[env-trinity] FYI: Conditions on the Klamath

[Josh Allen]

Originally posted on the Klamath Restoration Council
[Klamath at pelicannetwork.net] list-serve

 

http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2005/08/05/news/top_stories/top2.t
xt   

Heat raises concerns about local fish 

Published Friday August 5, 2005 

 

By DYLAN DARLING 

 

Conditions are ripe for fish to die in the waters near Klamath Falls,
federal officials said Thursday. Algae blooms are thick in Upper Klamath
Lake, Lake Ewauna and the portions of Klamath River the lakes feed. The
water is warm, as is the air above it. If the hot conditions start
killing the algae, they will in turn start killing fish by sapping their
oxygen. Officials wait and watch the temperatures. "They are high enough
now. We are hoping they don't get up anymore," said Cindy Williams,
chief of natural resources for the Klamath Reclamation Project. 

 

After a week of 90-degree heat, 100,000 fish, mostly small chubs and
minnows, went belly up around July 21. Also dead were several thousand
yearly, or year-old or less, endangered sucker fish. The fish were found
along a seven-mile stretch of the Klamath River below Klamath Falls.
Water temperature near the time of the fish die-off had climbed to 82
degrees. Scientists say suckers can survive in water as warm as 75
degrees, but it starts to take a toll on them. 

 

The Bureau Reclamation is tasked with keeping water levels up in Upper
Klamath Lake for the suckers, while also maintaining flows down the
river for threatened coho salmon and providing a diversion for the
Project. The only way to prevent a fish die-off is for temperatures to
take a turn for the cooler, Williams said. Having more water in the
lakes or river would not help if it is more hot water. So far, the July
fish die-off has been an isolated incident. "We had had cooling
conditions since," said Rich Piaskowski, a fisheries biologist for the
Project. 

 

But now things have heated up for a couple of days, and highs are
expected to be in or close to the 90s through the weekend. Along with
the return of hot weather the past couple of days, there have been low
winds and cloud cover - priming things for a possible fish die-off,
Piaskowski said. 

 

During the day, algae creates oxygen, but at night and when it dies the
algae consumes oxygen. When the algae starts eating up more oxygen than
it puts out, it can leave little for fish. Currently, the water is green
with algae. "It's kind of like pea soup," Williams said. To see if the
soup turns lethal, officials are asking for help. Those who notice dead
fish in bodies of water near Klamath Falls should call Roger Smith, an
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, at 883-5732

 

The following are posts by people on the river:

 

Our Crew just finished a 3-Day trip on the Klamath from Happy Camp down
and reported seeing numerous dead fish. Catfish, Suckers and Steelhead
smolts, all juvenile fish. Anyone else know about this? 



Michael Charlton 
Redwoods and Rivers 
PO Box 606 Big Bar, CA. 96010 
1-800-429-0090 
michael at redwoods-rivers.com 
www.redwoods-rivers.com 

  

FYI, got a call from a reporter today on conditions in Upper Klamath
Lake, who had heard from several folks about a possible fish kill. 

It has been very hot in the upper basin for the last several days, very
sunny, and very still, and large algae blooms have occurred in the lake.
Some have started dying back now.  It is possible that in the next few
days to a week we could see fish kills in Upper Klamath Lake similar to
the one that occurred in the upper Klamath River a few weeks ago. 

Steve Pedery 
Conservation Program Manager 
Oregon Natural Resources Council 
Phone:  (503) 283-6343 ext. 212 
Fax:  (503) 283-0756 
www.onrc.org

 

 

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