Upper Klamath may get salmon

Improved water quality, spawning habitats to result from dam removal  

By TY BEAVER

H&N Staff Writer

January 28, 2008

   Salmon would eventually make it to Upper Klamath Lake , says Phil Detrich, Klamath issues coordinator with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

   The proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement advocates removal of four hydroelectric Klamath River dams to restore historic salmon runs. And if dams are removed, it would allow natural passage for salmon, restore spawning habitat and improve water quality, say conservationists and tribal leaders. 

   Separate negotiations between the settlement group and Portland-based PacifiCorp are ongoing. The power company must decide between dam removal or installing fish ladders on the dams. 

   Some irrigators say the agreement does not provide enough protection if the fish are affected by their use of water for agriculture. 

   Detrich and others agreed that agreement isn’t perfect and there could still be future clashes between farmers and fish. 

   “We can’t change the Endangered Species Act through this agreement,” he said. 

   But without the agreement, he said, clashes could be more frequent and debilitating to both groups. 

   Stakeholders released the agreement Jan. 15 after spending two-and-a-half years drafting it. If signed, it would allocate water between irrigators, fishermen, tribes and conservationists throughout the Klamath River watershed. 

   Salmon runs — including coho, Chinook and steelhead — throughout the watershed’s upper reaches were limited as dams were constructed from the early 1900s through the 1960s. The Klamath Tribes lost all access to the fish for their subsistence economy. 

   Overall fish health was affected, with the loss of about 300 miles of spawning habitat, and the dams contributed to poor water quality, causing disease. 

   Massive die-off 

   A massive fish die-off in 2002 and curtailment of salmon fishing in 2006 because of extremely low populations illustrate the condition of the watershed, officials said. 

   The agreement, if implemented, would begin to reverse problems in the Klamath River watershed, proponents say. 

   Along with dam removal, it calls for reintroduction of migratory fish species above Iron Gate Dam in Siskiyou County . Programs would be set up to secure water for fish management. Populations would be monitored and measures taken to mitigate the effects of drought and climate change on the watershed. 

   The goal is to restore historic salmon runs, improve water quality, fish management and aid in habitat conservation. 

   “That adds up to quite a bit of improvement,” Detrich said. 

   PacifiCorp has yet to agree to remove the dams in lieu of installing fish ladders at an estimated cost of $300 million. Fish ladders would provide passage, but wouldn’t be the best for salmon runs, Detrich and Larry Dunsmoor, fish biologist with the Tribes, said. 

   No habitat 

   Salmon would be migrating without the benefit of restored habitat, reducing their capability to restore populations. PacifiCorp also would have to respond to water quality problems. 

   “It creates a lot more management issues,” Detrich said.

Side Bar

Endangered Species Act an issue

   Some irrigators, especially those above Upper Klamath Lake, say the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement would not pro tect them from the Endangered Species Act. 

   They say they could still be penalized if their use of water for irrigation harmed the fish, and a water shutoff such as the one that occurred in 2001 is still possible. 

   “I think this puts the entire Basin into a massive amount of jeopardy,” said Edward Bartell, president of the Klamath Off-Project Water Users. 

   Phil Detrich, Klamath issues coordinator with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. said a shutoff would still be possible, but much less likely, under the agreement. Also, the agreement charges the federal government with providing individual landowners in the Basin with incidental take permits. The permits allow for any possible loss of fish from a certified operation, such as irrigation.

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