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Citing a concern about potential impacts to private landowners, county supervisors opposed designating the North Fork Smith River a Heritage Trout Water.

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously authorized county staff to send a letter of opposition to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. District 4 Supervisor Gerry Hemmingsen said the department needs to explain what requirements goes along with designating the North Fork Smith River a Heritage Trout Water.

“They seem to keep ramrodding this stuff without letting us know what’s going on,” Hemmingsen said, adding that CDFW sent a notice about the designation to an address in Eureka. “There’s not much specificity within the plans they have designated already that clearly establish what the requirements might be for private landowners. We need to have exactly what the impacts are going to be to the community.”

According to the CDFW letter, dated Nov. 14 but sent to Humboldt County offices in Eureka, California Fish and Game Commission established the Heritage and Wild Trout Program in 1971 to protect and enhance quality trout fisheries sustained by natural reproduction.

The program requires CDFW to prepare a list of “no less than 25 miles” of stream or stream segments and at least one lake to be protected under the program, according to the letter. This year that list includes the North Fork Smith River from the confluence with the Middle Fork to the state line. Stoney Creek, Diamond Creek and North Fork Diamond Creek are included in the proposed designation, according to CDFW’s letter.

The California Fish and Game Commission will consider the designation at a meeting Wednesday in Sacramento. Pointing this out, Hemmingsen’s colleague, District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard asked county staff to get Del Norte’s lobbyist in Sacramento to personally deliver the letter into the Fish and Game Commission’s record.

Howard noted that in 2016, the Board of Supervisors approved designating waters along the South Fork Smith River a Heritage Trout Water to promote tourism. He said this was conditional on the CDFW letting county officials know how private property rights would be impacted by the designation. In 2017, Howard said, the department decided against “returning to us with a plan” and added another section of stream to the designation.

While considering the designation of the North Fork Smith River a Heritage Trout Water, Howard said, CDFW staff approached the county about three weeks ago.

“Supervisor Hemmingsen and I sat down with many people from Fish and Wildlife,” Howard said Tuesday. “Proper communication with the county has not been taking place.”

Howard said the deputy director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife believes “strongly” that Del Norte’s position is correct.

In other legislative matters, the Board of Supervisors authorized staff to send a letter to Congressman Jared Huffman asking him to support House Resolution 5038. According to Howard, this resolution would address a shortage of agriculture employees by allowing experienced workers to gain legal status after paying a fine and ensuring they haven’t committed a crime while in the United States.

Howard said the resolution streamlines the agricultural visa program.

“This legislation has significant legs,” he said. “Currently 24 Democrats have signed onto this legislation and currently 22 Republicans have signed onto this legislation, 13 of which are in California, including our old friends Doug La Malfa and Devin Nunez.”

District 1 Supervisor Roger Gitlin pointed out that the program uses the E-Verify system, to ensure agricultural workers are in the country legally, saying he supports the resolution.

“All employees in this field have to qualify by having worked a number, thousands, of hours during a two year period,” he said. “And they are verified through the E-Verify system.”

Lastly, the Board of Supervisors approved a letter to wireless providers licensed to serve in Del Norte County, asking them to prioritize a way to improve wireless service along U.S. 199.

The letter comes after the construction of several cell towers along U.S. 199 in California and Oregon, according to County Administrative Officer Jay Sarina. Sarina said there have been a few carriers that are reluctant to join in.

“It would be nice to encourage them,” he told supervisors. “There are significant carriers in the county and some carriers that aren’t as active. For the purposes of the Office of Emergency Services and just for safety in general for all of our first responders, it would be nice to get everybody on towers if at all possible.”

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