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LAKE COUNTY – The US Department of Agriculture has designated Lake and 12 other California counties as primary natural disaster areas due to extreme weather conditions.
The USDA reported that the designations were made on May 9.
Lake County Agricultural Commissioner Stave Hajik said Lake has been designated a disaster area both for drought conditions last fall and for freeze conditions earlier this year.
“The only reason we're a freeze-listed county is we're an adjacent county to a county that has freeze damage,” he said.
Two local strawberry growers and one vegetable grower are believed to have had serious affects from the freeze, said Hajik, but the damage was mostly to equipment, like sprinklers, rather than crops.
Hajik said he applied for the disaster designation for the county in March, after Tim Strong, a local veterinarian and president of the county's cattlemen's association, told him about concerns for the county's rangelands due to the dry fall and winter weather.
Hajik said he did a survey of the county after speaking with Strong, and found that the area's rangelands had indeed been damaged by lack of rain during the period of Dec. 11 through Feb. 7.
Although rain did eventually arrive, it was too late to alleviate the rangelands' dry conditions, said Hajik.
He estimated $661,000 in damage to county ranchers because of the dry weather: of that, $151,000 is for rangelands, $340,000 for damage to hay crops and $170,000 for permanent pasture.
The declarations make Lake County farmers and ranchers eligible to receive low-interest emergency loans, said Erica Szlosek, spokesperson for the USDA Farm Services Agency.
Szlosek said those who intend to apply for assistance have eight months from the May 9 declaration to do so. She said applicants must have had a 30-percent loss to their operation to qualify for the 3.75-percent loans.
Hajik said a “major” dry period in the state in 2002 made it possible for farmers to receive free assistance that they weren't required to pay back.
Strong said effects of the drier conditions can be seen around the county.
For cattlemen like him, the biggest issue is lack of grass.
“We had that real cold weather in January and we didn't have very much rain,” he said.
The last few rains helped a little, said Strong, but he added, “the damage was really already done.”
He estimated that more than 50 percent of the county's grasslands were affected.
Cattlemen who put their cattle on winter range usually pull the cows off a little early to leave some feed behind for the fall, said Strong. Less rain meant ranchers were having to pull their cows off the range even earlier, with even less residual feed left behind. Winter range depends on water for seasonal streams and ponds, as well, said Strong.
The end result is that cattlemen are cutting their grazing season much shorter and having to supplement with more hay, which means a bigger cut out of farmers' bottom lines.
Strong said he believes the full effect of the drier weather will become more apparent next fall, when he expects to see less grass.
In addition to Lake, the counties listed as primary natural disaster areas due to drought and freeze conditions last fall and this spring are Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Stanislaus and Tulare.
Counties contiguous to the 13 primary natural disaster areas also are eligible for assistance. Those counties are Alameda, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, Glenn, Inyo, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz Stanislaus, Solano, Sonoma, Tuolumne, Yolo and Ventura.
Lake County farmers and ranchers can call the Farm Services Agency office in Mendocino County in Ukiah, 468-9223, for more information, or go online for forms and information at www.fsa.usda.gov.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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CLEARLAKE OAKS – What's the biggest fish you've ever caught?
Chances are, not too many of us have reeled in a 28-pound catfish. But that's just what James Paschke of Woodland did on Friday evening, a feat which helped him win the 26th annual Clearlake Oaks Catfish Derby this weekend.
The Clearlake Oaks derby is billed as the largest catfish derby west of the Mississippi. It's hosted by the Clearlake Oaks-Glenhaven Business Association, said Gail Jonas, the event's chair.
This weekend's derby also had the biggest field in its history, said Dennis Locke, another of the dedicated team of volunteers who organize the derby.
In all, the derby welcomed 487 adult fishermen – and women – along with 96 children, said Jonas.
The event offered a Kids Derby for ages 16 and under. Locke said they set out to attract more kids entries, and as a result got almost twice the normal number of young competitors.
Paschke's 28.23-pound winner helped him land a grand prize of a new boat, trailer and motor.
“That's a nice fish,” said Jonas. “We've had bigger, but that's fairly good-sized.”
Many of the fish brought in for the tournament were caught near M&M Campground on the Peninsula, near Rattlesnake Island and Indian Island, near the mouth of Cache Creek, Jonas said.
Other top finishers in the adult derby were: second place, William Bhader III of San Jose, 26.15-pound fish; third place, James Champlin, San Jose, 24.63 pounds; fourth place, Josh Gouker, Marysville, 24.57; fifth place, Sheila Bird, Oroville, 24.41 pounds; sixth place, Pamela Woods, Clearlake, 24.18 pounds; seventh place, Justin Lane, Hood River, Ore., 24.05 pounds; eighth place, Donnell Thompson, Pittsburg, 23.82 pounds; ninth place, Michael Reed, Greenville, 23.19 pounds; 10th place, Joshua Lane, Hood River, 23.18 pounds; 11th place, Tommy Wheeler, Sutter, 22.85 pounds; 12th place, Steve Johnson, Oceanside, 22.51 pounds; 13th place, Gary Moore, Clearlake, 21.56 pounds; 14th place, Kerry Hamilton, Boron, 21.48 pounds; 15th place, Lee Harris, Oakland, 21.39 pounds; 16th place, Matthew Ross, Clearlake, 21.10 pounds; 17th place, John Willis Jr., Lakeport, 21.00 pounds; 18th place, Gene Shogren, Yuba City, 20.31 pounds; 19th place, Colin Johnson, Santa Rosa, 19.33 pounds; 20th place, Brad Zazzetti, Forestville, 19.26 pounds; 21st place, Ricky Williamson, Clearlake, 18.43 pounds.
Locke said everyone had a great time in spite of the high winds, which affected fishing conditions. People fished both from the shorelines and from boats, Jonas added.
She said about 70 percent of the tournament participants came from outside the county, with visitors from as far away as Maryland, Oregon, Nebraska and Montana.
The Catfish Derby is the association's major fundraiser of the year, said Jonas, helping the group fund the community's Fourth of July fireworks, assist the senior center and local schools, and contribute to the community's new park at The Plaza.
“We try to spend it where it's going to help people the most in our community,” she said.
Jonas, who estimated she has worked on about six or seven of the tournaments, said it's inspiring to see everyone pull together to make the event happen.
“Everybody just pitches in and it makes you feel really good,” she said.
The process of organizing the derbies take about nine months, Jonas said. “We start in September and we work all year.”
Which means, of course, that they have a few months of rest before the team of volunteers – which includes about 40 community members, according to Jonas – gets started on next year's event. The effort will include mailers to fisherman from recent derbies and other outreach.
More photos will be posted Monday at www.clearlakeoaks.org.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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