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<DIV><SPAN class=articleHeadline><STRONG>Feds float Trinity plan</STRONG></SPAN>
<P class=articleSpacer><SPAN class=articleByline>By <STRONG>John Driscoll
</STRONG>The Times-Standard</SPAN>
<P class=articleSpacer>Hoopa Tribe, Westlands turn up noses
<P>The federal government has proposed a plan for the Trinity River that --
though already met with resistance from key players -- it says might end
persistent litigation.
<P>The plan calls for a range of options during normal and dry years, and would
create two reserved slugs of water available for fish at the discretion of water
managers. The options could send less water down the river than a
congressionally supported plan under suit, or more.
<P>In all but drought years, it would provide more water than what's available
under a current order from a federal district court in Fresno.
<P>It is the second attempt to reach a settlement in recent months. Westlands
Water District, a key beneficiary of Trinity water that has litigated over the
restoration plan for the river, pitched its own settlement in October.
<P>That settlement was roundly rejected by the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the U.S.
Interior Department. Now the Interior Department has come back with its own
plan.
<P>"This is very likely to continue in endless litigation unless we can find a
way to break the stalemate," said Bennett Raley, assistant interior secretary
for water and science.
<P>Many believe the flows called for in the 2000 restoration plan are the bare
minimum needed for salmon in the Trinity River, and the tribe and salmon
advocates see it as a compromise.
<P>Both the Hoopa Valley Tribe -- an intervenor in the lawsuit -- and Westlands
are highly skeptical of the new proposal, Raley said.
<P>"The fundamental thing wrong with it is it doesn't have any science to
support it," said Hoopa Fisheries Program Director Mike Orcutt.
<P>He said the 70,000 total acre feet of so-called reserved water -- which would
cost between $5 million and $7 million -- is an example of reactive management,
not proactive management. The water is meant to be on hand in case another
Klamath River fish kill, like the one in 2002, appears imminent.
<P>Relying on buying water with an uncertain federal budget isn't a good idea,
Orcutt said.
<P>"It's going to rob someone," he said.
<P>The salmon fishery on the Trinity once boasted huge runs of fish, but the
construction of the Trinity River project had serious impacts. As much as
three-quarters of the Trinity's water from above Lewiston Dam is sent to the
Sacramento River, where Central Valley farmers get water for irrigation.
<P>The 2000 authorization of the original long-studied restoration plan was
signed by former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Westlands promptly sued.
<P>When asked if providing a range of flows during normal and dry years might
only lead to a yearly fight over water, Raley said, "There are no absolute
assurances."
<P>Water managers would look back on each year to determine if the flows met the
needs of fish in the river, and adjust the flows during the next year of the
same type.
<P>Trinity County planner Tom Stokely, who has worked on the Trinity restoration
effort for years, said on the surface there appears to be more water in the
Interior plan than in Westlands' proposal.
<P>"There are a lot of unanswered questions about who would make the decisions
and how much water there would actually be," Stokely said.
<P>He also said the emergency reserve water would be a moot point if Interior
would just recognize Humboldt County's claim to 50,000 acre feet of Trinity
water each year. </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.redding.com/news/stories/20040304lo063.shtml">http://www.redding.com/news/stories/20040304lo063.shtml</A></FONT></P>
<H3><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif>Trinity River plan angers tribe,
farmers </FONT></H3>
<P>
<H4><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif>Each says they'll lose lifeline if
water gets reapportioned yearly </FONT></H4>
<P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=-1></FONT>
<P>
<P>
<P><!-- from byline -->
<P><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=-1><!-- FM --><A
href="mailto:abreitler@redding.com">Alex Breitler</A><BR>Record
Searchlight<BR><BR>
<P>
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<TD bgColor=#ced9e1><A
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target=reddingdotcom><IMG alt="Click to enlarge image"
src="http://www.redding.com/images/photos/20040304lo063a.jpg" width=160
border=0></A><!-- from cutrs --><BR><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=-2>File photo by <A href="mailto:jkirshner@redding.com">Jonathan
Kirshner</A></FONT><!-- from cutrs1 -->
<P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=-1><B>WATER WARS: </B><!-- from cutrs2 -->A fisherman casts his line during a guided float
trip on the Trinity River in October. It's a serene image, but behind the
scenes the government, American Indians, irrigators and power users are
fighting over the best use for the water. Wednesday the U.S. Department of
Interior announced a new plan for regulating flows.</FONT>
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<P><!-- from /n --><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif
size=-1><!-- C2 --><FONT face=arial,helvetica,sans-serif color=#006699
size=-2>March 04, 2004 — <FONT color=#990000>6:22 a.m.<BR></FONT></FONT><FONT
face=arial,helvetica,sans-serif color=#000000 size=-1><FONT
face=arial,helvetica,sans-serif size=-1>The federal government wants to change
the way it regulates flows on the Trinity River, hoping to leave enough water
for fish while diverting a fair share to farms in the state's interior. <!-- /P -->
<P>But a proposal — announced Wednesday by assistant Secretary of the Interior
Bennett Raley — angers American Indians who depend on the Trinity River for
sustenance and culture. <!-- /P -->
<P>And it doesn't exactly thrill irrigators, who could see even less water than
they did before they sued to increase diversions. <!-- /P -->
<P>The plan relies on so-called "adaptive management," in which scientists would
determine which flows are appropriate from a range based on the amount of
precipitation in a given year. To this point, officials have relied on a model
to make their decisions. <!-- /P -->
<P>The river has been the subject of a legal battle since 2000, when the Clinton
administration agreed to send more water downstream. Irrigators and power users
— who have received up to 90 percent of the river's water — sued. <!-- /P -->
<P>"We're mired in a cycle of litigation that could go on for a long, long
time," Raley said during a conference call Wednesday. "The river is suffering. .
. . We need to break this deadlock." <!-- /P -->
<P>The plan would also set aside an emergency fall reserve of up to 50,000
acre-feet of water, which could be sent downstream if fish are struggling. An
additional 20,000 acre-feet water bank would be available as a "savings account"
of sorts. An acre-foot is enough water to support a family of four for one year.
<!-- /P -->
<P>The river would be evaluated annually, with scientists deciding what's best
for flows. <!-- /P -->
<P>"We would have some expert biologists running the river, basically," said
Steve Thompson, manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in California and
Nevada. Thompson helped develop the plan. <!-- /P -->
<P>But the Hoopa tribe, which rejected a settlement from the Westlands Water
District last year, didn't receive the plan favorably. The tribe said it favored
farmers and was based on the rejected Westlands proposal. <!-- /P -->
<P>Hoopa officials stand steadfastly behind the 2000 Record of Decision, which
was the culmination of 20 years of scientific study. <!-- /P -->
<P>"We're a little taken aback that they put this on the table," said Mike
Orcutt, the tribe's fisheries director. <!-- /P -->
<P>The variability of river flows could pose a problem for irrigators, said
Tupper Hull, spokesman for Westlands. The district serves 600 farms in the San
Joaquin Valley. <!-- /P -->
<P>The proposal could, at times, send more water downstream than even the Record
of Decision would have allowed. <!-- /P -->
<P>"There are concerns, obviously," Hull said, although he praised the
government for taking steps toward a solution. <!-- /P -->
<P>Although initial reactions were negative, Bennett said he would ask the
Justice Department to contact all the parties for another round of settlement
discussions with Westlands and other litigants, including the city of Redding,
which wants water for hydroelectric production. <!-- /P -->
<P>"Playing God" on the Trinity River has proven much harder than it looks,
Bennett said. <!-- /P -->
<P>"But we're not giving up," he said. "We want out of this cycle of
litigation." <!-- /P -->
<P><!-- /xtag -->Reporter <A href="mailto:abreitler@redding.com">Alex
Breitler</A> can be reached at 225-8344 or at abreitler@redding.com. <!-- /P -->
<P>
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<P><FONT face=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif size=-1>Thursday, March 4, 2004</FONT> <!--- bottom template here down ---><!-- body of the page end --><!-- friendly end --></P></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>