The future status of the Clear Lake Hitch remains in doubt. To date the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have not made a ruling on the petition to declare the hitch endangered.
In April the FWS announced they would study a proposal to designate the hitch as a threatened or endangered species. At the time the service indicated the process would take one year.
Listing the hitch as endangered adds levels of protection, both to the fish and its spawning streams.
The hitch status was discussed at the Thursday meeting of the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee and the members were told that the FWS is still considering the petition but haven’t made a ruling. Several members of the Committee said it could take the FWS years to come up with a ruling.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a national organization dedicated to conservation, in 2012 petitioned the federal government to place the hitch on the endangered list. The Center at the same time petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to do the same.
The state did classify the hitch as “threatened,” which put various protections on the species.
Proponents of federal classification point to dramatically declining spawning numbers over recent years, as well as the importance of the hitch to Pomo culture and the unique local environment.
Hitch are one of the oldest fish in Clear Lake, dating back at least 10,000 years. The Clear Lake hitch is a subspecies of a hitch found throughout the Sacramento Valley and along the North Coast. It differs from other hitch in that it has larger eyes and a deeper body.
One reason for the decline has been the four-year drought. Hitch have to be able to migrate up streams entering Clear Lake to lay their eggs. There also has to be enough water for the hitch fry to be able to swim back down to the lake.
In recent years the primary hitch spawning creeks such as Adobe and Kelsey have been pretty much dry by May. These creeks also hold a lot of debris such as old concrete blocks, downed trees and other items.
Over recent decades development along Clear Lake and tributaries has also degraded or destroyed the hitch’s habitat.
Opponents of an endangered listing point to the potential for negative economic impact, citing presumed declines in fishing and tourism to follow such a decision. Some believe farms drawing water from the lake would also be affected.
One member of public who attended the meeting and lives on Kelsey Creek said the problem is that over the years the silt buildup at the mouth of the creek has prevented the hitch from reaching their spawning areas and it needs to be dredged. Carolyn Ruttan of the Lake County Water Resources Department said that it isn’t just Kelsey Creek where the silt build up has closed off the creek but in most of the other creeks that flow into the lake as well.
The Clear Lake species of the hitch is found no where else in the world but in Clear Lake and its tributaries.
