Like Speaking a Second Language, Corpsmembers Fluent in Using Logs To Restore Salmon Habitat
Casting a net
Josafat Ismael Alvarez III prepares to cast a net into the Delta, helping the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service monitor fish species of concern.
Finding fun and meaning from a difficult task. It’s what young adults in the California Conservation Corps do every day. Along the North Coast though, they take the work—and the impact—to a different level.
“I’m out in the middle of the woods doing stuff that most people don’t get to do, saving fish,” said Corpsmember Alexandra Panarra. “It’s different. It’s unique. Nobody else does it.”
Alex and her crew spent weeks at a time camping deep in the forests of Mendocino County shouting out terms like grip, slack, choke, sling, and more. It’s all in the name of saving endangered and threatened Coho Salmon. And the Corpsmembers do it, by placing thousand-pound logs in local creeks and rivers.
Josafat Ismael Alvarez III holds a threadfin shad (top) and an american shad (bottom). These two fish are commonly found in the Delta region but are invasive, originally found in the rivers and streams flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.
After a few months responding to flood emergencies, Josafat transferred into the CCC-NOAA Veterans Corps Fisheries program where he’s monitoring fish populations living in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, close to his hometown of Stockton. “Other than being on a boat on the water, I had to learn everything from the ground up,” he said.
Josafat is learning a lot. Everything from how to measure water quality to identify numerous native and invasive fish species living in the Delta. The data he, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service team, collects will help state and federal agencies understand the status of fish species of concern.
Josafat and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service team measure the lengths of the fish they caught and log the data.
In 2017, Josafat Ismael Alvarez III was working on a Navy aircraft carrier stationed in Virginia. “I was a blue shirt,” he said. “When aircraft landed onto the ship, I would chock the wheels of the jets and chain them to the flight deck.” His job ensured that the planes would stay in place while out at sea.
After leaving the military service, Josafat searched for a new opportunity that would take him outdoors. Swapping out his blue shirt for a blue hat, he decided to join the California Conservation Corps.
Josafat Ismael Alvarez III holds a threadfin shad (top) and an american shad (bottom). These two fish are commonly found in the Delta region but are invasive, originally found in the rivers and streams flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.
“I’m out in the middle of the woods doing stuff that most people don’t get to do, saving fish,” said Corpsmember Alexandra Panarra. “It’s different. It’s unique. Nobody else does it.”
Alex and her crew spent weeks at a time camping deep in the forests of Mendocino County shouting out terms like grip, slack, choke, sling, and more. It’s all in the name of saving endangered and threatened Coho Salmon. And the Corpsmembers do it, by placing thousand-pound logs in local creeks and rivers.
Corpsmembers learn hands-on the intricacies of using specialized equipment, while challenging their minds and bodies to stay patient through the process. The end result, after water levels rise and recede, will be safe pools of water for the fish to rest and spawn. Salmon Restoration Projects like this, with no machinery involved, are unique to the CCC.
“Sometimes it’s hard, but honestly, it’s really nice,” Alex says of her experience. “You realize how special all of this is, to be a part of helping a species you know is endangered.”
