MENDOCINO CO., 3/25/25 — At Tuesday’s meeting, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors spent 27 minutes taking public comment and discussing a request from 5th District Supervisor Ted Williams to provide a letter of support for state Assemblymember Chris Rogers’ Assembly Bill 263. AB 263, sponsored by the Yurok Tribe and supported by California Coastkeeper Alliance, would extend emergency water flow regulations to the Scott and Shasta river watersheds. Both rivers are tributaries of the Klamath River and flow through Siskiyou County.
A summary of the bill reads, “AB 263 would allow the emergency regulations that are currently in place on the Scott and Shasta River Watersheds to remain in effect until permanent rules establishing and implementing long-term instream flow requirements are adopted. These emergency regulations expire on an annual basis, providing a lack of stability for all residents of the Klamath Basin. Extending the temporary regulations until the [California State Water Resources Control Board] finalizes permanent regulations simply maintains a tenuous status quo. Without these protections, there would be less water in the Scott and Shasta rivers, imperiling the delicate recovery of salmon populations.”
The board heard public comment from six individuals. Three speakers who oppose the board supporting the bill cited potential economic impacts on farming and ranching in Mendocino County if the emergency regulations are held in place for an extended period of time. They felt that the bill did not go into enough detail, and that the county should address its own water conservation issues before focusing time and resources elsewhere.
Adam Gaska, executive director of the Mendocino County Farm Bureau, spoke in opposition, saying that he met with Siskiyou County Farm Bureau board members who have been working to balance the needs of different interest groups in the greater Klamath River watershed. Gaska felt that Rogers’ bill circumvented “the existing processes by allowing a regulation proposed by an Assembly member who doesn’t even represent the region,” thus undermining the local collaborative process.
Gaska said that during a January 7, 2025 Emergency Regulation Adoption hearing, the state water board acknowledged the need to move away from the emergency regulation process and toward adoption of permanent regulations. “This bill may have unintended consequences of prolonging this effort by removing the incentive to act quickly. Emergency regulations put in place by the State Water Board during a period of extreme drought are no longer necessary in water year 2025.”
Gaska stated that the Scott and Shasta watersheds had received over 100% of average annual rainfall. He urged not only voting no on supporting HB 263 but asked the board to consider opposing the bill outright.
Alex Leumer, representing the Yurok Tribe, explained the importance of the Scott and Shasta rivers. “These two rivers are listed in the governor’s salmon strategy. This is unlike any other rivers in California in terms of wanting to ensure there are flows. This is in large part because these are spawning habitats for Chinook and Coho salmon. This is not, again, every other river in California. These are critical tributaries of the Klamath.”
Leumer noted that the salmon fishery is a big part of the economy of Mendocino County. “We’re on the brink of a third year of closing salmon fisheries in California… If we go a third year, this is really impacting a lot of people, a lot of families. So while the spawning grounds aren’t in Mendocino, the fish do come downriver and they do reach the ocean.” She said that the tribes have not had traditional salmon ceremonies for the last few years, and that the ceremonies are part of the Yurok identity. She ended with a list of supporting organizations, including the Sierra Club, Friends of the Eel River, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association, and others.
After public comment, the Board discussed the issue. 1st District Supervisor Madeline Cline began the conversation by expressing her concerns that it was too early in the bill’s journey through the legislature for Mendocino County to offer support. Supervisor Mo Mulheren and Vice-Chair Bernie Norvell agreed, and both stated that they believe that Mendocino County needs to allocate its time and resources to dealing with local water issues instead of getting involved in external matters. Board Chair John Haschak added his personal support for the tribes and asked administrative analyst Kelly Hanson of the county’s Executive Office to provide clarification on whether existing positions the Board has taken towards similar issues would suggest a statement of support or opposition.
Hanson answered that she could not find anything definitive to support the issue, though possibly two items that “tend to be in opposition.” She cited two issues that hinge on local control of resources. “We tend to favor in our legislative platform items that support local control.”
Based on the information brought back from the Executive Office, and the hesitancy to support the bill from Mulheren, Cline, and Norvell, Haschak suggested the Board monitor the bill’s progress and potentially revisit the issue in the future. AB 263 will be heard at the California State Assembly on April 8 by the Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.