MMWD plans need to respect all wildlife In a commentary published earlier this month (“Recently active MMWD needs to keep pushing projects,” July 7), IJ political columnist Dick Spotswood appears to admonish the environmental community for seeking to protect the few remaining fish in Ross Creek. Marin old-timers will tell you that, in the 1950s, there was an abundance of steelhead trout and other fish in Corte Madera Creek and its tributaries, including Ross Creek. Youngsters could blithely catch fish all day long in those carefree times.
Then, sometime in the 1960s, the engineers stepped in and decided the best way to rescue Ross Valley residents from occasional flooding was to bulldoze Corte Madera Creek and construct a concrete channel in Kentfield, a structure that sadly persists to this day. The once-plentiful fish habitat was destroyed — the fish population never returned in numbers to Corte Madera Creek and its tributaries, including Ross Creek. In case Spotswood missed it, California’s coastal and inland fisheries are on life support.
Most recreational and commercial fishing is on hold pending a “hoped-for” recovery. Fish-eating gray whales and brown pelicans are suffering massive die-offs from starvation. California’s white sturgeon population has been decimated and is headed toward being listed as a threatened species.
Contributing factors are a warming planet caused by human activity; historic flood control projects (like Corte Madera Creek); massive .