By SARA HOTTMAN 

H&N Staff Reporter

January 27, 2011

     A biological opinion is supposed to tell the Bureau of Reclamation how to operate. The opinion has clear guidelines for operations in a dry year like 2010.

   But this year is different, said Jason Phillips, area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation.

   “We’re going into the spring with decent lake levels,” he said.

   When it’s wet, the BOR can release more water from the lake for increased flows in the river. But if the spring is dry and doesn’t replenish the lake, the lake is drained early in the water season. That in turn restricts water deliveries to irrigators, refuges, and other stakeholders that suffered because of limited deliveries in 2010.

   “Any water distributed downriver has the potential to affect water in the upper Basin,” said Jim Simondet, Klamath branch supervisor for the National Marine Fisheries Service. “ We’re working closely with water users, including   downstream tribes and federal and state agencies and PacifiCorp to ensure our biological opinion is being met, as well as looking for flexibility within the system.”

   Simondet said this biological opinion is more flexible than the earlier version, citing an example this winter when the BOR asked to suspend f lows downriver because of natural flow conditions. The National Marine Fisheries Service agreed.

   “That’s a shining example of how agencies worked with disparate parties,” Simondet said. “The increase in Upper Klamath Lake storage results in increased flows in springtime for salmon and increased availability for other needs, like suckerfish and irrigators.”

   Phillips said he’s glad to hear National Marine Fisheries Service touting the opinion’s flexibility.

   Meanwhile, “We’re analyzing things as fast as we can,” he said. “We need to operate in such a way that doesn’t prematurely drain the lake.”