Death in the Klamath

E magazine | Jan/Feb 2003 | Orna Izackson

[FloridaGeezer]

Last summer,it was farmers at the upper end of the Klamath River basin of Oregon and California who made news. Upset that the subsuduzed water to which their farms had become accustomed was cut back (off) due to drought and for four threatened or endangered fish, they stormed the headgates and turned the water on themselves. The farmers action made national headlines (I didn't notice) and in the end they received roughly 75 percent (?) of the water they'd expect in a normal water year.

This year, it's the salmon downriver that are making headlines. But while the farmers ended up with most of what they wanted, (too late for the growing season?) the salmon haven't had a happy ending. For three weeks beginning in September,fish returning to the Klamath River to spawndied by the tens of thousands (30,000?).

The latest count is about 33,000 dead fish. Most of those come from the fall chinook run, which before the kill was estimated to come in at 60,000 fish. But some of the dead are steelhead and threatened coho salmon (?), and the latter are protected under federal Endangered Species Act.(Do we really know how endangered they arre?) The Klamath River once boasted the third-largest sakmon run in western North America. (when? 1873? )

Because of the fishes' three-to-five year reproduction cycle, the impact of the deaths will be felt in the coming years when ocean conditions could worsen and put the fish closer to extinction. The people most affected are members of the two largest native American tribes in California-the Yurok and the Karuk and downriver commercial fishers in communities including Eureka and Arcata.

Tribal and state biologists say the 2001 fish kill is the predictable result of water diversions from agriculture and the hot and dirty runoff that does make it into the Klamath River. But administration officials say they can't be sure there's a connection. "We don"t actually know what caused the fish kill," says Jack Garner of the Bureau of REclamation.

In late October, biologists Micheal Kelly of the National Marine Fisheries Service-the agency charged with ptotecting threatened salmon-requested whistleblower status. Kelly charged the agency was pushed by the administration to violate the law and allow water needed by the fish to go instead to farmers.

Early in the season, the Bush administration allowed more water to the upper baasin farmers, claiming there wasn't good scientific justification for saving water for fish. "I seems that all the assertions by the administration that fish don't need water water were wrong," says Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Associations (PCFFA). "At least 33,000 dead fish now say otherwise." CONTACT: PCFFA (415)561-5080, www.pcffa.org.

[FloridaGeezer]

Will somebody shred this?

[sauropod]

Someone here will....

[widowithfoursons]

It ought to get a zot just for being a dam* lie.

[Liberal Classic]

Subsuduzed?

[restornu]

CTR!

[bigfootbob]

Try these:http://www.buchal.com/hoax.html And
http://www.naturalprocess.net/

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[farmfriend]

The article has been retyped by someone. Here is a link to the original article.

[farmfriend]

My apologies to those who have already been pinged.

[Liberal Classic]

Oh, sorry. I thought for a moment the author didn't know what a subsidy was. ;)

[Carry_Okie]

I really get tired of debunking these, but it's my own fault. I don't save the standard rants often enough and the FR archives are effectively gone because they aren't searchable. Right now, I'm a little busy.

[farmfriend]

Previous article on Klamath:

Troubled Waters

Farmers and Fish in the Klamath Basin
By Diane M. Marty

Hot words dominate the debate among the factions vying for water in the Klamath Basin. But as the different groups wrangle over water, all parties agree that even a year or two of record precipitation would only delay the inevitable. There simply is not enough of the precious liquid in the basin to keep the community afloat.

A high country environment, the Klamath Basin extends from southwestern Oregon into northern California. The people are hardworking, the weather uncertain and the country unforgiving. The land is arid: Even the Yuma Desert receives more annual precipitation. “The region’s water problems are the result of thousands of actions over more than 100 years,” says Phil Norton, manager at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges.

The reconfiguration of the Klamath Basin’s ecosystem began in the early 1900s, when Teddy Roosevelt created both a wildlife refuge and a reclamation project with the same signature. “The wildlife refuge matched the President’s conservationist visions, while the reclamation project reflected the Great American Dream to the people heading west,” says Norton. “At that time, society’s values demanded that the ‘worthless’ swamps be drained and the fertile land cultivated. More farmland would produce more food to nourish a hungry and expanding nation.”

To that end, the government transformed 80 percent of the existing 350,000 acres of wetlands into cropland. A head gate was installed when a “V” was carved into a natural reef at Klamath Lake. Since then, when water has been needed for the crops, the lake quenched the parched farmland. Waters were diverted and exchanged from the lakes and rivers to create an irrigation system. Finally, dams were built to control flow down river.

Fast forward to seven years of record-breaking drought and a reconfiguration of cultural consciousness. Upper Klamath Lake, formed by natural forces and dependent on melting snow pack and precipitation for replenishment, has been one of the most reliable water sources for irrigators during dry times. But, as a result of constant draining, the lake’s suckerfish declined and eventually became an endangered species. However, water continued to flow as needed for irrigation despite the algae blooms and a shrinking habitat.

This past year, a Bureau of Reclamation biological report affirmed that suckerfish need a certain level of water in which to live and reproduce. And, because the lakes held less than that, the Bureau denied the release of water to the irrigation system. For the first time in its century-long history, the project received no water.

“More than 1,200 farmers didn’t get the water they needed,” says Jim Carpenter, a Klamath Falls resident and co-chairman of the Hatfield Working Group, a federal advisory coalition. Working Group members include government appointees, refuge staff, small business owners, farmers and Native Americans, with the specific mission of finding solutions for drought relief, stabilizing the economy and beginning ecosystem restoration.

“Farming may be responsible for less than 10 percent of the economy, but raw economic numbers don’t tell the whole story,” says Carpenter. “Farming generates between $100 and $200 million in a good year. And agriculture is a way of life in the region, with small family operations powering these dollars as opposed to mega-corporations,” he adds.

Some farmers rely on alternative water sources, such as wells, other streams or rivers. But these are temporary solutions because the dry land demands intensive irrigation to produce healthy crops even in wet times. Last summer, farmers got so frustrated that they broke into an irrigation station with chain saws and illegally diverted water to their fields.

Some Klamath Basin groups, like the Hatfield Working Group, the Klamath Watershed Council and Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, are working on new, sustainable approaches to keeping the economy afloat. Innovative ideas include construction of new geothermal power facilities, adoption of advanced water conservation technology coupled with farmer education, and even such low-tech concepts as covering irrigation ditches to reduce evaporation.

“Refuges remain toward the bottom of the Klamath Basin ‘food-water chain,’ both physically and priority-wise,” says Norton. “What little water reaches the refuges in this stressed environment is oxygen-starved and often highly contaminated.” The wildlife refuges are winter homes to more than 1,000 bald eagles as well as the migrating waterfowl that provide the eagle’s sustenance. These wild lands were about to go dry this past August when, at the last minute, the Bureau of Reclamation released some water to the refuge. “Counting donations and some other sources, the refuges received about one half the water they usually do,” says Norton.

In a year destined to be disastrous for the wildlife, Norton is relieved. Still, there are continuing repercussions resulting from over-taxing the area’s water resources. “Very little water reaches the lowest dams,” says Glen Spain, the Northwest regional director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). Other rivers that could augment the shortage have also been heavily tapped upstream because of the drought. “This year, the trickle is one sixth of the usual flow, it is laced with pesticides, and it often registers a tepid 68 degrees,” adds Spain.

The region’s coho salmon total one percent of their original number and are also an endangered species. “Salmon require cooler temperatures and more water in order to spawn,” says Spain. “The ocean area at the base of the river is closed to commercial fishing, and fishing villages have become ghost towns. More than 4,000 jobs and $80 million have been lost by the industry,” he estimates.

Although some of the facts and figures change depending on the perspective of the people being quoted, all interested parties agree that changes must be made to ensure both a strong economy and a healthy ecosystem. But there are basic disagreements, creating quite a bit of tension, about how to go forward. Some people feel the government needs to supply strong leadership, while others place more confidence in cooperative, grassroots movements.

In the worst possible outcome, the labyrinthine tactics, Byzantine politics and convoluted logic will delay action. The fish and bald eagles will become extinct. Farmers will go bankrupt. The watershed will become irreparably tainted. At best, an innovative solution will forge a template for other ecosystem management and restoration projects around the world.

[hubel458]

This author is a stupid greenie, with article containing
many lies.The fish returns to Klamath hatcheries were near record numbers, so the returns in in future years from this years spawning operation will be fine.And she stated farm got 3/4 normal water from Lake during shutoff, when it really was only 20%.And the tribes she seems so concerned about stopped a whole bunch of fishing just before the fish came, thus not catching a whole bunch to thin them out, which would have kept them from dying.The taxpayers raised the fish to be caught.And of course no greenie bunch of lies would be complete without getting the words from that great fisherman Glen Spain... WHO DOESN'T KNOW WADERS FROM
TROJANS...Him living in the area that is taking too much of Trinity water, that was the main cause of the water not being in lower river, when fish got crowded, is a moral outrage when he doesn't do anything about it...But crucify
upper basin farms, when the upper basin was giving twice as much water to the system as the S Cal interests were giving from the Trinity storage.And Trinity storage was 1.5 million
ac ft when fish came in, while Upper Klamath lake had only 150,000 ac ft.....and was below the court level for suckers.So this author and greenie friends need their facts straight, and most know some of the truth, so they need to quit omitting the truths, and stop the outright lying.
Ed Hubel.

[Willie Green]

Will somebody shred this?

Never let it be said that Willie Green didn't give Dubya credit for doing something right.

Norton: Bush Budget Would Boost Fisheries

As outlined by Norton, the proposed spending increase includes $2.5 million for hatchery restoration projects, such as the juvenile spring chinook in Oregon.
Another $3 million would improve aging pumps, pipelines and electrical systems, while $1.5 million would increase hatchery production for threatened species, such as pallid sturgeon and greenback cutthroat trout.

Can't rightly say that I know if, in the overall scheme of things, this amount of money is enough or too much. But as an avid fisherman and engineer, I like fish and fish hatcheries. And technologicly speaking, they're a relatively simple and inexpensive solution to boosting the fish population.

There is no panacea that will satisfy everybody's conflicting opinions for water usage in the face of drought and population growth. But to the extent that we can alleviate such conflicts with construction of infrastructure, whether it's fish hatcheries, wastewater treatment or seawater desalination plants, I support it. Everybody needs clean, fresh water to survive.

[Search4Truth]

I think it is a darn shame that all that good fish should go to waste. Maybe next time they can anticipate this surplus of salmon and are able to harvest them. Seems like their would stil be a good market for fresh salmon and salmon roe. Why think of all the things you make with salmon, you can make broiled salmon .. baked salmon... smoked salmon... stuffed salmon... salmon in cream sauce...

[Feiny]

Now you have made me hungry!

BAKED SALMON STUFFED WITH MASCARPONE SPINACH!!!!
Serve with pan-fried potatoes. What to drink: A crisp Sauvignon Blanc from California or New Zealand, or a French Sancerre.
1 10-ounce bag fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup cream cheese (about 4 ounces), room temperature
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese,* room temperature
Pinch of ground nutmeg
8 6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets with skin (each about 1 inch thick)

Olive oil
2 2/3 cups fresh breadcrumbs from French bread with crust
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spinach in large pot of boiling water just until wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain; rinse with cold water. Squeeze spinach dry, then finely chop. Place in small bowl. Mix in cream cheese, mascarpone, and ground nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cut one 3/4-inch-deep, 2 1/2-inch-long slit down center of top side of each salmon fillet, forming pocket for spinach mixture. Fill each slit with spinach mixture, dividing equally among salmon fillets. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Mix breadcrumbs, melted butter, and Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Top each salmon fillet with breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Place salmon fillets, skin side down, on prepared baking sheet. Bake salmon until opaque in center, about 12 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve.

[Feiny]

Peppered Salmon with Whisky Cream Sauce
Copyright Nick Nairn 2002

Preparation time 20 minutes
serves 2
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
½ tablespoon white peppercorns, crushed
2 x 175g (6oz) salmon steaks or darnes
1 level teaspoon Dijon mustard
freshly ground sea salt
15g (½ oz ) butter
1 tablespoon whisky
150ml (¼ pint) double cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, plus extra to garnish

Unlike the other recipes in this section, this sauce is an integral part of the dish and is one of my favourite one-pan recipes. It has evolved from a peppered beef dish which I then adapted for chicken with great success, and it was only a matter of time before the curious cook in me tried it with salmon. The result? A very tasty dish indeed!

1 Mix together the crushed peppercorns. Smear the salmon steaks all over with the mustard and then press the peppercorns into the cut sides of the salmon - just enough to give it a nice thin coating. Season with salt.

2 Heat a frying pan until hot. Add the butter and, as soon as it starts to foam, lay in the salmon steaks. Reduce the heat to medium and fry the steaks for about 3 minutes on one side to brown them.

3 Turn up the heat, flip the steaks over, then splash in the whisky. Boil fast until the whisky has almost disappeared, then pour in the cream. Carefully scraping up any bits that are sticking to the bottom of the pan around the steaks, bring to a fast bubble.

4 Boil for 1 - 2 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken, then taste and season with more black pepper if necessary, and some salt. By this time the salmon should be just cooked - test with the tip of a knife; if it is still a wee bit pink, simmer over a low heat for a further minute. Stir in the chopped chives and serve immediately, garnished with the extra chives.

[Search4Truth]

Looks like heaven. Life is good. God bless America. Where you can still eat salmon without a license :).

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[skinkinthegrass]

Hmmmmm...RYAN'S...Baked Salmon :)