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Klamath Stakeholder
groups, Attorneys-No Guarantee, Definitions, What's Next, and
Update
by
Steve Kadel, Herald and News 2/15/08
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A group of about 75 people listen to
Klamath Water Users Association executive director Greg
Addington during a public meeting at the Merrill Civic
Center in January.
Klamath stakeholder groups
The following is a rundown of stakeholder groups
involved with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.
Klamath Water Users Association:
Represents water users who are part of the Klamath
Reclamation Project. There are 17 member districts or
companies with a total membership of more than 1,000
family farms and ranches.
Klamath Off-Project Water Users: A
nonprofit organization representing agricultural power
users in Klamath County who are not part of the Klamath
Reclamation Project.
Bureau of Reclamation: Owns and operates
the Klamath Reclamation Project in cooperation with
partners, who are the irrigation districts.
U.S. Forest Service:
Manages 60 percent of the Klamath River Basin in
California and Oregon, said forest supervisor Karen
Shimamoto. That includes the Fremont-Winema Forests in
Oregon, as well as the Trinity, Klamath and Six Rivers
national forests in California.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Has
Endangered Species Act authority over listed suckers in
Upper Klamath Lake and Lost River, said Phil Detrich,
Klamath issues coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Bureau of Land Management: The Klamath
Falls resource area of the BLM administers about 224,900
acres of public land in Southern Oregon. That includes the
Wood River wetland, Topsy Recreation Area, support
facilities for J.C. Boyle Dam, and property bordering the
Klamath River.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:
The department’s primary concern is the reintroduction of
salmon to the Upper Klamath Basin, said Chip Dale, high
desert regional manager. He emphasized the importance of
salmon to the Klamath Tribes.
Oregon Water Resources Department: The
agency is involved in the talks to ensure the resulting
agreement is consistent with Oregon water
law. Department officials support the proposed agreement
because they believe it will rebuild fisheries, sustain
agricultural communities, and resolve other longstanding
disputes related to the allocation of water.
Klamath County: Commissioner John Elliott
attended the settlement negotiations representing Klamath
County’s interests. “We have a stake in the economic
future of agriculture in the Basin,” he said. “We also
have to measure the impact of all of this action on the
Tribes, who are our constituents, and the environmental
groups, who also are our constituents. We are obligated to
look at this in as many different directions as we can.”
Klamath Tribes: The Tribes include about
3,800 members. “We’ve been here since the beginning,” said
Jeff Mitchell, a member of the Tribes’ negotiating team.
“This has been our home since the Creator put us here. Our
relationship has been defined through a treaty still in
effect today. Natural resources still fundamentally meet
the needs of the tribes.”
Karuk Tribe: Administrative offices are
in Happy Camp nestled along the Klamath River in the
Klamath National Forest of Northwestern California. The
tribe, which has about 4,500 members, seeks changes that
will provide a healthy Klamath River habitat supporting an
enhanced salmon fishery.
Yurok Tribe: The largest Indian tribe in
California with almost 5,000 enrolled members. The Yurok
want a restored salmon fishery and healthy Klamath River
to promote the health of its community, said tribal
spokesman Troy Fletcher.
Hoopa Valley Tribe: About 2,500 Hoopa
people live in the Hoopa Valley Reservation. The tribe has
traditionally occupied land in the far northwestern corner
of California. Clifford Lyle Marshall, tribal chairman,
said they would not endorse the settlement because it
lacks adequate water assurances for fish.
American Rivers: Founded in 1973, the
nonprofit river conservation group has offices in 10
locations nationwide with 65,000 members. The
group’s mission is to restore and protect the nation’s
rivers for communities, fish and wildlife.
North Coast Environmental Center: The
Arcata, Calif.,-based organization is dedicated to
conserving, protecting and celebrating terrestrial,
aquatic and marine ecosystems of Northern California and
Southern Oregon. The center advocates establishing a
healthy salmon fishery on the Klamath River.
Trout Unlimited: The organization has
more than 150,000 volunteers in 400 chapters nationwide.
Its mission is to conserve, protect and restore the
nation’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds,
including that of the Klamath River and Klamath Basin.
Klamath Forest Alliance: Based in
Orleans, Calif., the nonprofit organization supports
sustainable ecosystems and communities. The group
primarily works in the Klamath Falls area and the middle
segment of the Klamath River, including the Salmon River
drainage.
Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen’s Associations: The fishing industry trade
association has a goal of increased salmon runs for its
members.
California Trout: The organization is a
water quality advocacy group in San Francisco that is
committed to improving wild trout and steelhead habitat.
Other stakeholder groups: Also at the
negotiating table were: the National Marine Fisheries
Service; the Bureau of Indian Affairs; California
Department of Fish and Game; Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality; Humboldt County, Calif.; Siskiyou
County, Calif.; and Friends of the River.
PacifiCorp: The wholly owned subsidiary
of Mid-American Energy Holdings of Des Moines, Iowa, was
not a formal stakeholder in the negotiations, but spurred
the talks when it began dam re-licensing procedures.
Mid-American is majority owned by Berkshire Hathaway,
which is run by Warren Buffet. PacifiCorp operates four
dams on the Klamath River that would be removed to allow
fish passage under the Klamath water settlement.
Attorneys: No guarantees with pact
Attorneys who specialize in water law agree the
proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement provides no
guarantees that water will not be cut off to Klamath
Project irrigators.
But Paul Simmons, who represents the
Klamath Water Users Association and was highly involved in
settlement negotiations, says the document includes
safeguards aimed at preventing another crisis.
As examples, he says section 6.4 states
“that litigation will be initiated as a last resort and
only after careful consideration of the matters in dispute
and the potential collateral consequences to this
agreement.” Likewise, section 324v states, “The filing of
an action by one party against another party over matters
addressed in this agreement is deemed to constitute a
failure. … Such failure triggers … an obligation to
preserve the benefits of the agreement for all parties,
including any party who is, or could be, adversely
affected by the action.” Other sections, Simmons says,
were negotiated with the goal of avoiding disputes on ESA
compliance.
“There are so many interlocking aspects,”
Simmons says of the settlement. “It’s certainly not a
guarantee. A guarantee would require the repeal or a
considerable amendment of the ESA.”
Definitions
Acre-foot:
The
amount of water required to cover one acre of land one
foot deep. One acre-foot of water equals 325,851
gallons of water and is equal to about half the amount
of water required to fill an Olympic-sized swimming
pool.
Biological assessment:
The
report conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation of
the effects on threatened and endangered species in
the Klamath River watershed from operating the Klamath
Reclamation Project. The assessment is one of the
documents that determines biological opinions.
Biological opinion:
The
decision made by the National Marine Fisheries Service
regarding whether operation of the Klamath Reclamation
Project will threaten or destroy endangered fish
species in the Klamath River watershed. The document
outlines flow requirements for fish and is partially
based on the biological assessment compiled by the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Diversion:
The
point from which water is diverted from a primary
source into an irrigation system. There are about 12
points of diversion into the Klamath Reclamation
Project from water sources in the upper Klamath River
watershed, including Upper Klamath Lake and the
Klamath and Lost Rivers.
Endangered Species Act:
Federal legislation enacted in 1973 to protect
endangered and threatened animals and plants and their
environments in the United States. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior
maintains the list of applicable species, totaling
more than 1,500 endangered species and 300 threatened
species. The coho salmon and various species of
suckers in the Klamath River watershed are on the
list.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC:
The
federal commission is responsible for regulation and
monitoring of energy industries in the economic,
environmental and safety interests of the American
public. It is involved in the re-licensing process of
four hydroelectric dams owned by Portland-based
Pacifi-Corp on the Klamath River.
Klamath Basin:
This region includes any water sources that flow into
the Klamath River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean
at Klamath, Calif. The Basin’s northern and eastern
limits are in Klamath County and begin with the
headwaters of the Sprague, Williamson and other rivers
that flow into Upper Klamath Lake, which flows into
the Klamath River. The river then flows through
Siskiyou and Humboldt counties in California
connecting with tributaries before emptying into the
ocean. It also includes the Lost River and Tule Lake
basins.
Klamath Reclamation Project:
The
federally constructed and operated area in the upper
Klamath River watershed that provides irrigation water
for 240,000 acres of farmland. It is located in
southern Klamath County and northeastern Siskiyou
County, Calif., and is part of, or surrounds, the
communities of Klamath Falls, Keno, Midland, Merrill,
Malin and Tulelake. Water for the operation of the
Project comes primarily from Upper Klamath Lake, but
also the Klamath and Lost rivers.
Off-Project irrigator:
Any
irrigator using water outside the physical bounds of
the Klamath Reclamation Project. Off-Project
irrigators primarily use groundwater or diversions
from rivers that flow into Upper Klamath Lake to
irrigate their crops and pastures.
On-Project irrigator:
Any
irrigator that uses water for irrigation inside the
physical bounds of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
On-Project irrigators use water diverted through a
federally constructed system of canals and ditches.
They are organized into irrigation districts and
companies and are represented by the Klamath Water
Users Association.
Water Bank:
The
program managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to
put additional water in the Klamath Reclamation
Project through groundwater pumping or conservation of
water by idling irrigable land. Property owners are
compensated for either using a well on their property
or letting a portion of their property not be farmed
and irrigated.
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