[env-trinity] Trinity River Flows - Eureka Times Standard April 19

[Byron]

Council steers away from Trinity water shift

Eureka Times-Standard - 4/19/05

By John Driscoll, staff writer

 

A group of agencies and stakeholders that advise the federal government on
restoring the Trinity River have recommended against trimming big flows in
the spring to send water down the Klamath River this fall. 

 

Last week, the Trinity Management Council told the U.S. Interior Department
there should be no boost in fall flows, especially if it were to come from
water meant to restore the Trinity. 

 

"The bottom line is it looks very similar to a normal year," said Doug
Schleusner, who runs the Trinity River Restoration Program. 

 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had
asked the council to consider a change in operations to send cold water to
stave off a potential fish kill in the lower Klamath, a river expected to be
low and hot due to drought conditions this year. 

 

But concerns were voiced that a slug of cold water in the early fall could
draw fish into the river before conditions are hospitable. Also, shifting
water away from the Trinity restoration would further delay that effort. 

 

One change recommended is to shift peak flows from a high of 6,000 cubic
feet per second for five days to a high of 7,000 cfs for four days at some
point in mid-May. No flow schedule is being released until Interior adopts a
plan. Schleusner said he hopes to begin ramping up flows by Friday. 

 

Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken said Interior is expected to make a
decision by Wednesday. 

 

 

Byron Leydecker, 

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Consultant, California Trout, Inc.

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 383 9562 fx

bwl3 at comcast.net

bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org (secondary)

http://www.fotr.org

http://caltrout.org

 

 

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