To support ongoing efforts to improve conditions for the imperiled Clear Lake hitch, a native fish found only in Clear Lake watershed and its tributaries, the State Water Resources Control Board yesterday adopted emergency regulations that allow staff to collect information from water users to evaluate how pumping affects creek flows that are critical for the species’ habitat. Millions of hitch, also known as “chi” to local tribes, once thrived in the watershed, but poor water quality, invasive species, passage barriers and inadequate flows have contributed to long-term declines of the population, with the numbers plummeting over the last decade. Insufficient creek flows from February through June can prevent access to spawning habitat or strand and kill the fish before they migrate back to Clear Lake or before eggs can hatch, creating a primary threat to the species’ survival.