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its ability to reclaim a portion of the water that is now diverted from its basin. The fishery is the chief asset of Trinity County's rural economy. To improve the fishery, the county was challenged with increasing instream flows sufficiently to create the hydrologic conditions necessary for spawning and survival of anadromous stocks, specifically, to: ^ Maintain river temperatures below the lethal threshold during critical life stages of the anadromous fish; and ^ Arrest the severe sediment loading of the river from the disturbed commercial timberlands in the watershed because sediments compact the spawning gravels and impair reproduction. Accomplishing Watershed Objectives Trinity County was able to accomplish its watershed restoration objectives through three strategies. First, in 1992, Trinity County and the Hoopa Valley Tribe were successful in inserting into federal legisla- tion reforming the CVP a mandate for greatly improving the Trinity stream flow regime to restore the fishery (see Central Valley Project, California). It is estimated that the increased flows will restore some S6% of the historic anadromous fish habitat in the river below project dams. While this is a major achievement for the downstream resources, the continued operation of the dams on the upper portion of the river remains a barrier to migrating fish. Second, pending the improved flow regime, Trinity County was successful in proceedings before the local and state water boards advocating a legally enforce- able temperature standard for the Trinity River. The result of this effort was the amendment of the basin plan required under the federal Clean Water Act to direct the Bureau of Reclamation (which operates the CVP) to maintain temperatures below the lethal threshold in critical reaches of the stream. The temperature objectives adopted by the boards were approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and are binding under both federal and state law. Third, the Trinity River Task Force adopted an innovative program for erosion control in the basin to ensure long-term maintenance of the Trinity fishery. The task force devised a management strategy for the acquisition of an entire watershed of industrial forestlands for erosion control In 1992, NHI worked with the Trust for Public Land to secure federal funds for the forestland acquisition. For More Information Contact: Gregory Thomas, President Natural Heritage Institute l 14 Sansome Street, Suite 1200 San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: (41S) 288-OSSO Fax: (41S) 288-OSSS E-mail: nhi@gc.apc.org Trinity River Task Force In 1992 legislation, Congress charged the Trinity River Task Force -local, state and federal natural resource management agencies and municipal authorities -with overseeing watershed restoration. 25