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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>This battle is over, happily. Trinity
Restoration won. <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Byron<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></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><b><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Department of Interior Attempts Raid
On <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> Water</span></font></b><font
size=4><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>By Dan
Bacher <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Fishing
groups, the Hoopa Valley Tribe and environmental organizations are <br>
outraged over a plan by the Department of Interior to shift water designated <br>
for Trinity River salmon restoration to the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place>
to avoid another <br>
fish kill in the drought-hammered watershed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Kirk Rodgers</span></font></st1:PersonName>,
Mid-Pacific Region Director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, <br>
outlined the plan in a letter to <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Douglas Schleusner</st1:PersonName>,
Executive Director of <br>
the Trinity River Restoration Program, on April 11. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Rodgers
asked the restoration program, along with representatives of the <br>
Trinity Management Council and the Trinity Adaptive Management Group, to <br>
develop flow schedule options to prevent a "serious die-off" of adult
salmon <br>
in the <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">lower Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType> by releasing an “appropriate volume of
water into <br>
the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> at the most effective time
in late summer or early fall.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Rodgers
argued that since most of the fish killed in the 2002 fish kill were <br>
<st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> fish, this water would be proper
use of the water under the <br>
Central Valley Project Improvement Act, which authorizes the restoration of <br>
the Trinity’s anatropous fish. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Byron Leydecker</span></font></st1:PersonName>, chair
of Friends of the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> and consultant
to <br>
California Trout, immediately blasted Rodgers’ letter as being
“absolutely <br>
outrageous,” saying that the letter’s proposal totally undercuts
the Trinity <br>
River Restoration Plan and the Record of Decision of 2000. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“The
Bureau is attempting to apply a Trinity water band aid to <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath
River</st1:place> <br>
problems to avoid dealing with the basic and real problems of the
Klamath,” <br>
he stated. “It is clearly an attempt to provide political cover for the <br>
Administration in the face of another potential fish kill in the <st1:place
w:st="on">Lower <br>
Klamath</st1:place>. It is also a blatant violation of the Trinity Record of
Decision.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Leydecker
pointed out the hypocrisy of the Bureau of Reclamation proposing <br>
use of the Trinity water to avert another 2002-style fish kill when the <br>
Department of Interior has maintained that factors other than inadequate <br>
flows created the disaster, in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence <br>
that the fish kill was a result of low, warm flows. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“If
Interior is to have credibility, it could achieve that by pursuing a <br>
consistent position,” said Leydecker. “Fish either need water or
they don’t. <br>
If fish need water, then the Bureau should obtain water needed by the <br>
Klamath other than by the misuse of Trinity water.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Leydecker
said the Department could purchase water from <st1:place w:st="on">Central
Valley</st1:place> <br>
contractors, as it did two years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Jill
Geist, Humboldt County Supervisor, said she was “astounded” by the <br>
ability of the Department of Interior to continue to ignore ignoring use of <br>
the county’s 50,000 acre feet of contract water ? and the county’s <br>
willingness to have that water available for late summer/early fall release <br>
for the Trinity and Klamath fisheries. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“There
is absolutely no need to go after Trinity River ROD water,” she <br>
emphasized. “We have, and will likely continue, submitting correspondence
to <br>
the DOE that we willing to make this water available.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While
this has been will be a normal year in the Trinity, most of the <br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> is experiencing another drought
year in a series of dry <br>
years. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>"Snow
pack in the upper <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> is estimated at 30
percent of normal, <br>
significantly increasing the possibility that low flows and high <br>
temperatures could lead to another die-off similar to the one that occurred <br>
in 2002,” said Rodgers. “When combined with one of the lowest
projected <br>
adult spawning escapements in recent years, impact to fisheries in both the <br>
Trinity and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Basins</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> could be
severe.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>However,
Rodgers neglected to mention in his letter that subsidized <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <br>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> farmers would receive
70 percent of the normal irrigation water, in <br>
spite of the fact that this year is the third driest year on record! <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Hoopa
Valley Tribe, in a March letter, said the Trinity Management <br>
Council had no authority to redirect Trinity River Record of Decision (ROD) <br>
flows to be used in late summer/fall to prevent another <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">lower Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
<br>
fish kill. The ROD, issued by then Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt, <br>
provides 53 percent of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> water for
irrigation and hydroelectric <br>
uses and the other 47 percent for Trinity fisheries. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><st1:PersonName w:st="on"><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Clifford Lyle Marshall</span></font></st1:PersonName>,
chairman of the Tribe, said the Council risked <br>
dealing a “triple blow” to restoration by postponing the ROD,
underfunding <br>
it and then withholding the water needed to restore the river’s <br>
geomorphology. “Each of these actions is unlawful and potentially <br>
jeopardized the fishery that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States</st1:place></st1:country-region> holds in trust for our tribe,”
he <br>
stated. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Trinity Management Council in its meeting on April 15, in response to <br>
the Bureau’s letter, voted 7 - 1 against a fall 2005 pulse flow. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>“Diverting
ROD flows from their planned purposes in order to provide water <br>
for a fall pulse flow will result in not fully meeting ROD objectives,”
said <br>
the Council. “Therefore, the TMC does not support use of ROD water for
fall, <br>
2005, flow releases.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Council also recommended that scientists from the Klamath and Trinity <br>
coordinate the “establishment, monitoring, and assessment of criteria for
<br>
determining the onset of fish die-off conditions" in the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath
River</st1:place> this <br>
year and in coming years. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The TMC
said it will convene and recommend emergency actions should those <br>
conditions develop. In the meantime, they advised the Bureau of Reclamation <br>
to explore the potential for acquiring “outside sources” of water
should the <br>
need arise. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>It’s
great that Friends of the Trinity, the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Trinity <br>
Management Council and others have taken a strong stand against this <br>
attempted raid on <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place> water by the
Bush administration. This <br>
request from Interior is appalling, considering that the Bureau is giving <br>
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> farmers 70 percent of their
irrigation water when this is the <br>
third driest year on record. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The
Bureau should have considered the precarious situation that Klamath <br>
salmon and steelhead would be in this year BEFORE allocating near-normal <br>
water allocations to Klamath agribusiness. The Klamath fishery, faced with a <br>
projected record low spawning escapement this year, cannot afford another <br>
taxpayer-subsidized fish kill this fall. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>However,
the restoration of the Trinity River, whose fall chinook run bore <br>
the brunt of the September 2002 fish kill, cannot be sacrificed because of <br>
the Bureau’s abysmal management of Klamath Basin water. <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><em><i><font color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='color:gray'>, </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'>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'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net">bwl3@comcast.net</a></span></font></u></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</a><u>
</u></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>(secondary)</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></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><em><i><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="http://caltrout.org">http://caltrout.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'> </span><o:p></o:p></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>
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