This would have greatly limited public access.

With your help, a group of locals and CalTrout turned that one back, but given the views of those populating the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, I warned you then it wasn’t over.

And it isn’t.

Powered By The Klamath River

With Klamath River Dam Removal issue as a backdrop, the question of public access to navigable rivers — the central theme of our prior fight — has popped up again in Siskiyou County.

At a recent meeting, County Sheriff (Jon Lopey) — apparently grandstanding in the hopes of furthering his political ambitions — decided to single-handedly redefine the legal standard of navigability(from the Two Rivers Tribune):

Murphy said he’d tried to research navigability but the results were inconclusive and asked Lopey for his opinion. Lopey answered, “It’s not navigable if you can’t put a boat on it,” and coached landowners that they have a right to file a complaint if people trespass.

Wow. The leading law enforcement official in the county doesn’t know the legal standard of navigability (hint: it involves prior use for purposes of commerce). Based on this faulty knowledge, he tells landowners they can charge the lawful members of the public with trespass?

Excellent! What could possibly go wrong?

Participants in the Land Use fight will likely recall Supervisor Jim Cook — who after receiving a couple hundred protest emails took to telling emailers they were “bizarre.” At the same meeting, Cook was quoted as saying:

Jim Cook, chair of the County Board of Supervisors, said the county government could declare whether a water course was navigable or not and suggested the county would take action.

Extreme Legal Scholar Cook might want to research that assertion. It’s not true.

Not even close.

Just The Facts… Not

Driving all this is the potential removal of the Klamath River Dams, which among the dam-hugger set is generating an astonishing number of “facts,” including:

• The water-heating, toxic-algae spawning dams actually protect salmon runs
• The government is trying to run Siskiyou County ranchers off their land to create a huge game preserve run by the UN
• Coho salmon aren’t native to the Klamath basin (despite being native everywhere else), so protecting them is actually illegal

None of the above comes within even artillery distance of the truth (I’ll debunk them for you if you really need it done), yet they’re widely accepted as fact in Siskiyou County.

In a recent newspaper editorial, an outdoor writer — who apparently dreams of black helicopters in his sleep — compared dam removal proponents to the 9/11 terrorists.

(Charmingly, he also compares opponents to “vermin” and “liars, cheats and thieves”.)

Welcome to Siskiyou County.

You’ll come for the fishing, but you’ll stay for the vicious, invective-ridden local politics.

This isn’t a call to action… yet.

Still, dam removal — and all the craziness that’s accompanying it — is gaining profile. And more crazy is sure to come.

This one’s going down to the wire, and mostly likely, you’ll be asked to contribute a minute or two of your time at a handful junctures along the way.

See you sharpening those pencils, Tom Chandler.

That’s the short version of this post.

The Longer Version

The four lower Klamath River dams (which are currently throttling the salmon and steelhead populations on what used to be the west coast’s third-most productive salmon fishery) are not only bad for fish, it turns out they’re bad for the economy.

The owner of the dams (PacifiCorp) is in the midst of a FERC relicensing, and if they were to update the dams with fish ladders (as would be required), they’d operate at a $20 million annual loss.

If taken out, they’d:

• Create 4600 jobs
• Provide an estimated 86% bump in Chinook salmon populations
• Open up an additional 300-400 miles of spawning habitat to salmon and steelhead
• Make my day

In literally thirty seconds, you can help us take them out. This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky thing — we’ve got a fair to good chance to make this happen, though it’s going to require putting pressure on legislators over the next couple years.

Still, you want to know how easy this comment will be?

Here’s a picture of the form (click it to go to the real form):

How hard could this be? (We even wrote the comment -- click image to go there now.)

And here’s your cut and paste comment:

Subject: Klamath Draft EIS/EIR: I support Alternative 2

Comment: I support Alternative 2 of the Klamath Draft EIS/EIR proposal (full removal of the Iron Gate, Copco1, Copco2, and J.C. Boyle dams).

• These dams are decimating one of the west’s most prolific salmon and steelhead fisheries and strangling the area’s economy
• Alternative 2 will help restore salmon runs (dramatically increasing steelhead populations), and ensure predictable water deliveries to irrigators
• The dams don’t make economic sense: if upgraded to modern standards they’ll actually operate at a $20 million annual loss
• Even the owner (PacifiCorp) wants these privately owned dams taken out

I support healthy fisheries and a healthy local economy (dam removal brings many jobs to the area) — and I support Alternative 2.

Thank you,
[your name]

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

I try not to bombard you guys with a lot of “Save The World” stuff but the Klamath River dams issue is about to hit a series of critical moments.

At stake is the future of what used to be one of the west coast’s best salmon rivers (and let’s not forget the steelhead fishery, which is good, but could become stellar).

With a little more water and a little less dams, the Klamath could become a wholly kickass salmon and steelhead fishery (again).

Want More Information?

For an executive summary of the Klamath River dam removal Draft EIS/EIR, click here.

For more information about the Klamath River Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and other Klamath Issues, click here.

Tell your senator that you support a healthy Klamath River, and want them to support legislation that restores the Klamath’s salmon and steelhead runs.

Now For The Backstory

The dam removal effort on the Klamath River is approaching crunch time, and you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff opponents are saying.

Most of the opposition is coming right from my troubled little county (Siskiyou County), and you’ll see wild claims posted on blogs and in newspaper opinion pieces that can only lead you to conclude the American Educational system is in serious trouble.

To whit:

• Coho salmon aren’t native to the Klamath River (huh??)
• Removing the dams will decimate the salmon population
• Salmon couldn’t surivive in the river without the dams
• Hatcheries and management have actually allowed salmon to thrive on the West Coast the last 30 years
• Fish & Game kills more salmon than the dams

Frankly, I could go on and on, but rather than spoil anyone’s appetite, I’ll just say it’s getting wild up here.

People keep screaming about private property rights, conveniently forgetting that the dams are privately owned (by PacifiCorp), and retrofitting (instead of removal) will cost more than 2x as much as removal — and then the things would run at a $20 million annual loss.

At some point in the near future I’ll wade into this giant pile of manure (waders suggested), but for now, click here, donate 20 seconds of your life to the Klamath, and be thankful you don’t have to read some of this insanity every day in the paper like I do.

See you signing a petition, Tom Chandler

Years ago I’d ride my road bike around Shasta Valley and take a break on this funky wooden bridge over the Shasta River; I’d watch these great big salmon sitting on redds, and that these fish had come so far and endured so much to end back where they started was pretty awe inspiring.

Take up the Nature Conservancy on their offer and for part of the time, you’ll be viewing these salmon from the same bridge (another example of life’s amusing circularity).

You can be sure we’re dragging Little M out there Saturday to infuse her with a little awe and wonder (never too early).

The living definition of awe-inspiring.

Here are the details:

Shasta Big Springs Ranch
Open House
Saturday, October 22, 2011

Come observe the annual run of Fall Chinook in the Shasta River. Watch female salmon guard and build nests and males compete with each other for spawning opportunities.

Staff from The Nature Conservancy and the Department of Fish and Game will be available to answer questions and lead short walks to see spawning salmon.

Where: Parking near the Louie Road bridge over the Shasta River (4 miles east of I-5 on Louie Road)

See you there, Tom Chandler.

How to get there...

After retrofitting the aging dams, the CPUC noted they’d run at a $20 million annual net loss. (Details at the CalTrout site.)

I could go on and on about Siskiyou County’s willingness to hold its breath and stomp its feet over dam removal, but it’s a beautiful day outside (the first day of the year we’ve opened all the windows), and in that environment, political temper tantrums hold little allure.

They aren’t coming down anytime soon — and funding for the project is suddenly in question — but at least we’re heading in the right direction.

Save a Salmon. Eat a Dam.

Right now, the Klamath River is sick as hell. Every summer, the river below two of its reservoirs runs bright green with toxic algae, and while I could write a good fifteen paragraphs of text outlining the latest move on the part of the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors  to keep it that way (Measure G), but rather than bore the Undergrounders as a whole (99% of whom won’t get to vote on this subject), let me just say this to my Siskiyou County readers:

Vote “Yes” on Measure G

Below is a letter to the editor I wrote (the local paper didn’t publish it). Just to be clear, a “No” vote means you don’t support dam removal, and the Supes are hoping to use an overwhelmingly “No” vote to springboard a later (and expensive) lawsuit.

Yes Vote on Measure G Means Jobs

With Siskiyou County’s economy faltering and unemployment near 20%, it’s hard to understand why the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors are so rabidly opposed to the recovery of Klamath River salmon and steelhead – especially given the huge economic stimulus that dam removal and the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) would bring.

Independent economic analysis says dam removal and habitat improvement projects would lower unemployment, provide sustainable tourism-related jobs, and result in lower power rates (compared to retrofitting the dams to current standards).

Also, the KBRA’s adaptable flow regimes offer us water for salmon and water for farmers, who need some idea what they’re getting so they can plan ahead (many are also getting way-below-market-price power too).

Tellingly, the Board of Supervisors have repeatedly called for in-depth studies of the effects of dam removal, yet they’re now asking citizens to make up their mind before the asked-for studies have been completed.

Simply put, they’re hoping to use an overwhelming “No” vote to springboard this county into an expensive lawsuit which we can’t afford – and will delay the jobs this county so desperately needs.

Returning the Klamath to a healthy state delivers many economic benefits to Siskiyou County – including to our vital (and wholly sustainable) tourism industries. After all, once they stopped shipping all of Northern California’s water south out of the Trinity River, the steelhead and salmon runs came back strong, and on some weekends, you can’t find a place to park along the river.

Those who want you to vote “No” on Measure G will tell you the dams provide irrigation water and flood control, yet they don’t.

Instead, they offer us terrible water quality (the Klamath runs pea green with toxic algae every summer), and because they’d cost us power users $500 Million to retrofit yet only $200 Million to remove, we’re simply better off without them, and in almost every way possible.

Please vote “Yes” on Measure G. Our local economy will thank you for it.

Note to the Board Of Supervisors

Turns out salmon restoration – and a healthy river – actually creates jobs. To see how, watch the video below from Chelan County, WA.

And – Siskiyou County’s Board of Supervisors take note – the restoration actually helps the local economy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s good news for coastal steelhead populations, which are under siege, often due to illegal water diversions which leave their spawning grounds dried up.

From the Weekly Calistogan:

Malan alleges there are 286 illegal water diversions, mostly from vineyard development, in the Napa River watershed.

Because so many people steal water from creeks — either they don’t get permits or they violate the conditions of their permits, which constitutes a trespass against the people of the state — many of the Napa River tributaries go dead during the summer from too many diversions, said Malan. Steelhead and numerous other aquatic animals die a slow death as pools become warm and lack oxygen and eventually dry up.

“People who steal water from creeks deprive the down stream ecosystem and people of their public trust right to fish, swim and recreate,” she said. “This is an issue that has been going on for years and the major media just doesn’t get it because it’s wineries, not just cities, that are the major takers.”

…

“This new Superior Court ruling on Monday says that anyone who diverts water must provide enough flow for downstream fish and if they don’t they can be sued by anyone,” said Malan.

Prior to the ruling the people were told by the State Water Resource Control Board (SWRCB) that is was the sole agency with jurisdiction to enforce water law. In truth, anyone wanting to sue anyone diverting had to file a complaint with the SWRCB and it would decide whether to sue.

Impacts On Northern California Salmon & Steelhead Streams?

While this case focuses on diversions in the wine country, you have to wonder how this ruling might affect flow issues in Northern California’s Scott and Shasta Rivers, both of which see damned little water in the summer and fall.

Frankly, it’s a mess up here; Fish & Game has long been vilified for avoiding its enforcement responsibilities, yet instead of phasing in a solution, has suddenly mandated a fairly draconian program.

Now, even the ranchers who want to do the right thing are staring straight down the twin barrels of expensive environmental studies.

The pushback has been enormous, and we’re left to wonder why Fish & Game let this one go for so long.

After all, the salmon up here are truly teetering on the brink – and drying up the rivers (as almost happened last year) is the equivalent of a good shove.

In truth, the political pressure on the issue in Siskiyou County is immense – and it’s not supportive of salmon or steelhead restoration.

Talking to North County political types is one long, head-banging lesson in idealogical thinking: “The salmon are gone anyway,” is a statement you’ll hear over and over.

Not yet, but if that thinking remains in place, soon.

See you in court, Tom Chandler.

The following is a press release received from Craig Tucker (of the Yurok Tribe) and the Klamath Riverkeeper. It’s not what you’d call great news: Excessive agricultural surface and groundwater withdrawals – and the willingness of state and federal agencies to look the other way – are imperiling salmon and steelhead populations in these two major spawning tributaries of the Klamath River:

Thursday, September 24, 2009

High numbers of fall Chinook salmon returning to the Shasta River are coming home to record low flows and extremely hot weather this week, creating ideal conditions for a large-scale fish kill in the Shasta River. Biologists and water managers with state and federal agencies are monitoring the situation closely as irrigators continue to maximize water withdrawals through the late September heat wave.

“We need to get more water in the river immediately,” said Erica Terence of Klamath Riverkeeper. “Unfortunately, the fish are moving much quicker than the resource managers on the Scott and Shasta Rivers this year.” The USGS realtime streamflow gage on the Shasta River shows record low flows for the last several days, as it has much of the summer. Temperatures are forecasted to be in the 90s through the weekend.

With 1,319 fish past the California Department of Fish and Game’s counting station in the Shasta River canyon as of Sept 22nd, this year’s fall Chinook run is shaping up to be among the largest in the last 20 years on the Shasta. Whether the fish are able to migrate and spawn throughout the basin, or whether the fish turn up dead, will be determined by the extent of irrigation deliveries over the next week. CDFG’s fish counting station on the adjacent Scott River is not yet operational.

“Unfettered agricultural diversions are playing Russian roulette with salmon, and it’s the commercial fishermen and Tribal people downriver who will deal with the consequences,” said Terence. She noted that the sacrifices of commercial salmon fishermen, who face a season closure caused by low returns to the Sacramento River, may be in vain if river conditions do not allow a successful spawning season.

Klamath Riverkeeper is surveying the Shasta River for fish mortalities and is monitoring locations where fish are currently holding in deeper, colder pools. Representatives of multiple organizations and agencies are also keeping tabs on the situation. Unofficial reports indicate at least 7 dead adult Chinook have been documented in the river at this time and fisheries managers and advocates would like to avoid an increase in that number.

Agricultural diversions and groundwater pumping have de-watered the Scott and reduced the Shasta to a trickle for much of the summer. Both tributaries were once abundant salmon producers and are recognized by scientists as key priorities in the effort to restore Klamath basin salmon. Terence added, “We cannot rely on dam removal alone to fix this watershed, it’s time to address the steadily increasing agricultural demand on the Klamath’s water.” The Shasta River was once the most productive salmon stream, for its size, in the state of California. Peer-reviewed science on the adjacent Scott River has demonstrated that decreasing flows cannot be fully explained by climate change.

This year’s record low flows come as CDFG is releasing its final Watershed Wide Incidental Take Permit Program for the Scott and Shasta basins – a controversial and potentially precedent-setting project that would widen allowances for coho kills from agricultural de-watering and other impacts. Klamath Riverkeeper is joining with other salmon allies to oppose the program. Terence said, “With conditions deteriorating for fish every year on the Scott and Shasta, CDFG should be proposing programs that expand protections for fish, not destroy them as the watershed wide permits would do.” She added, “the Scott and Shasta are now growing more alfalfa than they are fish – and its time for that to change.”

Irrigation season ends on the Scott and Shasta Rivers during the month of October.

I’d love to add a poignant twist to all this, but in truth, I’m too pissed off to do so. The politcal environment up here is so backwards (those who participated in our Stream Access/Land Use Planning Nightmare know the County Board of Supervisors would happily see every last fish disappear from the area), and it seems the agencies charged with protecting wildlife are willing to turn a blind eye in efforts to maintain good working relationships with irrigators.

How’s that working for us?

Just so you can watch the water levels dwindle in near realtime, here’s the USGS Streamflow Gage for the lower Shasta River can be found here.

More information on this summer’s Shasta and Scott flow crisis can be found here.

The story – originally broken by North State water activist Felice Pace on his Klamblog site – made it clear that flows had fallen so low, that salmon and steelhead populations simply weren’t going to survive.

Pace noted that the federal government has an adjudicated water right that it seemed unwilling to exercise, and that unlimited groundwater pumping was a big part of the problem.

Now the story’s made it to the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle, which offers up a fairly grim prognosis:

“Large areas of the (Scott) River have gone completely dry, stranding endangered coho salmon as well as chinook and steelhead in shallow, disconnected pools of water,” said Greg King, president of the nonprofit Siskiyou Land Conservancy, which has fought to protect the salmon runs in the Klamath River system.

“This could be the year that causes the coho to go extinct if they can’t get upstream in the Scott and Shasta.”

You can read the entire article here: Key salmon spawning rivers all but dry.

This whole mess isn’t simply the result of a three-year drought; excessive surface water diversions are a long-time problem, and the overharvesting of groundwater is a major factor in low stream flows.

Farmers and ranchers – trying to increase their harvest of often-marginal crops like alfalfa – have been increasingly turning to unregulated groundwater pumping to do so.

Low Flows Not the Whole Problem

The loss of some of the Klamath Basin’s best salmon and steelhead spawning habitat is only part of the problem.

The Scott and Shasta contribute badly needed cold water to the Klamath River, which suffers from high water temperatures and poor water quality – due in large part to the four Klamath River dams.

Remarkably, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors are fighting hard to retain the Klamath River dams and resisting any attempt to leave water in the rivers, in many cases suggesting the dams are actually helping salmon populations – despite the fact that the waters flow pea-soup green below the lowest dams in summer (the result of a toxic algae bloom).

In fact, a commonly heard refrain in Northern Siskiyou County is that “the salmon are gone anyway,” so no measures need to be taken.

In a political environment like that, it’s hard to imagine we’ll be reading too much good news about salmon and steelhead anytime soon.

See you on the non-existent Scott and Shasta Rivers, Tom Chandler.

In fact, both the Scott and Shasta Rivers are almost wholly dewatered – and this despite the fact they’re populated by endangered Coho salmon.

Making matters worse is California Fish & Game’s willingness to look the other way as Siskiyou County ranchers and agriculture hammer salmon populations – even after those same populations were listed and (supposedly) received federal protection.

It’s one more example of Siskiyou County’s crazy inbred politics, where extreme ideology serves as a substitute for facts, science and (dare we say it) reality.

This lengthy excerpt is from Pace’s Klamblog post on the Scott & Shasta’s flows, though the whole post is worthwhile reading for any taxpayer who wonders what current stupidity is going to require salvaging in the near future – at the cost his or her tax dollars:

The Shasta and Scott are spawning grounds for most of the Fall Chinook produced in the Upper Klamath River watershed; the Scott has the most Coho. If spawners do not reach their natal streams, Klamath River salmon production will be low and the impact on tribal, commercial and sport fishing – and related economic activity – will be great.

Here is flow data for the Shasta from the US Geological Service ~

* Early on October 11th Shasta River flow declined to nearly 6 cubic feel per second. The flow then became too low to measure for several hours. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=11517500

* The minimum daily flow recorded during the 2008 water year was 14 cfs.

* The lowest minimum mean flow during August for the period of record (1934-2008) was 8.35 in 1939.

From this data we conclude ~

THE SHASTA RIVER CURRENTLY IS EXPERIENCING THE LOWEST RECORDED FLOW DURING AUGUST SINCE FLOW RECORDING BEGAN IN 1934!

Precipitation at Yreka in the Shasta River Valley during 2008 was 77% of long-term mean annual precipitation. This is a dry year but not a drought.

The flow situation in the Scott is just as bad or worse ~

* On August 14th flow at the Scott River gauge operated by the USGS was less than 2 cubic feet per second (cfs).

* The lowest mean flow for the period of record during August was 5.52 cfs in 2002. The lowest daily mean flow in August was 3.4 cfs also in 2001.

From this information KlamBlog concludes ~

THE SCOTT RIVER CURRENTLY IS EXPERIENCING THE LOWEST RECORDED FLOW DURING AUGUST SINCE FLOW RECORDING BEGAN!

The rest of Pace’s article makes for interesting reading – especially when he notes that Fish & Game and other agencies are spending $500,000 to fund “improvements” for diversions (screening a diversion), but nothing is being done about flows.

That sounds about right given the backwards politics of the area. You don’t have to scientist to know that salmon and steelhead need something to survive, and it’s wet.

All the “diversion improvements” in the world – which could easily be construed as another giveaway to ag interests – won’t matter one bit if the water’s gone.