlife, said Sutton, who works for the San Francisco Estuary Institute, an independent science think tank. “We also know that steelhead trout and Chinook salmon exhibit some sensitivity to tire rubber chemicals.”

Across California, water quality regulators, state transportation officials and federal scientists have been learning about these startling connections between stormwater and coho deaths during recent meetings and conferences. The state’s coastal highway, some pointed out, crosses numerous streams and estuaries.

“Now that they’ve gotten it nailed down to one compound — that’s amazing. It’s also really helpful that something could be done about it,” said Joe Dillon, who specializes in water quality and toxicology for NOAA Fisheries. “This means the tire industry can work on figuring out how to replace that compound with something less toxic. It means they can be pushed by the state of California or by nongovernmental organizations to undertake that work.”

Matt St. John, executive officer of California’s Regional Water Quality Control Board on the north coast, home to most of the remaining coho salmon in California, said he’d like to start monitoring for this chemical in creeks to determine what further action is needed.

“The study is definitely an eyebrow-raiser,” he said. “When you find a causal link like this that is controllable, we need to take this type of information seriously.”

From Native Fish Society

Tuesday, November 17, 2020 will go down in the wild fish history books. A historic Memorandum of Agreement between the states of Oregon and California, Pacific Corps, Yurok and Karuk tribes and Klamath River Renewal Corporation will enable the removal of four dams on the Klamath River to revive abundant wild fish, restore water quality, and meet the cultural and subsistence needs of tribal nations. The process to remove the dams hit a major roadblock last summer when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission added unforseen stipulations to the agreement that threatened to sink the whole endeavor. Thanks to the efforts of tribal nations, neighboring governors, congressional leaders, and conservation partners, the agreement ensures that the largest river restoration project in history will continue to move forward.

Native Fish Society would like to express sincere gratitude to the Yurok and Karuk tribes for their energy and perseverance over the past four decades in advocating for a free-flowing Klamath River. Their dedication to their land, the ecosystem, and people is inspiring for all. We thank the Oregon and California congressional delegations for their commitment to finding a solution that will benefit the fish, river, and people of the Klamath Basin. To all the conservation partners who have been engaged with removing these dams,we are forever grateful for your willingness to bring public support and expertise to the table.

An enormous amount of thanks goes to our state leaders, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Despite these challenging and unprecedented times during COVID-19, both leaders were able to come together to find a solution and help support this monumental river restoration. Without their leadership and guidance, this project would not be possible.

Native fish Society has been advocating for Klamath dam removal for years. The organization has focused on public engagement and supporting partnering organizations and tribal nations wherever possible. “The science on dam removal is rock solid – it’s one of the most effective ways to improve the health and resilience of wild fish and rivers,” said NFS Executive Director Mark Sherwood. “This latest agreement puts this proven solution into action on an unprecedented scale.”

Native Fish Society will continue to advocate and support the efforts of all organizations involved. We see a bright future full of opportunity for the Klamath River with abundant wild fish and increased water quality for all. We are excited to see this next chapter begin for the river, for wild fish, and for the communities of the Klamath Basin.

ClICK HERE TO SAY THANKS

From AP News By GILLIAN FLACCUS
November 17, 2020

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An agreement announced Tuesday paves the way for the largest dam demolition in U.S. history, a project that promises to reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to salmon that are critical to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years.

If approved, the deal would revive plans to remove four massive hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River, creating the foundation for the most ambitious salmon restoration effort in history. The project on California’s second-largest river would be at the vanguard of a trend toward dam demolitions in the U.S. as the structures age and become less economically viable amid growing environmental concerns about the health of native fish.

Previous efforts to address problems in the Klamath Basin have fallen apart amid years of legal sparring that generated distrust among tribes, fishing groups, farmers and environmentalists, and the new agreement could face more legal challenges. Some state and federal lawmakers criticized it as a financially irresponsible overreach by leaders in Oregon and California.

“This dam removal is more than just a concrete project coming down. It’s a new day and a new era,” Yurok Tribe chairman Joseph James said. “To me, this is who we are, to have a free-flowing river just as those who have come before us. … Our way of life will thrive with these dams being out.”

A half-dozen tribes across Oregon and California, fishing groups and environmentalists had hoped to see demolition work begin as soon as 2022. But those plans stalled in July, when U.S. regulators questioned whether the nonprofit entity formed to oversee the project could adequately respond to any cost overruns or accidents.

The new plan makes Oregon and California equal partners in the demolition with the nonprofit entity, called the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and adds $45 million to the project’s $450 million budget to ease those concerns. Oregon, California and the utility PacifiCorp, which operates the hydroelectric dams and is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, will each provide one-third of the additional funds.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must approve the deal. If accepted, it would allow PacifiCorp and Berkshire Hathaway to walk away from aging dams that are more of an albatross than a profit-generator, while addressing regulators’ concerns. Oregon, California and the nonprofit would jointly take over the hydroelectric license from PacifiCorp while the nonprofit will oversee the work.

Buffett said the reworked deal solves a “very complex challenge.”

“I recognize the importance of Klamath dam removal and river restoration for tribal people in the Klamath Basin,” Buffett said in a statement. “We appreciate and respect our tribal partners for their collaboration in forging an agreement that delivers an exceptional outcome for the river, as well as future generations.”

Removed would be the four southernmost dams in a string of six constructed in southern Oregon and far Northern California beginning in 1918.

They were built solely for power generation. They are not used for irrigation and not managed for flood control. The lowest dam on the river, the Iron Gate, has no “fish ladder,” or concrete chutes that fish can pass through.

That’s blocked hundreds of miles of potential fish habitat and spawning grounds, and fish populations have dropped precipitously in recent years. Salmon are at the heart of the culture, beliefs and diet of a half-dozen regional tribes, including the Yurok and Karuk — both parties to the agreement — and they have suffered deeply from that loss.

Coho salmon from the Klamath River are listed as threatened under federal and California law, and their population in the river has fallen anywhere from 52% to 95%. Spring chinook salmon, once the Klamath Basin’s largest run, has dwindled by 98%.

Fall chinook, the last to persist in any significant numbers, have been so meager in the past few years that the Yurok canceled fishing for the first time in the tribe’s memory. In 2017, they bought fish at a grocery store for their annual salmon festival.

“It is bleak, but I want to have hope that with dam removal and with all the prayers that we’ve been sending up all these years, salmon could come back. If we just give them a chance, they will,” said Chook-Chook Hillman, a Karuk tribal member fighting for dam removal. “If you provide a good place for salmon, they’ll always come home.”

PacifiCorp has been operating the dams under an extension of its expired hydroelectric license for years. The license was originally granted before modern environmental laws and renewing it would mean costly renovations to install fish ladders. The utility has said energy generated by the dams no longer makes up a significant part of its portfolio.

In the original deal, PacifiCorp was to transfer its license and contribute $200 million to bow out of the removal project and avoid further costs and liability. An additional $250 million comes from a voter-approved California water bond.

U.S. regulators, however, agreed only on the condition that PacifiCorp remain a co-licensee along with the Klamath River Renewal Corporation — a nonstarter for the utility.

Full Coverage: Dams
Residents have been caught in the middle. As tribes watched salmon dwindle, some homeowners around a huge reservoir created by one of the dams have sued to stop the demolition.

They say their waterfront property values have already fallen by half because of news coverage associated with demolition and they worry about losing a water source for fighting wildfires in an increasingly fire-prone landscape. Many also oppose the use of ratepayer funds for the project.

U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican, said the agreement puts taxpayers in the two states on the hook. Some state lawmakers in Oregon said Gov. Kate Brown violated her constitutional authority by authorizing the deal without legislative or voter approval.

Further upstream, farmers who rely on two other dams are watching carefully. The removal of the lower four dams won’t affect them directly, but they worry it could set a precedent for dam removal on the Klamath.

More than 1,720 dams have been dismantled around the U.S. since 2012, according to American Rivers, and 26 states undertook dam removal projects in 2019 alone. The Klamath River project would be the largest such project by far if it proceeds.