Orleans, Siskiyou County -- The nearby Klamath River is seductively warm at this time of year, perfect for swimming. And that's the problem.

The Klamath -- after the Sacramento, California's longest river -- was once one of the continent's great salmon and steelhead streams. But salmonids need cold water, something that has been woefully lacking in recent years, due to low flows and scorching summertime temperatures.

The decline in the runs has put agricultural irrigators at odds with downstream Indian tribes, commercial fishermen and sport anglers. Politically, the situation is deadlocked, snarled in a welter of lawsuits and dueling press releases.

The intractability of the conflict has enervated stakeholders as well as fish. This has led some of the involved parties to call for a new approach, a consensus strategy that would bring everyone to the table, to divvy up the water in an equitable fashion.

There is precedent for such a tack: A similar impasse on the Sacramento River in the 1990s led to the creation of CalFed, a joint state and federal initiative that has resulted in extensive fisheries and wildlife-habitat restoration, and a more coherent water-distribution strategy. Few of the Sacramento River stakeholders are completely happy with CalFed, but most agree it is better than the endless animus and litigation that preceded it.

As it stands now, the lion's share of the water from both the Klamath and its major tributary, the Trinity River, is diverted for agriculture. The natives and fishermen say diversions and dams are the primary causes for the disappearing fish. Farmers and ranchers claim that view is simplistic and say a number of factors are involved in the decline, including overfishing and logging.

The battle has raged for years, but the situation reached a crisis in September 2002, when thousands of returning wild salmon and steelhead died from disease and heat stress. Early estimates put the loss at 34,000. A recent California Department of Fish and Game report said the final mortality figure was probably twice that.

Things look somewhat better this year than they did in 2002. True, water temperatures in the lower river hit 74 degrees Fahrenheit earlier this month, far too warm for salmon. But the hot weather has moderated recently, and the river is cooling.

Even more heartening is the promise of increased downstream flows. The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, which controls the spigots on the Klamath system, has earmarked almost 40,000 acre-feet of cold, clear water for the Trinity River.

The water should be released from Trinity Dam starting next week and continuing through mid-September. It will benefit both Trinity River fish and salmon on the lower Klamath.

The bureau will also modestly increase the flows from upstream dams on the Klamath during the same period.

"We've had cooler weather this year than in 2002, and that's been a big help," said Jack Ellwanger, a spokesman for the Klamath Restoration Council, a coalition of native and environmental groups. "The run is also smaller, so the fish aren't as crowded and stressed. We're seeing very little in the way of disease pathogens among the fish."

The extra water, said Ellwanger, is particularly welcome, and particularly telling.

"The big 2002 kill caused a huge outcry, caused a lot of public pressure, and now we're seeing the effect (the extra releases)," said Ellwanger. "Nobody wants to see a repeat of 2002."

Still, profound tensions remain. Until more water is guaranteed for the Klamath and Trinity, the runs will remain imperiled, say fisheries advocates.

"We're going to get more hot weather this year," said Wally Johnson, a Seiad Valley angling guide who fishes the Klamath. "We're not going to dodge any bullets. Until we get greater flows, we're going to see sick fish."

Meanwhile, with water temperatures at least temporarily abated, the five hydropower dams on the upper river -- which are now up for relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission -- are drawing scrutiny.

None of the dams has any fish-passage mechanisms, meaning that salmon are denied spawning access to fully half of the 400 mile-long river.

In its application for the license, which would be valid for 30 to 40 years if approved, the dam's owner -- PacifiCorp., a Portland, Ore.-based subsidiary of Scottish Power -- did not specify the addition of any fish- passage devices. That makes the proposal a no-starter for the Yurok, Hupa and Karok, the three tribes that live on the lower river.

"Right now, this is the No. 1 issue for the tribes," said Leif Hillman, the vice chairman of the Karok tribe. "We're in a war of survival here -- we depend on the fish, and we always have."

The tribes, said Hillman, want to see salmon reclaim the upper basin, the historic limits of their range.

"For that, we need fish passage around the dams, or more appropriately, dam removal," he said.

John Engbring, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supervisor for the Klamath region, said it was noted by several government agencies that PacifiCorp's application did not include any fish-passage measures.

"Fish passage is a major issue on this river," Engbring said. "Right now, all the fish stop at Iron Gate Dam (near Yreka). There's another 200 miles of river above that."

Dissatisfied with PacifiCorp's proposals to FERC, Hillman and other tribal leaders recently traveled to Scotland to press their concerns with executives of the utility's parent company, Scottish Power.

The tribal members met with Scottish Power CEO Ian Russell and PacifiCorp CEO Judi Johansen. Later, Johansen said during an interview on Scottish television that PacifiCorp would look at all possible solutions to the fish- passage problems, including dam removal.

That hint of a possible compromise has led some stakeholders to call for a more concerted drive for a consensus solution.

Dan Keppen, the executive director for the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents farmers in the river's upper basin, looks to the CalFed process on the Sacramento River as a guide for the Klamath.

"Right now, we're just beating each other up in the press and courts," said Keppen. "What finally broke the impasse on the Sacramento was Gov. (Pete) Wilson and President (Bill) Clinton appointing some people with real portfolios to the situation. They locked everyone up in a room until things got done. At this point on the Klamath, we need similar leadership from President Bush, Gov. Schwarzenegger and Gov. (Ted) Kulongoski (of Oregon) to bring the stakeholders together."

Ellwanger expressed similar sentiments and said the process must be ambitious enough to address the entire Klamath ecosystem, not just the main river corridor.

"We're talking about the restoration of a 15,000-square-mile bioregion," Ellwanger said. "For something of that scale, it's increasingly clear that the only way to get anything done is to have people talking to each other, not at each other."