Klamath Water Users Association
Weekly Update
August 28, 2003
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Klamath Water Users Association Weekly Update August 28, 2003
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Valley Tribe and Project Water Users Discuss Trinity, Klamath Issues
A small group of representatives from California’s Hoopa Valley Tribe and Klamath Project water users met earlier this week in Klamath Falls to begin seeking areas of common interest in the watershed both groups share. The Hoopa Tribe has long focused its efforts on restoring flows to the Trinity River, the largest tributary to the Klamath River. Tribal representatives outlined activities intended to ratify the Trinity River Restoration Program Record of Decision (ROD), which was adopted by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt in December, 2000. Implementation of that program- which would reduce water exports from the Trinity to the Central Valley Project by an average of 28% - has been delayed by litigation pushed by Central Valley water and power users. Currently, Trinity River Diversion releases to the river are fixed at lower levels until additional environmental reviews are completed. The Hoopa Tribe is looking for ways to implement the ROD and to provide 50,000 acre-feet of water annually from the Trinity Reservoir to Humboldt County and downstream water users. While the tribal and farming representatives acknowledged that these controversial topics would not likely be agreed upon soon, both sides expressed optimism that other areas of agreement could be reached. "We want you to understand our needs, and we want to better understand yours," said Joseph Jarnaghan, chair of the Hoopa Tribal Council. "I’m impressed they made the long trip up to Klamath Falls and back in one day, just to meet with us," said Tulelake farmer Gary Wright, after the meeting. "I think there are issues we can work on together with these guys." Klamath County Commissioners Request Drought Disaster Declaration Klamath County Commissioners on Tuesday sent a formal request to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski seeking a federal "drought caused" agricultural disaster declaration for Klamath County. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is required to issue such a declaration before local farmers and ranchers would become eligible for any federal assistance. The County Commission letter noted that the Upper Klamath Basin is currently experiencing the third year of a drought. Low inflows into Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) have complicated efforts to meet agricultural irrigation deliveries, UKL lake levels for suckers, and Klamath River downstream flows for coho salmon. Klamath Irrigation Project farmers and ranchers have already significantly reduced their demand for UKL stored water through participation in an environmental water bank. Project irrigators are also currently voluntarily pumping groundwater without compensation to help the federal government meet lake level requirements. Even if August and September inflows into Upper Klamath Lake turn out to be normal, the inflows for the water year (October 1, 2002 – September 30, 2003) will be 30 percent less than average. While the low inflows into the lake are influenced by this year’s dry weather, they also appear to be part of a longer-term trend. According to recent research completed by the Oregon State University Klamath Experimental Station, watershed yield above Upper Klamath Lake appears to have declined in recent decades. In the Williamson River watershed, which accounts for about 46 % of inflow to UKL, the yield per inch of Klamath Falls precipitation has declined from 81,000 acre-feet in 1951-63, to 55,000 acre-feet in 1990-2000. New Klamath Refuge Complex Manager Embraces Integrated Conservation The new manager of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, Ron Cole, is realizing a career goal as he assumes management of the six refuges located in the Klamath Basin. Cole, who took over management responsibilities earlier this month, is returning to the area where he worked for nearly a decade in the early 1980s and 1990s. "Early on in my career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, my goal was to some day manage one of the gems of the refuge system. The Klamath complex is one of those gems," said Cole. "It’s a privilege to have this opportunity." Prior to returning to the Klamath Basin, Cole worked for the regional U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Denver. He also previously worked for refuges in Minnesota and Iowa. Cole understands well that Congress has recognized the dual benefits of the lease lands within the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Complex in the 1964 Kuchel Act. Flocks of waterfowl and shorebirds descend on the basin's irrigated farm fields, grazing on emerging winter wheat, barley and oats, new growth pasture greases, and alfalfa. Typically, there is sufficient food in the agricultural fields to sustain the large number of over-wintering waterfowl who use the refuges. Cole has a keen appreciation of the integrated relationship that exists between the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake refuges and farming operations that take place in and around the refuges. He also understands the controversy associated with commercial farming on national wildlife refuges. He knows that the controversy and complexity will not be resolved by one man. New Manager of Refuge Complex Realizes Long-Time Goal "I’m not going to fix the problems – we are going to fix them together," he recently told representatives from Tulelake Growers Association and Klamath Water Users Association. "In this area, you have to work with the community. You’ve got to work with everybody." Klamath Project irrigators have shown that they are willing to step up and help their refuge neighbor.
Cole wants to promote a "connectiveness" between the refuges and surrounding communities, and is interested in "win-win" solutions like sump rotation and flood fallowing.
Water Ownership Bill Dies in Final Hours of State Senate Session Despite last minute maneuvering by its proponents, a bill that would have cast great uncertainty on ownership of water rights died in the waning hours of the Oregon Senate late Tuesday night. SB 590 on Friday was amended by the Oregon House of Representatives three days earlier to include provisions of HB 3298, a controversial water rights ownership bill with potentially grave implications for Klamath Project water users. The Senate on Tuesday, led by Senator Ted Ferrioli, voted to not concur with the House amendment. Earlier in the week, Governor Kulongoski sent a letter to House members expressing his opposition to the ownership provisions, stated that these amendments "could well lead to substantial, unintended disruption of the state’s agricultural economy". Senator Steve Harper of Klamath Falls also played a key role in the past several months to lead Senate opposition to HB 3298 / SB 590. "Klamath Project irrigators owe a big thank you to Governor Kulongoski, Senator Ferrioli, and Senator Harper for their leadership in stopping this shaky legislation," said KWUA Executive Director Dan Keppen. "HB 3298, if passed by the Legislature, would have left us with a law that created more questions than it would answer." The Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) in May opposed HB 3298 because of its possible implications for Klamath Basin adjudication and the ongoings "takings" litigation. Governor Kulongoski also stated his concern regarding the bill’s impact on Klamath Basin adjudication matters. "The presumption of ownership in Section 4 of SB 590-B7 amendments may affect the question of ownership in adjudication," said the governor. "Based on advice from the Attorney General’s office, the Water Resources Department is very concerned that this legislation could adversely impact the adjudication, including delay and a significant increase in costs from resulting litigation," Kulongoski noted in his letter. Project irrigators were also concerned that passage of the bill would
adversely affect Project Irrigation Districts' representation of their water
users in the ongoing "takings" case Klamath Irrigation District et al v.
The United States. In this case, individual Klamath Project water users
and districts seek compensation under the Fifth Amendment, for taking of
their property rights (water rights) in 2001. In water users’ arguments
earlier this year in the federal court of claims in Washington, D.C.,
attorneys used the general statutory authority that a district may file and
participate in litigation to further the purposes of the irrigation district
law. Project districts were concerned that the proposed water rights law
could form the basis for a potentially damaging court finding resulting in
each individual irrigator having to make an independent claim. This would
clearly be more complex and expensive for Project irrigators. KWUA, the Oregon Water Resources Congress, and others had previously recommended that the ownership issue be more fully vetted and carefully considered before a longer-term work group in order to seek a more acceptable outcome for all parties. The Water Resources Department has committed to undertake some rulemaking to work on the issues that led to the introduction of this bill, including the allocation of conserved water and voluntary cancellation of water rights inside a district. KWUA Calls for Klamath & Trinity River Monitoring Improvements The following letter was sent yesterday by the Klamath Water Users Association to Governor Kulongoski, Interior Secretary Norton and California Resources Secretary Nichols regarding Klamath River fish migration issues. This letter was intended to constructively address the types of problems that arose last fall on the lower Klamath River, where 33,000 fish died. August 27, 2003
Honorable Ted Kulongoski State Capitol Salem, Oregon 97301-4047 Honorable Gale Norton U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W., Suite 7229 Washington, D.C. 20240-0000 Honorable Mary D. Nichols California Resources Agency 1416 9th Street, Room 1311 Sacramento, California 95814 Dear Governor Kulongoski, Secretary Norton and Secretary Nichols: Thank you for your continued attention to the critical challenges facing Californians and Oregonians dependent upon the Klamath River for their livelihoods. On behalf of the Klamath Water Users Association, I am writing to urge your continued efforts to promote sound fishery management decisions on the Klamath River. Recent media reports suggest that we may be seeing record numbers of fish returning to West Coast rivers this summer. Although the fall of 2002 presented an occurrence that was unique, we must be prepared to avoid a repeat of last year’s crisis, where huge numbers of returning fish entered the lower Klamath River early, only to encounter water temperatures and overcrowding that allowed disease to quickly spread. We urge that you objectively assess this situation and consider taking management steps that can help ensure that the 2002 experience is not repeated. We would like federal agencies, the states of California and Oregon, downstream tribes, farmers and fishermen to pool our collective resources towards an end that both improves the understanding and benefits the fish. We ask that you consider the following observations and recommendations, which are intended to begin constructive dialogue in this matter. These recommendations are further intended to complement and supplement the draft monitoring and evaluation plan proposed in An Action Plan to Minimize Risk of Die-Off of Trinity River Fall Run Chinook Salmon in 2003, prepared by the Trinity River Restoration Program earlier this month. Recent Findings Regarding 2002 Fish Die-Off During late summer and early fall of 2002, Dave Vogel, a fisheries biologist with 28 years experience, conducted a field investigation to assess water temperatures in the main stem Klamath River. Vogel measured main stem water temperatures hourly just prior to and during the fall-run Chinook salmon migration season. He found that water temperatures in the upper Klamath River downstream of Iron Gate Dam during September 2002 were unsuitable for adult salmon, a finding that was similar to that of previous studies. Vogel also found that large numbers of salmon entered the lower Klamath River earlier than usual and were exposed to two uncharacteristic cooling and warming conditions likely causing disease outbreak from warm water and crowded conditions. According to Vogel, the combination of these factors was chronically and cumulatively stressful to fish and is probably the most plausible reason for the fish die-off.
These data indicate that September 2002 was unusual, but not necessarily for the reasons portrayed by opponents of the Klamath Project, who sought to immediately assign blame to the Project, located 200 miles from these events. To better ensure that sound science – and not divisive politics – drive management decisions this fall, we offer the following recommendations that we believe should be implemented immediately. The Need for Improved General Water Quality Monitoring In September 2002, significant energy was dedicated towards counting and publicizing fish carcasses, but much less to collecting critically important data on potential causative factors that may have been responsible for the fish die-off. For example, water samples to determine the potential presence of toxic substances were not taken until eight days after the onset of the fish die-off. That time interval was well after toxic substances would have been flushed from the river system. This unfortunate circumstance means that toxic substances cannot be ruled out as a potential cause for the fish die-off. Recommendation: Water samples should be collected in the lower river on a daily basis during the principal period when large numbers of salmon are entering the lower river. Samples should be preserved with the appropriate fixative and archived for potential future analyses. Analyses would not have to be performed unless another fish die-off occurs.
The Need for Improved Deep Pool Water Quality Monitoring At the time of the 2002 fish die-off, Klamath Project water users requested that dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations be measured throughout the water column (profiles) of the deeper pools where salmon were concentrated. This action was deemed necessary to determine if low DO could have been a contributing factor to the die-off. Apparently, this request was not granted, and those data were not collected. Although DO measurements were taken elsewhere, data were not collected directly in the pools where salmon were concentrated. Therefore, low DO caused by the combination of warm water and large numbers of salmon in confined areas cannot be ruled out as a potential causative factor in the 2002 fish die-off.Recommendation: Install continuously recording DO and temperature-measuring devices at the bottom of the deepest pools where salmon are known to concentrate and stage in the lower river prior to their upstream migration. The Need for Improved Temperature Monitoring We believe that unseasonably warm air and water temperatures were contributing factors to the 2002 fish die-off. Although the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) had water temperature thermographs at various locations in the Klamath basin last year, there are important areas where data were not collected that would have demonstrated the inhospitable conditions for salmon in some upstream areas. In addition, the USFWS temperature data were not made available until many months after the fish die-off. Recommendation: Additional air and water temperature thermographs should be placed in upstream mainstem areas and tributaries to more comprehensively document seasonal changes throughout the watershed prior to and during the principal fish migration period. Importantly, those data should be made available to interested parties on a timely basis to allow for a near-real time assessment of habitat conditions instead of post-season analyses. At a minimum, thermograph data should be downloaded weekly and posted on a government web site. The Need for Improved Assessment of Potential Fish Migration Barriers After the 2002 fish die-off, there were some anecdotal observations and speculations that one or more riffles in the lower river may have caused some form of fish migration barrier. Unfortunately and surprisingly, no agency or individual collected any data on this potential causative factor. Although we believe that this circumstance was not a contributing factor, data could have and should have been collected during 2002 to make that determination. Recommendation: Water velocities and depths should be measured at any shallow riffles in the lower river where fish migration may be affected. The Need for Improved Fish Health Data Surprisingly, despite well-know protocols in assessing fish die-off causative factors, fish health data were not collected until eight days after the onset of the 2002 fish die-off. Also, we understand that analyses to detect the potential presence of toxic substances in the fish carcasses were not performed. These major oversights resulted in no data collected at the time when the information was most important. Recommendation: Fish health data must be collected in a much more timely manner. Those data should be collected immediately after any observations of moribund or dead fish. Tests to determine the potential presence of toxic substances in fish carcasses should also be conducted. The Need for Improved Reporting of Salmon Run Size and Timing Apparently, it was well known that there was a larger than average salmon run size and earlier than average run timing in advance of the 2002 fish die-off. We believe that the circumstances of run size and timing contributed to the 2002 fish die-off because of two unseasonable cooling and warming trends that stressed the fish. Data on the salmon run size and run timing were collected in 2002 but not made available until after the fish die-off occurred. Recommendation: More timely reporting of those data will provide valuable warning signals of potential future fish die-offs if environmental conditions in the river are unsuitable. Additionally, those data would allow for potential rapid management changes for in-season harvest. For example, a more liberal in-season harvest prior to the fish die-off in 2002 would have helped reduce the high concentrations of salmon in the lower river that undoubtedly contributed to the die-off event. The Need for Improved River Flow Information Apparently, accurate information on the lower Klamath River flows was not available during the fish die-off. According to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey, this circumstance is attributable to a variable (unstable) stage-discharge rating curve at the river gauge site (known as the Terwer gauge). Recommendation: The Terwer gauge should be calibrated more frequently during late summer and early fall to allow better data collection on flows in the lower Klamath River. In addition, because of the effect of the sand spit at the mouth of the Klamath River on fish passage and estuarine conditions, data on the sand spit configuration should be collected during the principal fish migration period. Even something as simple as daily photos and field note observations of the sand spit would be valuable. Trinity River Releases We recognize the coordination that is underway between California, the United States, and Klamath River downstream interests to manage the pulse flow of Trinity River water later this summer. It is our understanding that approximately 33,000 acre-feet of additional water will be released between the end of August and mid-September to provide cold water for fish downstream. We further understand that Trinity flows will increase from 450 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 1,650 cfs during the time period, and then ramp down to 450 cfs by mid-September. In the meantime, steady flows of 1,168 cfs will be released out of Iron Gate Dam. Based on last fall’s data, the water temperature at the location of the fish die-off exceeded 69 degrees F for the first four days of the die-off. Water temperatures below Iron Gate Dam were at least this warm, or warmer for the same duration. Meanwhile, water temperatures below Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River were approximately 20 degrees cooler. Our concern is this: if migrating salmon are attracted to the cooler Trinity flows, and begin moving upstream, what happens when the Trinity pulse flow ends, and the volume of warmer, Klamath River mainstem water is 2 ˝ times greater than the Trinity flows at the Trinity-Klamath confluence? What is to prevent fish bound for the Klamath River mainstem – attracted by the cooler Trinity River releases - from encountering potentially hostile water quality conditions on the Klamath River mainstem below Iron Gate Dam? There are serious questions about the wisdom of releasing additional Klamath Project stored water downstream in August and September, particularly when last year’s study completed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) found that higher flows "may work to the disadvantage of the coho population" in summer months. In 1994, despite warnings from Klamath Project biologists, federal agencies increased summer flows, which prematurely attracted fall-run chinook salmon to an upper area of the river where natural conditions were hostile to their health. The net result of the increased flows during late August of that year could have ultimately been detrimental to 1994 fall-run Chinook in the Klamath River. It appears that the current Klamath Project operation plan proposes to send more potentially hot water down the river than what would likely have been present in summer months in the absence of Klamath Project stored water. Further, the recent Environmental Assessment prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the action plan prepared by the Trinity River Restoration Program to minimize risk of die-off of Trinity River fall run Chinook salmon this year do not assess the role of ambient air temperatures as a consideration regarding "triggering" of the Trinity pulse flow.Recommendation: The coordinated operations of Klamath River mainstem and Trinity River flows must be carefully evaluated. We believe that the very important relationship that exists between ambient air temperature and Klamath River mainstem flows must be considered in flow management decisions this fall. Recommendations for the Long-Term We believe the proposed short-term actions described above should be immediately implemented. These actions would also form the basis for a long-term solution that might include:
The sooner that success can be reached in the short-term, the sooner we can more confidently begin working together to develop meaningful long-term solutions to the challenges we face. Conclusions We must learn from last year’s unfortunate situation and attempt to better understand all of the complexities that may have led to the fish die-off. Quickly jumping to conclusions and assigning blame – especially in the absence of critical data and analyses – does nothing but polarize stakeholders and further delay the necessary constructive and collaborative work that must be done to improve our watershed. We look forward to your leadership and cooperation as we continue to take a constructive approach toward improving our destiny and contributing to effective species recovery. If you have any questions about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Dan Keppen at 541-883-6100. Sincerely, Dan Keppen Executive Director CALENDAR OF EVENTS Wednesday, September 3, 2003 – Oregon Agricultural Progress Awards Banquet. Pendleton, Oregon. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has notified KWUA that it has been selected as the recipient of the 2003 Agriculture Progress Award for "Leadership in Conservation". The ODA award recognizes the association’s "leadership and commitment to the state’s conservation efforts". Monday, September 8, 2003 – Panel Discussion of Klamath Water Issues. 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Klamath County Commissioners' Hearing Room, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Panelists will include representatives from the Oregon State University Extension Office, University of California Extension, Klamath Irrigation District, Klamath County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Klamath Water Users Association.
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