<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.8112.16455"></HEAD>
<BODY style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" id=role_body
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 rightMargin=7 topMargin=7><FONT id=role_document
color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV>Colleagues...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For anyone who would actually like to see the NMFS 10/31st <EM>Concurrence
Letter</EM> on these emergency measures, to the effect that this action would
likely BENEFIT, rather than harm, Klamath salmonids including coho, that letter
is posted at:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.usbr.gov/mp/kbao/docs/NMFS_proposal_acceptance.pdf">http://www.usbr.gov/mp/kbao/docs/NMFS_proposal_acceptance.pdf</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>And while people may legitimately disagree with NMFS on the science, the
assertion that this emergency measures is "illegal" is clearly not the
case. The BiOp contains a well specified process for making such
mid-course corrections and modifications to flows, when conditions warrant and
NMFS believes they are better for fish, and that legal procedure was followed in
this case to the letter. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>There is still significant risk, from a very dry October and first half of
November, that we are sliding into a serious drought. If this is the case,
it would be foolish in the extreme to put all the water downriver this winter
when the fish need it the least, and thus cause shortages of water when fish
next need it the most, which will be in the Spring. This was clearly the
thinking behind this NMFS concurrence. And it is thinking with which we at
PCFFA agree, at least in this instance.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10">======================================<BR>Glen H. Spain, Northwest
Regional Director<BR>Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
(PCFFA)<BR>PO Box 11170, Eugene, OR 97440-3370<BR>Office: (541)689-2000 Fax:
(541)689-2500<BR>Web Home Page: <A
href="http://www.pcffa.org/">www.pcffa.org</A><BR>Email:
fish1ifr@aol.com</FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>=======================================================</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 11/19/2012 8:26:24 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
tstokely@att.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><A
title=http://www.times-standard.com/ci_22025422/hoopa-raises-concerns-over-low-klamath-flows-other?source=most_viewed
href="http://www.times-standard.com/ci_22025422/hoopa-raises-concerns-over-low-klamath-flows-other?source=most_viewed">http://www.times-standard.com/ci_22025422/hoopa-raises-concerns-over-low-klamath-flows-other?source=most_viewed</A> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV
style="Z-INDEX: auto; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(202,202,202) 2px solid; POSITION: static; PADDING-BOTTOM: 8px; LINE-HEIGHT: 20px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; DISPLAY: block; FONT-FAMILY: Palatino,Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12px; FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; PADDING-TOP: 8px"
id=cpf-printOut-header>
<TABLE style="Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static" border=0 cellSpacing=0
cellPadding=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=middle align=left>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 18px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"
class="cpf-deletable cpf-printOut-header-title">Hoopa raises concerns
over low Klamath flows; Other agencies, tribe disagree</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class="cpf-deletable cpf-printOut-header-byline">Luke Ramseth/The
Times-Standard Eureka Times Standard</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-SIZE: 12px"
class="cpf-deletable cpf-printOut-header-dateline">Created:</DIV></TD>
<TD vAlign=bottom align=right>
<DIV class="cpf-deletable cpf-printOut-header-domain"><A
title=http://times-standard.com/
href="http://times-standard.com/">Times-Standard.com</A></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
<DIV
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 20px; FONT-FAMILY: Palatino,Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif; FONT-SIZE: 16px"
id=cpf-printOut-body>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>After a record salmon year on the Klamath
River, the Hoopa Valley Tribe is voicing concerns that low water flows this
winter will harm the fish, especially the endangered coho salmon. Other
Klamath agencies disagree, saying there was no choice, and proper study and
precaution has been taken.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”If this is any indication of the (Bureau
of Reclamation's) future water planning, I do not see how the salmon can
recover,” said Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Leonard Masten in a statement.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon, which feeds
the Klamath River, is at an 18-year low. The lake provides water to Klamath
basin farmers, wetlands, downstream reservoirs like Iron Gate, all while
maintaining flows in the river itself. The Bureau of Reclamation manages flows
coming out of Upper Klamath Lake, and said it has no choice but to hold back
on water releases this winter. Bureau spokesman Kevin Moore said his agency
consulted closely with the National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure salmon
go unaffected.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Both Hoopa and Karuk tribe representatives
showed recent concern over how reduced flows will affect the record-breaking
salmon season, mostly made up of chinook, and the river ecosystem on the
whole. In a press release, the Hoopa tribe said the low levels violate
Endangered Species Act flows for coho salmon. The two tribes also have
conflicting opinions on how best to proceed this winter, given the
less-than-optimal circumstances with a record-low lake.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>At issue is a 2010 “biological opinion” by
the National Marine Fisheries Service that stipulates a minimum flow level in
the river to protect the coho. The opinion says flows for the next two months
should not go below 1,300 cubic feet per second below Iron Gate Dam. The
Bureau of Reclamation plans to run the flows at 1,000 CFS through December,
which does not include added wintertime rain and runoff. One CFS equals 7.48
gallons per second.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Irma Lagomarsino, the National Marine
Fisheries Service Northern California Office supervisor, said the 2010
biological opinion also has a term and condition allowing the Bureau of
Reclamation and NMFS to drop flows below Iron Gate Dam to under 1,300 CFS, if
certain conditions are met. She said both her agency and the BOR analyzed
whether lowering flows would harm coho, and they determined it would not.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”We felt there are some situations where
the flows could be lower,” she said.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Regina Chichizola, a spokeswoman for the
Hoopa Tribe, said the tribe is especially concerned lower winter flows would
have an acute effect so soon after such a prosperous salmon season. She
highlighted the coho salmon as the largest potential victim.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”We have argued ecological collapse affects
coho, specifically,” said Robert Franklin, a Hoopa senior hydrologist. “Baby
coho are quite active this time of year. They need to be able to swim in and
out of tributaries and up and down the river.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>The young coho leave the river in spring
for the ocean. There, they spend one to three years before returning to spawn.
Coho are about two feet long on average, and usually weigh seven to 11 pounds.
They go from silver and dark blue hues while in the ocean, but turn bright red
when they return to fresh water.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Chichizola said this is the second time
flow agreements have been violated in the last two years. She said those
actions give the river, “a continual air of lawlessness.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>'Rock-bottom levels'</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>A massive 2002 fish kill on the Klamath --
resulting in the death of more than 60,000 migrating Chinook salmon -- is
mentioned in the Hoopa press release, and remains on some salmon advocates'
minds. Chichizola and Franklin said the tribe is more concerned about
dangerous, long-term effects on the fish and river, not a repeat of 2002.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”We're looking at trying to get above those
rock-bottom levels,” Franklin said. He cited a late Thanksgiving-time run of
Chinook that could also be affected by low flows.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>The Bureau of Reclamation began releasing
additional water on Aug. 15 from the Trinity River reservoir to supplement
flows in the lower Klamath River. In an August Times-Standard story, Sarah
Borok, and environmental scientist with Department of Fish and Game said the
release has the water flowing at about 3,200 cubic feet per second. In 2002,
when the fish kill occurred, the water was flowing at 1,800 cubic feet per
second. Borok said fast water flows give the fish more room to avoid what she
calls, “Kindergarten Syndrome.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”When the water is running too slow, the
fish will bunch in close together,” she said. “That is bad because if one of
them is sick it increases the odds of them all getting sick.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>The Hoopa Tribe made their case in a recent
letters to the National Marine Fisheries Service in Arcata and the Bureau of
Reclamation, saying reduced flows would be “ecologically unsound,” and even
illegal.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>The Hoopa letter to the NMFS called the
August Trinity release a “substantial investment in protecting this run
against possible fish disease.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”It seems illogical that this substantial
federal investment would now be abandoned, leaving salmon to fend for
themselves against unreasonably low winter flows that are scientifically known
to be ecologically unacceptable.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>The letter continues, “Of all years, this
is the worst possible year for reducing winter flows in the Klamath River
...”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Demanding winter flows a mistake?</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Craig Tucker, a Klamath campaign
coordinator for the Karuk tribe, said he has similar concerns as the Hoopa
about the impacts of low-flow levels on salmon. He said the Hoopa Valley Tribe
might be making a mistake in demanding more winter water.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”We're more concerned about low flows in
spring,” he said. Strong spring flows are crucial, he said, especially in
getting salmon juveniles flushed out of the system.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Tucker said he would rather temper flows
now and fill up Upper Klamath Lake with plenty of water as an insurance policy
for spring, in case of a dry winter.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”The problem is, you don't know whether
you're going to have a wet winter or a dry winter,” he said. If flows are held
back now, and it turns out to be a wetter than usual winter, Tucker said
that's OK too. When the Upper Klamath Lake floods, that's healthy for
downstream ecosystems.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Moore agreed. He said big releases
mid-winter due to storms mimic a natural, undammed river, and are healthy for
salmon. Moore questioned whether people would even notice a difference of 300
CFS down the river.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Tucker said it seems Upper Klamath Lake was
mismanaged and overdrafted this year. Too much water went to other major
interest groups like Klamath basin farmers, wetlands, and wildlife refuges.
Moore had two explanations for the record-low lake levels. He said his
department bases water deliveries to various groups off of a Natural Resources
Conservation Service forecast, and that forecast was inaccurate this year.
Last year's winter was particularly dry, he said, resulting in lake inflow
being 76 percent of average.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>He explained with a low lake, his
department comes up against two competing environmental standards. On one
side, they must keep flows high enough in the Klamath River to not place coho
and other species in danger. Moore said the bureau also must keep enough water
in the lake to mitigate any risk to two other fish species that live there --
the endangered shortnose and Lost River suckers.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”That's the whole struggle here,” Tucker
said. “How you balance it all so everyone gets their needs met is unclear to
me. But given the position we're in, I want to fill up that lake. We want to
go along with that. If Hoopa got what they wanted, and we got a drought
spring, everybody is going to be mad at Hoopa.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Franklin, the Hoopa hydrologist, calls low
spring flows an “unknown risk.” What he said he does know is that flows are
too low right now, which needs to be addressed.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>After an analysis, the National Marine
Fisheries Service thought lower flows would both help refill Upper Klamath
Lake, and help increase spring flows for coho, Lagomarsino said. She said her
department also ensured lower flows would not affect coho in the short term
this winter.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>”I don't see it as a tradeoff,” between
flows in winter or flows in spring, Lagomarsino said. “I don't see coho as
even effected by this November-December period.”</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>She said 1,000 CFS is enough to provide “a
lot of spawning habitat” for coho.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>Whether decreased flows are eventually
deemed ecologically harmful, a record salmon season has brought heightened
awareness of flows and conditions on the Klamath.</P>
<P class=cpf-printOut-body-content>“We've had this amazingly strong run of
fish this year,” Tucker said. “I think we're trying to figure out what this
means.”</P>
<P
style="Z-INDEX: auto; POSITION: static; BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(242,255,225); CURSOR: url(http://cache-02.cleanprint.net/media/pfviewer/images/close.cur), auto; border-top-left-radius: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; box-shadow: rgb(150, 150, 150) 5px 5px 5px; -webkit-box-shadow: rgb(150, 150, 150) 5px 5px 5px"
class="cpf-printOut-body-content cpf-viewbox-edit-highlight">Luke Ramseth can
be reached at 441-0509 or <A title=mailto:lramseth@times-standard.com
href="mailto:lramseth@times-standard.com">lramseth@times-standard.com</A>.</P></DIV></DIV>=<BR>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 size=2 face=Arial FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"></FONT> </DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>