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Conditions on the Lower Klamath River are making a repeat of last year's record salmon kill extremely probable. You can help get more water to the fish by filling out the filling out the form at the bottom of the page and clicking "Send". It will be sent to all the elected officials and agencies listed prefaced by your comments (should you wish to add any). 
Thank you for your support. The letter will be e-mailed to the following: President George Bush
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Senate Committee on the Environment
House Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Committee Gale Norton...Department of the Interior Jeffery McCracken...Bureau of Reclamation National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
Dear Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen, Your attention and action is urgently needed NOW to provide water to prevent a repeat of last year's Klamath River Fish Kill. The Lower Klamath River Basin experienced an extended period of thunderstorms and cool weather during the end of July and the beginning of August, 2003. The rains increased flows at the mouth of the Klamath River and lowered water temperatures. The change in river conditions brought numerous fall run salmon and steelhead into the system. Conditions have returned to normal and water temperatures are now in the mid seventies! Although the steelhead are still in the river mouth region, the salmon, which entered the system, have moved upriver. The record low water flows and high water temperatures have created river conditions in which salmon cannot survive. The fish currently in the Klamath system will be stressed, and if current conditions continue, there is a strong probability they will develop the same disease responsible for last year's fish kill, the largest in the history of the Western US. When the main salmon run starts up river in a couple of weeks, they will meet the diseased fish already in the system and we will see another massive fish kill. "If we don't get a release of water into the system NOW, we will see another kill," Dan Carter, a fishing guide on the Lower Klamath quoted in The Fish Sniffer. To complicate matters, the information on water flows provided by the US Geological Service website does not match observed flows, according to many fishing guides I have talked to. This is also reminiscent of last year when flow data WAS NOT AVAILABLE for 5 days in the middle of the fish kill. This allows government agencies to say there isn't a problem when complaints about low flows arise! A 50,000 acre feet reserve has been set aside in the Trinity Reservoir for emergency use to prevent another fish kill. According to Jeffrey McCracken, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, this water will be released starting in late August if the Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and the Tribes agree conditions warrant its use. Humboldt County has a water allocation which will not be used this year. This water could be used to begin releases now rather than waiting for September. Editors Note: When we published late Friday night, the preceding paragraph was the best information we had to work with. Fortunately, Jill Geist, District 5 Supervisor in Humboldt County provided us with the following clarification Monday Morning August 18, 2003: "Humboldt County has a permanent entitlement to at least 50,000 acre-feet of water annually from the Trinity River Division that is established in federal statute, Bureau of Reclamation contract and State permit. Humboldt County notified the Secretary in March it intends to use its entitlement for the lower Klamath fishery in EVERY YEAR it is needed. However, the Bureau is resisting because of anticipated opposition from Central Valley Project contractors. Those contractors do not want the Bureau to recognize Humboldt County's entitlement that has been in effect since 1959 but which has been ignored by the Bureau ever since because of the Bureau's interest in diverting as much water to the Central Valley as possible. (The Bureau has not even accounted for the Humboldt County contract entitlement in its pending proposed long term CVP OCAP.) The "reserve" you refer to is a one-time authorization by the court handling the litigation by Westlands Water District and others that opposes the Trinity Restoration Record of Decision. That reserve essentially was carved out of the water that is needed for Trinity mainstem restoration in late spring and early summer. The "reserve" robs Peter to pay Paul." We are facing an emergency now. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! The fishery and the economy of the Lower Klamath region cannot afford a repeat of last year's disaster. It is high time to put aside political differences and bureaucratic foot dragging to take care of urgent business. Sincerely
We have disabled the "Action Alert" at this time, 8/22/03. Thank you for your participation! There were hundreds of letters sent from this page!! Water releases from Lewiston Dam were increased. |
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