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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>URL: </FONT><A
href="http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_local/article/0,2232,REDD_17533_3510925,00.html"
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size=3>http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_local/article/0,2232,REDD_17533_3510925,00.html</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3> <BR> <BR>Lucas Mobley / Record
Searchlight<BR><BR>BUILDING BRIDGES: Workers Layne LaFountain of Lewiston, left,
Mike Walker of Redding, right, and Scott Dunton of Anderson, in the background,
work on a bridge over theTrinity River at Poker Bar Road on Thursday. Four
bridges are being replaced or upgraded to withstand higher flows expected on the
river this spring and summer.<BR> <BR></FONT><B><FONT size=4><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Free to Flow<BR>With lawsuits done and projects begun,
the Trinity River will rise again<BR><BR></FONT></B></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3>By Alex Breitler, Record Searchlight<BR>January
31, 2005<BR><BR>TRINITY RIVER -- Before the lawsuits, attorneys and appeals,
before the settlement talks and the sound bites, water managers here had a
simple enough goal. <BR><BR>It's imprinted on a plaque at Trinity Dam: "Built
for and by the people of the United States to conserve and wisely use the waters
of these mountains." <BR> <BR>Problem is, no one's been able to agree on
what that wise use should be. <BR><BR>This spring, the debate will cease -- at
least, in the courtroom. In the coming months, the once-mighty Trinity River may
rise to its highest planned levels since the dam was built more than 40 years
ago, as officials finally implement a Clinton-era plan to resurrect the river.
<BR><BR></FONT><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B>Restoring a
river<BR><BR></B>The Trinity River may rise to its highest planned levels in
more than 40 years this spring when officials implement a Clinton-era plan to
restore the river. Here's what will happen: <BR><BR>As soon as this week,
officials will make public an estimation of what type of water year it will be
in the Trinity system, from "critically dry" to "extremely wet." <BR><BR>A final
decision on the volume of this year's release will be made in April. Ramped-up
flows will begin in late April and peak in early May, dropping back down in
July. <BR><BR>As many as 8,500 cubic feet per second of water will be released
from Trinity Lake. That's 63,750 gallons per second. Releases from the lake have
been limited to 6,000 cfs for decades. The Clinton plan ultimately allows up to
11,000 cfs for extremely wet years. <BR><BR>Depending on precipitation, the
Trinity River will ultimately get between 368,600 and 815,200 acre-feet of water
each year. One acre-foot is enough for a family of four for a year.
<BR> <BR><BR>It won't be as simple as cranking a faucet. Adding water is
just the first step to bringing back the Trinity, long diminished by diversions
for agriculture and power production. <BR><BR>Crews are rebuilding or
strengthening four bridges to withstand faster, higher currents. And the
government is negotiating the purchase of one Douglas City home that would be
inundated in the flood. <BR><BR>Ultimately, 47 projects are planned to improve
the streambed by yanking out trees, brush and gravel buildups that turned this
once winding, broad channel into a thin band. <BR><BR>The goal is to someday let
the Trinity take care of itself. <BR><BR>"It's going to be quite a few years,"
said Tom Stokely, a Trinity County planner and river advocate.
<BR><BR><BR></FONT></FONT><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman"><B>Glad it's
over <BR><BR></B>Not that Stokely is complaining. Supporters of river
restoration are relieved that Westlands Water District and the Northern
California Power Agency recently decided not to take their case to the U.S.
Supreme Court. <BR><BR>Historically, as much as 90 percent of the river has been
diverted for crops in the San Joaquin Valley, more than 200 miles south, as well
as for power generation. Irrigators successfully sued in 2000 to stop the
Clinton plan, but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last summer sided with
American Indians who called for more water down the Trinity. <BR><BR>The plan
calls for diverting 52 percent of the river's flow. <BR><BR>That's good news for
the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which depends on the Trinity's salmon runs. Those runs
have declined up to 80 percent after decades of mining, logging and, most
recently, diversions. <BR><BR>The problem wasn't just a lack of water, experts
say. It was how the water was managed. <BR><BR>Steady but small releases from
Trinity Lake allowed brush and trees to grow closer to the river's banks
downstream. In the past, natural floods had kept those banks clear. <BR><BR>The
encroaching vegetation trapped sand and sediment, causing berms to grow like
levees up to 12 feet high. This kept the river narrow and gave fish less room to
spawn. <BR><BR>In essence, the river was becoming a canal. <BR><BR>Future
projects include using heavy machinery to rip out those berms and open up the
Trinity. <BR><BR>"The common phrase is that we take the handcuffs off the
river," said Doug Schleusner of the federal Trinity River Restoration Program.
"Then we let the river do the work." <BR><BR>Officials also will inject gravel
into the Trinity for salmon, which spawn in the rocky deposits at the bottom of
the channel. There's gravel in the upper river, but Trinity Dam blocks it from
being swept downstream. <BR><BR>"What we're trying to do is create opportunities
for brooding habitat for the young fish," Schleusner said. "We need to see a
really sizable increase in habitat before we can expect to see a sizable
increase in fish." <BR><BR><BR><B>Problems linger</B> <BR><BR>Things will never
be the way they once were on the Trinity. The dam has, after all, blocked off
100 miles of fish habitat upstream. <BR><BR>Instead, the plan is to mold a river
system that is a smaller version of its former self. <BR><BR>The Hoopa tribe has
waited long for this day. From where their valley reservation 75 miles west of
Trinity Dam now lies, tribal members have harvested fish for thousands of years
for subsistence and ceremony. <BR><BR>"We are extremely pleased that Westlands
did not choose further litigation," said Mike Orcutt, the tribe's fisheries
director. "Resources and people's time can be devoted to some other things."
<BR><BR>But the tribe remains leery. <BR><BR>Work is behind schedule, due in no
small part to the litigation. The bridges were supposed to have been replaced by
2003, about the same time the bank improvement projects were to begin.
<BR><BR>And, the tribe says, Schleusner's $10.8 million program is underfunded,
with cuts of $1 million or more likely in the coming weeks. Those reductions
could lead to further delays, Orcutt said. <BR><BR>Schleusner acknowledged that
budget cuts might slow things down. <BR><BR>"We still have a really healthy
program here, whether its $9 million or $10 million," said Schleusner, who
oversees 13 staffers in a Weaverville office. He says the program is one of a
"relatively small number" of similar efforts in the country.
<BR><BR><BR><B>Klamath concerns</B> <BR><BR>Whatever work is ultimately
completed on the Trinity, the river's health still depends in part on another
beleaguered waterway -- the Klamath River. <BR><BR>The Trinity pours into the
Klamath upstream from the Pacific Ocean. Thousands of fish died on the Klamath
below the Trinity merger in 2002 partly because of low flows, and many of those
fish were likely heading to the Trinity to spawn. <BR><BR>The Klamath has seen
water wars of its own with farmers in the upper Klamath Basin clashing with
conservationists, American Indians and commercial fishermen over a limited
amount of water. <BR><BR>"These are challenges," Orcutt said. "We have a large
problem with the Klamath system as a whole." <BR><BR>In central California,
reduced Trinity diversions will cost Westlands about 5 percent of its water
supply and eliminate hundreds of farm jobs. The state's energy supply will drop
by one-tenth of 1 percent. <BR><BR>"While Westlands continues to believe the 9th
Circuit Court erred in its decision, judicial errors are not one of the reasons
the Supreme Court typically hears a case," said Westlands spokesman Tupper Hull.
<BR><BR>That means victory for the Hoopa tribe and groups such as Friends of the
Trinity River, which has long fought for the higher flows. <BR><BR>The group's
frustration on this point is evident on its Web site, where viewers are asked to
click on a link "to receive updated news affecting Trinity River restoration, or
lack of it."
<BR>===========================================================================================================================<BR><BR>Reporter
Alex Breitler can be reached at 225-8344 or at abreitler@redding.com.
<BR><BR>Copyright 2005, Redding. All Rights
Reserved.</FONT></FONT><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>