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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;font-weight:bold'>Klamath
salmon still ailing<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><b><font size=4
color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
color:black;font-weight:bold'>Eureka</span></font></b></st1:City></st1:place><b><font
size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;
color:black;font-weight:bold'> Times-Standard – 2/1/07<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 color=black face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;font-weight:bold'>By
John Driscoll, staff writer</span></font></b><font size=4 color=black><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>FORTUNA -- A large portion of salmon in
the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> continue to become infected
by pathogens and die each year, especially when the water is warm and they
crowd into cool spots for relief. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Biologists gathered on Wednesday to give a
prognosis on the health of the river's fish, and there was not much positive
information. Scientists are trying to understand the complicated relationship
between conditions in the river, a worm-like host that harbors two key
pathogens and how fish handle infection and disease. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Studies show that the polychaete worm that
is an intermediate host to the pathogens is most heavily infected below Iron
Gate Dam, the lowest on the river. It's also prevalent far above all of the
dams, in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Williamson</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>High numbers of parasite spores are
released when adult spawning salmon die, and the most spawners are seen just
below Iron Gate Dam, said Jerry Bartholomew, a researcher for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>The annual conference has drawn more
people as attention on the Klamath has intensified. Commercial fishing was shut
down last year and sport and tribal fishing slashed to protect a weak run of
fish, causing tens of millions in economic losses along a long stretch of the
West Coast. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>As water temperature in the river
increases, one parasite begins to replicate quickly, and fish infected by it
die more rapidly. The incidence of infection in young salmon jumped quickly on
May 1, 2006, one month later that a similar spike on April 1, 2005, according
to a presentation by Ken Nichols with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Nichols said it almost looks as if there
were a trigger responsible for the sharp jump in infection at those times, but
it had not yet been identified. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Scott Foott, a pathologist with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service said that the Klamath's native fish have evolved with
the pathogens, but get overwhelmed when conditions are stressful. They crowd
together in cool spots when water gets warm and that allows infection to spread
rapidly, he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>”It's kind of a death of a thousand
cuts,” Foott said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Fisheries biologist Pat Higgins asked if
high pH and ammonia levels observed below Iron Gate Dam would suppress the
immune response of salmon. Foott said any additional stress would probably make
the fish more susceptible. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'>Rebecca Quinones with the U.S. Forest
Service reported that hatchery bred fish are more and more often spawning in
the river -- making up 13 percent of the chinook salmon that return to the
Klamath. That percentage is as high as 40 percent in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Shasta</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:14.0pt;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=4 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
14.0pt'>Quinones also said that 2006 was another bleak year for spring run
salmon, which almost exclusively return to a single tributary of the Klamath --
the Salmon River -- not including the <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity River</st1:place>.
The number of adult steelhead that return to Iron Gate Hatchery is also
decreasing, she said.</span></font><font face=Arial><span style='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>
<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=2 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>Byron
Leydecker</span></font></i></em></st1:PersonName><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>Friends of <st1:place w:st="on">Trinity
River</st1:place>, Chair</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>California Trout,Inc., Advisor</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:address tabIndex="0"
style="BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(res://ietag.dll/#34/#1001); BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x"
w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on"><em><i><font size=2 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box</span></font></i></em></st1:Street><em><i><font
size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
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=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:gray'>Mill Valley</span></font></i></em></st1:City><em><i><font size=2
color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;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=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810 ph</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><font size=2 color=gray face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 9562 fx</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><a
href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><em><i><font face="Times New Roman">bwl3@comcast.net</font></i></em></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><a
href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><em><i><font face="Times New Roman">bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</font></i></em></a></span></font></i><em><i><font
size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:blue'> </span></font></i></em><em><i><font size=2 color=gray
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></font></i></em><i><font
size=2 color=blue><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue'>http://</span></font></u></i></em><i><font
size=2 color=blue><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><a
href="http://www.fotr.org"><em><i><font face="Times New Roman">www.fotr.org</font></i></em></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><em><i><u><font size=2 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue'>http://</span></font></u></i></em><i><font
size=2 color=blue><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><a
href="http://www.caltrout.org"><em><i><font face="Times New Roman">www.caltrout.org</font></i></em></a></span></font></i><i><font
size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:blue;font-style:italic'> </span></font></i><i><font size=2 color=blue><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;color:blue;font-style:italic'><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>
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