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<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>Originally posted on the Klamath
Restoration Council [Klamath@pelicannetwork.net] list-serve<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></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'><a
href="http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/08/05/news/top_stories/top2.txt">http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/08/05/news/top_stories/top2.txt</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Heat raises concerns about local fish <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Published Friday August 5, 2005 <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'>By DYLAN DARLING <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'>Conditions are ripe for fish to die in the waters near <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Klamath Falls</st1:place></st1:City>, federal officials said
Thursday. Algae blooms are thick in Upper Klamath Lake, <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Lake</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ewauna</st1:PlaceName> and the portions of <st1:place
w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> the lakes feed. The water is warm, as is
the air above it. If the hot conditions start killing the algae, they will in
turn start killing fish by sapping their oxygen. Officials wait and watch the
temperatures. "They are high enough now. We are hoping they don't get up
anymore," said Cindy Williams, chief of natural resources for the Klamath
Reclamation Project. <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'>After a week of 90-degree heat, 100,000 fish, mostly small chubs and
minnows, went belly up around July 21. Also dead were several thousand yearly,
or year-old or less, endangered sucker fish. The fish were found along a
seven-mile stretch of the Klamath River below <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Klamath Falls</st1:place></st1:City>. Water temperature near the
time of the fish die-off had climbed to 82 degrees. Scientists say suckers can
survive in water as warm as 75 degrees, but it starts to take a toll on them. <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'>The Bureau Reclamation is tasked with keeping water levels up in <st1:place
w:st="on">Upper Klamath Lake</st1:place> for the suckers, while also
maintaining flows down the river for threatened coho salmon and providing a
diversion for the Project. The only way to prevent a fish die-off is for
temperatures to take a turn for the cooler, Williams said. Having more water in
the lakes or river would not help if it is more hot water. So far, the July
fish die-off has been an isolated incident. "We had had cooling conditions
since," said Rich Piaskowski, a fisheries biologist for the Project. <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'>But now things have heated up for a couple of days, and highs are
expected to be in or close to the 90s through the weekend. Along with the
return of hot weather the past couple of days, there have been low winds and
cloud cover - priming things for a possible fish die-off, Piaskowski said. <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'>During the day, algae creates oxygen, but at night and when it dies the
algae consumes oxygen. When the algae starts eating up more oxygen than it puts
out, it can leave little for fish. Currently, the water is green with algae. "It's
kind of like pea soup," Williams said. To see if the soup turns lethal,
officials are asking for help. Those who notice dead fish in bodies of water
near <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Klamath Falls</st1:City></st1:place>
should call Roger Smith, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist,
at 883-5732<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><i><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>The following are posts by people on
the river:<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></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'>Our Crew just finished a 3-Day trip on the Klamath from Happy Camp down
and reported seeing numerous dead fish. Catfish, Suckers and Steelhead smolts,
all juvenile fish. Anyone else know about this? <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Michael Charlton <br>
Redwoods and Rivers <br>
PO Box 606 Big Bar, CA. 96010 <br>
1-800-429-0090 <br>
michael@redwoods-rivers.com <br>
www.redwoods-rivers.com <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'>FYI, got a call from a reporter today on conditions in <st1:place
w:st="on">Upper Klamath Lake</st1:place>, who had heard from several folks
about a possible fish kill. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>It has
been very hot in the upper basin for the last several days, very sunny, and
very still, and large algae blooms have occurred in the lake. Some have started
dying back now. It is possible that in the next few days to a week we could
see fish kills in Upper Klamath Lake similar to the one that occurred in the
upper <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> a few weeks ago. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Steve
Pedery <br>
Conservation Program Manager <br>
Oregon Natural Resources Council <br>
Phone: (503) 283-6343 ext. 212 <br>
Fax: (503) 283-0756 <br>
www.onrc.org<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><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>
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