Posted on 01/27/2003 12:43:27 PM PST by 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.
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 regions 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 Basins 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 Presidents conservationist visions, while the reclamation project reflected the Great American Dream to the people heading west, says Norton. At that time, societys 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 lakes 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 didnt 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 dont 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 eagles 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 areas water resources. Very little water reaches the lowest dams, says Glen Spain, the Northwest regional director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens 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 regions 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.
Never let it be said that Willie Green didn't give Dubya credit for doing something right.
Norton: Bush Budget Would Boost Fisheries
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.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.
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.
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.
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