Partnering for Clear Lake
Tribal, state, and local governments recently signed an agreement to work together to restore the Clear Lake watershed and the Clear Lake hitch, a threatened fish found nowhere else. USGS scientists joined partners at the signing at Big Valley Rancheria in Lakeport, then took guests out on the lake to share how USGS leads long-term monitoring of the hitch.
The agreement, formally the Clear Lake Watershed and Chi (Ṣátti) Memorandum of Understanding Co-Management Agreement, brings together 23 governments: seven Tribal governments, four local governments, and 12 state agencies. It is the first watershed co-management agreement under California's Tribal Stewardship Policy. The partners will share decisions and coordinate restoration across the entire watershed rather than one project at a time. At the center of the work is the Clear Lake hitch, known as Chi to Pomo people and Ṣátti to Lake Miwok people. The fish holds deep cultural meaning for the Tribes who have cared for the lake for thousands of years. Recovering it depends on healthier streams, wetlands, and water quality across the watershed.
USGS California Water Science Center staff Michelle Shouse, Fred Feyrer, Jordan Buxton, and Danielle Palm attended the signing, along with Russ Taylor-Grimes from the USGS regional office. After the ceremony, USGS staff took Tribal leaders, state agency leaders, and other guests out on Clear Lake by boat, giving them a firsthand look at the waters where USGS crews monitor the hitch. On board, Feyrer, a research fish biologist, talked informally with guests about the fish and the monitoring USGS leads to track it. He held up a display showing a map of the lake, photos of field crews at work, and the logos of partner agencies. The time on the water gave partners a closer look at the science behind the work they had just signed on to.
Long-term hitch monitoring, led by USGS, is one of the projects recommended by the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake and was highlighted at the event. USGS has monitored the hitch population in Clear Lake since 2017. Each early summer, USGS biologists set gill nets across all three arms of the lake to see how many hitch they catch and how large the fish are, which shows how the population is changing from year to year. Members of local Tribes, including Robinson Rancheria, have taken part in the sampling since 2022. The monitoring is funded mainly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
After multiple years of record low hitch catches, our long-term monitoring data contributed to tribes and other agencies taking action, said Jordan Buxton, Biologist in the Aquatic Ecology Group at the USGS California Water Science Center. "Tribal members were out on the water with us collecting that data, and their participation was a vital part of the effort."
Before any signatures, the day began with a blessing. The Xabatin, or "Big Lake," feather dancers, Pomo dancers from Upper Lake and Big Valley, opened the ceremony with a traditional Pomo dance meant to bless the signing. Watch part of their performance below in b-roll footage provided by the California Natural Resources Agency.
Video courtesy of the California Natural Resources Agency.