Associated Press | 8 Jan 2003
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Diversion of Klamath River water to farmers in Oregon and northern California was to blame for much of a massive die-off of fish in September, California state biologists say.
The assertion - the first official identification of the cause of a kill that is thought to be the nation's worst on record - has renewed the debate over how to balance protection of the salmon and farming needs in the Klamath River, which straddles the California-Oregon state line.
The Klamath has become the focus of an emotional tug-of-war between commercial anglers, American Indian tribes and environmental groups who want to force the government to release more water, and farmers who experienced a shortage of irrigation water last year due to record drought.
In a report released late Friday, the California Department of Fish and Game concluded low river flows in the Klamath impeded fish passage and drove fish together, causing disease outbreaks that killed more than 33,000 salmon and other fish.
"Furthermore, of the conditions that can cause or exacerbate a fish kill, flow is the only factor that can be controlled to any degree," the report said.
In the case of the Klamath, flow is regulated solely by upstream reservoirs operated by the Bureau of Reclamation on the Klamath and Trinity rivers.
Flow dropped when the bureau sent water to croplands in the Klamath Project and diverted water from the Trinity River to farmers in California's Central Valley.
In 2002, farmers received nearly a full allocation, leaving less to flow downstream for protected salmon. In 2001, water was reserved for protected species, and many farmers were left without their usual irrigation water.
Federal agencies have denied any clear cause and effect between the kill and the river flows, noting the river had fallen lower in some earlier drought years when no die-off took place.
Oregon farmers argued that California officials, with few facts in hand, began blaming the Klamath Project within days of the fish kill.
"They have been pointing the finger at us even before the biologists had assessed what was happening," said Dan Keppen of the Klamath Water Users Association.
Federal officials said they are reserving judgment pending a report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, expected within the next few months.Associated Press:
