Last week, the Klamath Basin
Fisheries Task Force held a meeting in Brookings, Oregon. I serve on the Task Force
representing Siskiyou County. There were several status reports of interest:
- The US Fish and
Wildlife Service has been unable to process a 2003 petition to list Pacific lamprey
because their funding has already been fully allocated to court ordered listings. (Pacific
lamprey is a traditional food and fishery of the Karuk and other local tribes.)
- A science workshop
was recently held in the “Upper Basin” focusing on water and sucker fish. The
purpose of the workshop was to develop a body of sound science for decision-making and to
connect science with the community. A similar workshop focusing on anadromous fish (salmon
and steelhead) is being planned for the Lower Basin (The “Lower Basin” is
considered to be Iron Gate to the mouth of the Klamath.)
Wild coho salmon going to the hatchery have not been put back into
the river. Also there are funding problems in getting hatchery fish marked.
NOAA fisheries is working on an Independent Science Review Panel to
develop a comprehensive plan for the entire Klamath system. The plan will identify areas
of needed research. It is hoped that the forum will allow scientists to come to agreement
on the methods of that research.
An “Upper Basin” watershed assessment is being completed
by the Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation. This includes areas in northern Siskiyou County
at the border, including Iron Gate.
http://www.kbef.org/
The Bureau of Reclamation will have a revised version of the
Klamath Conservation Implementation Plan (CIP) out for review on March 15. This will be a
system-wide federal strategy for “ecosystem restoration” and a “sustainable
economy.” Through workshops, stakeholders
” will envision a “desired future condition” to be achieved by voluntarily
cooperative efforts through existing groups. The primary federal goals of the CIP is to
recover endangered sucker fish, meet tribal trust obligations, “while continuing
human use of the water.”
The draft application from PacifiCorp for relicensing of its dams
on the Klamath river is expected to be released for a 60 day public comment around March
1. http://newwww.pacificorp.com/Article/Article1152.html
The Bureau of Reclamation reported that, until recent storms, water
was being managed for a below average water year. With the storms, lake levels were
expected to reach targets at 4141. The period between February and April will be used to
establish the water year type under which the Klamath Project will be managed this year. It was also reported that during the storm, 1,500
CFS were diverted from Lost River to the Klamath River to prevent flooding. At Iron Gate
dam, PacifiCorp was in a condition of “uncontrolled” spill of waters into the
downstream Klamath River.
Rhonda Muse of the Scott River Watershed Council (SRWC) did a
presentation on its Strategic Action Plan. I would encourage all landowners to get
actively involved in this planning process as soon as possible. This comprehensive
planning includes the entire watershed, including the rivers. It is looking at studies of
things such as river flows, instream flows for fish, surface and groundwater
relationships, and water quality. The assessment of the watershed will then be used to
plan changes in land and water use and target projects to improve things such as habitat
and water quality. This planning is covering your land and water use.
The NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service) has a focus upon
applied conservation practices on private land. It has no regulatory authority and works
with the landowner to plan and to implement his/her conservation goals on private property. The NRCS also partners with the
Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs,) agencies and other groups on conservation.
The NRCS is in the the process of building a Klamath Watershed
Planning Team comprised of various specialists, such as a hydrologist, forester and
biologist, to be staffed in the Yreka office. Plans are to conduct assessments, do
planning and come up with restoration strategies on private lands from Modoc to the Coast.
The Task Force will sunset in 2006 if not reauthorized by Congress.
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