Klamath Water Users Association 

The Klamath Water Users Association on Monday participated in a press event that underscored the improved coordination that is occurring between federal agencies, conservation groups, and agricultural interests on lower Klamath national wildlife refuges. At Monday’s event, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that water stored in seasonal wetlands on the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge would be released to meet fish flows on the lower Klamath River. While the stored water release will not credit the water bank target for this year – as hoped for by Klamath Project irrigators - it may help ameliorate concerns of downstream tribes in a year when the spring runoff originally forecasted to meet environmental and agricultural water needs failed to materialize.

This year, 75,000 acre-feet of Klamath River water that historically would have gone to meet irrigation needs is instead being left in the lake and river system to meet the conditions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In the past two years, at least 80,000 acre-feet of agricultural water has been redirected to satisfy these same conditions. This water is available because of a federally-funded water bank program that compensates farmers to idle farmland, or to use groundwater in place of Klamath Project surface water. Next year, due to water bank requirements – and regardless of actual hydrologic conditions - 100,000 acre-feet of water will be directed away from agriculture to meet ESA requirements. Water users believe the current federal water bank management is hampered by rigid scheduling requirements, a problem that may be remedied by providing more management flexibility."The agencies have 75,000 acre-feet of additional water to manage this year; they should be able to use that water in as flexible a manner as possible," said Steve Kandra, who farms near Merrill, Oregon and Tulelake, California. "At the same time, they should be accountable for how it is managed."

In the past six months, local water users have noted improved coordination between refuge managers and the agricultural community, including opportunities organized by USFWS for farmers to meet state and national conservation leaders, including representatives from the National Audubon Society. Dave Eshbaugh, Executive Director of Audubon Oregon, was present at Monday’s press event, as were representatives from waterfowl associations.

"We are beginning to see more representatives from the conservation community who appear to be willing to work in a collaborative manner with Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers," said KWUA Executive Director Dan Keppen. "We know that extreme elements on both sides of the water management issue will still operate as usual. I’m encouraged that mainstream conservation groups like Audubon are starting to recognize that landowners share a unique relationship with the refuges, and that they play a positive role in improving things for farmers and wildlife."

In recent years, local growers and irrigation districts have operated facilities to deliver water to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Water users, Ducks Unlimited, and California Waterfowl Association have jointly proposed and pledged support for additional projects to benefit refuge water supplies and habitats.

As Klamath Basin water supply concerns mount, every effort is being taken to avoid the threat of water curtailment to the agriculture industry served by the Klamath Reclamation Project. Twelve private well owners on the California side of the Klamath Basin have been asked by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to provide well water to assist with maintaining higher levels in upper Klamath Lake for endangered fish. The so-called "Coppock Bay" groundwater pumpers are one of three consolidated groups of well pumpers who developed proposals this year capable of quickly generating groundwater supplies to offset demands out of Upper Klamath Lake. Tulelake Irrigation District and the "Mid-Basin" coalition are two other organizations that provide this capability.

Minimum lake levels in Upper Klamath Lake are mandated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological opinion to avoid jeopardizing two species of sucker fish. These levels are reflective of the "year type" determined by precipitation and runoff predictions.

The Coppock Bay well owners who have agreed to pump ground water to maintain higher lake levels will pump only the water needed to irrigate the lands that they farm, up to 3 acre-feet per acre. At this time, the Bureau of Reclamation will call for the groundwater on an "as needed" basis.

The Bureau of Reclamation’s 2004 Pilot Water Bank Program was implemented in April. Some farmlands have been idled and some well owners are participating in the ground water substitution program. Under contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, participating farmers will not use Klamath Project lake water for irrigation but will be compensated instead for using their wells to irrigate their fields. This program is intended to provide more water for endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake and threatened coho salmon downstream in the Klamath River. By maintaining higher lake levels, the possibility of a water curtailment in reduced.

"The water is not being sold," said Tulelake farmer Monte Seus. "The water that is being replaced by the well water will be available to all who depend on and use water from Upper Klamath Lake."

Ongoing aquifer studies by the Oregon Water Resources Department, the California Department of Water Resources, and the U.S. Geological Survey will continue to monitor ground water levels in an effort to better understand the aquifer.

In the past – including in 2001, when Upper Klamath Lake supplies were curtailed - well owners have pumped "environmental water" at their own expense in an effort to assist fish and wildlife in the basin and to avoid costly litigation. Last year, approximately 30,000 acre-feet of water was pumped by Oregon well owners and Tulelake Irrigation District – with no federal compensation – to help the Bureau of Reclamation meet the minimum lake level and river flow requirements mandated by fishery agency biological opinions.

"Hopefully, the future will not require continued well pumping and farmers will enjoy a more abundant supply of Klamath Lake water that will sustain fish, wildlife, agriculture, and Native American rights," said Gary Wright, who owns a ranch near Tulelake.

The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) last Friday hosted a tour of the Trinity River, which focused primarily on the extensive efforts underway to restore the fisheries of the Klamath River’s largest tributary. A Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) representative joined the tour at the Trinity River Hatchery, located near Lewiston, California, and provided the 30 tour participants with an update on Klamath Project issues.

Earlier in the day, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials outlined the importance of the Trinity River to providing power and water to California’s Central Valley Project. The Trinity River Diversion of the Central Valley Project is composed of Trinity Dam (which controls the water released into Trinity River) and Clear Creek Tunnel (which transports water from Lewiston Dam into Whiskeytown Lake in the Sacramento River Basin). The tour bus made stops at Spring Creek Debris Dam and Whiskeytown Dam en route to Lewiston Dam and the adjacent hatchery. After visiting the hatchery, the tour proceeded down the Trinity River to Salt Flat and Hocker Flat to view river restoration sites.

While at the hatchery, tour participants were briefed on hatchery operations, fisheries monitoring, and the goals and objectives of the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP). The purpose of this program is to restore and maintain the natural production of salmon and steelhead in the Trinity River mainstem downstream of Lewiston Dam. The Trinity Record of Decision (ROD) - signed in December 2000 by former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt - is currently tied up in federal court, and the flows it recommends cannot be implemented until impacts associated with Central Valley Project water and power considerations are further refined by the federal government.

While the case has been in court, flows on the river have been set by U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger. Wanger had determined this year would be classified as a "dry year," with the river getting an allocation of about 453,000 acre-feet. However, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in April determined that the river should be operated as a "normal year" this summer, and ordered that flows in the Trinity be increased by nearly 50 percent more.

Recommendations on how to manage the 200,000 acre-feet of newly available water ultimately came down to the Trinity River Management Council (TRMC). While news of the court’s decision led some to believe that additional water would be available to manage flows for fish returning to spawn this fall, the TRMC opted differently. It’s recommendation: use all of the 200,000 acre-feet this spring to "restore" the channel of the Trinity River below Lewiston Dam.

The results of this decision were clearly evident to the tour participants having lunch at the hatchery, where speakers had to raise their voices to compete with the roar of high flows (6,000 cubic feet per second) being released from Lewiston Dam. These high flows do not necessarily provide immediate and direct benefits to fish. Rather, the flows are intended to mimic natural channel dynamics and to "manage" sediment in the reaches below the dam.

This week, the flows were slowly ramped down, and by June 18^th, they will taper to 2,000 cfs.

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) responded within days to a letter sent by the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) regarding hatchery operations on the Klamath River. The KWUA letter raised questions and concerns about CDFG’s management practices at Iron Gate Hatchery. The CDFG letter addresses many of these concerns, but questions remain.

"We appreciate CDFG’s quick response to our letter," said KWUA Executive Director Dan Keppen. "However, we will likely request some additional clarification and information from the department so that we can fully answer the questions we are getting from our members."

The KWUA letter and CDFG response can be sent to you in electronic format. Please contact KWUA at 541-883-6100 if you would like copies.

Later today, NOAA Fisheries will release proposed rules for the federal Hatchery Listing Policy and listing determinations for 27 salmon and steelhead areas throughout the Northwest. Included are 26 previously listed and one new listing (lower Columbia River coho). Policy officials anticipate that all will be proposed for listing under the federal ESA, including coastal coho.

NOAA had sought a slight delay, but was turned down in court for eight stocks of salmon (Washington and Columbia River), so decided to release proposed rules for all stocks at the same time, along with their hatchery policy. Public comments will likely be taken until mid September 2004; final rule making is slated for June 2005.

Proposed listings are based on three primary federal analyses: 1) status of the fish and factors for decline, 2) assessment of hatchery programs and their moderating influence on extinction risk, and 3) evaluation of conservation efforts (management of habitat, hatcheries, harvest, etc.) and how well these efforts are addressing the factors for decline.

"We must be confident that when delisting comes, that it be legitimate," said Paulette Pyle, from Oregonians for Food and Shelter. "We can, with great pride, point to the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, SB 1010 plans, and the Forest Practices Act, and know that no one has done more to restore healthy fish than agriculture and forestry have in Oregon."

Oregon has taken deliberate action to improve the condition of listed salmonids, water quality, and watershed health through statewide implementation of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds (The Oregon Plan). Adopted by the Oregon Legislature in 1997, the Oregon Plan is a framework for strategic application of resource management programs, partnered with voluntary restoration actions, designed to ensure the sustainability of Oregon’s cultural, recreational, economic, and ecological fishery and watershed resources.

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 – KWUA Power Committee Meeting. 8:30 a.m. KWUA Office, 2455 Patterson Street, Suite 3, Klamath Falls.

Klamath Water Users Association
2455 Patterson Street, Suite 3
Klamath Falls, Oregon 97603
(541)-883-6100 FAX (541)-883-8893  kwua@cvcwireless.net

KBC Home

KWUA Home

Contact