Why the State Water Board’s 2021-2022 flow regulation is not needed for coho salmon in the Scott River

On August 17th, 2021 the California State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) adopted water rights regulations potentially halting all agriculture irrigation in the Scott Valley when new minimum flow requirements for the Scott River are not met. These new emergency curtailment regulations remain in place until August 30, 2022. They call for above-average flows in the Scott during summer months, and are purportedly designed to address a perceived “crisis” for coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), a species that is listed as “threatened” in the region under the Endangered Species Acts (both federal and state). However, well-documented life cycle needs, coupled with the significant increase in the Scott River’s coho returns in the last two decades, demonstrate that the mainstem flows demanded by the Water Board are not needed for coho survival. Click here to read our full white-paper.