October 1st 1998

October 1998

Ms. Elizabeth Tallent
Albion River Watershed Protection Association
P. O. Box 661
Albion, CA 95410

Dear Elizabeth:

Thanks so much for your letter dated September 12. First of all, let me apologize for the delay in responding to your letter. I wanted to make sure I could give you as informed a response as possible.

Second, let me say that we share your concerns for the coho salmon and quality of our aquatic habitat.

We are preparing to release (in the next couple of weeks) the only completed study that I am aware of from L-P's various data collection efforts over time, and this is a fish distribution study that documents the presence of fish in our streams at various points in time between 1994 and 1996. This report also contains some stream temperature data. Neither the fish distribution study (which doesn't determine absence or population of fish) nor the stream temperature data (which simply measures temperature at certain points in time without determining the cause or effect of such temperature) lead to any single or set of conclusions. This information will be useful as a benchmark for future studies, and for that reason we are happy to share it. Much of this information, I might add, has been contained in THPs that have been filed over time.

As we have told several people in the community, including Linda Perkins, we are completing a road survey in the Albion this fall. The results of this survey will be compiled in the coming months and hopefully be in a form that we can share with folks early in 1999. At present, we are attempting to understand the meaning, if any; value, if any; purpose, if any; of whatever other data we have. We believe this data's usefulness may be limited by its age and a lack of documentation, defined purpose, and protocols. I expect we will have completed an inventory of what we have within a month, would be happy to discuss it with you at that time. We will also talk with Tom Daugherty (L-P's former fisheries biologist) to make sure we have gone over what he was involved with.

Going forward, we will attempt to conduct studies in search of conclusions that are well supported with good data regarding the condition of our land, habitat and wildlife. We will be happy to share this information with people as we complete studies. I expect we will be communicating with outside experts and members of the community regarding how we prioritize what we study, and would enjoy talking with you about this. You can reach me at 485-8731.

Sincerely,

Sandy Dean

Cc Pat Rutten, National Marine Fisheries

Letter from Elizabeth Tallent

Link to Watershed Analysis reports