In an Effort to Save Salmon, Irrigation Policy Is Reversed

New York Times ^ | September 27, 2002 | TIMOTHY EGAN

[liberallarry]

This looks like a text-book example from an environmentalist's handbook; limit growth or face the destruction of the natural world.

Since this phenomenon has never before been observed in this river - and didn't happen in other rivers - it was almost certainly caused by the administration's water policy.

[AAABEST]

So they're not sure what's causing the fish to die, but they're releasing more water anyway?

Enviral-creeps and their junk science. I wouldn't be surprised if they poisoned the fish themselves given their proclivity for hoaxes.

Did anyone think they would go away after the bucket brigage?

[Black Agnes]

Ugh. I'd get a couple of the fish and send them to a lab for my OWN tests. I don't trust these goons after the lynx hair incident...

[herewego]

I would never believe ANYTHING the watermelon people say.

[PizzaDriver]

In the Midwest, the price of salmon is way down. The price of catfish is at new highs.
If river management is so bad, why is fileted salmon CHEAP?

[TheBattman]

"No one has ever seen a problem like this, and it may very well turn out to be a natural phenomenon."

I find this quite plausible. Just look at it this way - what condition would the Klamath river be in were there no dam to hold a resivoir to supply the river with water? With the drought, it is likely that the river would be as low or even lower than it is with the maintinence flows from the lake. The enviro-nazi crack monkeys just don't get it -

[Let's Roll]

If they're so friggin' endangered why are we eating them at all??!!

[Askel5]

I wouldn't be surprised if they poisoned the fish themselves

Sorta like the Blood Trail, only different.

[Tamerlane]

A substantial % of the water in the Lower River is suppilied by the Trinity. Is that low as well. The Salmon don't usually go up stream until the first big rain of the fall Has that happened yet? And what about Iron Gate and Copco why aren't they releasing water?

Something is fishy here. The amount of water suppilied by Klamath Lake to the river is small Compaired to that suppilied by the Shasta, Scott and Trinity Rivers. Perhaps the current drought has much to do about the fish kill.

[marsh2]

The Scott, Shasta and Salmon provide a small amount of water compared to the Upper Klamath, which constitues about a third of the flow 200 miles at the mouth where this fish kill is happening.

The Scott and the Salmon Rivers have no dams, lakes or reservoirs. Once the snow melts, the surface water is gone. The Salmon has very little irrigation. The irrigation on the Scott is about over.

The Shasta has a very small reservoir - Lake Shastina. It is naturally a warm system and doesn't contribute much to overall flows.

Copco and Iron Gate haven't very much storage capacity. Basically, they are for regulation of flows for hydropower. This is drawn off the top two feet. The rest of the reservoirs are unusable and can't be drawn down.

I believe something like 60% of the Trinity River flows are diverted through Lewiston Claire Eagle Dam to the Sacramento River system. The court ruled that the tribes couldn't get more than the 40% of flows for their fish.

With the Trinity the way it is, the water just isn't there. If the Klamath Project did not have its system of reservoirs and lakes created for irrigation, the water just would have gobe down the river in the spring and wouldn't be there naturally for the fish. There just isn't the snowpack there was years ago. Dr. Drake has done a study on the Scott showing the trend is declining.

It is a tragedy, but farmers and ranchers shouldn't have to continuously mitigate for it on their backs and out of their pockets without reimbursement. This is everybody's problem and society at large should pay any cost for salvaging the salmon.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[liberallarry]

The Indians have been around there a long time. If they have never seen a die-off like that then this is one hell of a drought.

Then there's the question of why this drought has affected only this river in this way.

[liberallarry]

I give up. Why? They sure aren't getting salmon from this river.

[liberallarry]

I don't know the area. It appears you do. Would you ping me if you find out more about this? I'd like very much to see a follow up on this. Thanks.

[liberallarry]

There just isn't the snowpack there was years ago. Dr. Drake has done a study on the Scott showing the trend is declining

I need some clarification here. Is Dr. Drake saying that the whole river system is declining due to declining snow packs? That the salmon would had to face this problem anyway - a few years down the road if man hadn't diverted water for his own uses?

If that's true then won't farmers and urban dwellers soon have to face it as the snowpack continues to decline? And why haven't we seen die-offs on the other rivers? Should we expect similar die-offs on them in the coming years?

[The Raven]

This was caused by the previous policy!! If the water had been used for irrigation all along - there would be no fish !!

This article is reprinted today on the front page with a different title and quite a few "Bush" references as the NYT continues partisan politics.

[RWG]

In Washington state the dnr kills more fish than this. So what if the indians and the fishermen are mad, their greed has reduced the fish population more than low water levels.

[liberallarry]

Politics are an unfortunate part of human existance. I'm trying to focus on the real problems, their causes and solutions.

[liberallarry]

Greedy fisherman, greedy Indians, greedy farmers, greedy people.

[marsh2]

Here is the Study by Dr. Drake - et al. http://www.snowcrest.net/siskfarm/scottfallflows.html

Here is a page with links on flows:
http://www.snowcrest.net/siskfarm/flows.html

Have at it.