Posts tagged: curtis knight

Pit River Road Closure Information (Fly Fishermen, Pay Attention)

June 18, 2009, by No comments yet

Those who fly fish the Pit River regularly will no doubt find this road closure information interesting (forwarded to us via Curtis Knight of CalTrout):

I suspect many of you have been hearing rumors about Pit River road closures and other activities in the Pit 3,4,5 area.  I placed a call to PG&E to get some information.  Here is what I know starting with a little background.

The Pit 3,4,5 project when through relicensing and a new license was issued in July 2007.   A new flow regime was negotiated—new summer baseflows beginning in no later than July 2010 will be—Pit 3:  300 cfs, Pit 4:  375 cfs, and Pit 5:  400 cfs.   I heard Pit 5 would be the first to get these new flows in November or December 2009, the other two reaches in 2010 by July 2nd.

Current construction work on the dams is to retrofit the outlets to meet new flow standards.  PG&E is also applying to FERC to put new turbines at Pit 3 and Pit 4 outlets to generate power off of the increased flows from the dam outlets—though this is just getting started.

I attached the Pit 3,4,5 license from FERC. It is a bit dense but it has the entire flow schedule and additional terms and conditions.

In regards to the road closure my understanding is that car traffic over Pit 3 dam will be closed from July 6- December 1.  From Pit 3 dam to Pit 4 dam at least one lane will be open at all times. But the road will be closed at Pit 4 dam, so if you want to fish Pit 4 or 5 reach you have to access from Big Bend up.   Road closures are in place while road improvements are done—my recollection is the Forest Service wanted more turnouts for safety.

According to the Forest Service, campground improvements are not scheduled until next year.  I don’t recall the extent of those but I recall there were not major.  One issue CalTrout and TU made clear during the relicensing negotiations is that our constituents generally liked the rugged flavor of the Pit River and drastic improvements to campgrounds, trails, and access points were not necessary.  Still, I think the agencies are identifying this once in 40-year opportunity to have PG&E to pay for some long-needed upgrades.  But it needs to be done in way that doesn’t ruin the Pit River experience.

On The Rise TV Show Profiles McCloud River, Nestle’s Threat To an Underground Favorite

February 14, 2009, by 11 comments

It was gratifying to see the Friday night broadcast of Trout Unlimited’s “On The Rise” episode – the one focused on the McCloud River and Nestle Waters of North America’s cavalier approach to the water. (The show is being re-broadcast Saturday 2/14 at 1pm PST.)

Regular Undergrounders know of my distaste for Nestle Waters, their predatory approach to small towns, and their apparent lack of concern for the McCloud River.

And yes, it’s clear to me the McCloud River is a favorite among my readers (soneone said if the McCloud’s not a favorite, it’s because you haven’t fished it yet).

Curtis Knight of CalTrout filled the early part of the show deftly outlining the threats to the river, and yes, I made an appearance in the last segment, where I successfully didn’t soil myself.

In fact viewers were treated to an inside view of the the Underground’s Brown Trout Mobile (the slowly deteriorating brown Bronco), and you probably also got a good glimpse of the river, which – as host (and new daddy) Frank Smethurst put it – was still somewhat TU (totally unfishable).

Thoughts

The show did an excellent job covering the threat to the river, and maybe now you know why CalTrout’s Curtis Knight is an Underground favorite.

The show would be a ton more fun if they’d broadcast some of the interaction between the crew and Smethhurst. It’s pure guys-on-a-fishing-trip entertainment, even if it doesn’t fit into the show’s format.

From a purely personal perspective, it’s a glimpse back into time – a look at a couple months and a couple pounds ago, on a river that you can’t legally fish right now.

I hope this places a little more pressure on Nestle to start playing fair with rural towns, and while it’s a small victory, it’s a shame that every town facing Nestle can’t get its own TV show (interesting fun fact: Nestle is the most-boycotted corporation in the world).

Now that my brief broadcast career is over, see you back on the river, Tom Chandler.