Water crimped to Klamath farmers; federal plan aims to protect threatened salmon in the Klamath River

March 19, 2010

The federal government has ordered significantly reduced water deliveries to Upper Klamath Basin farms this year, responding to concerns over drought and potential harm to protected salmon in the Klamath River.

Farms in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Irrigation Project will get only 30 percent to 40 percent of the water they are allocated in average years, while remaining water will be sent down the river to keep coho salmon from being harmed. The action comes after the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the bureau's intended water deliveries would jeopardize coho and prompted the change in operations.

The crisis is likely to strain relations forged among tribes, fishermen, farmers and conservationists who in February signed parallel agreements to tear our four dams on the Klamath and embark on a $1 billion restoration effort. The legislation to put those plans in place is still being written.

A drought emergency was declared by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Wednesday, setting the stage for disaster assistance for Klamath Basin farmers. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service announced that $1 million in drought-related funding would be available for Oregon farms and another $1 million will be available for California farmers.

Some 1,300 farms make up the 200,000-acre federal project along the California-Oregon border where precipitation has been well below average. Not all of those farms will get water deliveries, and when they do, it will come six weeks later than normal.

Klamath Water Users Association Executive Director Greg Addington said that unlike a shutoff of water to farms in 2001, farmers were expecting it this year. He said that alfalfa and pasture could be maintained with the amount of water anticipated for this year, but that high-value crops like potatoes and onions probably won't be grown.

”People are not outwardly angry, but there is a lot of anxiousness in the air and frustration,” he said.

National Marine Fisheries Service Arcata Office Klamath Supervisor Jim Simondet said that flows to the river will meet the minimum needed to protect coho. Simondet said that the new program will follow a more natural variation in river flows.

As much as 50,000 acre feet of water -- enough to cover 50,000 acres to the depth of one foot -- may become available through a water bank funded by Reclamation.

”The Obama Administration will continue our coordinated approach to this very complex set of issues,” said U.S. Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar in a statement. “Thanks to the great work of the congressional delegation and all stakeholders, we have been able to find workable solutions for the hard-hit Klamath Basin.”

In 2001, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ordered cutbacks in irrigation deliveries to protect coho and endangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake. That sparked major protests from farming interests. The federal government backed down the next year, when full irrigation deliveries were made and 68,000 chinook salmon died in the lower river, inciting anger among tribes and fishermen.

Supporters of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement signed in February say this year's dilemma points out exactly why the deal to reduce demand by agriculture and protect fish is necessary. Yurok Tribe Policy Analyst Troy Fletcher said that either way, the drought this year would make things difficult, and that the tribe supports disaster relief for farmers. He said the NMFS determination was necessary, and that fish will get what they need.

”Fish aren't last on the list,” Fletcher said, “fish are first on the list.”

Critics contend that the flow schedule for the Klamath does not meet recommendations called for in the best available science. Environmental group Oregon Wild claimed the Obama administration was following the prior Bush administration's tact of delivering water to farms first and leaving fish with the leftovers.

”We all know that drought is hard on everyone,” said Oregon Wild's Steve Pedery. “Fish, wildlife and people all suffer. For one hundred years, salmon and other important wildlife have been last on the list for scarce water and have shouldered the biggest burden in drought years.”

Hoopa Valley Tribe Self-Governance Coordinator Danny Jordan said the previous requirements allowed Upper Klamath Lake to be drawn down too far, and that there is nothing in the new requirements to prevent that from happening every year.

”What they're doing is creating an artificial drought for the river, while still delivering water to the Klamath Irrigation Project,” Jordan said.

Flows for salmon would be somewhat less than the Hardy Phase II flows in some winter months of dry years under the NMFS biological opinion. They would be similar through most of the spring, and higher during the late summer when adult salmon are migrating upstream.

Glen Spain with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations pledged support for upper basin farmers' efforts to secure disaster relief. He said the NMFS requirements will provide more flexibility for this summer and fall and ensure more storage in Upper Klamath Lake than under the court injunction it replaces.

”We will need this extra storage just in order to protect salmon against another September fish kill,” Spain said, “and especially to help prevent this kind of water crunch situation from occurring again next year.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

John Driscoll can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com.