Three major reasons for this decline - water exports, exotic species and toxins - are being currently being explored in a series of studies by the scientists in an effort to find a solution. For breaking this story, Taugher receives the "Delta News Hero" of the year award.

After the story broke, John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, and Doug Lovell of the Northern California Council /Federation of Fly Fishers began an unprecedented campaign to unite the many fishing groups to stop state and federal government plans to export more water at the same time this food chain crash was occurring.

They sent out action alerts, convened a meeting of anglers together with the DFG and Department of Water Resources and sent letters to the governor to stop this plan, causing the state and governments to reconsider their export plans, although the plans are still in the works. For this reason, Beuttler and Lovell get the "Fight The Exports!" award.

Although these guys took the lead, the groups that participated in this historic coalition, the Allied Fishing Groups, often at loggerheads on many issues, need to get credit for taking up the cause against exports and to restore the Bay-Delta estuary.

This group includes the California Fly Fishers Unlimited, California Striped Bass Association, California Trout, Coastside Fishing Club, Delta Fly Fishers, Granite Bay Flycasters, NCC - Federation of Fly Fishers, Norcal Kayak Anglers, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Peninsula Fly Fishers, Recreational Fishing Alliance, Trout Unlimited of California, The Anglers Committee, United Anglers of California, United Pier & Shore Anglers of California and a number of fly fishing clubs. For putting aside differences and coming together for a common cause, all of these organizations receive the "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" award for 2005.

Another example of where wide ranging groups showed unity was when Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) and Representative Jim Gibbons (R-NV) sponsored an atrocious provision in a House-Senate reconciliation bill that would have sold off millions of acres of our public lands to mining and other companies. More than 750 sportsmen's and conservation groups from throughout the country, including the American Sportfishing Association, California Trout and National Wildlife Federation, signed a letter to Congress urging its defeat. The legislation was defeated on December 14. For this successfully lobbying effort to defend fish and wildlife habitat, these groups are bestowed the "No To The Fire Sale" award.

Yet another great example of coalition building occurred when former Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey and representatives of fishing, farming and environmental organizations gathered in front of Congressman Richard Pombo's office in Stockton on September 26 to deliver petitions with thousands of signatures protesting Pombo's bill to gut the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a law that has served as the last resort to protect salmon, steelhead and other fish on the brink of extinction. For their highly successful efforts at getting the media and diverse organizations to the event, Sarah Matsumoto, western organizer for the Endangered Species Coalition, and John McManus, media director or Earthjustice, receive the "Conservation Media Event of the Year" award.

A longtime stalwart in the battles to save Sacramento River and Klamath River fisheries, Friends of the River (FOR), also launched a big campaign in summer 2005 to collect letters to convince the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to operate its projects in a more fish-friendly manner in the FERC relicensing of its hydroelectric facilities on the South Fork of the American and Rubicon River. On November 3, Susan Hopkins, the new outreach director of FOR, presented over 18,000 letters from Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) ratepayers in support of restoration of the Upper American River watershed to the SMUD Board.

That's a lot of letters to collect - the most SMUD has received for any issue. For her dedication in coordinating volunteers at stores and events throughout the spring, summer and fall, Susan Hopkins gets the prestigious "Wild American River Rainbow" award for 2005!

Speaking of the American River, after years of negotiations the Bureau of Reclamation on September 8 finally agreed to support a new flow regime for the lower American River developed by the Sacramento Valley Water Forum. The agreement between the Water Forum, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will raise minimum flows on the river for the benefit of salmon, steelhead and other fish.

Three dedicated river restoration folks - Felix Smith, board member of Save the American River Foundation, Ron Stork, senior policy advocate for FOR, and Leo Winterwitz, executive director of the Water Forum - spent hundreds of often exasperating hours trying to get the Bureau to adopt water and flow standards designed to benefit salmon and steelhead populations. For their years of dedication that culminated in this victory, Smith, Stork and Winterwitz win the "Big, Bold Chinook Salmon" award.

Just like anglers showed their unity in the fight to restore the Delta, hundreds of members of the Yurok, Hoopa Valley, Karuk and Klamath tribes and their supporters in the fishing and environmental communities rallied in support of the removal of Klamath River dams in front of the State Capitol on March 14.

After marching from Riverfront Park, the group rallied at the capitol and urged Governor Schwarzenegger to serve as "Conan the Riparian" by increasing state efforts to restore the Klamath River's beleaguered salmon populations. The salmon runs are now blocked by six dams owned by Pacific Corp, a subsidiary of Scottish Power based in Glasgow, Scotland. For organizing this great, exciting and colorful event, the Yurok, Hoopa Valley, Karuk and Klamath Tribes receive the "Dam Removal Squad" award for 2005.

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe, who conducted a "war dance" to stop the expansion of Shasta Dam in September 2004, also showed in force at the march and rally for the removal of the Klamath River dams. During the course of the year, the tribe also joined a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice and a host of fish and environmental groups to block the biological opinion that the planned increases in Delta exports are based on.