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TIDINGS
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

July, 1999
VOLUME IV
ISSUE VII

INSTITUTE CONTRACT CHALLENGED; RENEWED FOR 1 YEAR
The Oakland City Council was all set to renew our Clean Lake Contract on June 22nd when Local 790 of the AFL-CiO objected. Council quickly postponed a decision for one week, leaving Institute activities in limbo. Union concerns centered around two outside contracts, ours, and one for algal pumping. Although no Union members lost their jobs when Institute volunteers took over the responsibility to remove trash from the Lake, the Union considers this to be their work. Education, Lake enhancement, grant writing etc. are activities we perform that are not considered Union work.

Thanks to intensive efforts by Council member John Russo, a plan to please all parties was worked out and accepted. On June 29th, Council passed a resolution to renew the Clean Lake Contract for one year (our request for a multi-year contract was rejected). As a result of the agreement, the contract for the Aqua Mogalgal pumping boat was canceled (the company appears to have gone bankrupt anyway). T he City harvester boat will assume complete responsibility for controlling the algae and widgeon grass in the Lake.

Also, a full time City I Union employee under the direction of Public Works will be assigned to Lake Merritt. Duties are likely to include operating the Harvester boat, cleaning the Lake and other activities yet to be determined. The institute will continue operating in the next 11 months, during which time our actions will be closely scrutinized. The moral is, keeping the Lake clean requires not only trash removal, but also political activity. We need to re-double our efforts at clean up, education, enhancement, and providing the City with information needed for projects such as dredging, storm drain filters, wetlands and bulkhead wall restoration.

FISHING PROGRAM DE-RAILED
Just when the $3,000 hatchery plans had been completed and steelhead trout began returning from the sea to Lake Merritt, a ban on fishing is being demanded. In a two month period this spring, about eight waterfowl were found tangled with fishing line or impaled with hooks. Due to the resultant pressure put on local politicians and the State Department of Fish and Game (DEG), all stocking of the Lake with trout, all urban fishing clinics for kids and state support of the hatchery have been suspended. To get a ban on fishing, the City may appeal to the State Fish and Game Commission.

Although we have found loose fishing line around the Lake only 2-3 times in more than 2 years, a slight increase in fishing has been blamed for the injuries. Since seagulls, cormorants etc. fly long distances, there is no direct evidence that the three year old fishing program has caused the problem, which nevertheless needs to be solved. It is more likely that fishing at the 7th St. pump station for striped bass etc. is the source of the problem. Needed is a city program to require a daily fishing permit (as is done elsewhere), a requirement for barbless hooks, no live bait, and keeping hooks and line away from birds. But who in the City can take on the challenge for such a program? For more information, call 238-2290.

STORMWATER STRATEGIES
To view the 1999 report from the Natural Resources Defense Council on Storrnwater Strategies, log in at www.nrdc.org. Complete with Ill chapters, 7 tables and case study summaries, this in-depth report offers ideas for reducing what EPA considers the most important source of contamination in the nation's s waters, including our own Lake Merritt (make that especially Lake Merritt).

NUMBERS OF GEESE DOUBLE
Mr. Andrew K.C. Wong loves Lake Merritt, and for the past two years he has been counting the geese from his balcony high above the waters. Last summer he tallied 460, but this year their numbers have almost doubled to 820 +/- 5%. How high will the tally be next year?

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