Farmers’ market musings

Last summer, an irate visitor to our market planted himself
right in front of me near the market table on Foss Creek. With arms
akimbo, he asked, “What do you think of all that water being taken
away from all those farmers in the Central Valley because of all
those fish!
I looked over his shoulder down the south aisle of the market.
The nearest vendor to us was Ramon de la Herran, who moved from
Healdsburg to farm near his daughter in Los Banos; to me he is the
face of all farmers behind the cornucopia of food grown in the
Golden State. On the far end of that same aisle was Dave Legro, who
in the past has brought fresh, wild salmon from our local coastal
waters to the market.
Three years ago, because of the dwindling populations of
salmonids in the ocean, Dave could only fish commercially during a
very limited season. For the last two years, Dave has had to keep
his boat docked, and it looks like this year he will be in the same
position, and resort to being a fishmonger, hunting the docks of
San Francisco for fresh, wild fish to bring to Healdsburg. He has
successfully brought in fresh, wild King and Coho Salmon from
Alaska, Canada, and limited Oregon and Washington fisheries
throughout the summer and fall of the last three years, and he will
be back at his berth at the market on May 1.
All I could answer to the irate visitor was, “It’s complicated.”
I would have to begin by explaining he was probably referring to
the 30 year old controversy over the Peripheral Canal of the
Sacramento River Delta. Although far from Healdsburg, Ramon and
Dave remind us that we are still connected to the health of the
delta; it is the estuary where the freshwater of the Sacramento and
San Joaquin Rivers join the salt water of the Pacific Ocean in San
Francisco Bay. The delta is the natural nursery for much of the
life of California, and it is also an essential habitat for part of
the life cycle of salmonids. As Dave will tell you, the collapse of
the Delta is not the only reason salmonid populations in California
have collapsed, but it is one of many. I wanted the visitor to talk
to both the traditional farmer and the fisherman.
Salmonids in California are at the crossroads of extinction, but
Healdsburg gives me hope. I love entering town from the south and
seeing the blue banner announcing the Third Annual Healdsburg Wild
Steelhead Festival. It is a signal that this community is dedicated
to doing whatever it can to prevent the extinction of wild
steelhead in the waters of our Russian River Watershed. The banners
that line Healdsburg Avenue parallel Foss Creek, which was once
filled with fish. The restoration of Foss Creek has begun, and if
you visit the Purity Lot you can see what has been accomplished to
restore the native riparian plants, thereby improving the
conditions for steelhead to return to our local streams.
This Friday, February 5, The Steelhead Gala Dinner at Hotel
Healdsburg will feature Wild Alaskan Steelhead. The guest speaker
will be Jim Lichatowich, author of “Salmon without Rivers”. Jim has
been a fisheries scientist for 30 years, and he is a persuasive
advocate for wild salmon. His other works include the landmark
article in “Trout” magazine, “Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads”
which predicted the situation that our Pacific salmon and steelhead
fisheries are now facing.
Jim also contributed to the Trout Unlimited special report, “A
Blueprint for Hatchery Reform” and has been one of the West Coast’s
leading advocates for watershed and habitat restoration to bring
back our wild populations of salmon and steelhead. On Saturday,
February 6, the Plaza will be filled with steelhead related
activities.
I wish my family could be here to learn more about our
steelhead, but this weekend is my turn to make the trip across the
state to visit my brother’s family. He is the President of the
Central California Almond Growers Association, his wife is one of
my best friends, and they are the parents of two children. His
concern is for the almond growers who have had their water
allocations cut back so more instream flows could be allowed for
fish in the delta during the dry seasons. My concern is for his
livelihood, but also for the possible extinction of wild salmon and
steelhead in California. I want my nephew and niece, Liam and
Fiona, to have a healthy home in their future, and I hope that will
include the diversity of farmers and fishermen.
Mary Kelley is the manager of the Healdsburg Farmers’ Market.
The market is dormant for the winter.