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<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Estimate of Klamath fish kill could double</span></font></b></strong><font
size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma'>Associated Press - 7/31/04</span></font></b></strong><font
size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=4 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:
13.5pt;font-family:Tahoma'>By Don Thompson, staff writer</span></font></b></strong><font
size=4><span style='font-size:13.5pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.5pt'>SACRAMENTO</span></font></st1:City><font size=4><span
style='font-size:13.5pt'> -- The massive 2002 <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath
River</st1:place> fish kill, already counted as one of the nation's largest,
could have killed twice as many fish as previously projected, the California
Department of Fish and Game said Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Commercial
fishermen said the larger projected kill could do even more harm to their
industry next year, as the offspring of that fall's salmon run begin to return
upstream from the ocean. They complained conditions this year could spark a
repeat of the disaster. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>"Maybe
as much as half the run died in one fell swoop," said Steve Pedery of the
Oregon Natural Resources Council. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>The
federal Bureau of Reclamation said it is prepared to release more water as
needed this summer to avert another fish kill, and questioned the new higher
kill estimate. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>The
previous fish-kill estimate of 34,056 fish was "conservative," the
department said in its final report on the incident: "Actual losses may
have been more than double that number." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>"We're
two years later. How do we know that?" countered Reclamation spokesman
Jeff McCracken. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>The state
report blamed near-record-low river flow for concentrating returning fall-run
chinook salmon near the mouth of the river, where they were susceptible to
bacterial infections. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>The
result was "unprecedented" for the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place>
and perhaps the largest salmon kill ever recorded on the West Coast, said
report co-author Steve Turek, a senior state environmental scientist. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Like
other major kills on Oregon's Rogue River, California's Butte Creek, and
British Columbia's Babine and Frasier rivers, the fatal combination seems to be
lots of fish, not enough water, warm water temperatures and the presence of
disease, the department found. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>Ironically,
the fall run was larger than average that year, helping lead to the die-off
that now threatens fishermen's limits. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>"Not
many fish are coming back. Now we know why," said Glen Spain, regional
director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>That will
mean record low salmon runs next year and devastating losses for commercial
fishermen up and down the West Coast, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region> said. His organization
earlier this month asked President Bush for economic disaster relief for losses
it said could run to hundreds of millions of dollars for fishing communities
from <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Fort</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Bragg</st1:PlaceName>
north to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Coos Bay</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Ore.</st1:State></st1:place> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:country-region w:st="on"><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:13.5pt'>Spain</span></font></st1:country-region><font size=4><span
style='font-size:13.5pt'> contended the federal government is creating the same
conditions again this year by releasing too little and too warm water from the <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, leading to "a perpetual
drought on the lower river" to save irrigation water for farmers upstream.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:13.5pt'>But
McCracken said the government released sufficient water from the tributary <st1:place
w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> last year to avoid another Klamath fish
kill, and is prepared to do the same this year if necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><em><i><font size=3 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Consultant, California Trout, Inc.</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'> 2327</span></font></i></em></st1:address><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><em><i><font
size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">94942-2327</st1:PostalCode></span></font></i></em></st1:place><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810 ce</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</font></i></em></a><em><i><font
face="Times New Roman"> (secondary)</font></i></em><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a href="http://www.fotr.org">http://www.fotr.org</a></span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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