[env-trinity] Fw: Fw: Stop finger-pointing on the Klamath Basin
Tom Stokely
tstokely at trinityalps.net
Thu May 18 09:12:36 PDT 2006
>From Jay Glase. This message bounced from the list server, for some unknown
reason.
Tom
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jay_Glase at nps.gov>
To: "Tom Stokely" <tstokely at trinityalps.net>
Cc: "env-trinity" <env-trinity at crank.dcn.davis.ca.us>;
<env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 9:07 AM
Subject: Re: [env-trinity] Fw: Stop finger-pointing on the Klamath Basin
> Gibbs and others of his time were much more eloquent in their writings
than
> most things I've seen recently, but I sometimes struggle to interpret
their
> meaning. Does anyone have any further description from Gibb's writings
> that help define phrases like "of transcendent purity" and "never lost the
> taint of their origin." It might seem obvious to some, but I can infer at
> least a few different meanings from phrases like these, and the article
> below appears to infer that the water quality in the Klamath 155 years ago
> was possibly as inadequate at sustaining fish life as it sometimes is in
> current times. Maybe I'm reading that incorrectly. If I am, I won't
> complain about the barrage of emails I'll receive.
>
> I work in an area where streams often begin in or flow through cedar and
> alder swamps, beaver ponds and other relatively warm areas. They tend to
> be stained from tannins, and often have high levels of organic nutrients
> due to the forests they flow through. Compare them with the Trinity
River,
> and one might be inclined to say these streams are tainted in comparison.
> Yet they still support populations of cold and cool water species like
> brook trout, sculpin and others. Granted, this is a much different area
> than the Klamath Basin, but I see some similarities. The upper St Croix
> River at Danbury, Wisconsin will flow at about 1200-1500 cfs in mid July
in
> most years. Temperatures can approach 25 degrees C in mid summer.
Upstream
> of this point, the mainstem and it's major tributary have at least seven
> impoundments, yet I've not heard of any natural events creating lethally
> low levels of dissolved oxygen in this river. The lowest DO reading I've
> been able to find between 2000 and 2003 is 7.6 mg/l.
>
> I'll stop here, because maybe this isn't a fair comparison due to the
> differences between locations, and I don't want to be accused of finger
> pointing. I'm very glad that the two states on each side of the St Croix
> aren't practicing disjointed management, we don't need to rely on
> hatcheries to maintain a livelihood since brook trout aren't a commercial
> species, we don't have freshwater sea lions eating all the brook trout
> here, and there's no ocean to wreak havoc (although I suspect that last
one
> might not be entirely true).
>
> Unfortunately, it seems to me that it's human nature that if we still have
> fingers on our hands, and something goes wrong, our fingers will be
pointed
> somewhere.
>
> By the way, has anyone looked at how many pacific lamprey the sea lions
are
> eating?
>
> cheers,
> jay
>
> Jay Glase
> Great Lakes Area Fishery Biologist
> National Park Service
> (906)487-9080 x27
>
>
> |---------+---------------------------------------------->
> | | "Tom Stokely" |
> | | <tstokely at trinityalps.net> |
> | | Sent by: |
> | | env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.|
> | | davis.ca.us |
> | | |
> | | |
> | | 05/16/2006 11:21 AM MST |
> | | Please respond to Tom Stokely |
> | | |
> |---------+---------------------------------------------->
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------|
> |
|
> | To: "env-trinity" <env-trinity at crank.dcn.davis.ca.us>
|
> | cc: (bcc: Jay Glase/Omaha/NPS)
|
> | Subject: [env-trinity] Fw: Stop finger-pointing on the Klamath
Basin |
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------|
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dan Keppen
> To: 'Dan Keppen'
> Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 7:54 AM
> Subject: Stop finger-pointing on the Klamath Basin
>
> In today’s “Commentary” section of the Portland Oregonian .
>
> (Embedded image moved to file: pic01421.gif)
> More | Subscribe | 14-Day Archives (Free) | Long-Term Archives
(Paid)
> IN MY OPINION - THE COASTAL FISHERY CRISIS
> Stop finger-pointing on the Klamath Basin
> Tuesday, May 16, 2006
> GREG ADDINGTON AND DAN KEPPEN
>
>
> George Gibbs, traveling through Northern California in 1851, was struck by
> conditions at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity rivers.
>
>
> The Trinity, wrote Gibbs, "is in size about half that of the Klamath, and
> its waters, likewise rapid, are of transcendent purity; contrasting with
> those of the latter stream which never lost the taint of their origin."
>
>
> The origin of the Klamath River is warm, shallow Upper Klamath Lake, which
> feeds the federal Klamath Irrigation Project. More than 150 years after
> Gibbs' visit, the Klamath River and the irrigation project are now in the
> sights of the national media and environmental activists. Every week, we
> read claims that the river and the coastal salmon fishery are being
> destroyed by the project, a convenient source of blame for all that is
> apparently tainted in the Klamath ecosystem.
>
>
> What we don't see in the papers is the fact that, over the past four
years,
> between 40,000 and 100,000 acre-feet of water originally developed for
> agriculture has instead been bought by the federal government and
dedicated
> annually to an environmental water bank to "protect" fish. In 2005, nearly
> 30 percent of the water traditionally used in an average water year by the
> Klamath Project and wildlife refuges was reallocated in this manner.
>
>
> Further, even though the Klamath Project is one of the most water-use
> efficient reclamation operations in the country, more than 800 growers
have
> applied for 2002 Farm Bill funding to implement cost-share projects that
> conserve water.
>
>
> These actions are laudable. However, one has to remember that there is
only
> so much water that can be squeezed from an area that is just 2 percent of
> the watershed and uses only 3 percent to 4 percent of Klamath River flows
> in an average year.
>
>
> Despite these efforts, irrigators are now being blamed in the media by
> environmental activists for a looming crisis on the coast. This spring,
> commercial salmon fishing has been closed along 700 miles of Pacific
> shoreline, which federal regulators believe will prevent "take" of Klamath
> River salmon. This very complicated issue is deftly and simply portrayed
by
> faraway activists as " fishermen vs. farmers."
>
>
> Once again, they've got it wrong.
>
>
> Recently, a group of irrigator representatives traveled to Coos Bay and
met
> with more than 50 coastal fishermen and political leaders. It was somewhat
> of a revelation that not a single fisherman at the meeting pointed to the
> Klamath Project as the cause for the fishery closure. Instead, they
offered
> up other explanations, including:
>
>
> · Insufficient hatchery production and failure to count
> hatchery fish.
>
>
> · Disjointed stock management by state and federal
> agencies.
>
>
> · Sea lion predation.
>
>
> · Unfavorable ocean conditions and several years of
> drought.
>
>
> The meeting ended in mutual pledges by the irrigators and the fishermen to
> work together. As a first step, the Klamath Relief Fund -- created to
> assist distressed farmers in 2001 -- has been re-activated by the Klamath
> farming community. This time, the money raised will be used to help
> fishermen and their families.
>
>
> We're tired of the Klamath finger-pointing. Instead, we want to extend a
> helping hand.
>
>
> Greg Addington is executive director of the Klamath Water Users
> Association. Dan Keppen is former executive director of the association
and
> is now executive director of the Family Farm Alliance. They both live near
> Klamath Falls. You can donate to the Klamath Relief Fund for Commercial
> Fishermen at P.O. Box 5252, Klamath Falls, OR 97601.
>
>
> Dan Keppen
> _______________________________________________
> env-trinity mailing list
> env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/env-trinity
>
>
More information about the env-trinity
mailing list