[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS BREAKING NEWS 5/3/02<~~

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         ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS BREAKING NEWS 5/3/02<~~
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       A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND
     LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES 
     AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S
                                   ASSOCIATIONS

 Breaking News Alert                                                   3 MAY 
2002 
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                             BREAKING NEWS ALERT
 
     KLAMATH SALMON STRANDED WITHOUT ENOUGH
WATER, COURT DENIES MORE WATER FOR FISH AT LEAST
THROUGH MAY:  Coastal commercial salmon fishermen fighting for
water for threatened Klamath River salmon runs, represented by PCFFA,
were deeply disappointed by the decision 3 May of the U.S. Federal
District Court in Oakland, CA, not to order the Bureau of Reclamation
(BOR) to release more water into the Lower Klamath River through May
31st.  The releases were sought as an emergency measure to keep from
devastating this year's juvenile Klamath River salmon runs. PCFFA had
brought suit last week seeking an emergency protective order from the
U.S. District Court (see Sublegals 5:17/02). The survival of lower
Klamath River juvenile salmon are threatened through the spring with
the diversion of roughly 50% of the total flow of the river that would
usually flow below Iron Gate Dam, as the BOR held back large volumes
of water this week it said were for future irrigation deliveries to the
federal Klamath Irrigation Project.

     The Court's ruling was mixed.  Federal Judge Saundra Brown
Armstrong agreed with the fishermen on all their legal points, but ruled
against them on their request for emergency relief at this time, instead
deferring to the agencies to work details out in the still as yet
uncompleted National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) formal
Biological Opinion (BiOp) on the Bureau of Reclamation's proposed
10-year water plan.  

     The end result of Court inaction, however, is that Klamath River
water flows in the lower river could drop at any time to just over 1,000
cubic feet per second (cfs).  The 40-year median for this time of year is
2,000 cfs, and the "minimum required to prevent extinction" that NMFS
approved at this same time in 2001 was 1,700 cfs even during last year's
drought, the worst in 72 years. Thus, even though there is far more
rainfall in the system this year than last, the lower river will get even 
less
water this year than last.  Fishermen criticized the current BOR water
plan as institutionalizing permanent drought in the lower river, once the
third most productive salmon river system in the U.S., and feared
another major fish kill this summer.

     In fact, the water returned to the river by the Bureau in recent years
has been so little, and of such poor quality, that there are now major
lower river fish kills in an average of 5 out of 7 years. Just this week the
lower river saw fish strandings and the die-off of young salmon as flows
dropped precipitously.  See the 2 May Los Angeles Times at:
http://latimes.com/news/local/la-000031234may02.story.  At the
rock-bottom flow levels proposed by the Bureau through the summer,
these die-offs are likely to continue, according to California Department
of Fish & Game Biologists.

     Klamath River salmon runs have been so devastated by poor water
flows in the past that their low numbers have triggered near total
closures of coastal salmon fishing ports as far south as Fort Bragg, CA
and as far north as Coos Bay, OR. Less water left in the lower river
would mean more closures and more economic dislocation in coastal
fishing-dependent communities, who have suffered severe economic
losses as salmon have disappeared.  See the 3 May Los Angeles Times
article "Hard Times on the Lower Klamath" at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-050302klamath.story. On the
other hand, the economic benefits of restored Klamath Basin salmon
runs could mean tens or even hundreds of millions of additional dollars
to the Northern California and Southern Oregon economy.  

     The current fishermen's lawsuit is only the first test of the Bureau of
Reclamation's 10-year water plan, and only challenged flows for the
month of May 2002.  The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is
expected to release a "jeopardy" opinion soon on the water plan itself,
requiring considerably higher in-river flows to remain in the river to
prevent salmon extinction.  This NMFS BiOp is, however, now almost a
month overdue and there are rumors it is being blocked for political
reasons by Administration officials because it will require far more water
to the lower river than the Bureau is proposing or willing to give up. 
The Bureau's water plan cannot be finalized, however, until after both
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries
Service have finalized their respective BiOps, which must be completed
by the expiration dates of the current "interim measures" on June 1.  For
more information on the ruling contact: Glen Spain, PCFFA Northwest,
(541)689-2000 or by email to: fish1ifr@aol.com.

                                            *********

     For more information on the impact of water withdrawals on the
Klamath Basin salmon fisheries see: "Why the Klamath Basin Matters,"
http://www.pcffa.org/fn-aug01.htm.

     For the very latest real time USGS flow date from the gauges just
below Iron Gate Dam, go to:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/uv?dd_cd=01%2C02%2C03%2C04%
2C05%2C15%2C16%2C17&format=gif&period=7&site_no=11516530.

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This Breaking News Alert is brought to you by Fishlink News Service as
part of your subscription to the Fishlink Sublegals.  Our regular weekly
newsletter continues as usual, bringing you the most current information
available on fisheries management and restoration.
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