Strong coho salmon run reported in Marin County
Experts say there are more salmon in the waterways of the lush San Geronimo Valley, about 25 miles north of San Francisco, than anywhere else in California. Last year, they deposited more eggs in the area than any other year since biologists first started counting in 1982. The two-foot long fish can be seen hurling themselves over the waterfall known as the Ink Wells on San Geronimo Creek. "We're in this urban environment, but you can see something that usually happens only in places like Alaska," Allison Murphy, of Petaluma, said Friday. "It's just incredible that they come here all the way from the ocean." But while coho numbers are up, environmentalists warn that the species -- moved from threatened status to endangered this year -- is never far from extinction. "People hear the happy story, but the truth is they could all disappear in the blink of an eye," warned Todd Steiner, the director of the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network, or SPAWN. "The threats just keep coming." At least 200 homes sit alongside the creeks. Steiner said leaking septic tanks, collapsing roadways and runoff threaten the fish. Fifty percent of the spawning grounds in the valley are in developed areas, and 60 percent of the original riparian habitat crucial to their survival has been eliminated, including old-growth trees. "This area is gentrifying fast," said Steiner, who recently sued the county and blocked construction of a 3,600-square-foot home within 20 feet of the creek. "New people are moving in who think they want to live in the forest until they live in the forest. Then they want to cut down all the trees because they can't see the sun." The spawning fish swim 33 miles from the open ocean into Tomales Bay and up the creek through the valley to lay their eggs. Experts say Lagunitas and San Geronimo creeks and their tributaries on the northwest side of Mount Tamalpais support 10 percent of the state's coho population. Steiner began SPAWN in 1997 after he discovered that the coho in San Geronimo Creek were blocked by erosion at a dam. He led a volunteer effort to build jump pools. The dam is now a favorite spot to view the migrating fish. "I like watching them just as much as I like catching them," said Robert Meckfessel, 46, of Point Reyes Station. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/13488688.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_news © 2005 ContraCostaTimes.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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