6.6 26-08779:30 A.M. - (Sitting as the Lake County Watershed Protection District) Consideration of a Presentation on the 2026 Clear Lake Hitch Community Science Spawner Observation Program - Summary and Outcomes
We have participated in this program for the past two years. When the discussions originally started about how to incorporate community observations of hitch, the intention was to broaden the scope of observation. I was involved in those original discussions through my appointment to the Lake Co. Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee. In those discussions we determined that a community science program would do that. Volunteers would be trained and vetted, to ensure that the observations collected would be considered valid. Unfortunately, this program seems to be replicating Ben Ewing's limited time frame format. This doesn't do that. I'd like to see a new conversation about what the intention is of this program and how we can increase the scope of observations rather than limit them.
We have participated in this program for the past two years. When the discussions originally started about how to incorporate community observations of hitch, the intention was to broaden the scope of observation. I was involved in those original discussions through my appointment to the Lake Co. Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee. In those discussions we determined that a community science program would do that. Volunteers would be trained and vetted, to ensure that the observations collected would be considered valid. Unfortunately, this program seems to be replicating Ben Ewing's limited time frame format. This doesn't do that. I'd like to see a new conversation about what the intention is of this program and how we can increase the scope of observations rather than limit them.