Despite above average rainfall in the state of California, the Klamath River is being managed under "extreme drought" conditions, leaving it just enough water to keep coho salmon alive under the Endangered Species Act. And, a complex of six Klamath National Wildlife Refuges will go completely dry under the 2010 Klamath Operations Plan.
Salazar's announcement comes after the Senate passed an emergency spending bill that would give Klamath farmers $10 million. The money, coupled with an additional $8.75 million in federal relief aid, will be made available to farmers to idle their fields and increase ground water pumping efforts. It is estimated, according to the 2010 Klamath Operations Plan, that Klamath farmers will pump over 125,000 acre-feet of water from the ground this season, and now, receive upward of 210,000 acre-feet of surface water in addition to the $18.75 million.
"They're trying to draw down Upper Klamath Lake as far as possible, perhaps in the hope of repeating the artificial drought trick they pulled this year, again next year," Hoopa Tribal Fisheries Director Mike Orcutt said.
Last year, Upper Klamath Lake was drained down to the minimum level required by the Endangered Species Act. Early this year, the lake was below the ESA requirements for both Lost River suckers and coho salmon, sparking a panic that led the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue a new biological opinion for coho salmon. That new biological opinion features a new and dangerous way to calculate the water year type.
"Once again, they're drawing down Upper Klamath Lake to dangerously low levels and betting that it will refill this winter. That's not good water management; it is gambling with our trust resources," Orcutt said. "What they're doing is creating an artificial drought for the river, while still delivering water to the Klamath Irrigation Project."
Compounding the Tribe's concern is the fact that last month tribal representatives participated in a day-long meeting with federal agency representatives to discuss a proposal by the Bureau of Reclamation to purchase 35,000 acre-feet of Trinity Division water from Central Valley Project contractors to augment the Lower Klamath River in order to prevent a possible fish kill this year. At no time did Interior's representatives disclose that the Secretary was already planning to divert another 35,000 acre-feet of Klamath River water to the Klamath Project
The Secretary's announcement is consistent with the department's unilateral and unconsented decision in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement to waive its trust obligations to the Hoopa fishery in deference to irrigation commitments to the Klamath Project.
Talk is cheap on trust responsibility. The National Marine Fisheries Service has refused to have meaningful conversations about trust species, such as our primary mainstay, fall-run Chinook salmon, lamprey or sturgeon. They will only address issues regarding listed species, and even those are being managed at borderline jeopardy standards.
The Tribe strongly opposes what happened and urges that the decision be withdrawn and reconsidered pursuant to the president's consultation policy and federal law.
Leonard Masten is the tribal chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe near the mouth of the Klamath River.