Retired trio kept region ahead of the curve

Published online on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009

One hundred and twelve years of experience, all walking out the door at the same time.

That's what employees at the Department of Fish and Game Region 4 office are dealing with following the Dec. 31 retirements of regional manager Bill Loudermilk, aquatics program manager Dale Mitchell and senior biologist Randy Kelly.

"A lot of people around the building are sad to lose those guys," personnel specialist Krista Lowenthal said.

Sportsmen throughout the 12-county area serviced by Region 4, which stretches from the Central Coast to the Sierra Nevada crest, should be sad as well. We're losing three quality individuals who dedicated their careers to improving our fisheries -- both for anglers and the fish that inhabit them.

The timing isn't great, either. The DFG is seriously underfunded, and the money it does generate through fishing and hunting license and stamp sales can be siphoned off to programs that have little to do with where it was originally intended.

Now, with the state in the midst of a financial crisis, uncertainty over what these changes could mean is greater than ever.

Loudermilk's replacement, Jeffrey Single, has built a solid reputation during his 16 years with the DFG, the last eight as Region 4 terrestrial program manager. But he lacks first-hand experience with fisheries -- negotiating stream flow rights, restoring salmon runs, surveying backcountry lakes -- that are so important to the position.

And with Mitchell also retired, Single won't be able to rely on one of the state's most experienced and knowledgable fish biologists.

As an example, consider the recent court order that severely restricts where the DFG is allowed to stock fish.

Wonder why only three river segments and no lakes in Region 4 are on the no-stock list while other regions have dozens? It's because Mitchell and his staff were on the ball years ago, anticipating this was coming and completing all the necessary legwork.

"He did all the surveys back in 2003 that everyone else was supposed to do," DFG spokesman Harry Morse said.

While Mitchell's former job is vacant, DFG brass had enough foresight to promote senior fish biologist Dean Marston to Region 4 environmental program manager. Responsibilities of this newly created position include supervising salmon restoration on the San Joaquin River, which may finally get the green light following Wednesday's passage of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 by the U.S. Senate.

San Joaquin River restoration no doubt will be a huge fisheries issue around here, but it's not the only one.

There's extending the 10-year-old Kings River Fisheries Management agreement, part of which expires in May. There's partial restoration of the Tulare Lake Basin, which used to be a key stopping point for waterfowl until ag interests took over. There's the push to stock lakes and streams with fish that are native, at least genetically, to a particular watershed.

And that's just a preliminary list.

The next generation of fish biologists and resource managers has its work cut out.

Curtains for the CCC?

A few months ago, Gov. Schwarzenegger threatened to close several popular state parks. Now, his latest budget proposal would spell doom for another of the state's signature institutions, the California Conservation Corps.

Under the governor's plan, the CCC would be eliminated and its funding transferred to 12 local conservation groups. The CCC's distinguished Backcountry Trails Program would be orphaned, even though it receives almost all its funding from AmeriCorps, federal land agencies and nonprofit groups like the Yosemite Fund.

For decades, CCC work crews have performed trail maintenance and other necessary wilderness labor that largely would otherwise be ignored. Many graduates go on to careers with the National Park Service, including several current members of Yosemite's trail crew.

Let's hope Schwarzenegger's short-sighted solution dies a quick legislative death just like the state parks closure.