[env-trinity] Articles on New Klamath Agreement

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2896~2467475,00.html# 
Feds, states to work together on Klamath conundrum 

By John Driscoll The Times-Standard 

Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 

An agreement among the federal government and the states of California and Oregon aims to be a nexus for 
solutions in the Klamath Basin, but many are skeptical that it can result in real-world changes. 

The agreement was announced Wednesday by U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, California Resources 
Secretary Mike Chrisman and Oregon Natural Resources Adviser David Van't Hof . The Klamath River 
Watershed Coordination Agreement appears to be a vehicle for cooperation between state and federal agencies 
dealing with the complex fish, wildlife and agriculture quandaries in the basin. 

The agreement comes with no funding or financial obligations, but instead calls for a coordinated approach to 
allocating existing resources. It is to work hand-in-hand with a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation program, called the 
Conservation Implementation Program, which has been undergoing public scrutiny at recent meetings. 

In a teleconference, Norton said the harsh conflicts in the basin stemmed in large part from everyone in the 
basin vying for a limited supply of water. 

"We had not been planning ahead," Norton said. "We had not foreseen all the problems that would have arisen. 
Today, we're able to plan." 

She said the agreement could insulate the basin from the year-to-year conflicts plaguing agriculture, fish and 
wildlife refuges. 

Chrisman said collaboration with communities and tribes will help meld the science and information being 
developed in the basin. 

How exactly such an agreement would affect on-the-ground realities -- like disagreements over flows for fish 
and water deliveries for agriculture -- is unknown. Some doubted genuine solutions, especially for 
communities on the lower river, would result. 

"There's a lot of discussion about collaboration, coordination and compromise," said longtime fisheries 
scientist Bill Kier. "But the fundamental fact of life in the Klamath Basin is that it's overcommitted and 
oversubscribed by government programs." 

He wondered if such an agreement might restrain the agencies involved. For example, in the case of the State 
Water Resources Control Board's insistence that hydropower dam operator PacifiCorp mitigate water quality 
problems before certifying its dams. 

Yurok Tribe Executive Director Troy Fletcher said he's supportive of the states and federal agencies working 
together, but is concerned it will only continue the status quo. The tribe also supports the restoration activities 
that might occur through such an arrangement, he said, but remains focused on water as the key to a healthy 
salmon fishery. 

"The projects don't pay dividends unless there's water in the river," Fletcher said. 

The bureau's Klamath Falls area manager Dave Sabo said he believes the agreement will lead to more 
coordination that may point out that flows aren't the end-all to restoration. 

"I could shut the irrigation project down and it's not going to solve the problems of the Klamath basin," Sabo 
said. 

But the California Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have pointed to low 
flows as the main -- if not the only -- culprit in the 2002 fish kill. That September, up to 68,000 chinook 
salmon died in the river. That came after years of reduced fishing quotas along the West Coast, set because of 
the river's weak stocks. 

Dan Keppen of the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents irrigators in the federal irrigation 
project on the central California-Oregon borders, saw reason to be optimistic. He said the time is ripe for such 
an arrangement, citing both states' governors' interest in finding solutions for the basin's woes. 

"I just think it sends a pretty strong signal that that's where people should spend their time," Keppen said. "I 
think we need that." 

Asked if the announcement, which affects the swing state of Oregon, was related to the upcoming presidential 
election, Norton said the agreement was bipartisan and not political. 

 ********************************

Thursday, October 14, 2004, 12:00 A.M. Pacific 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2002062672&zsection_id=2002015020&slug=klamath14m&date=20041014 

Klamath pact promises cooperative approach 

By MATTHEW DALY 
The Associated Press 

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration and the governors of California and Oregon said yesterday 
they have agreed to work together to resolve water issues in the drought-stricken Klamath Basin. 

Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the agreement would help the two states and four federal agencies as 
they work with farmers, Indian tribes, fishermen, conservationists and other groups that use the 
chronically dry basin along the California-Oregon border. 

"The people of the Klamath Basin cherish the land and its natural beauty and desire to hand their way of 
life down to future generations," Norton said. "Together, we have an opportunity to work toward a 
vision that includes clear waters, abundant fisheries, increased waterfowl, a vibrant agricultural 
community, and an end to the legal fighting ... ." 

The new Klamath River Watershed Coordination Agreement expands on a 2-1/2-year-old effort among 
federal agencies that deal with Klamath issues. A Cabinet-level working group, headed by Norton, 
includes representatives of the Interior, Commerce and Agriculture departments, as well as the 
Environmental Protection Agency. 

Leaders of all four agencies have pledged to work together to ensure that farmers in the Klamath Basin 
have access to sufficient water, while complying with Indian trust obligations and protecting salmon and 
other threatened fish. 

The new agreement builds on that work by including the two states in the process, Norton and other 
speakers said in a teleconference with reporters. 

In a change, the states will take a lead role on Klamath issues, and federal agencies will join them as they 
try to resolve disputes over water quantity and quality, as well as fish-and-wildlife resource problems, 
Norton said. 

No federal or state agency will give up any budgetary or other authority as a result of the agreement. 


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