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Klamath fish dying by the thousands
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Posted on 09/24/2002 1:07:30 PM PDT by chance33_98
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To: marsh2
Good post!
21
posted on
09/25/2002 9:30:24 PM PDT
by
B4Ranch
To: steelie
Well, I am down in Texas right now and will be for the next little while.
Hope to see the convoy as it passes through the Dallas area.
To: B4Ranch
Here is what Dan Deppen of the Klamath Water Users said about it. (The information from Gary Stacey is the same that we got night before last at a meeting with him. There were 1500 Chinook, a handful of steelhead and two coho. They died of disease- columnaris and ceratomyxa shasta. Temperatures are thought to increase susceptibility. The cs spores occur naturally in wetland areas.):
Attached, please find four recent articles that have run in western papers in the past two days regarding the fish kill situation on the lower Klamath. The Oregonian piece that appeared yesterday was damaging - and very flawed. The Herald and News ran an excellent piece yesterday that best matches the reports I have gathered from agency representatives. I encourage you to circulate the Herald and News story, included in the attachment.
I have contacted NMFS (Jim Lecky) and CDFG (Gary Stacy) officials to get the straight scoop on the fish die-off. That situation is this: Late Thursday afternoon, biologists from USFWS, 3 tribes, and CDFG surveyed 40 miles of the Klamath River, from Highway 101 upstream. They counted 1,500 adult fall-run Chinook that have died, apparently from gill rot. Of this total, 800 were found within 1 1/2 miles of the Highway 101 bridge. 8 steelhead and 2 coho (hatchery fish) were also counted among the dead. THOUSANDS of other fish were not effected. The lower river is "chock full of fish", according to CDFG. While biologists still await results from the USFWS fish disease lab in Red Bluff, preliminary indications are that pathogens, native to the system, are responsible for the fish deaths. High water temperatures exacerbate the disease and its spreading. Both NMFS and CDFG stressed that there is no clear nexus - no single factor - that can be attributed for the death of the fish. NMFS, CDFG and USFWS are documenting what is happening, and looking for "short-term temperature fixes". One concern expressed by CDFG was the need to develop a better understood relationship between fall-run chinook numbers and river flows (sound familiar?).
Jim Lecky stated that there are three primary reasons for the fish kills: low flows throughout the season, overcrowding, and high temperatures. I stressed to both agencies the importance of letting the public know about the total number of fish returning this year, which, according to anecdotal sources, appear to near-record setting. Both CDFG and NMFS stated that it was too early to estimate these numberes, but judging from the excellent ocean harvest this year, it will likely be a very high number.
Here is what we are doing to try to counter the damage caused by the Oregonian and Eureka papers:
1. I am preparing a letter to the editor of the Oregonian that demonstrates the flawed reasoning used to link the fish kills with Klamath Project operations.
2. I have contacted ODOT regarding their claim of sprinklers damaging roads, which has been used by the Eureka paper as an example of how Basin water management is contributing to deteriorating conditions in the Klamath River. They have agreed to co-sign a letter with KWUA to the Eureka paper that points out the flawed conclusions and assertions made in the past week relative to this issue.
3. I have contacted our congressional representatives in Washington, and have asked them to urge Reclamation, NOAA and other Bush Administration officials to respond to the Oregonian article.
4. The Herald and News is running an editorial that will appear in today's paper that will dismiss the Eureka paper's assertion regarding road sprinkling. Thanks to Deb Crisp for pushing this issue.
5. Dave Vogel has also been in contact with agency biologists close to this issue.
Please let me know if you have thoughts or concerns about this issue.
Thanks - Dan
Dan Keppen Executive
Director Klamath Water Users Association
2455 Patterson Street, Suite #3
Klamath Falls, OR
97603 (541) 883-6100 - Fax (541) 883-8893
In addition, Dr. Peter Moyle was quoted in the Oregonian as stating:
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?id=153941;article=29211
Such a large die-off of adult salmon is very unusual, said Peter Moyle, a fisheries professor at the University of California at Davis and one of the national group of scientists reviewing last summer's water decisions. But he said it's premature to pin the deaths entirely on poor water from farms in the Klamath Basin.
"It's convenient to say it's the problem, and it's certainly not helping anything," he said. "But they're only contributing part of the flow of the river at that point."
I believe it is obvious that this is an intentional publicity campaign to attempt to villanize agricultural users in the Klamath system. It was also spread to the LA Times. Unfortunately, the truth will not get out to the public and they will come away with misinformation. This will assist the envirals and the radical fisher groups in their ability to destroy the people of the Klamath Basin and mid-River by twisting public opinion against them.
BTW, a miner told me the other night that they believe the fish kills of last year were intential plants of dead fish. People at Somes Bar actually witnessed the plant.
23
posted on
09/26/2002 10:53:48 AM PDT
by
marsh2
To: marsh2; steelie; Carry_Okie
Again, I thank you for the information. Why isn't the same situation (gill rot) occurring in the Snake and Columbia rivers? In the article link following, (snip) "Many fish are "holding" in mainstem rivers, waiting for water levels to rise before journeying home." Why the difference?
Salmon are spawning and thriving but could use a good rain (snip) In many Northwest rivers and streams, gravel beds that usually host underwater redds, or spawning beds, lie exposed. Fish survey crews with motorized aluminum boats, some operating in only several feet of water, must be extra careful not to hit rocks. Many fish are "holding" in mainstem rivers, waiting for water levels to rise before journeying home.
(snip)Temperatures have reached as high as 70 degrees in the Stillaguamish, Kraemer said, although fish instinctively look for cooler, shadier areas.
Regarding, "BTW, a miner told me the other night that they believe the fish kills of last year were intential plants of dead fish. People at Somes Bar actually witnessed the plant." Has this been reported to the local, state and or the federal authorities. Do you have the witnesses names available. This, in my opinion, is the kind of information that should be delivered to the Congressional Comittees. If you have a local reporter who is on 'our' side, would he write a short story about it?
24
posted on
09/26/2002 5:07:13 PM PDT
by
B4Ranch
To: steelie
Temperature is most affected by unnatural streamflows expieriancing too much solar radiation. (sunlight) There is a LOT of debate about this contention. The relationships between canopy, late season vegetative water competition, flow rate v adsorptive surface, geothermal cooling v turbulent heating, insect drop v available primary nutrition, etc. are not well understood. To which Moyle would agree.
To: marsh2; steelie; B4Ranch; forester
My gut-level reaction to the data you cite is that it is possibly a sign of fish population exceeding system carrying capacity (now wouldn't that be a shock). The large runs last year might well have left so much animal nutrient in the system that the residual pathogens were in high enough counts to have this effect in late season.
To: Carry_Okie
When and why does gill rot occur? Is there any necessary details? ie. warm water, low food quality, etc?
27
posted on
09/26/2002 7:45:13 PM PDT
by
B4Ranch
To: B4Ranch
Go here. It's about two thirds of the way down the page. Note that the section lists overcrowding of pools as the primary cause.
To: Carry_Okie
Many thanks. Interesting stuff.
29
posted on
09/26/2002 9:33:21 PM PDT
by
B4Ranch
To: B4Ranch; Carry_Okie
There has not been the big upwelling of cooler water and nutrients along coast this year as last year.It even caused
sand bars to form, which raised river so gauges were reading 5 times to high of flow.That hasn't happened this year, and the water at mouth is warmer, and the food that
large upwelling brings is reduced.During winter river flows pushes sand bars back out.Also all the smaller creeks in
lower river are the watersheds of big fires.The lower river flows are about the same as last year.Just a little less
warm basin water and little more from Trinity and small creeks.Ed Hubel.
30
posted on
09/26/2002 9:55:13 PM PDT
by
hubel458
To: marsh2
"Hopes are that someday these "brilliant" (Humboldt State) biologists will rejoin the real world and realize that these Klamath system inland salmon live on the southern extremities of the species' range and, if climate trends continue as they have, they are frequently going to encounter inhospitable temperature conditions early in the spawning season. " Exactly!.
31
posted on
09/26/2002 10:12:00 PM PDT
by
hosepipe
To: hosepipe
32
posted on
09/26/2002 11:13:43 PM PDT
by
marsh2
To: marsh2
33
posted on
09/27/2002 5:57:41 AM PDT
by
B4Ranch
To: Carry_Okie
Canopy is such a small part. go to uc berkeely and cajun james(of all places)
Sincierly Dennis Murphy
34
posted on
09/29/2002 12:45:31 AM PDT
by
steelie
35
posted on
09/29/2002 12:46:47 AM PDT
by
Mo1
To: Jeff Head
Jeff, late congrats for your "Freeper of the Day" tribute last week! Man, your mantle must be full with all this FR trophy hardware your grabbing! Oh, no trophy? Money? No cash prize either, huh?
Well, kudos anyway. ;^)
To: steelie
What is the typical time frame for a spawning COHO to move from the ocean up to Klamath?
To: B4Ranch
Real-Time River Stages
Sorted North to South by River Basin
UPDATED: 05/03/2002
To: B4Ranch
Sorry about that with the external references. These links should work. I'll go look for some graphs.
Real-Time River Stages
UPDATED: 05/03/2002
To: Carry_Okie
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