Pisces News
Cal-Neva Chapter News
March 2016
In This Issue
Quick Links
Many hands make for light work.  There is quite a lot to do and see, as a member of AFS.  Whether you can spare some time to help with the day-to-day business of the Cal-Neva chapter, or have an event or article that bears mentioning, every interaction enhances the vitality of this important society.

Members are always invited to offer up articles, event announcements, project information, or other fisheries miscellany that fellow AFS members will want to know.  (Links, photos, etc. are important).  Click here to send an e-mail.

Speak up early and often!  Contribute to the ongoing conversation in the Cal-Neva Facebook Group.  Post a new article or essay via LinkedIn.  Tag up with Cal-Neva on Twitter.  Whatever else, be out and about doing your fisheries thing, and be seen doing it!
 

  WDAFS Meeting_ Reno 2016

It is all but upon us!  If you haven't made your plans already, take a brief moment to get conference registration handled. 

Other plans to be made:
  • Sign up to volunteer- the networking opportunities are valuable, and it may help legitimate business travel, should your employer ask.  Contact Patrick Crain or Jane Sullivan to see how you can help!
  • Set up your personal or corporate donation to Cal Neva to assist in the addition of special events, extra meeting benefits, student outreach, and other important society endeavors.  We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, all cash contributions and donations are tax deductible - contact Felipe La Luz or Jim Bowker for more information!

 

Full conference website is here. 

 

CalNeva Chapter President, Ramona Swenson
Message from the President

Are you ready to accelerate your career and give something back for fisheries?  Please consider serving on the Executive Committee. AFS is proudly volunteer run. AFS provides great opportunities to develop your leadership skills and build valuable connections with fisheries colleagues.
 
My active involvement with AFS on the Cal-Neva Executive Committee has been very rewarding. My first fisheries job after school came from relationships with AFS members and from serving as a committee chair on the Executive Committee. New career opportunities have come through AFS resources and contacts. Now as Chapter President, I have opportunities for further leadership training through AFS. I've enjoyed networking and building friendships with other fisheries leaders across the Western Division and Society.
 
If you're not sure where your interests and talents may fit, contact us. There are many ways to get involved: Annual Meeting Planning, Continuing Education, Communications, and more
 
Cheers,
Ramona
 
2016 Cal Neva Executive Committee Election

 
The Cal-Neva Bylaws and Nominations Committee reminds you that your Chapter needs your skills, passion, and perspectives to build a vibrant, inclusive, and multicultural corps of volunteer leaders!

Volunteers are the driving force of professional and scientific societies such as Cal-Neva AFS.  Our mission can only be fulfilled through the time and knowledge volunteered by members just like you.  Volunteering also provides many benefits, including the opportunity to network with your peers, learn about trends and issues in fisheries, and gain leadership training and experience.

Committees serve a vital function in the advancement of Cal-Neva's mission by providing the technical leadership that allows our Chapter to hold successful annual meetings, comment on resource policy, and provide outreach and training opportunities.

It Is Your Society -> Get Involved!
 
-> Nominations are open for Chapter President (3-year term) and Chapter Secretary.  
The President's duties are to represent the Chapter and to chair the Executive Committee. The president is also a member of the Western Division AFS, represents the CalNeva at the annual Western Division AFS meeting. The Chapter will announce the new President Elect and Secretary at our Annual Chapter meeting in Reno co-hosted with WDAFS (March 21-24).

The Secretary keeps and distributes the official records of the Chapter to include the annual business meeting, compile minutes of the Executive Committee meetings periodically scheduled by the President, and discharge other duties that may be required by the Chapter Executive Committee.


-> Executive Committee Vacancies: 
Conservation Committee Chair  
International Committee Chair 
Chapter Historian Chair 
Bylaws and Nominations

Description of all committees and vacancies.
 
Contact Ramona Swenson to apply for a committee appointment or submit your name for Presidential nomination.
 


Current Candidates:  
  • For Cal-Neva PRESIDENT ELECT, LAURIE EARLEY:
     
Originally from Vermont, Laurie has spent 10 years working in California for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service as a fisheries biologist.  She moved to California after working a summer in Alaska, where she realized there was so much of the country left to explore.  Upon landing in California, she quickly connected with her surroundings and realized how many different fisheries issues were present.  Laurie's work in California has focused on salmonid habitat restoration on Sacramento River tributaries and more recently working in mountain meadows and streams.  She is very passionate about native species conservation and restoration, and works towards providing quality habitat for aquatic species.  A field biologist at heart, she doesn't miss a day where she can tromp or snorkel around the rivers and streams of Northern California. 

Laurie has been a member of California-Nevada AFS chapter since 2004 and more recently she's been an active member of the Cal-Neva ExComm as the Time/Place Chair.  She's also been a member of the Georgia and Auburn Chapters (Auburn Chapter President), both the Southern and Western Divisions and the Habitat Committee.   Laurie was also the recipient of the Southern Division AFS Jimmie Pigg Memorial Outstanding Student Achievement Award for 2012.  Laurie was selected for her commitment to student excellence in warm water stream-related research, education, and professional and public service.

Over the past 3 years, she's helped plan the Cal-Neva Annual Meetings and is looking forward to holding a meeting of her own.  As president she'd like to work on getting new and current members more involved in the chapter and tackling fisheries issues within California and Nevada.  She holds a Master's degree in Fisheries Science and Management from Auburn University and Bachelor's degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology from the University of Rhode Island.  Outside of work she enjoys the outdoors with her husband and their two dogs, gardening, cooking, or curling up next to the fire with a good book.

  • For Cal-Neva SECRETARY, STEPHANIE THEIS:
 
Stephanie Theis I have been actively involved in protecting the fishes of California since receiving my BS from Humboldt  State University in 1990, and after attending graduate school at Frostburg State University in Maryland. My passion is protecting our limited fish  resources in a way that balances the maximum beneficial conditions possible for fish with human use. I grew up on a farm and saw firsthand the strong need for water by farmers and other water users, but also saw how often the water was either misused or used in a manner not conducive to protecting the natural ecosystem. I vowed to do my best to make sure the ecosystem was always considered as important. I joined AFS while a fisheries student at HSU, and was the Cal-Neva treasurer from 2009 to 2011, and stepped in as interim Secretary in 2015. I will continue working towards bringing back the excitement into the Chapter, and encouraging our youth to become more active. 
 
I have worked all over California, including time as a District Fisheries Biologist for the El Dorado National Forest, 10 years with Jones & Stokes (prior to ICF), and 11 years with MWH. I spent many years conducting surveys on the Yuba River, doing monitoring for a Napa River restoration project, floodplain habitat restoration project development, fish modeling, and endangered species consultation. I have also been actively involved in fish passage throughout the Pacific Northwest, with California projects including the Yuba and Upper Sacramento rivers. I have worked on fish reintroduction programs, such as spring-run Chinook salmon back into the San Joaquin River, and winter-run Chinook salmon above Shasta Dam. My boondoggle, however, is my annual snorkel, habitat and macroinvertebrate surveys in the headwaters of the East Fork South Fork Salmon River, bordering Franks Church Wilderness of No Return, with beautiful westslope cutthroat trout, redband trout, spring Chinook salmon, and bull trout. There is nothing like seeing beautiful fish in such a beautiful setting! In summer months, I go whitewater rafting on the American River, and kayaking on Lake Natoma and Folsom Lake. 

Save the Date:  03.29.16 
Delta and Longfin Smelt:  Is Extinction Inevitable?

 
Watercolor by Rene C Reyes 

A Center for Coastal Ocean Issues and Delta Science Program Symposium Presented by:  UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute and the Delta Stewardship Council

Where:  UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center, Ballroom A

When:  8:30AM - 5:00PM

FREE and open to the public! 
 
 Announcing the Roelofs Humboldt Fisheries Fund 

Roelofs Humboldt Fisheries Fund
Photo by Richard Grost
Dr. Terry Roelofs, Emeritus Professor of Fisheries Biology at Humboldt State University,has inspired and mentored numerous cohorts of fisheries students since his arrival atHSUin 1970. Terry has the rivers and streams of the North Coast running through his veins and has tirelessly shared his love of fisheries and sustainable fishing with his many students and colleagues. We are seeking donations to this fund, which was originally established by The Humboldt Fishin' Lumberjacks, a group of HSU Fisheries Alumni that have met annually since 2002 to share quality fishing time together. The goal of the Fund is to provide scholarships for students pursuing an advanced degree in fisheries at HSU with a focus on fisheries conservation and enhancement research that applies to or is in North Coast watersheds and adjacent marine waters.

The fund is established with the Humboldt Area Foundation, and it's easy to contribute online or by check. For more information on how to contribute, please click here. Please make sure to note your contribution is for the ROELOFS HUMBOLDT FISHERIES FUND. You may also contact Craig Heberer (760-805-5984) or Chris Witt (707-442-2993).

Your donation will assist students in the Fisheries Department at Humboldt State University, with the first annual scholarship to be awarded in 2015.
Student Subunits!

The Santa Cruz Monterey Bay Area Subunit (SCMBAS)
held their inaugural business meeting on Tuesday evening, February 16, 2016 at Long Marine Lab, UC Santa Cruz. Distinguished Professor Marc Mangel started the meeting off with a seminar about his role as the independent scientific expert in the International Court of Justice case evaluating the scientific merits of the controversial Japanese whaling program in the Southern Ocean. Thereafter members discussed moving restoration and outreach projects forward.  

 

Hayley Nuetzel, chair of the SCMBAS outreach committee, is actively working with teachers in planning lessons following her funded WDAFS proposal to work with local high schools to create awareness of fisheries issues, such as mislabeling of seafood species.

Katie Kobayashi, chair of the SCMBAS restoration committee, is attempting to sponsor a local beach and a section of the major local Santa Cruz river, the San Lorenzo, for ongoing stewardship by SCMBAS.

We have big plans for the rest of our initial year as a Subunit. Looking ahead, the SCMBAS membership eagerly anticipates the Cal-Neva/WDAFS meeting this March in Reno, and is grateful for generous support from both the Chapter and Division for their attendance.
- Dave Fryxell, VP, SCMBAS AFS

 

The Humboldt Subunit

We will have a fishing derby from our campus hatchery settling pond. This is a great event which is both fun for the students and help to the hatchery. We plan to do fish prints onto paper and t-shirts at this event as well with the fish caught to sell or raffle off at other events. We will have a fish-head boil to educate students about the complex bones of several different species.

Multiple potlucks have been planned to bring the club together and mix with other aquatic resources clubs on campus. One of these potlucks will be a faculty appreciation dinner where the students can talk to the faculty in a more relaxed setting and get to know the department leaders better. 

We plan to host some interactive talks with professionals which will introduce students to work skills such as PIT-tagging, survey techniques, help with job resumes, and how to get the job you want.

We would like to do a fishing tournament with our school's bass team since many of us are anglers as well. We have already had joint events with other clubs such as the Water Resources Club, and the Wildlife club including a potluck and participating in a river restoration project. On top of all this, we will continue to volunteer with local groups such as Mad River Alliance, Cal Trout, Watershed Stewards Programs, and more to help gain support for our club as well as give back to our community.


The American Fisheries Society Sacramento Davis Student Subunit presented Diversity in the Fisheries World Discussion/Open Forum in February.

The evening was devoted to open the discussion about diversity, and the lack of diversity in the academic/professional fisheries world.  The objective of this event was to create a safe place that intersects fisheries science with personal experiences.

Davis Subunit President, Rosalyn Lam led a brief workshop preceding open discussion.

Resources:  
 

 

   
WDAFS Student Colloquium 

Final RSVPs for the 2016 Western Division AFS Student Colloquium are due April 1st!

The Colloquium will be held in Lander, WY, April 13-16.

Please contact Richard Walker , University of Wyoming Student Subunit president, with your RSVP or for more information.

Click here for the event flier.