April 5, 2005

Sheila Kuehl, Chair
Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water
State Capitol, Rm. 407
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: SB 857 (Kuehl) - SUPPORT

Dear Senator Kuehl and Members:

Planning and Conservation League supports SB 857 (Kuehl), which would authorize work performed under Department of Transportation major damage mitigation contracts to include remediation of barriers to fish passage. The bill would also require the Department of Transportation to collaborate with the Department of Fish and Game to prepare an annual report to the Legislature describing the status of the department's progress in locating, assessing, and remediating barriers to fish passage. Additionally, SB 857 requires the Department of Transportation to submit a list of priority sites for remediation on coastal streams to the Legislature and would require the department also to complete assessments of potential barriers to anadromous fish prior to commencing any project using state or federal transportation funds.

SB 857 would also require the Department of Transportation to submit these assessments to the department of Fish and Game to be added to the CALFISH database, and would require projects to be constructed without presenting barriers to fish passage.

These are important measures to help prevent the decline of fish like naturally spawning salmon and steelhead trout, which provide valuable natural resources, economic benefits, and employment opportunities in the state.

We urge your support on this important measure.

Sincerely,

Virgil Welch