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• 1. [Image] Potatoes on irrigation and soil temperature experiments

  	881 Klamath; Oregon Experiment Station; Will Blackman's farm; Nematode control; August 10, [1939?]
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Potatoes on irrigation and soil temperature experiments Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 1939, 2006, 2005 881 Klamath; Oregon Experiment Station; Will Blackman's farm; Nematode control; August 10, [1939?] Title: Potatoes on irrigation and soil temperature experiments Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 1939, 2006, 2005 881 Klamath; Oregon Experiment Station; Will Blackman's farm; Nematode control; August 10, [1939?] Close

• 2. [Image] Stacking hay on Liskey Brothers' Poe Valley ranch

  	KP-1224-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Using crane with 74' boom to build stacks containing about 200 tons of hay; August 2, 1946; Photo by R. S. Hopkins
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Stacking hay on Liskey Brothers' Poe Valley ranch Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Hopkins, R.S. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1224-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Using crane with 74' boom to build stacks containing about 200 tons of hay; August 2, 1946; Photo by R. S. Hopkins Title: Stacking hay on Liskey Brothers' Poe Valley ranch Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Hopkins, R.S. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1224-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Using crane with 74' boom to build stacks containing about 200 tons of hay; August 2, 1946; Photo by R. S. Hopkins Close

• 3. [Image] Stacking hay on Liskey Brothers' Poe Valley ranch

  	KP-1225-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Using crane with 74' boom to build stacks containing about 200 tons of hay; August 2, 1946; Photo by R. S. Hopkins
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Stacking hay on Liskey Brothers' Poe Valley ranch Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Hopkins, R.S. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1225-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Using crane with 74' boom to build stacks containing about 200 tons of hay; August 2, 1946; Photo by R. S. Hopkins Title: Stacking hay on Liskey Brothers' Poe Valley ranch Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Hopkins, R.S. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1225-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Using crane with 74' boom to build stacks containing about 200 tons of hay; August 2, 1946; Photo by R. S. Hopkins Close

• 4. [Image] Flax on experimental farm, County - State and BR

  	875 Klamath; August 10, [1939?]
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Flax on experimental farm, County - State and BR Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 1939, 2006, 2005 875 Klamath; August 10, [1939?] Title: Flax on experimental farm, County - State and BR Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 1939, 2006, 2005 875 Klamath; August 10, [1939?] Close

• 5. [Image] Lower Klamath Lake - Viewed from north of Oregon-California border

  	KP-2283 - Klamath Project--Lower Klamath Lake. Viewed from just north of Oregon-California border showing agricultural lands share-cropped for Fish and Wildlife Service at near left, the Wildlife Refuge ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Lower Klamath Lake - Viewed from north of Oregon-California border Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Horn, Tom Year: 1956, 2007, 2006 KP-2283 - Klamath Project--Lower Klamath Lake. Viewed from just north of Oregon-California border showing agricultural lands share-cropped for Fish and Wildlife Service at near left, the Wildlife Refuge Sump 3 at near right, and other sumps in background; April 12, 1956; Photo by Tom Horn Title: Lower Klamath Lake - Viewed from north of Oregon-California border Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Horn, Tom Year: 1956, 2007, 2006 KP-2283 - Klamath Project--Lower Klamath Lake. Viewed from just north of Oregon-California border showing agricultural lands share-cropped for Fish and Wildlife Service at near left, the Wildlife Refuge Sump 3 at near right, and other sumps in background; April 12, 1956; Photo by Tom Horn Close

• 6. [Image] Klamath Project - Varieties of flax grown at the Klamath Experimental Station

  	KP-1592 - Klamath Project. Corner of experimental planting of flax varieties grown at the Klamath Experimental Station conducted by the State of Oregon near Klamath Falls, Oregon; September 4, 1947; Photo ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Klamath Project - Varieties of flax grown at the Klamath Experimental Station Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Harvey, A.D. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1592 - Klamath Project. Corner of experimental planting of flax varieties grown at the Klamath Experimental Station conducted by the State of Oregon near Klamath Falls, Oregon; September 4, 1947; Photo by A. D. Harvey Title: Klamath Project - Varieties of flax grown at the Klamath Experimental Station Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Harvey, A.D. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1592 - Klamath Project. Corner of experimental planting of flax varieties grown at the Klamath Experimental Station conducted by the State of Oregon near Klamath Falls, Oregon; September 4, 1947; Photo by A. D. Harvey Close

• 7. [Image] Horse power used to pull a cultivating machine on a potato farm near Olene, Oregon

  	KP-1209-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Although tractors are used extensively in the Klamath Project, occasionally one sees horse power utilized to pull a cultivating machine. This picture of a potato ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Horse power used to pull a cultivating machine on a potato farm near Olene, Oregon Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1209-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Although tractors are used extensively in the Klamath Project, occasionally one sees horse power utilized to pull a cultivating machine. This picture of a potato patch was made near Olene, Oregon; June 26, 1946; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Title: Horse power used to pull a cultivating machine on a potato farm near Olene, Oregon Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1209-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. Although tractors are used extensively in the Klamath Project, occasionally one sees horse power utilized to pull a cultivating machine. This picture of a potato patch was made near Olene, Oregon; June 26, 1946; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Close

• 8. [Image] Roy Schmiser on his cultivator in a potato patch on his homestead near Olene, Oregon

  	KP-1210-R2 Klamath Project. Region II. Roy Schmiser is pictured on his cultivator in a potato patch on his homestead near Olene, Oregon. Fifteen years ago he homesteaded 132 acres of land and in that ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Roy Schmiser on his cultivator in a potato patch on his homestead near Olene, Oregon Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1210-R2 Klamath Project. Region II. Roy Schmiser is pictured on his cultivator in a potato patch on his homestead near Olene, Oregon. Fifteen years ago he homesteaded 132 acres of land and in that time he has kept most of it in pasture, but he does have some small areas planted to potatoes; June 26, 1946; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Title: Roy Schmiser on his cultivator in a potato patch on his homestead near Olene, Oregon Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1210-R2 Klamath Project. Region II. Roy Schmiser is pictured on his cultivator in a potato patch on his homestead near Olene, Oregon. Fifteen years ago he homesteaded 132 acres of land and in that time he has kept most of it in pasture, but he does have some small areas planted to potatoes; June 26, 1946; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Close

• 9. [Image] A review of possible causes of nutrient enrichment and decline of endangered sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

  	ill., maps (1 col.); Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-24); Possible causes of excessive nutrient enrichment in Upper Klamath Lake -- Possible causes of decline in sucker population
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A review of possible causes of nutrient enrichment and decline of endangered sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon Year: 1993, 2004 ill., maps (1 col.); Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-24); Possible causes of excessive nutrient enrichment in Upper Klamath Lake -- Possible causes of decline in sucker population Title: A review of possible causes of nutrient enrichment and decline of endangered sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon Year: 1993, 2004 ill., maps (1 col.); Includes bibliographical references (p. 22-24); Possible causes of excessive nutrient enrichment in Upper Klamath Lake -- Possible causes of decline in sucker population Close

• 10. [Image] Irrigation in Klamath County : cooperative irrigation investigation with the Office of Experiment Stations, United States Department of Agriculture

  	CONTENTS. Page Introduction 2620 5 Climatic conditions 2620 6 Units of measurement 2620 7 Losses by seepage and evaporation 2620 7 Duty of water 26208-10 Evaporation 2620 12 Soil and water analyses ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Irrigation in Klamath County : cooperative irrigation investigation with the Office of Experiment Stations, United States Department of Agriculture Author: Kent, F.L. (Fred LeRoy) Year: 1905, 2005 CONTENTS. Page Introduction 2620 5 Climatic conditions 2620 6 Units of measurement 2620 7 Losses by seepage and evaporation 2620 7 Duty of water 26208-10 Evaporation 2620 12 Soil and water analyses 262014-15 Data relative to alfalfa growing 2620 15 Summary 2620 16 ILLUSTRATIONS. I. Wing dam at intake of Ankeny canal 269 4 II. Checked field of M. E. Robinson 2620 10 III. Headgate, Ankeny canal 2620 11 Title: Irrigation in Klamath County : cooperative irrigation investigation with the Office of Experiment Stations, United States Department of Agriculture Author: Kent, F.L. (Fred LeRoy) Year: 1905, 2005 CONTENTS. Page Introduction 2620 5 Climatic conditions 2620 6 Units of measurement 2620 7 Losses by seepage and evaporation 2620 7 Duty of water 26208-10 Evaporation 2620 12 Soil and water analyses 262014-15 Data relative to alfalfa growing 2620 15 Summary 2620 16 ILLUSTRATIONS. I. Wing dam at intake of Ankeny canal 269 4 II. Checked field of M. E. Robinson 2620 10 III. Headgate, Ankeny canal 2620 11 Close

• 11. [Image] Nutrient loading of surface waters in the Upper Klamath Basin : agricultural and natural sources

  	Abstract Implementation of the Federal Clean Water Act and Oregon Senate Bill 1010 is proceeding under two simultaneous processes in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is responsible ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Nutrient loading of surface waters in the Upper Klamath Basin : agricultural and natural sources Author: Rykbost, K. A. Year: 2001, 2004 Abstract Implementation of the Federal Clean Water Act and Oregon Senate Bill 1010 is proceeding under two simultaneous processes in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is responsible for developing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocations for water-quality limited water bodies. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is striving to develop Management Area Plans to provide guidance for management of private agricultural lands to meet Clean Water Act objectives. Both processes seek input from local advisory committees comprised of landowners and other stakeholders, and technical review committees. Klamath Lake and Klamath River have been designated water quality impaired for several parameters including nutrients. Researchers have attempted to determine the extent of agriculture's contributions to nutrient enrichment of surface waters in the Upper Klamath Basin. Two United States Geological Survey (USGS) studies focused attention on drainage of agricultural lands adjacent to Klamath Lake as a significant source of nutrient loading in the lake. A preliminary draft report by the Klamath River TMDL committee identified the outlet for drainage waters from the Klamath Irrigation Project to the Klamath River at the Straits Drain as a point source for nutrient loading. Preparation of a final TMDL for this sub-watershed was tabled pending development of a TMDL for Klamath Lake and its tributaries. Insufficient data are available to determine the relative contributions of agricultural activities, natural background sources, and other potential sources of nutrient enrichment to establish numerical limits for nutrient loading from agricultural lands. From 1998 through 2000, the Klamath Experiment Station has investigated nutrient loading from drainage of agricultural lands adjacent to Klamath Lake, natural background sources including major springs and several artesian wells, and loading to the Klamath Irrigation Project from diversions out of Klamath Lake and Klamath River. Findings indicate contributions from agricultural lands adjacent to Klamath Lake have been overestimated, and the Klamath Irrigation Project is probably a net sink for nutrients diverted out of Klamath Lake and Klamath River. Data to support these assertions are presented. Introduction Most of the surface waters in the Klamath Basin are included in the Oregon department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) 303D list as water-quality limited. While the only criterion for listing of many streams is temperature, based on a preliminary standard of 64°F, Klamath Lake and Klamath River are listed for chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, un-ionized ammonia, and pH. The DEQ is working toward development of TMDL allocations for Klamath River and Title: Nutrient loading of surface waters in the Upper Klamath Basin : agricultural and natural sources Author: Rykbost, K. A. Year: 2001, 2004 Abstract Implementation of the Federal Clean Water Act and Oregon Senate Bill 1010 is proceeding under two simultaneous processes in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is responsible for developing Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) allocations for water-quality limited water bodies. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is striving to develop Management Area Plans to provide guidance for management of private agricultural lands to meet Clean Water Act objectives. Both processes seek input from local advisory committees comprised of landowners and other stakeholders, and technical review committees. Klamath Lake and Klamath River have been designated water quality impaired for several parameters including nutrients. Researchers have attempted to determine the extent of agriculture's contributions to nutrient enrichment of surface waters in the Upper Klamath Basin. Two United States Geological Survey (USGS) studies focused attention on drainage of agricultural lands adjacent to Klamath Lake as a significant source of nutrient loading in the lake. A preliminary draft report by the Klamath River TMDL committee identified the outlet for drainage waters from the Klamath Irrigation Project to the Klamath River at the Straits Drain as a point source for nutrient loading. Preparation of a final TMDL for this sub-watershed was tabled pending development of a TMDL for Klamath Lake and its tributaries. Insufficient data are available to determine the relative contributions of agricultural activities, natural background sources, and other potential sources of nutrient enrichment to establish numerical limits for nutrient loading from agricultural lands. From 1998 through 2000, the Klamath Experiment Station has investigated nutrient loading from drainage of agricultural lands adjacent to Klamath Lake, natural background sources including major springs and several artesian wells, and loading to the Klamath Irrigation Project from diversions out of Klamath Lake and Klamath River. Findings indicate contributions from agricultural lands adjacent to Klamath Lake have been overestimated, and the Klamath Irrigation Project is probably a net sink for nutrients diverted out of Klamath Lake and Klamath River. Data to support these assertions are presented. Introduction Most of the surface waters in the Klamath Basin are included in the Oregon department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) 303D list as water-quality limited. While the only criterion for listing of many streams is temperature, based on a preliminary standard of 64°F, Klamath Lake and Klamath River are listed for chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, un-ionized ammonia, and pH. The DEQ is working toward development of TMDL allocations for Klamath River and Close

• 12. [Image] Effects of the drought on small business and agriculture : hearings before the Select Committee on Small Business, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session ... Klamath Falls, Oreg., August 16, 1977, Burns, Oreg., August 17, 1977

  	CONTENTS Statement of?©ag!, Anklin, William 2620 115 Barnett, Hon. Leo, Judge, Gilliam County, Oreg 2620 196 Chapman, James, president, Klamath Cattlemen's Association, Inc., Klamath Falls, Oreg ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Effects of the drought on small business and agriculture : hearings before the Select Committee on Small Business, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session ... Klamath Falls, Oreg., August 16, 1977, Burns, Oreg., August 17, 1977 Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Small Business Year: 1977, 2005, 2004 CONTENTS Statement of?©ag!, Anklin, William 2620 115 Barnett, Hon. Leo, Judge, Gilliam County, Oreg 2620 196 Chapman, James, president, Klamath Cattlemen's Association, Inc., Klamath Falls, Oreg 269 112 Cockram, Fred J., president, Oregon Dairymen's Association 2620 116 Cody, Jim, District Director, Farmers Home Administration, Port land, Oreg 2620 184 Eisgruber, Ludwig M., professor and head of the Department of Agri cultural and Resource Economics, School of Agriculture, Oregon State University 2620 118 Flitcraft, Hon. George C, Mayor, city of Klamath Falls, Klamath Falls, Oreg 2620 1 Fujii, Howard, manager, Public Affairs, Oregon Farm Bureau Fed eration 2620 170 Gift, Lloyd 2620 110 Goertzen, Victor, Assistant District Director, Management Assistance, Boise District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration 2620 189 Graham, Jack, coordinator, Agricultural Drought Office, State of Oregon 2620 174 Hagelstein, Fred, assistant director, Oregon State University Exten sion Service, Corvallis, Oreg 2620 39 Hawkins, Bert, president, Oregon Cattlemen's Association, Ontario, Oreg 2620 5 Hernandez, Richard, Associate Administrator for Operation- U.S. Small Business Administration, accompanied by J. Don Chapman, District Director, Portland District Office, SBA 2620 74 Huff, Bert, regional vice president, First National Bank of Oregon, Portland, Oreg 2620 129 Johnson, Samuel, member of the legislature, Klamath County, Oreg 2620 5 Langley, Dwight, representing Baker County Livestock Association, Baker, Oreg 2620 157 Mayer, William H., Regional Director, Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, Region 10, Seattle, Wash 2620 94 Miller, Tad, president, Oregon Wheat Growers League, Pendleton, Oreg., accompanied by Wes Grilley 2620 160 Nicholson, Mr 2620 110 Otley, Charles, past president, Oregon Cattlemen's Association 2620 196 Ross, Bill, first vice president, Oregon Cattlemen's Association 2620 146 Sehorn, Talbert D., State Executive Director, Agricultural Stabiliza tion and Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture 2620 103 Sitz, James H., president, Harney County Stockgrowers, Drewsey, Oreg 2620 197 Skinner, Bob, president, Malheur County Livestock Association 2620 151 Smith, Earl, member, State Department of Agriculture, Salem, Oreg 2620 140 Storms, Murl W., State Director, Oregon State Office, Bureau of Land Management, Portland, Oreg 2620 65 Thorne, Raymond P., Board of County Commissioners, County Commissioners Chambers, Klamath County Courthouse Annex, Klamath Falls, Oreg 2620 2 White, Hon. Dale, County Judge for Harney County, Burns, Oreg- 2620 134 Williams, Gary, representing the Oregon Wool Growers Association._ 21 Zinn, Thomas G., Wasco County Extension Agent, Oregon State Uni versity Extension Service 2620 48 (in) IV APPENDIX Statement of Edward Peile, president, Jackson County Stockmen's As- sociation 2620 201 Statement of Mike Hanley, Jordan Valley, Oreg 2620 201 Statement of Gene Officer, president, Grant County Stockgrowers Asso ciation, Canyon City, Oreg 2620 204 HEARING DATES August 16, 1977: Afternoon session 2620 1 August 17,1977: Afternoon session 2620 133 Title: Effects of the drought on small business and agriculture : hearings before the Select Committee on Small Business, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session ... Klamath Falls, Oreg., August 16, 1977, Burns, Oreg., August 17, 1977 Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Small Business Year: 1977, 2005, 2004 CONTENTS Statement of?©ag!, Anklin, William 2620 115 Barnett, Hon. Leo, Judge, Gilliam County, Oreg 2620 196 Chapman, James, president, Klamath Cattlemen's Association, Inc., Klamath Falls, Oreg 269 112 Cockram, Fred J., president, Oregon Dairymen's Association 2620 116 Cody, Jim, District Director, Farmers Home Administration, Port land, Oreg 2620 184 Eisgruber, Ludwig M., professor and head of the Department of Agri cultural and Resource Economics, School of Agriculture, Oregon State University 2620 118 Flitcraft, Hon. George C, Mayor, city of Klamath Falls, Klamath Falls, Oreg 2620 1 Fujii, Howard, manager, Public Affairs, Oregon Farm Bureau Fed eration 2620 170 Gift, Lloyd 2620 110 Goertzen, Victor, Assistant District Director, Management Assistance, Boise District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration 2620 189 Graham, Jack, coordinator, Agricultural Drought Office, State of Oregon 2620 174 Hagelstein, Fred, assistant director, Oregon State University Exten sion Service, Corvallis, Oreg 2620 39 Hawkins, Bert, president, Oregon Cattlemen's Association, Ontario, Oreg 2620 5 Hernandez, Richard, Associate Administrator for Operation- U.S. Small Business Administration, accompanied by J. Don Chapman, District Director, Portland District Office, SBA 2620 74 Huff, Bert, regional vice president, First National Bank of Oregon, Portland, Oreg 2620 129 Johnson, Samuel, member of the legislature, Klamath County, Oreg 2620 5 Langley, Dwight, representing Baker County Livestock Association, Baker, Oreg 2620 157 Mayer, William H., Regional Director, Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, Region 10, Seattle, Wash 2620 94 Miller, Tad, president, Oregon Wheat Growers League, Pendleton, Oreg., accompanied by Wes Grilley 2620 160 Nicholson, Mr 2620 110 Otley, Charles, past president, Oregon Cattlemen's Association 2620 196 Ross, Bill, first vice president, Oregon Cattlemen's Association 2620 146 Sehorn, Talbert D., State Executive Director, Agricultural Stabiliza tion and Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture 2620 103 Sitz, James H., president, Harney County Stockgrowers, Drewsey, Oreg 2620 197 Skinner, Bob, president, Malheur County Livestock Association 2620 151 Smith, Earl, member, State Department of Agriculture, Salem, Oreg 2620 140 Storms, Murl W., State Director, Oregon State Office, Bureau of Land Management, Portland, Oreg 2620 65 Thorne, Raymond P., Board of County Commissioners, County Commissioners Chambers, Klamath County Courthouse Annex, Klamath Falls, Oreg 2620 2 White, Hon. Dale, County Judge for Harney County, Burns, Oreg- 2620 134 Williams, Gary, representing the Oregon Wool Growers Association._ 21 Zinn, Thomas G., Wasco County Extension Agent, Oregon State Uni versity Extension Service 2620 48 (in) IV APPENDIX Statement of Edward Peile, president, Jackson County Stockmen's As- sociation 2620 201 Statement of Mike Hanley, Jordan Valley, Oreg 2620 201 Statement of Gene Officer, president, Grant County Stockgrowers Asso ciation, Canyon City, Oreg 2620 204 HEARING DATES August 16, 1977: Afternoon session 2620 1 August 17,1977: Afternoon session 2620 133 Close

• 13. [Image] Irrigation system maintenance, groundwater quality, and improved production

  	"April 2004"; Includes bibliographical references (p. 3).
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Irrigation system maintenance, groundwater quality, and improved production Author: Selker, John S. Year: 2004, 2005 "April 2004"; Includes bibliographical references (p. 3). Title: Irrigation system maintenance, groundwater quality, and improved production Author: Selker, John S. Year: 2004, 2005 "April 2004"; Includes bibliographical references (p. 3). Close

• 14. [Image] The Oregon conservation strategy

  	v, 419 p.; col.ill.; col.maps; "February 2006"; Foreword by Marla Rae, Chair, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Oregon conservation strategy Year: 2006 v, 419 p.; col.ill.; col.maps; "February 2006"; Foreword by Marla Rae, Chair, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Title: The Oregon conservation strategy Year: 2006 v, 419 p.; col.ill.; col.maps; "February 2006"; Foreword by Marla Rae, Chair, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission Close

• 15. [Image] A guide to Oregon permits issued by state & federal agencies with a focus on permits for watershed restoration activities Watersheds and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board

  	"Spring 2000."
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A guide to Oregon permits issued by state & federal agencies with a focus on permits for watershed restoration activities Watersheds and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 2000, 2005 "Spring 2000." Title: A guide to Oregon permits issued by state & federal agencies with a focus on permits for watershed restoration activities Watersheds and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 2000, 2005 "Spring 2000." Close

• 16. [Image] Energy pricing and irrigated agriculture in the Upper Klamath Basin

  	Title from Web page (viewed on October 12, 2004).; "July 2004." ; Includes bibliographical references.
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Energy pricing and irrigated agriculture in the Upper Klamath Basin Author: Jaeger, William K. (William Kenneth) Year: 2004, 2008, 2005 Title from Web page (viewed on October 12, 2004).; "July 2004." ; Includes bibliographical references. Title: Energy pricing and irrigated agriculture in the Upper Klamath Basin Author: Jaeger, William K. (William Kenneth) Year: 2004, 2008, 2005 Title from Web page (viewed on October 12, 2004).; "July 2004." ; Includes bibliographical references. Close

• 17. [Image] Soil survey of Klamath County, Oregon, southern part

  	Foreword The Soil Survey of Klamath County, Oregon, Southern Part, is the product of many soil scientists, plant specialists, soil engineers, extension specialists, land owners, and others who worked ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Soil survey of Klamath County, Oregon, southern part Author: Cahoon, Joe Year: 1985, 2006, 2005 Foreword The Soil Survey of Klamath County, Oregon, Southern Part, is the product of many soil scientists, plant specialists, soil engineers, extension specialists, land owners, and others who worked and cooperated as a team to complete this project. In this report are many kinds of basic information about the soils in the area. This information can be helpful in making decisions about the management of irrigated soils for optimum crop production, in planning land uses for urban and suburban areas, and in determining the needs for many other uses, for example, forestry, range, wildlife, and recreation. This soil survey has been prepared for many different users. Farmers can use it to help select the most suitable crop for the kind of soil; ranchers can use it to determine amount of forage production and the kinds of plants most suited to range or woodland; foresters can use the survey to find information about kinds of trees, potential for tree growth, and special soil features. Title: Soil survey of Klamath County, Oregon, southern part Author: Cahoon, Joe Year: 1985, 2006, 2005 Foreword The Soil Survey of Klamath County, Oregon, Southern Part, is the product of many soil scientists, plant specialists, soil engineers, extension specialists, land owners, and others who worked and cooperated as a team to complete this project. In this report are many kinds of basic information about the soils in the area. This information can be helpful in making decisions about the management of irrigated soils for optimum crop production, in planning land uses for urban and suburban areas, and in determining the needs for many other uses, for example, forestry, range, wildlife, and recreation. This soil survey has been prepared for many different users. Farmers can use it to help select the most suitable crop for the kind of soil; ranchers can use it to determine amount of forage production and the kinds of plants most suited to range or woodland; foresters can use the survey to find information about kinds of trees, potential for tree growth, and special soil features. Close

• 18. [Image] Oregon aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement guide

  	"May 1999"
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Oregon aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement guide Author: Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Year: 1999, 2005, 2004 "May 1999" Title: Oregon aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement guide Author: Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Year: 1999, 2005, 2004 "May 1999" Close

• 19. [Image] The Endangered Species Act and the National Research Council's interim judgment in Klamath Basin

  	The controversial 2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service water allocation decision in the Klamath Basin has been portrayed as an example of scientific guesswork operating under a flawed Endangered Species ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Endangered Species Act and the National Research Council's interim judgment in Klamath Basin Author: Cooperman, Michael S. ; Markle, Douglas F. Year: 2002, 2005 The controversial 2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service water allocation decision in the Klamath Basin has been portrayed as an example of scientific guesswork operating under a flawed Endangered Species Act. This conclusion has been based on an interim National Research Council report, quickly prepared in late fall, 2001. We have reviewed several iterations of the NRC Interim Report as well as all Biological Opinions and management documents related to Klamath Basin suckers and provide an overview. The 2001 Biological Opinion and the Interim Report illustrate the lack of consensus typical of scientists in the early stages of exploring a complex system. Unfortunately, the decision created hardship for a small group of people and the lack of scientific consensus has politicized the debate. Politicians have assumed that the Interim Report has primacy in the scientific debate when, in fact, its speedy construction contributed to multiple errors that detract from its scientific usefulness. The NRC Interim Report has, instead, primarily served to deflect debate away from the needs of listed fishes to one about shortcomings in the Endangered Species Act. Although the process of science has been served by both the 2001 Biological Opinion and the Interim Report, both have shortcomings, and we see no justification for either side labeling the other's decisions or conclusions as "not sound science." Title: The Endangered Species Act and the National Research Council's interim judgment in Klamath Basin Author: Cooperman, Michael S. ; Markle, Douglas F. Year: 2002, 2005 The controversial 2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service water allocation decision in the Klamath Basin has been portrayed as an example of scientific guesswork operating under a flawed Endangered Species Act. This conclusion has been based on an interim National Research Council report, quickly prepared in late fall, 2001. We have reviewed several iterations of the NRC Interim Report as well as all Biological Opinions and management documents related to Klamath Basin suckers and provide an overview. The 2001 Biological Opinion and the Interim Report illustrate the lack of consensus typical of scientists in the early stages of exploring a complex system. Unfortunately, the decision created hardship for a small group of people and the lack of scientific consensus has politicized the debate. Politicians have assumed that the Interim Report has primacy in the scientific debate when, in fact, its speedy construction contributed to multiple errors that detract from its scientific usefulness. The NRC Interim Report has, instead, primarily served to deflect debate away from the needs of listed fishes to one about shortcomings in the Endangered Species Act. Although the process of science has been served by both the 2001 Biological Opinion and the Interim Report, both have shortcomings, and we see no justification for either side labeling the other's decisions or conclusions as "not sound science." Close

• 20. [Image] Lakeview proposed resource management plan and final environmental impact statement [volume 3]

  	4 v.; maps (some col.); "August 2002"; "January 2003" -- cover
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Lakeview proposed resource management plan and final environmental impact statement [volume 3] Author: U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management; Lakeview Resource Area Office. Lakeview District Year: 2002, 2008, 2006 4 v.; maps (some col.); "August 2002"; "January 2003" -- cover Title: Lakeview proposed resource management plan and final environmental impact statement [volume 3] Author: U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management; Lakeview Resource Area Office. Lakeview District Year: 2002, 2008, 2006 4 v.; maps (some col.); "August 2002"; "January 2003" -- cover Close

• 21. [Image] Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds biennial report, 2005-2007

  	The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Biennial Report 2005-2007. This is the sixth report on the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. The report provides an update on the accomplishments and continuing ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds biennial report, 2005-2007 Author: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 2006, 2007 The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Biennial Report 2005-2007. This is the sixth report on the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. The report provides an update on the accomplishments and continuing efforts of people throughout Oregon to improve and protect clean water and recover and maintain healthy populations offish and wildlife in our watersheds. The Oregon Plan is unique because it engages communities in the restoration and long-term stewardship of their watersheds. This extraordinary effort encourages local partnerships and voluntary actions to improve the conditions of our watersheds. Over the years, these actions have made Oregon a national leader in local cooperative conservation. This report collects project and condition data, voluntary private lands restoration information, and agency program accomplishments under the Oregon Plan. Consistent with the past two reports, this document continues to provide specific data on each of the state's fifteen reporting basins. A new element to this report is the inclusion of stories about the people, partnerships, and on-the-ground projects that are benefiting watersheds and communities across the state. Thanks to the many Oregon Plan partners who contributed to this report. Thomas M. Byler Executive Director Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Title: Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds biennial report, 2005-2007 Author: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 2006, 2007 The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Biennial Report 2005-2007. This is the sixth report on the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. The report provides an update on the accomplishments and continuing efforts of people throughout Oregon to improve and protect clean water and recover and maintain healthy populations offish and wildlife in our watersheds. The Oregon Plan is unique because it engages communities in the restoration and long-term stewardship of their watersheds. This extraordinary effort encourages local partnerships and voluntary actions to improve the conditions of our watersheds. Over the years, these actions have made Oregon a national leader in local cooperative conservation. This report collects project and condition data, voluntary private lands restoration information, and agency program accomplishments under the Oregon Plan. Consistent with the past two reports, this document continues to provide specific data on each of the state's fifteen reporting basins. A new element to this report is the inclusion of stories about the people, partnerships, and on-the-ground projects that are benefiting watersheds and communities across the state. Thanks to the many Oregon Plan partners who contributed to this report. Thomas M. Byler Executive Director Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Close

• 22. [Image] Water quality monitoring : technical guide book

  	"July 1999."
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Water quality monitoring : technical guide book Author: Oregon. Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 1999, 2005, 2004 "July 1999." Title: Water quality monitoring : technical guide book Author: Oregon. Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 1999, 2005, 2004 "July 1999." Close

• 23. [Image] Reclamation accomplishments, 1905-1953, Klamath Project, Oregon-California

  	SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Klamath Project is a $13 million Federal investment in water resource development, About 200,000 acres are irrigated and gross crop production (has exceeded $17 million each year ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Reclamation accomplishments, 1905-1953, Klamath Project, Oregon-California Author: Strantz, Maurice K. Year: 1953, 2005 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Klamath Project is a $13 million Federal investment in water resource development, About 200,000 acres are irrigated and gross crop production (has exceeded $17 million each year over the past 7 years. The Project encompasses the largest single block of irrigated land in the area and includes nearly half the three-county total irrigated area and one quarter of the cropland. Agriculture and manufacturing directly contribute half the three-county personal income and provide half the jobs. Klamath Project accounts for five-sixths of the gross income from crops, and half the total agricultural production in the three-county area. Personal income from project crops is estimated at $10.6 mil1ion in 1948. Recent crop production on the project supports directly or indirectly about $25 million in local personal income. Federal contribution for irrigation to repay costs without interest to date amounts to about $10.8 million. Annual personal income generated by project in the postwar years equals this assistance Project gross crop production of nearly $300 million over 46 years. Project farm income supports substantial portion of area retail trade and contributes to transportation and other services. Project agriculture in past 10 years increased its support to the economy and has helped offset the declines in the lumber industry. Without the project only about 50,000 irrigated acres would have been developed and the agricultural economy would have produced crops worth only about l/7th as large as at present. Reclamation development tends to maintain a stable prosperous economy in the three-county area. Title: Reclamation accomplishments, 1905-1953, Klamath Project, Oregon-California Author: Strantz, Maurice K. Year: 1953, 2005 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Klamath Project is a $13 million Federal investment in water resource development, About 200,000 acres are irrigated and gross crop production (has exceeded $17 million each year over the past 7 years. The Project encompasses the largest single block of irrigated land in the area and includes nearly half the three-county total irrigated area and one quarter of the cropland. Agriculture and manufacturing directly contribute half the three-county personal income and provide half the jobs. Klamath Project accounts for five-sixths of the gross income from crops, and half the total agricultural production in the three-county area. Personal income from project crops is estimated at $10.6 mil1ion in 1948. Recent crop production on the project supports directly or indirectly about $25 million in local personal income. Federal contribution for irrigation to repay costs without interest to date amounts to about $10.8 million. Annual personal income generated by project in the postwar years equals this assistance Project gross crop production of nearly $300 million over 46 years. Project farm income supports substantial portion of area retail trade and contributes to transportation and other services. Project agriculture in past 10 years increased its support to the economy and has helped offset the declines in the lumber industry. Without the project only about 50,000 irrigated acres would have been developed and the agricultural economy would have produced crops worth only about l/7th as large as at present. Reclamation development tends to maintain a stable prosperous economy in the three-county area. Close

• 24. [Image] Soils of the Klamath Indian Reservation; interim report, June 11, 1958

  	TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I INTRODUCTION 18 - 11 History and ethnology 18 Irrigated area table 19 Cultural geography 19 General physiographic features 262e . .3 Physiographic areas and farming 1d CLIMATE ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Soils of the Klamath Indian Reservation; interim report, June 11, 1958 Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs Year: 1958, 2005, 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I INTRODUCTION 18 - 11 History and ethnology 18 Irrigated area table 19 Cultural geography 19 General physiographic features 262e . .3 Physiographic areas and farming 1d CLIMATE 182 - 18 Climatic table, Sprague River, Oregon 185 Precipitation table , Chiloquin, Oregon 186 Temperature table, Chiloquin, Oregon 187 Climatic table, Fort Klamath, Oregon 188 VEGETATION 189 - 25 GEOLOGY 196 - 51 Hydrography: rivers, lakes, marshes, ground water 196 Relief and geological formations. 262e .32 Diatomite - tuff formation 262e . 1c4 Pliocene sediments of the Modoc Point area 262e.. 37 Faulted tuff formation 1c9 Pumice tuff formation.. 1d0 Pumice mantle and pumice flows ........ 262e.... .........40 Table of chemical analyses of pumice and scoria 1d5 Geology Map 262e . 262e 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY 262e 262e...52 PART II DESCRIPTIONS OF SOILS 223 - 60 Classification and survey 262e 262e.. 262e... 53 Soil profile and nomenclature. .... 262e...53 Chestnut Soils 262e 224 "Western" Brown Forest Soils 225 Regosol Soils . . 262e. 262e......56 Solonetz Soils 262e.....57 Halomorphic Soils 262e 228 Hydromorphic Soils 262e... 229 Soil Association Map 262e 229 KEY TO SOIL SERIES 262e61 - 63 SOIL SERIES AND MAPPING UNIT DESCRIPTIONS 134 ~ 254 APPENDIX 1955 - 297 Soil Series and mapping unit index. 2620. . . . 255 Glossary of terms 263f 262e. . . . 272 Table of soil analyses (Oregon State College)... 1989 Table of irrigation water quality (Oregon State College) 1990 Table of conductivity and reaction. . . . 1991 Table of resistance of saturated paste 262e296 Title: Soils of the Klamath Indian Reservation; interim report, June 11, 1958 Author: United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs Year: 1958, 2005, 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I INTRODUCTION 18 - 11 History and ethnology 18 Irrigated area table 19 Cultural geography 19 General physiographic features 262e . .3 Physiographic areas and farming 1d CLIMATE 182 - 18 Climatic table, Sprague River, Oregon 185 Precipitation table , Chiloquin, Oregon 186 Temperature table, Chiloquin, Oregon 187 Climatic table, Fort Klamath, Oregon 188 VEGETATION 189 - 25 GEOLOGY 196 - 51 Hydrography: rivers, lakes, marshes, ground water 196 Relief and geological formations. 262e .32 Diatomite - tuff formation 262e . 1c4 Pliocene sediments of the Modoc Point area 262e.. 37 Faulted tuff formation 1c9 Pumice tuff formation.. 1d0 Pumice mantle and pumice flows ........ 262e.... .........40 Table of chemical analyses of pumice and scoria 1d5 Geology Map 262e . 262e 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY 262e 262e...52 PART II DESCRIPTIONS OF SOILS 223 - 60 Classification and survey 262e 262e.. 262e... 53 Soil profile and nomenclature. .... 262e...53 Chestnut Soils 262e 224 "Western" Brown Forest Soils 225 Regosol Soils . . 262e. 262e......56 Solonetz Soils 262e.....57 Halomorphic Soils 262e 228 Hydromorphic Soils 262e... 229 Soil Association Map 262e 229 KEY TO SOIL SERIES 262e61 - 63 SOIL SERIES AND MAPPING UNIT DESCRIPTIONS 134 ~ 254 APPENDIX 1955 - 297 Soil Series and mapping unit index. 2620. . . . 255 Glossary of terms 263f 262e. . . . 272 Table of soil analyses (Oregon State College)... 1989 Table of irrigation water quality (Oregon State College) 1990 Table of conductivity and reaction. . . . 1991 Table of resistance of saturated paste 262e296 Close

• 25. [Image] Molecular evolution and ecology of Klamath Basin suckers. Part B - Evidence for a lethal homozyhous genotpe at the Ankyrin(g) locus in Klamath Basin suckers (Catostomidae)

  	One chapter of a seven chapter annual report from 1999 examining ecological issues regarding the shortnose and Lost River sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake and Williamson River.
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Molecular evolution and ecology of Klamath Basin suckers. Part B - Evidence for a lethal homozyhous genotpe at the Ankyrin(g) locus in Klamath Basin suckers (Catostomidae) Author: Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Year: 2000, 2005 One chapter of a seven chapter annual report from 1999 examining ecological issues regarding the shortnose and Lost River sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake and Williamson River. Title: Molecular evolution and ecology of Klamath Basin suckers. Part B - Evidence for a lethal homozyhous genotpe at the Ankyrin(g) locus in Klamath Basin suckers (Catostomidae) Author: Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Year: 2000, 2005 One chapter of a seven chapter annual report from 1999 examining ecological issues regarding the shortnose and Lost River sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake and Williamson River. Close

• 26. [Image] Technical assistance and the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: a statewide assessment by the Healthy Streams Partnership

  	"November 2002"; 66 p. in various paginations: ill., form -- Executive summary ([6]p.)
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Technical assistance and the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: a statewide assessment by the Healthy Streams Partnership Author: Healthy Streams Partnership Year: 2002, 2007, 2005 "November 2002"; 66 p. in various paginations: ill., form -- Executive summary ([6]p.) Title: Technical assistance and the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: a statewide assessment by the Healthy Streams Partnership Author: Healthy Streams Partnership Year: 2002, 2007, 2005 "November 2002"; 66 p. in various paginations: ill., form -- Executive summary ([6]p.) Close

• 27. [Image] The Oregon plan for salmon and watersheds

  	KCAMATH FALLS. QREEON THE OREGON PLAN FOR SALMON AND WATERSHEDS The purpose of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds ( the " Oregon Plan") as stated in the Plan and reaffirmed in this Executive Order ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Oregon plan for salmon and watersheds Author: Oregon. Office of the Governor Year: 1999, 2005, 2004 KCAMATH FALLS. QREEON THE OREGON PLAN FOR SALMON AND WATERSHEDS The purpose of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds ( the " Oregon Plan") as stated in the Plan and reaffirmed in this Executive Order is to restore Oregon's wild salmon and trout populations and fisheries to sustainable and productive levels that will provide substantial environmental, cultural, and economic benefits and to improve water quality. The Oregon Plan is a long- term, ongoing effort that began as a focused set of actions by state, local, tribal and private organizations and individuals in October of 1995. The Oregon Plan first addressed coho salmon on the Oregon Coast, was then broadened to include steelhead trout on the coast and in the Lower Columbia River, and is now expanding to all at- risk wild salmonids throughout the state. The Oregon Plan addresses all factors for decline of these species, including watershed conditions arid fisheries, to the extent those factors can be affected by the state. The Oregon Plan was endorsed and funded by the Oregon Legislature in 1997 through Oregon Senate Bill 924 ( 1 997 Or. Laws, ch. 7) and House Bill 3700 ( 1 997 Or. Laws, ch.' 8). The Oregon Plan is described in two principal documents: " The Oregon Plan," dated March 1997, and " The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, Supplement I - steelhbad," dated January 1998. As used in this Executive Order, + the Oregon Plan also incorporates the Healthy Streams Partnership ( Oregon Senate Bill 101 0, 1 993- Or. Laws, ch. 263). The Oregon Plan is a cooperative effort of state, local, federal, tribal and private organizations and individuals. Although the Oregon Plan contains a strong foundation of protective regulations -- continuing existing regulatory programs and speeding the implementation of others - an essential principle of the Plan is the need to move beyond prohibitions and to encourage efforts to improve conditions for salmon through non- regulatory means. Many of the most significant contributions to the Oregon Plan are private and quasi- governmental efforts to protect and . restore salmon on working landscapes, including efforts by watershed councils. Salmon and trout restoration requires action and sacrifice across the entire economic and geographic spectrum of Oregon. The commercial and sport fishing industries in Oregon have been heavily affected by complete or partial closures of fisheries. The forest industry operates under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, and has contributed substantially to salmon recovery through habitat restoration projects on private lands and by funding a large pan of the state recovery efforts. The agriculture and mining industries are also taking actions that will protect and restore salmon and trout habitat and improve water quality ( including financial support of restoration efforts by the mining industry). Urban areas are developing water conservation programs, spending funds for wastewater treatment improvements to reduce point source pollution, reducing non- point source pollution and reducing activities that degrade riparian areas. All citizens of Oregon share responsibility for declining populations of wild salmon and trout, and it is important that there be both a broad commitment to reversing these historic trends and a sense that the burdens of restoration are being shared by all of society. It is also important that there be independent scientific oversight of the Oregon Plan. This oversight is being provided by the Independent Mutidisciplinary Science Team ( IMST), established under Oregon Senate Bill 924 ( 1 997 Or. Laws, ch. 7). ~ d'ditional legislative oversight for the Oregon Plan is being provided by the Joint Legislative Committee on . Salmon and Stream Enhancement ( the " Joint Committee!'). Under the federal Endangered Species Act ( ESA) the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service . . ( F& WS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service ( NMFS) are responsible for identifying species that are threatened or endangered, and for developing programs to conserve and recover lhose species. F& WS and NMFS have now listed salmonids under the ESA on the entire Oregon Coast, the lower Columbia River ( including most of the Portland metropolitan area). the la math River basin, and in the upper Columbia and Snake River basins. More listings are expected within the next year. To date, the F& WS and NMFS generally have not had the resources to develop and implement effective recovery plans for fisheries. In addition, in many areas a large proportion of the habitat that list'ed'salmonids depend on is located on private lands, where the regulatory tools under the ESA are relatively ' ill- defined and indirect. Finally, federal agencies alone, even if they take an active regulatory approach. to recovery, will not restore listed salmonids. The federal ESA may work to prohibit certain actions, but there is simply too much habitat on private lands for restoration to succeed without pro- active involvement and incentives for individuals, groups, and local governments to take affirmative actions to restore habitat on working landscapes. In April, 1997 the State of Oregon and NMFS entered into a Memorandum of Agreement ( MOA) under which the State agreed to continue existing measures under the March 1997 Oregon Plan and to take certain additional actions to protect and restbre coho salmon on the Oregon Coast. On May 6, 1997, NMFS determined that the Oregon Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit ( ESU) of coho salmon did not warrant listing as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA. On June 2, 1998, the US. District Court for Oregon ordered NMFS to reconsider its decision without taking into account any parts of the Oregon Plan or MOA that are not " current enforceable measures." The U. S. District Court for Oregon also held that the MOA was speculative, due to the fact that it provided for termination by either party on thirty days notice, and that therefore the MOA could not be considered by NMFS ' in its listing decision. Under court order, NMFS reconsidered its decision without taking into account the application in the future of the harvest and hatchery measures contained in the Oregon Plan, or the habitat improvement programs being undertaken under the Oregon Plan, or the commitments made by the State of Oregon in the MOA for improvement of applicable habitat measures. Accordingly, NMFS listed Oregon Coast .. . coho as threatened undefthe ESA on or about October 2, 1998. - The MOA provided for the State of Oregon to take actions necessary to ensfie that - Oregon Coast coho did not warrant listing as a threatened or endangered species under the federal ESA. Now that Oregon Coast coho are listed as a threatened species as a- result of the U. S. District Court's order, the central purpose of the MOA has been eliminated. Due to the uncertainties created by the District Court's decision and the increasing extent of salmonids listed or proposed for listing under the federal ESA, it is important that the status of the State of Oregon's substantive commitments under the MOA and the purpose of the Oregon Plan be clarified. Through this Executive Order, the State of Oregon reaffirms its intent to play the leading role in protecting and restoring Oregon Coast coho and other salmonids. through the implementation of the Oregon Plan. This Executive Order provides the framework and direction for state agencies to implement ( to the extent of their authorities) the Oregon Plan in a timely and effective manner. This Executive Order also provides a framework for extending the state's efforts beyond a focus on Oregon Coast coho, to watersheds and fisheries statewide. Consistent with the principle of adaptive management, this Order applies the experience gained to date in implementing the Oregon Plan to provide additional detailed direction to state agencies. Finally, this Executive Order establishes a public involvement process to prioritize continuing efforts under the Oregon Plan. NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED: ( 1) Overall Direction ( a) Agencies of the State of Oregon will, consistent with their authorities, fully implement the state agency efforts described in the Oregon Plan and in this Executive Order. ( b) The overall objective for state agencies under the Oregon Plan and this Executive Order is to protect and restore salmonids and to improve water quality. ( c) The Governor will, in cooperation with the Joint Committee, IMST, affected state agencies, watershed councils, and other affected local entities and persons develop and implement, a process to set biological and habitat goals and objectives to protect and restore salmonids on a basin or regional basis as soon as practicable. Once these goals and objectives are established, they will be used by state agencies . . . to evaluate their regulatory and non- regulatory programs and measures relating to the protection and re'storation of salmonids. Through this on- going evaluation, state agencies will determine any changes to their programs or measures that may be necessary to meet the biological and habitat goals and objectives. In the interim, the following objectives in subsections ( d) and ( e) shall apply to agencies' implem'entation of the OregGn Plan and this Executive Order. . . ( d) Actions that state agencies take, fund and/ or authorize that are primarily for a purpose other than restoration of salmonids or the habitat they depend upon will, considering the anticipated duration and geographic scope of the actions: ( A) to the maximum extent practicable minimize and mitigate adverse effects of the actions on salmoni. ds or the habitat they depend on; and ( 8) not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of salmonids in the wild. ( e) State agencies will take, fund and/ or authorize actions that are primarily for the purpose of restoring salmonids or the habitat they depend upon, including actions implementing the Oregon Plan, with the goal of producing a conservation benefit that ( if taken together with comparable and related actions by all persons and entities within the range of the species) is likely to result in sustainable population levels of salmonids in the foreseeable future, and in population levels of salmonids that provide substantial environmental, cultural and economic benefits to Oregonians in the long term. ( f) With the broadening of the Oregon Plan,' prioritizing all agency actions according to coho core areas is no longer appropriate. Each state agency participating in the Oregon Plan, in consultation with ODFW and other partners involved in the implementation of the Plan and through a public involvement process, will modify their existing work programs in the Oregon Plan to prioritize agency measures to protect and restore salmonids in a timely and effective manner. The work programs will continue to identify key specific outcomes, refine and improve designations of priority areas, and establish completion dates. These modifications will be submitted to the , Governor, the Joint Committee, and to the appropriate boards and commissions as soon as possible, but in no event later than June 1, 1999. Progress reports on action plans will be submitted to the Governor, the Joint Committee, and to the appropriate boards and commissions on an annual basis. In prioritizing their efforts,' state agencies shall consider how to maximize conservation -, benefits for salmonids and the habitat they depend on within limited resources and - . whether their- actions are likely to increase populations of salmonids in the foreseeable future. I p ( g) State agencies will work cooperatively with landowners, local entities and other persons taking actions to protect or restore salmonids. ( h) As the Oregon Plan grows in geographic scope and . in intensity of activity,' there is a growing need to streamline and prioritize state agency activity at the . regional level. One proposal has been to organize state natural resource agency field operations along hydrologic units. Therefore, state agencies will consider this proposal and, through the collective efforts of state agency directors, develop an organization plan that focuses state agency field effort on the activities and areas of highest priority under the Oregon Plan. ( i) State. agencies will continue to encourage and work with agencies of the U. S. government to implement the federal measures described in the Oregon Plan.. In addition, the state agencies will work with the federal government to develop additional means of protecting and restoring salmonids. Where appropriate, state agencies will request that federal agencies obtain incidental take permits under Section 7 of the federal ESA for state actions that ace funded or authorized by a , federal agency. ( j) State agencies will help support efforts to evaluate watershed conditions, and to develop'specific strategic plans to provide for flood management, water quality improvement, and salmonid restoration in basins around the state, including the Willamette basin through the Willamette Restoration Initiative. ( k) The IMST will continue to provide oversight to ensure the use of the best scientific information available as the basis for implementation of and for adaptive changes to the Oregon Plan. State agencies will ensure that the IMST receives data and other information reasonably required for its functions in a timely manner. The Governor's Natural Resources Office ( GNRO) has requested that the IMST's initial priority be review of the freshwater habitat needs of coho and the relationship between population levels, escapement levels, and habitat characteristics. The GNRO also will continue to request that the IMST annually review monitoring results and identify where the Oregon Plan warrants change for scientific or technical reasons and make recommend& ions to the appropriate agency on those adjustments that appear necessary. Agencies will report their responses to any recommendations by . . the IMST to the Governor and to the Joint Committee. Any other changes identified by the IMST as necessary to achieve properly functioning riparian and aquatic habitat conditions required to, protect and restore salmonids will be forwarded to the appropriate governmental entity for its consideration of the adoption of new, changed, or supplemental measures as rapidly as possible while providing for public involvement: Each state agency, by June 1, 1999, will ratify a monitoring team charter through an interagency memorandum. A draft of the charter is contained in the 1998 Oregon Plan Annual Report. ( I) Monitoring is a key element of the Oregon Plan. Each state agency will actively support the monitoring strategy described in the Oregon Plan. Each affected agency will participate on the monitoring team to coordinate activities and integrate analyses. Each agency will implement . an appropriate monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of their programs and measures in meeting the objectives set forth in the Oregon Planon an annual basis. In addition, agencies with regulatory programs that are included in the Oregon Plan will determine levels of compliance with regulatory standards and identify and act on opportunities to improve compliance levels: ( m) If information gathered regarding the effectiveness of measures in the Oregon Plan shows that existing strategies within state control are not achie, ving expected improvements and objectives, the agency( ies1 responsible for those measures will seek appropriate changes in their regulations, policies, programs, r-measures and other areas of the Oregon Plan, as required to protect and restore coho and other sal'monids. Such modification or supplementation will be done as rapidly as possible, consistent with public involvement. ( n) Agencies are using geographically- referenced data in their efforts under the Oregon Plan, and will be using Geographic Information Systems ( GIs) in the analysis of these , data. In doing so, the State GIs Plan, developed by the Oregon Geographic lnformation Council ( OGIC) ( see Executive Order 96- 40) will be followed, with specific adherence to the Plan guidance on data documentation, coordination and data sharing. The agency with primary responsibility for gathering and updating the specific data will be responsible for meeting the requirements of the Plan, and to ensure coordination- with OGIC, the State Service Center for GIs and other' cooperating agencies. In addition, state agencies will cooperate with the Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board ( GWEB), Soil and. Water Conservation Districts ( SWCDs), local waters$ ed councils, landowners and others in making these essential data available. ( 0) Geographically- based strategies to assess and achieve habitat needs and adequate escapement levels will be used, and the state agencies will continue with the development of standardized watershed assessment protocols, including a -- cumulative effects assessment. State agencies will also continue with the development of habitat restoration guides to evaluate and direct habitat restoration efforts. ( 2) Continuation and Expansion of Existing Efforts. Without limiting the generality of section ( l)( a) of this Executive Order, the following subsections of this Executive Order describe some of the many efforts in the Oregon Plan where the initial phase of work has been completed, and where efforts will be continued. ( a) The Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission ( OFWC), the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife ( ODFW), and the Pacific Fishery Management Council ( PFMC) are managing ocean and terminal fisheries according to the measures set forth in the Oregon Plan ( ODFW I- A. l and Ill- A. l). These measures set a maximum mortality rate ( resulting from other fisheries) for any of four disaggregated stocks of coho of fifteen percent ( 1 5%) under poor ocean conditions. In 1997, the mortality rate. from harvest is estimated to have been between nine and eleven percent ( 9- 1 1 %). ODFW and OFWC will continue these measures in state waters, and will actively support continued implementation of the ocean harvest measures by the PFMC ( Amendment 13 to the Council's salmon management plan) until and unless a different management regime agreeable to NMFS is adopted. ( b) The OFWC and ODFW will ensure that the fish hatchery measures set forth in the Oregon Plan are continued by the OFWC and ODFW. ODFW is marking all hatchery coho on the Oregon Coast. This marking will allow increased certainty in estimating hatchery stray rates beginning in 1999. Available data on hatchery stray rates for coho and steelhead are being provided to NMFS on an annual basis. The number of hatchery coho released is estimated to have been 1.7 million in 1998 - substantially below the level called for in the Oregon Plan. This number will be reduced to 1.2 million in 1999. In addition, ODFW has, and will continue to provide. annual reports regarding: ( i) the number of juvenile hatchery coho that are released by brood year, locations and dates of release, life stage, and broodstock origin; ( ii) the number of adult coho taken for broodstock for each hatchery, the location and date of collection, and the origin ( hatchery or natural); ( iii) the number of hatchery coho . . estimated to have spawned in natural habitat by basin; ( iv) the estimated percentage of hatchery coho% the total natural spawning population; and ( v) the mortality of naturally- spawning coho resulting from each fishery. NMFS may provide comments about hatchery prograk affecting coho to ODFW, with any concerns to be resolved between NMFS and ODFW. - - ( c) ln addition to recent modifications to hatchery practices and programs, a new vision is needed for how Oregon will utilize hatcheries in the best and most effective manner. Therefore, the ODFW and the OFWC shall engage in a process to create a strategic plan for fish hatcheries in Oregon over the next decade ( including state and federally- funded hatcheries, private hatcheries, and the STEP program). The essential elements of this process are as follows: ( i) Impartial analysis - conduct an impartial analysis of the scientific bases, and the social and economic effects of Oregon hatchery programs utilizing existing analyses and review where feasible, but conducting new analyses if necessary; ( ii) Review the Wild Fish Management Policy ( WFMP) - because the future plan for hatcheries in Oregon is dependent on implementation of the WFMP, ODFW shall conduct a science and stakeholder review to determine if this significant policy should be revised and shall make any revision by July 2000; ( iii) Frame alternative strategies -- convene a group of stockholders to . frame alternative strategies, including outcomes and descriptions, of how hatcheries will be used in Oregon over the next decade ( these strategies will address the use of hatcheries for wild fish population recovery including supplementation, research and monitoring, public education, and sport and commercial fishing opportunities); ( iv) Public review and selection of a strategy -- the OFWC shall, after public review and ' ;-'-!&%; f$'. i comment, adopt a strategic plan to guide development of future hatchery programs, incorporating the strategy developed and adopted in accordance with subpart ( iii) of this paragraph. ( d) Criteria and guidelines directing the design of projects that may affect fish passage have been established in a Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) between the Oregon Department of Transportation ( ODOT), ODFW, the Oregon Department of Forestry ( ODF), the Oregon Department of Agriculture ( ODA), the Division of State Lands ( DSL) and the Federal Highway Administration. These guidelines apply to the design, construction and consultations of projects affecting fish passage. Under the MOU, projects requiring regulatory approvals that follow these criteria and guidelines are expedited. Oregon agencies will continue to provide technical assistance to ensure that the criteria and guidelines are applied appropriately in restoration projects, as well as any other projects that may affect fish passage through road crossings and similar structures. ODFW will work with state agencies, local governments, and watershed councils to ensure that Oregon's standards for fish passage set forth in Exhibit A to the MOU are understood and are implemented. - ( e) Fish presence, stream habitat, road and culvert surveys have been conducted for roads within ODOT jurisdiction and county roads in coastal basins, the Lower Columbia basin, the Willamette basin, and the Grande Ronbe/ lmnaha basins. Among the results of these surveys is the finding that culvert barriers to fish passage affect a substantial quantity of salmonid habitat. For example, surveys of county and state highways in western Oregon found over 1,200 culverts that are barriers to passage. As a result, ODOT is placing additional priority on restoring fish access. For 1998, ODOT repaired or replaced 35 culverts restoring access to 101 miles of salmonid habitat. For 1999, the Oregon Transportation Commission will be asked to fund approximately $ 4.0 million for culvert modification. ODOT and the Commission will continue to examine means to speed restoration of fish passage and to coordinate priorities with ODFW. ( f) Draft watershed assessment protocols have been developed and are being field tested. Beginning in 1999, SWCDs, watershed councils and others will be able to use the protocols as the basis for action plans to identify and prioritize opportunities to protect and restore salmonids. Watershed action plans have already been completed in a number of basins including the Rogue, Coos, Coquille and Grande Ronde. State agencies will work to support these watershed assessments and plans to the maximum extent practicable. Where watershed action plans have been developed under the protocols, GWEB will ensure that projects funded through the Watershed Improvement Grant Fund are consistent with watershed action plans, and other state agencies will work with SWCDs and watershed councils to ensure that activities they authorize, fund or undertake are consistent with watershed action plans to the maximum extent practicable. ( g) The State of Oregon has developed interim aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement guidelines for 1998. State agencies involved with restoration activities ( ODFW, ODF, DSL, ODA, DEQ, and GWEB) will continue to develop and refine the interim guidelines for final publication in April 1999. The guidelines will be applied in restoration activities funded or authorized by state agencies. The purpose of ' the guidelines will be to define aquatic restoration and to identify and encourage aquatic habitat restoration techniques to restore salmonids. . . ( h) ODA and O ~ hFave each entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Oregon Department'of Environmental Quality relating to the development of . Total Maximum Daily Loads ( TMDLs) and Water Quality Management Area Plans ( WQMAPs). O Dw~ ill adopt. a nd implement WQMAPs ( through the Healthy Streams Partnership) and ODF , will review the adequacy of forest practices rules to meet water quality standards. ODF and ODA will evaluate the effectiveness of these measures in achieving water quality standards on a regular basis and implement any changes required to meet the standards. ( i) Agencies are implementing a coordinated monitoring program, as described in the Oregon Plan. This program includes technical support and standardized protocols for watershed councils, stream habitat surveys, forest practice effectiveness monitoring, water withdrawal monitoring, ambient water quality monitoring, and biotic index studies, as well as fish presence surveys and salmonid abundance and survival monitoring in selected subbasins. State agencies are also' working to coordinate monitoring efforts by state, federal, and local entities, including watershed councils. State agencies will work actively to ensure that the monitoring measures' in the Oregon Plan are continued. - .. ( j) GWEB has put into place new processes for identifying and coordinating the delivery of financial and technical assistance to individuals, agencies, watershed councils and soil and water conservation districts as they implement watershed ' restoration projects to improve water quality and restore aquatic resources. Over $ 25 ' million has been distributed for watershed restoration projects in the last ten years. During the present ( 1 997- 99 biennium) GWEB has awarded over $ 1 2 million dollars in f- state and federal funds for technical'assistance and watershed restoration activities to implement the Oregon Plan. GWEB and state agencies will continue to seek financial resources to be allocated by GWEB for watershed restoration activities at the local and. statewide levels. ( k) State agencies will continue to encourage, support and work to provide incentives for local, tribal, and private . efforts to implement the Oregon Plan. In addition, state agencies will continue to provide financial assistance to local entities for projects to protect and restore salmonids to the extent consistent with their budgetary and legal authorities, and consistent with their work programs in the Oregon Plan. To the. maximum extent practicable, state agencies will also provide technical assistance and planning tools to provide local conservation groups to assist in and target watershed restoration efforts. These efforts ( during 1996 and 1997) are reported in " The Oregon. Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: Watershed Restoration Inventory, 1998." ~ u s c afe w of the important efforts that have been completed include: ( A) Eighty- two watershed councils have joined with forty- five Soil and Water Conservation Districts as well as private and public landowners to implement on- the- ground projects' to protect and restore salmonids. During 1996 and 1997, a reported $ 27.4 million was spent on 1,234 watershed restoration projects on non-federal lands. Both the amount spent and the number of projects represent significant increases ( of over 300 percent) over prior years. In 1996- 97, watershed councils, SWCDs and other organizations and individuals completed: ( i) 138 stream fencing projects, involving at least 301 miles of streambank; ( ii) 196 riparian area planting projects, involving at least 11 1 miles of streams; and ( iii) 458 instream habitat improvement projects. . . . ( B) Private and state forest landowners are implementing key efforts under the Oregon Plan, including the road risk and remediation program ( ODF- 1 and 2). Under this effort in 1996 and 1997, close to 4,000 miles of roads'have been surveyed to identify risks that the roads may pose to salmonid habitat. As the risks are identified, they are then prioritized for remediation following an established. protocol. Already, 52 miles of forest roads have been closed, 843 miles of road repair and reconstruction projects to - protect salmonid habitat have been completed, and an additional 14 miles of roads have been decommissioned or relocated.. In addition, 530 culverts have been replaced, upgraded or installed for fish passage purposes, improving access to a reported 146 stream miles. ( C) Organizations working in Tillamook County have developed the I ." J aw#~ t Tillamook County Performance Partnership. The Partnership is implementing the \*. Tillamook Bay National Estuary Program by addressing water quality, fisheries, floodplain management and economic development in the county. Among the actions that the Partnership has already accomplished are: ( i) the closure of seven miles of degraded forest roads and the rehabilitation of 469 miles of roads to meet current standards, at a cost of $ 1 8 million; ( ii) the fencing of 53 miles of streambank, and the construction of three cattle bridges and 100 alternative cattle watering sites, at a cost of $ 214,000; and ( iii) the completion of 24 instream restoration projects and 34 barbs protecting 4,200 feet of streambank, at a cost of $ 1.3 million dollars. ( D) The Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde Community of Oregon have completed a forest management plan that establishes standards for the protection of aquatic resources that are comparable to those found in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy ' of the Northwest Forest Plan. . % ( E) A combination of funding from the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Heritage Foundation ( private, non- profit organizations) is provi, ding support for seven biologists to design restoration projects. These projects are prioritized based on stream surveys, and are carried out with the voluntary participation and support of landowners. A ten- year monitoring plan has been funded- and implemented to determine project effectiveness: ( F) The Oregon Cattlemen's Association has implemented its WESt Program that is designed to help landowners better understand their watersheds and stream functions through assessments and monitoring. h he WESt Program brings landowners together along stream reaches, and offers a series of workshops, conducted on a site specific basis, free of charge. The workshops include riparian ecology, setting goals and objectives, Proper Functioning Condition ( PFC), data. collection and monitoring. Over 25 workshops have been held, with attendance ranging from 5 to 30 landowners per workshop. The WESt Program is sponsored by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, DEQ, Oregon State University, and GWEB. ( G) Within the Tillamook State Forest road network 1,902 culverts have been replaced or added to'improve road drainage and to disconnect storm water runoff from roads reducing stream sediment impacts. Additionally, some of these culverts also improved fish passage at stream crossings. In this process, ODF has also replaced six culverts with bridges improving fish passage to approximately four miles of stream. The Tillamook State Foresl in conjunction with many partners, such F-as the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, G W EB, Simpson Timber Company, Tillamook County, the FishAmerica Foundation, Hardrock Construction Company, the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, the F& WS, the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, Columbia Helicopters and Terra Helicopters, has also recently completed instream placement of over 400 rootwads, trees and boulders at a cost of $ 300,000 for habitat enhancement. ( 3) Key Agency Efforts. Continuation and completion of the following state agency efforts is critical to the success of the Oregon Plan. State agencies will make continuation or completion ( as appropriate) of the following efforts a high priority. ( a) The State of Oregon and the US. Department of Agriculture have entered into a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program ( CREP). This cost- share program, one of the first of its kind, . will be used to reduce the impacts of agricultural practices through water quality. add habitat improvement. The objectives of the CREP are to: ( i) provide incentives'for farmers and ranchers to establish riparian buffers; ( ii) protect - . and restore at least 4,000 miles of stream habitat by providing up to 95,000 acres of riparian buffeis; ( i4) restore up to 5,000 acres of wetlands that will benefit salmonids; and ( iv) provide a mechanism for farmers and ranchers to comply with Oregon's ,- Senate Bill 101 0 ( 1 993 Or. Laws, ch. 263). ( b) ODF will work with non- industrial forest landowners to'administer the Stewardship Incentive Program and the Forest Resources Trust programs to protect and restore riparian and wetland areas that benefit salmonids. ( c) The Oregon Board of Forestry will determine, with the assistance of an advisory committee, to what extent changes to forest practices are needed to meet state water quality standards and to protect and restore salmonids. A substantial body of information regarding the effectiveness of current practices is being . developed. This information includes: ( i) the IMST report regarding . the role of forest practices and forest habitat in protecting and restoring salmonids; and ( ii) a series of - monitoring projects that include the Storms of 1996 study, a riparian areas study, a stream temperature study, and a road drainage study. Using this information, as well as other available scientific information including scientific information from NMFS, the advisory committee will make recommendations to the Board at both site and watershed scales on threats to salmonid habitat relating to sediment, water temperature, freshwater habitat needs, roads and fish passage. Based on the advisory committee's recommendations and other scientific information, the Board will make every effort to make its determinations by June 1999. The Board may . . determine that the most effective means of achieving any necessary changes to . - d;.~ .;* i;. z . I:@;.. %- .~ + k forest practices is through regulatory changes, statutory changes or through other programs . including programs to create incentives for forest landowners. In the event that the Board determines that legislative changes. are necessary to carry out its determinations, the Board will transmit any recommendations for such changes to the . Governor and to the Joint Committee at the earliest possible date. ( d) Consistent with administrative rule, and statutory and constitutional mandates for the management of state forests, ODF State Forest management plans will include an aquatic conservation strategy that has a high likelihood of protecting and restoring properly functioning aquatic habitat for salmonids on state forest lands. ( e) ODF will present to NMFS a Habitat Conservation Plan ( HCP) under Section 10 of the federal ESA that includes the Clatsop and Tillamook State Forests. ODF has already completed scierkific review and has public review underway for this draft HCP. The scientific and public review comments will be considered by ODF in . . completing the draft HCP. The draft HCP will be presented to NMFS by June 1999. An HCP for the ~ jliotSt tate Forest was approved by the US. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1995. In October af 1997, ODF and DSL forwarded the Elliott State Forest HCP to NMFS with the request that it be reviewed to determine whether it has a high likelihood of protecting and restoring properly functioning aquatic habitat conditions on state forest lands necessary to protect and restore salmonids. Based on discussions surrounding the NMFS review, ODF and DSL will determine what revisions, if any, are required to the Elliott HCP and/ or Forest Management Plan to ensure a high likelihood of protecting and restoring properly functioning aquatic habitat for salmonids. ( f) Before the OFWC adopts and implements fishery regulations that may result in taking of coho, ODFW will provide NMFS with'all available scientific information and analyses pertinent to the proposed regulation where the harvest measures are not under the jurisdiction of the PFMC, including results of the Oregon Plan monitoring and evaluation program. This information, together with the proposed regulation and supporting analysis, will be provided at least two weeks prior to the OFWC's action, to give NMFS time to review and comment on the proposed regulations. ( g) ODFW will evaluate the effects of predation on salmonids, and . will . work with . affected federal agencies to determine whether changes to programs and law relating to predation are warranted in order to protect and restore salmonids. P ( h) Under Oregon Senate Bill 101 0 ( 1 993 Or. Laws, ch. 2631, ODA will adopt Agricultural Water Qualify Management Area Plans ( AWQMAPs) for Tier I and Tier ll watersheds by the end of 2002. The AWQMAPs will be designed and implemented to meet load allocations for agriculture needed to achieve state water quality . . standards. In addition, ODA will work with ODFW, DEQ, GWEB, SWCDs, federal . agencies and watershed councils to determine to what extent additional measures related to achieving properly functioning riparian and aquatic habitat on agricultural lands are needed to protect and restore salmonids, giving attention first to priority areas identified in. the Oregon Plan. In the event ODA is unable to reach a consensus regarding such measures, ODA will ask the IMST to review areas of substantive ' scientific disagreement and to'make recommendations to ODA regarding how they should be resolved. In the event that legislative changes are needed to implement such measures, ODA will transmit any recommendations for such changes to. the Governor and to the Joint Committee at the earliest possible date. In addition, any measures identified as rieeded by ODA will be implemented at the earliest practicable time. * . ( i) ODFW will expedite its applications for instream water rights and OWRD will process such applications promptly where flow deficits are identified as adversely affecting salmonids, and where such rights. are not already in place. The Oregon - water Resources Department ( OWRD) and the Oregon Water Resources Commission ( OWRC) will- also seek to facilitate flow restoration targeted to streams identified by OWRD and ODFW as posing the most critical low- flow barriers to salmonids. In addition, where necessary, OWRD will continue to work with the Oregon State Police to provide enforcement of water use. Where illegal water uses are identified, OWRD will ensure outcomes consistent with maintenance and restoration of flows. ( j) The Oregon Environmental Quality commission ( EQC). and DEQ will evaluate and will make every effort to utilize their authorities to continue to provide additional protection to . priority areas ( as determined under section 1 ( f) of this Executive Order), including in- stream flow protection under state law, and antidegradation policy under . the federal Clean Water Act ( including Outstanding Resource Waters designations . and high quality waters designations). . ( k) DSL has proposed to adopt changes to its Essential Salmonid Habitat rules that will provide additional protection for spawning and rearing areas of anadromous salmonids. In addition, ODFW and DSL will consult with the OWRC to determine where it is necessary to administratively close priority areas ( including ' work under General Authorizations) to fill and removal activities in order to protect salmonids. . . DSL, ODFW, ODF and ODA also will work together to identify means of regulating the . uy- w :.-:: st. removal of organic material ( such as large woody debris) from streams where such removal would adversely affect salmonids and would not be contrary to other agency mandates. ( I) DSL will seek the advice of the IMST regarding whether gravel removal affects gravel and/ or sediment budgets in a manner that adversely affects salmonids. ( m) The Department of Land Conservation and ~ e v e l o p r n e n t ' ( ~ ~ acn~ d ) th, e Land Conservation- and Development Commission ( LCDC) will evaluate and, to the extent feasible, speed implementation of existing Goal 5 requirements for riparian corridors. ( n) DLCD, DEQ, ODF, ODA, ODFW, and DSL and their respective boards and commissions will evaluate and implement programs to protect and restore riparian vegetation for the purposes of achieving statewide water quality standards and . . protecting and restoring a aquatic habitat for salmonids. ' ( 0) DLCD, with, the assistance of DSL and ODFW, and in consultation with coastal cities and counties, shall review the requirements of Statewide Planning Goal i 6 as they pertain to estuarine resources important to the restoration of salmonids, and shall, report its findings to LCDC for its consideration. ( p) The Oregon State Police will work to facilitate the existing cooperative relationship with the NMFS Office of ~ a Ewnfo rcement, as well as tomaintain cooperation with other enforcement entities, in order to enhance law enforcement, public awareness and voluntary compliance related to harvest, habitat and other issues addressed in the Oregon Plan. ( q) The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will continue to work to p. rovide information and education to the public on salmon and steelhead needs through park programs and interpretive aids. ( r) The Oregon Marine Board will work to ensure fish friendly boating and to develop boating facilities that protect salmonids. ( s) State natural resource agencies will continue, to the extent feasible, to support watershed councils by providing technical assistance to develop watershed assessments, restoration plans and to develop watershed priorities to benefit 7- salmonids. In addition, state natural resource agencies will work'on a larger . .:.... watershed scale to develop basin- wide restoration priorities. ( 4) Future Modifications; Public Involvement for the Oregon Plan Generally. The GNRO will solicit public co'mments and input from participants in the Oregon Plan regarding whether there are refinements or changes to the Plan and/ or the organizational framework for implementing the Plan that are necessary or desirable based on the experience gained over the past three years, or resulting from the widespread listings and proposed listings of salmon and trout under the federal ESA. Based on this public involvement, the GNRO will provide a report and recommendations to the Governor and the Joint Committee regarding whether modifications are necessary to the Oregon Plan in order to protect and restore coho and other salmonids. ( 5) Definitions. For purioses'of this Executive Order: . . ( aj The " Oregon Plan" means the Oregon Coastal Salmon Recovery lnitiative, dated March 1991, and the Steelhead. Supplement, dated January 1998. " Oregon Plan," as used in this Order, is intended to be consistent with the definition of the' Oregon Coastal Salmon Recovery lnitiative in Oregon Senate Bill 924 ( 1997 Or. Laws, .- cti. 7), and to include the Healthy Streams Partnership ( 1 993 Or. Laws, ch. 263). -. - ( b) " Protect" has the meaning given in section ( l)( d) of this Executive Order. ( c) " Restore" has the meaning'given in section ( l)( e) of this Executive Order. Restore necessarily includes actions to manage salmonids to provide for adequate escapement levels, and actions to increase the quantity and improve the quality of properly functioning habitat upon which salmonids depend. ( d) " Coho" means native wild coho salmon found in rivers and lakes along the Oregon Coast. ( el " Salmonids" means native wild salmon, char and trout in the State of Oregon. ( 6) Effective Date; Relation to Federal ESA. This Executive Order will take effect on the date that it is filed with the Secretary of State. The State of Oregon will continue to work with NMFS to determine the appropriate relationship between the Oregon Plan and NMFS's efforts under the federal ESA. Done at Salem, Oregon, this $ day of & ~ 4 y , 1999. ha26 . ~ it& er, M. D. Suz adnd .~. ow& end DEPUTY SECR~ ARYOF - STATE Title: The Oregon plan for salmon and watersheds Author: Oregon. Office of the Governor Year: 1999, 2005, 2004 KCAMATH FALLS. QREEON THE OREGON PLAN FOR SALMON AND WATERSHEDS The purpose of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds ( the " Oregon Plan") as stated in the Plan and reaffirmed in this Executive Order is to restore Oregon's wild salmon and trout populations and fisheries to sustainable and productive levels that will provide substantial environmental, cultural, and economic benefits and to improve water quality. The Oregon Plan is a long- term, ongoing effort that began as a focused set of actions by state, local, tribal and private organizations and individuals in October of 1995. The Oregon Plan first addressed coho salmon on the Oregon Coast, was then broadened to include steelhead trout on the coast and in the Lower Columbia River, and is now expanding to all at- risk wild salmonids throughout the state. The Oregon Plan addresses all factors for decline of these species, including watershed conditions arid fisheries, to the extent those factors can be affected by the state. The Oregon Plan was endorsed and funded by the Oregon Legislature in 1997 through Oregon Senate Bill 924 ( 1 997 Or. Laws, ch. 7) and House Bill 3700 ( 1 997 Or. Laws, ch.' 8). The Oregon Plan is described in two principal documents: " The Oregon Plan," dated March 1997, and " The Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, Supplement I - steelhbad," dated January 1998. As used in this Executive Order, + the Oregon Plan also incorporates the Healthy Streams Partnership ( Oregon Senate Bill 101 0, 1 993- Or. Laws, ch. 263). The Oregon Plan is a cooperative effort of state, local, federal, tribal and private organizations and individuals. Although the Oregon Plan contains a strong foundation of protective regulations -- continuing existing regulatory programs and speeding the implementation of others - an essential principle of the Plan is the need to move beyond prohibitions and to encourage efforts to improve conditions for salmon through non- regulatory means. Many of the most significant contributions to the Oregon Plan are private and quasi- governmental efforts to protect and . restore salmon on working landscapes, including efforts by watershed councils. Salmon and trout restoration requires action and sacrifice across the entire economic and geographic spectrum of Oregon. The commercial and sport fishing industries in Oregon have been heavily affected by complete or partial closures of fisheries. The forest industry operates under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, and has contributed substantially to salmon recovery through habitat restoration projects on private lands and by funding a large pan of the state recovery efforts. The agriculture and mining industries are also taking actions that will protect and restore salmon and trout habitat and improve water quality ( including financial support of restoration efforts by the mining industry). Urban areas are developing water conservation programs, spending funds for wastewater treatment improvements to reduce point source pollution, reducing non- point source pollution and reducing activities that degrade riparian areas. All citizens of Oregon share responsibility for declining populations of wild salmon and trout, and it is important that there be both a broad commitment to reversing these historic trends and a sense that the burdens of restoration are being shared by all of society. It is also important that there be independent scientific oversight of the Oregon Plan. This oversight is being provided by the Independent Mutidisciplinary Science Team ( IMST), established under Oregon Senate Bill 924 ( 1 997 Or. Laws, ch. 7). ~ d'ditional legislative oversight for the Oregon Plan is being provided by the Joint Legislative Committee on . Salmon and Stream Enhancement ( the " Joint Committee!'). Under the federal Endangered Species Act ( ESA) the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service . . ( F& WS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service ( NMFS) are responsible for identifying species that are threatened or endangered, and for developing programs to conserve and recover lhose species. F& WS and NMFS have now listed salmonids under the ESA on the entire Oregon Coast, the lower Columbia River ( including most of the Portland metropolitan area). the la math River basin, and in the upper Columbia and Snake River basins. More listings are expected within the next year. To date, the F& WS and NMFS generally have not had the resources to develop and implement effective recovery plans for fisheries. In addition, in many areas a large proportion of the habitat that list'ed'salmonids depend on is located on private lands, where the regulatory tools under the ESA are relatively ' ill- defined and indirect. Finally, federal agencies alone, even if they take an active regulatory approach. to recovery, will not restore listed salmonids. The federal ESA may work to prohibit certain actions, but there is simply too much habitat on private lands for restoration to succeed without pro- active involvement and incentives for individuals, groups, and local governments to take affirmative actions to restore habitat on working landscapes. In April, 1997 the State of Oregon and NMFS entered into a Memorandum of Agreement ( MOA) under which the State agreed to continue existing measures under the March 1997 Oregon Plan and to take certain additional actions to protect and restbre coho salmon on the Oregon Coast. On May 6, 1997, NMFS determined that the Oregon Coast Evolutionarily Significant Unit ( ESU) of coho salmon did not warrant listing as a threatened or endangered species under the ESA. On June 2, 1998, the US. District Court for Oregon ordered NMFS to reconsider its decision without taking into account any parts of the Oregon Plan or MOA that are not " current enforceable measures." The U. S. District Court for Oregon also held that the MOA was speculative, due to the fact that it provided for termination by either party on thirty days notice, and that therefore the MOA could not be considered by NMFS ' in its listing decision. Under court order, NMFS reconsidered its decision without taking into account the application in the future of the harvest and hatchery measures contained in the Oregon Plan, or the habitat improvement programs being undertaken under the Oregon Plan, or the commitments made by the State of Oregon in the MOA for improvement of applicable habitat measures. Accordingly, NMFS listed Oregon Coast .. . coho as threatened undefthe ESA on or about October 2, 1998. - The MOA provided for the State of Oregon to take actions necessary to ensfie that - Oregon Coast coho did not warrant listing as a threatened or endangered species under the federal ESA. Now that Oregon Coast coho are listed as a threatened species as a- result of the U. S. District Court's order, the central purpose of the MOA has been eliminated. Due to the uncertainties created by the District Court's decision and the increasing extent of salmonids listed or proposed for listing under the federal ESA, it is important that the status of the State of Oregon's substantive commitments under the MOA and the purpose of the Oregon Plan be clarified. Through this Executive Order, the State of Oregon reaffirms its intent to play the leading role in protecting and restoring Oregon Coast coho and other salmonids. through the implementation of the Oregon Plan. This Executive Order provides the framework and direction for state agencies to implement ( to the extent of their authorities) the Oregon Plan in a timely and effective manner. This Executive Order also provides a framework for extending the state's efforts beyond a focus on Oregon Coast coho, to watersheds and fisheries statewide. Consistent with the principle of adaptive management, this Order applies the experience gained to date in implementing the Oregon Plan to provide additional detailed direction to state agencies. Finally, this Executive Order establishes a public involvement process to prioritize continuing efforts under the Oregon Plan. NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DIRECTED: ( 1) Overall Direction ( a) Agencies of the State of Oregon will, consistent with their authorities, fully implement the state agency efforts described in the Oregon Plan and in this Executive Order. ( b) The overall objective for state agencies under the Oregon Plan and this Executive Order is to protect and restore salmonids and to improve water quality. ( c) The Governor will, in cooperation with the Joint Committee, IMST, affected state agencies, watershed councils, and other affected local entities and persons develop and implement, a process to set biological and habitat goals and objectives to protect and restore salmonids on a basin or regional basis as soon as practicable. Once these goals and objectives are established, they will be used by state agencies . . . to evaluate their regulatory and non- regulatory programs and measures relating to the protection and re'storation of salmonids. Through this on- going evaluation, state agencies will determine any changes to their programs or measures that may be necessary to meet the biological and habitat goals and objectives. In the interim, the following objectives in subsections ( d) and ( e) shall apply to agencies' implem'entation of the OregGn Plan and this Executive Order. . . ( d) Actions that state agencies take, fund and/ or authorize that are primarily for a purpose other than restoration of salmonids or the habitat they depend upon will, considering the anticipated duration and geographic scope of the actions: ( A) to the maximum extent practicable minimize and mitigate adverse effects of the actions on salmoni. ds or the habitat they depend on; and ( 8) not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the survival and recovery of salmonids in the wild. ( e) State agencies will take, fund and/ or authorize actions that are primarily for the purpose of restoring salmonids or the habitat they depend upon, including actions implementing the Oregon Plan, with the goal of producing a conservation benefit that ( if taken together with comparable and related actions by all persons and entities within the range of the species) is likely to result in sustainable population levels of salmonids in the foreseeable future, and in population levels of salmonids that provide substantial environmental, cultural and economic benefits to Oregonians in the long term. ( f) With the broadening of the Oregon Plan,' prioritizing all agency actions according to coho core areas is no longer appropriate. Each state agency participating in the Oregon Plan, in consultation with ODFW and other partners involved in the implementation of the Plan and through a public involvement process, will modify their existing work programs in the Oregon Plan to prioritize agency measures to protect and restore salmonids in a timely and effective manner. The work programs will continue to identify key specific outcomes, refine and improve designations of priority areas, and establish completion dates. These modifications will be submitted to the , Governor, the Joint Committee, and to the appropriate boards and commissions as soon as possible, but in no event later than June 1, 1999. Progress reports on action plans will be submitted to the Governor, the Joint Committee, and to the appropriate boards and commissions on an annual basis. In prioritizing their efforts,' state agencies shall consider how to maximize conservation -, benefits for salmonids and the habitat they depend on within limited resources and - . whether their- actions are likely to increase populations of salmonids in the foreseeable future. I p ( g) State agencies will work cooperatively with landowners, local entities and other persons taking actions to protect or restore salmonids. ( h) As the Oregon Plan grows in geographic scope and . in intensity of activity,' there is a growing need to streamline and prioritize state agency activity at the . regional level. One proposal has been to organize state natural resource agency field operations along hydrologic units. Therefore, state agencies will consider this proposal and, through the collective efforts of state agency directors, develop an organization plan that focuses state agency field effort on the activities and areas of highest priority under the Oregon Plan. ( i) State. agencies will continue to encourage and work with agencies of the U. S. government to implement the federal measures described in the Oregon Plan.. In addition, the state agencies will work with the federal government to develop additional means of protecting and restoring salmonids. Where appropriate, state agencies will request that federal agencies obtain incidental take permits under Section 7 of the federal ESA for state actions that ace funded or authorized by a , federal agency. ( j) State agencies will help support efforts to evaluate watershed conditions, and to develop'specific strategic plans to provide for flood management, water quality improvement, and salmonid restoration in basins around the state, including the Willamette basin through the Willamette Restoration Initiative. ( k) The IMST will continue to provide oversight to ensure the use of the best scientific information available as the basis for implementation of and for adaptive changes to the Oregon Plan. State agencies will ensure that the IMST receives data and other information reasonably required for its functions in a timely manner. The Governor's Natural Resources Office ( GNRO) has requested that the IMST's initial priority be review of the freshwater habitat needs of coho and the relationship between population levels, escapement levels, and habitat characteristics. The GNRO also will continue to request that the IMST annually review monitoring results and identify where the Oregon Plan warrants change for scientific or technical reasons and make recommend& ions to the appropriate agency on those adjustments that appear necessary. Agencies will report their responses to any recommendations by . . the IMST to the Governor and to the Joint Committee. Any other changes identified by the IMST as necessary to achieve properly functioning riparian and aquatic habitat conditions required to, protect and restore salmonids will be forwarded to the appropriate governmental entity for its consideration of the adoption of new, changed, or supplemental measures as rapidly as possible while providing for public involvement: Each state agency, by June 1, 1999, will ratify a monitoring team charter through an interagency memorandum. A draft of the charter is contained in the 1998 Oregon Plan Annual Report. ( I) Monitoring is a key element of the Oregon Plan. Each state agency will actively support the monitoring strategy described in the Oregon Plan. Each affected agency will participate on the monitoring team to coordinate activities and integrate analyses. Each agency will implement . an appropriate monitoring program to assess the effectiveness of their programs and measures in meeting the objectives set forth in the Oregon Planon an annual basis. In addition, agencies with regulatory programs that are included in the Oregon Plan will determine levels of compliance with regulatory standards and identify and act on opportunities to improve compliance levels: ( m) If information gathered regarding the effectiveness of measures in the Oregon Plan shows that existing strategies within state control are not achie, ving expected improvements and objectives, the agency( ies1 responsible for those measures will seek appropriate changes in their regulations, policies, programs, r-measures and other areas of the Oregon Plan, as required to protect and restore coho and other sal'monids. Such modification or supplementation will be done as rapidly as possible, consistent with public involvement. ( n) Agencies are using geographically- referenced data in their efforts under the Oregon Plan, and will be using Geographic Information Systems ( GIs) in the analysis of these , data. In doing so, the State GIs Plan, developed by the Oregon Geographic lnformation Council ( OGIC) ( see Executive Order 96- 40) will be followed, with specific adherence to the Plan guidance on data documentation, coordination and data sharing. The agency with primary responsibility for gathering and updating the specific data will be responsible for meeting the requirements of the Plan, and to ensure coordination- with OGIC, the State Service Center for GIs and other' cooperating agencies. In addition, state agencies will cooperate with the Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board ( GWEB), Soil and. Water Conservation Districts ( SWCDs), local waters$ ed councils, landowners and others in making these essential data available. ( 0) Geographically- based strategies to assess and achieve habitat needs and adequate escapement levels will be used, and the state agencies will continue with the development of standardized watershed assessment protocols, including a -- cumulative effects assessment. State agencies will also continue with the development of habitat restoration guides to evaluate and direct habitat restoration efforts. ( 2) Continuation and Expansion of Existing Efforts. Without limiting the generality of section ( l)( a) of this Executive Order, the following subsections of this Executive Order describe some of the many efforts in the Oregon Plan where the initial phase of work has been completed, and where efforts will be continued. ( a) The Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission ( OFWC), the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife ( ODFW), and the Pacific Fishery Management Council ( PFMC) are managing ocean and terminal fisheries according to the measures set forth in the Oregon Plan ( ODFW I- A. l and Ill- A. l). These measures set a maximum mortality rate ( resulting from other fisheries) for any of four disaggregated stocks of coho of fifteen percent ( 1 5%) under poor ocean conditions. In 1997, the mortality rate. from harvest is estimated to have been between nine and eleven percent ( 9- 1 1 %). ODFW and OFWC will continue these measures in state waters, and will actively support continued implementation of the ocean harvest measures by the PFMC ( Amendment 13 to the Council's salmon management plan) until and unless a different management regime agreeable to NMFS is adopted. ( b) The OFWC and ODFW will ensure that the fish hatchery measures set forth in the Oregon Plan are continued by the OFWC and ODFW. ODFW is marking all hatchery coho on the Oregon Coast. This marking will allow increased certainty in estimating hatchery stray rates beginning in 1999. Available data on hatchery stray rates for coho and steelhead are being provided to NMFS on an annual basis. The number of hatchery coho released is estimated to have been 1.7 million in 1998 - substantially below the level called for in the Oregon Plan. This number will be reduced to 1.2 million in 1999. In addition, ODFW has, and will continue to provide. annual reports regarding: ( i) the number of juvenile hatchery coho that are released by brood year, locations and dates of release, life stage, and broodstock origin; ( ii) the number of adult coho taken for broodstock for each hatchery, the location and date of collection, and the origin ( hatchery or natural); ( iii) the number of hatchery coho . . estimated to have spawned in natural habitat by basin; ( iv) the estimated percentage of hatchery coho% the total natural spawning population; and ( v) the mortality of naturally- spawning coho resulting from each fishery. NMFS may provide comments about hatchery prograk affecting coho to ODFW, with any concerns to be resolved between NMFS and ODFW. - - ( c) ln addition to recent modifications to hatchery practices and programs, a new vision is needed for how Oregon will utilize hatcheries in the best and most effective manner. Therefore, the ODFW and the OFWC shall engage in a process to create a strategic plan for fish hatcheries in Oregon over the next decade ( including state and federally- funded hatcheries, private hatcheries, and the STEP program). The essential elements of this process are as follows: ( i) Impartial analysis - conduct an impartial analysis of the scientific bases, and the social and economic effects of Oregon hatchery programs utilizing existing analyses and review where feasible, but conducting new analyses if necessary; ( ii) Review the Wild Fish Management Policy ( WFMP) - because the future plan for hatcheries in Oregon is dependent on implementation of the WFMP, ODFW shall conduct a science and stakeholder review to determine if this significant policy should be revised and shall make any revision by July 2000; ( iii) Frame alternative strategies -- convene a group of stockholders to . frame alternative strategies, including outcomes and descriptions, of how hatcheries will be used in Oregon over the next decade ( these strategies will address the use of hatcheries for wild fish population recovery including supplementation, research and monitoring, public education, and sport and commercial fishing opportunities); ( iv) Public review and selection of a strategy -- the OFWC shall, after public review and ' ;-'-!&%; f$'. i comment, adopt a strategic plan to guide development of future hatchery programs, incorporating the strategy developed and adopted in accordance with subpart ( iii) of this paragraph. ( d) Criteria and guidelines directing the design of projects that may affect fish passage have been established in a Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU) between the Oregon Department of Transportation ( ODOT), ODFW, the Oregon Department of Forestry ( ODF), the Oregon Department of Agriculture ( ODA), the Division of State Lands ( DSL) and the Federal Highway Administration. These guidelines apply to the design, construction and consultations of projects affecting fish passage. Under the MOU, projects requiring regulatory approvals that follow these criteria and guidelines are expedited. Oregon agencies will continue to provide technical assistance to ensure that the criteria and guidelines are applied appropriately in restoration projects, as well as any other projects that may affect fish passage through road crossings and similar structures. ODFW will work with state agencies, local governments, and watershed councils to ensure that Oregon's standards for fish passage set forth in Exhibit A to the MOU are understood and are implemented. - ( e) Fish presence, stream habitat, road and culvert surveys have been conducted for roads within ODOT jurisdiction and county roads in coastal basins, the Lower Columbia basin, the Willamette basin, and the Grande Ronbe/ lmnaha basins. Among the results of these surveys is the finding that culvert barriers to fish passage affect a substantial quantity of salmonid habitat. For example, surveys of county and state highways in western Oregon found over 1,200 culverts that are barriers to passage. As a result, ODOT is placing additional priority on restoring fish access. For 1998, ODOT repaired or replaced 35 culverts restoring access to 101 miles of salmonid habitat. For 1999, the Oregon Transportation Commission will be asked to fund approximately $ 4.0 million for culvert modification. ODOT and the Commission will continue to examine means to speed restoration of fish passage and to coordinate priorities with ODFW. ( f) Draft watershed assessment protocols have been developed and are being field tested. Beginning in 1999, SWCDs, watershed councils and others will be able to use the protocols as the basis for action plans to identify and prioritize opportunities to protect and restore salmonids. Watershed action plans have already been completed in a number of basins including the Rogue, Coos, Coquille and Grande Ronde. State agencies will work to support these watershed assessments and plans to the maximum extent practicable. Where watershed action plans have been developed under the protocols, GWEB will ensure that projects funded through the Watershed Improvement Grant Fund are consistent with watershed action plans, and other state agencies will work with SWCDs and watershed councils to ensure that activities they authorize, fund or undertake are consistent with watershed action plans to the maximum extent practicable. ( g) The State of Oregon has developed interim aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement guidelines for 1998. State agencies involved with restoration activities ( ODFW, ODF, DSL, ODA, DEQ, and GWEB) will continue to develop and refine the interim guidelines for final publication in April 1999. The guidelines will be applied in restoration activities funded or authorized by state agencies. The purpose of ' the guidelines will be to define aquatic restoration and to identify and encourage aquatic habitat restoration techniques to restore salmonids. . . ( h) ODA and O ~ hFave each entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Oregon Department'of Environmental Quality relating to the development of . Total Maximum Daily Loads ( TMDLs) and Water Quality Management Area Plans ( WQMAPs). O Dw~ ill adopt. a nd implement WQMAPs ( through the Healthy Streams Partnership) and ODF , will review the adequacy of forest practices rules to meet water quality standards. ODF and ODA will evaluate the effectiveness of these measures in achieving water quality standards on a regular basis and implement any changes required to meet the standards. ( i) Agencies are implementing a coordinated monitoring program, as described in the Oregon Plan. This program includes technical support and standardized protocols for watershed councils, stream habitat surveys, forest practice effectiveness monitoring, water withdrawal monitoring, ambient water quality monitoring, and biotic index studies, as well as fish presence surveys and salmonid abundance and survival monitoring in selected subbasins. State agencies are also' working to coordinate monitoring efforts by state, federal, and local entities, including watershed councils. State agencies will work actively to ensure that the monitoring measures' in the Oregon Plan are continued. - .. ( j) GWEB has put into place new processes for identifying and coordinating the delivery of financial and technical assistance to individuals, agencies, watershed councils and soil and water conservation districts as they implement watershed ' restoration projects to improve water quality and restore aquatic resources. Over $ 25 ' million has been distributed for watershed restoration projects in the last ten years. During the present ( 1 997- 99 biennium) GWEB has awarded over $ 1 2 million dollars in f- state and federal funds for technical'assistance and watershed restoration activities to implement the Oregon Plan. GWEB and state agencies will continue to seek financial resources to be allocated by GWEB for watershed restoration activities at the local and. statewide levels. ( k) State agencies will continue to encourage, support and work to provide incentives for local, tribal, and private . efforts to implement the Oregon Plan. In addition, state agencies will continue to provide financial assistance to local entities for projects to protect and restore salmonids to the extent consistent with their budgetary and legal authorities, and consistent with their work programs in the Oregon Plan. To the. maximum extent practicable, state agencies will also provide technical assistance and planning tools to provide local conservation groups to assist in and target watershed restoration efforts. These efforts ( during 1996 and 1997) are reported in " The Oregon. Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: Watershed Restoration Inventory, 1998." ~ u s c afe w of the important efforts that have been completed include: ( A) Eighty- two watershed councils have joined with forty- five Soil and Water Conservation Districts as well as private and public landowners to implement on- the- ground projects' to protect and restore salmonids. During 1996 and 1997, a reported $ 27.4 million was spent on 1,234 watershed restoration projects on non-federal lands. Both the amount spent and the number of projects represent significant increases ( of over 300 percent) over prior years. In 1996- 97, watershed councils, SWCDs and other organizations and individuals completed: ( i) 138 stream fencing projects, involving at least 301 miles of streambank; ( ii) 196 riparian area planting projects, involving at least 11 1 miles of streams; and ( iii) 458 instream habitat improvement projects. . . . ( B) Private and state forest landowners are implementing key efforts under the Oregon Plan, including the road risk and remediation program ( ODF- 1 and 2). Under this effort in 1996 and 1997, close to 4,000 miles of roads'have been surveyed to identify risks that the roads may pose to salmonid habitat. As the risks are identified, they are then prioritized for remediation following an established. protocol. Already, 52 miles of forest roads have been closed, 843 miles of road repair and reconstruction projects to - protect salmonid habitat have been completed, and an additional 14 miles of roads have been decommissioned or relocated.. In addition, 530 culverts have been replaced, upgraded or installed for fish passage purposes, improving access to a reported 146 stream miles. ( C) Organizations working in Tillamook County have developed the I ." J aw#~ t Tillamook County Performance Partnership. The Partnership is implementing the \*. Tillamook Bay National Estuary Program by addressing water quality, fisheries, floodplain management and economic development in the county. Among the actions that the Partnership has already accomplished are: ( i) the closure of seven miles of degraded forest roads and the rehabilitation of 469 miles of roads to meet current standards, at a cost of $ 1 8 million; ( ii) the fencing of 53 miles of streambank, and the construction of three cattle bridges and 100 alternative cattle watering sites, at a cost of $ 214,000; and ( iii) the completion of 24 instream restoration projects and 34 barbs protecting 4,200 feet of streambank, at a cost of $ 1.3 million dollars. ( D) The Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde Community of Oregon have completed a forest management plan that establishes standards for the protection of aquatic resources that are comparable to those found in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy ' of the Northwest Forest Plan. . % ( E) A combination of funding from the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Heritage Foundation ( private, non- profit organizations) is provi, ding support for seven biologists to design restoration projects. These projects are prioritized based on stream surveys, and are carried out with the voluntary participation and support of landowners. A ten- year monitoring plan has been funded- and implemented to determine project effectiveness: ( F) The Oregon Cattlemen's Association has implemented its WESt Program that is designed to help landowners better understand their watersheds and stream functions through assessments and monitoring. h he WESt Program brings landowners together along stream reaches, and offers a series of workshops, conducted on a site specific basis, free of charge. The workshops include riparian ecology, setting goals and objectives, Proper Functioning Condition ( PFC), data. collection and monitoring. Over 25 workshops have been held, with attendance ranging from 5 to 30 landowners per workshop. The WESt Program is sponsored by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, DEQ, Oregon State University, and GWEB. ( G) Within the Tillamook State Forest road network 1,902 culverts have been replaced or added to'improve road drainage and to disconnect storm water runoff from roads reducing stream sediment impacts. Additionally, some of these culverts also improved fish passage at stream crossings. In this process, ODF has also replaced six culverts with bridges improving fish passage to approximately four miles of stream. The Tillamook State Foresl in conjunction with many partners, such F-as the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, G W EB, Simpson Timber Company, Tillamook County, the FishAmerica Foundation, Hardrock Construction Company, the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, the F& WS, the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, Columbia Helicopters and Terra Helicopters, has also recently completed instream placement of over 400 rootwads, trees and boulders at a cost of $ 300,000 for habitat enhancement. ( 3) Key Agency Efforts. Continuation and completion of the following state agency efforts is critical to the success of the Oregon Plan. State agencies will make continuation or completion ( as appropriate) of the following efforts a high priority. ( a) The State of Oregon and the US. Department of Agriculture have entered into a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program ( CREP). This cost- share program, one of the first of its kind, . will be used to reduce the impacts of agricultural practices through water quality. add habitat improvement. The objectives of the CREP are to: ( i) provide incentives'for farmers and ranchers to establish riparian buffers; ( ii) protect - . and restore at least 4,000 miles of stream habitat by providing up to 95,000 acres of riparian buffeis; ( i4) restore up to 5,000 acres of wetlands that will benefit salmonids; and ( iv) provide a mechanism for farmers and ranchers to comply with Oregon's ,- Senate Bill 101 0 ( 1 993 Or. Laws, ch. 263). ( b) ODF will work with non- industrial forest landowners to'administer the Stewardship Incentive Program and the Forest Resources Trust programs to protect and restore riparian and wetland areas that benefit salmonids. ( c) The Oregon Board of Forestry will determine, with the assistance of an advisory committee, to what extent changes to forest practices are needed to meet state water quality standards and to protect and restore salmonids. A substantial body of information regarding the effectiveness of current practices is being . developed. This information includes: ( i) the IMST report regarding . the role of forest practices and forest habitat in protecting and restoring salmonids; and ( ii) a series of - monitoring projects that include the Storms of 1996 study, a riparian areas study, a stream temperature study, and a road drainage study. Using this information, as well as other available scientific information including scientific information from NMFS, the advisory committee will make recommendations to the Board at both site and watershed scales on threats to salmonid habitat relating to sediment, water temperature, freshwater habitat needs, roads and fish passage. Based on the advisory committee's recommendations and other scientific information, the Board will make every effort to make its determinations by June 1999. The Board may . . determine that the most effective means of achieving any necessary changes to . - d;.~ .;* i;. z . I:@;.. %- .~ + k forest practices is through regulatory changes, statutory changes or through other programs . including programs to create incentives for forest landowners. In the event that the Board determines that legislative changes. are necessary to carry out its determinations, the Board will transmit any recommendations for such changes to the . Governor and to the Joint Committee at the earliest possible date. ( d) Consistent with administrative rule, and statutory and constitutional mandates for the management of state forests, ODF State Forest management plans will include an aquatic conservation strategy that has a high likelihood of protecting and restoring properly functioning aquatic habitat for salmonids on state forest lands. ( e) ODF will present to NMFS a Habitat Conservation Plan ( HCP) under Section 10 of the federal ESA that includes the Clatsop and Tillamook State Forests. ODF has already completed scierkific review and has public review underway for this draft HCP. The scientific and public review comments will be considered by ODF in . . completing the draft HCP. The draft HCP will be presented to NMFS by June 1999. An HCP for the ~ jliotSt tate Forest was approved by the US. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1995. In October af 1997, ODF and DSL forwarded the Elliott State Forest HCP to NMFS with the request that it be reviewed to determine whether it has a high likelihood of protecting and restoring properly functioning aquatic habitat conditions on state forest lands necessary to protect and restore salmonids. Based on discussions surrounding the NMFS review, ODF and DSL will determine what revisions, if any, are required to the Elliott HCP and/ or Forest Management Plan to ensure a high likelihood of protecting and restoring properly functioning aquatic habitat for salmonids. ( f) Before the OFWC adopts and implements fishery regulations that may result in taking of coho, ODFW will provide NMFS with'all available scientific information and analyses pertinent to the proposed regulation where the harvest measures are not under the jurisdiction of the PFMC, including results of the Oregon Plan monitoring and evaluation program. This information, together with the proposed regulation and supporting analysis, will be provided at least two weeks prior to the OFWC's action, to give NMFS time to review and comment on the proposed regulations. ( g) ODFW will evaluate the effects of predation on salmonids, and . will . work with . affected federal agencies to determine whether changes to programs and law relating to predation are warranted in order to protect and restore salmonids. P ( h) Under Oregon Senate Bill 101 0 ( 1 993 Or. Laws, ch. 2631, ODA will adopt Agricultural Water Qualify Management Area Plans ( AWQMAPs) for Tier I and Tier ll watersheds by the end of 2002. The AWQMAPs will be designed and implemented to meet load allocations for agriculture needed to achieve state water quality . . standards. In addition, ODA will work with ODFW, DEQ, GWEB, SWCDs, federal . agencies and watershed councils to determine to what extent additional measures related to achieving properly functioning riparian and aquatic habitat on agricultural lands are needed to protect and restore salmonids, giving attention first to priority areas identified in. the Oregon Plan. In the event ODA is unable to reach a consensus regarding such measures, ODA will ask the IMST to review areas of substantive ' scientific disagreement and to'make recommendations to ODA regarding how they should be resolved. In the event that legislative changes are needed to implement such measures, ODA will transmit any recommendations for such changes to. the Governor and to the Joint Committee at the earliest possible date. In addition, any measures identified as rieeded by ODA will be implemented at the earliest practicable time. * . ( i) ODFW will expedite its applications for instream water rights and OWRD will process such applications promptly where flow deficits are identified as adversely affecting salmonids, and where such rights. are not already in place. The Oregon - water Resources Department ( OWRD) and the Oregon Water Resources Commission ( OWRC) will- also seek to facilitate flow restoration targeted to streams identified by OWRD and ODFW as posing the most critical low- flow barriers to salmonids. In addition, where necessary, OWRD will continue to work with the Oregon State Police to provide enforcement of water use. Where illegal water uses are identified, OWRD will ensure outcomes consistent with maintenance and restoration of flows. ( j) The Oregon Environmental Quality commission ( EQC). and DEQ will evaluate and will make every effort to utilize their authorities to continue to provide additional protection to . priority areas ( as determined under section 1 ( f) of this Executive Order), including in- stream flow protection under state law, and antidegradation policy under . the federal Clean Water Act ( including Outstanding Resource Waters designations . and high quality waters designations). . ( k) DSL has proposed to adopt changes to its Essential Salmonid Habitat rules that will provide additional protection for spawning and rearing areas of anadromous salmonids. In addition, ODFW and DSL will consult with the OWRC to determine where it is necessary to administratively close priority areas ( including ' work under General Authorizations) to fill and removal activities in order to protect salmonids. . . DSL, ODFW, ODF and ODA also will work together to identify means of regulating the . uy- w :.-:: st. removal of organic material ( such as large woody debris) from streams where such removal would adversely affect salmonids and would not be contrary to other agency mandates. ( I) DSL will seek the advice of the IMST regarding whether gravel removal affects gravel and/ or sediment budgets in a manner that adversely affects salmonids. ( m) The Department of Land Conservation and ~ e v e l o p r n e n t ' ( ~ ~ acn~ d ) th, e Land Conservation- and Development Commission ( LCDC) will evaluate and, to the extent feasible, speed implementation of existing Goal 5 requirements for riparian corridors. ( n) DLCD, DEQ, ODF, ODA, ODFW, and DSL and their respective boards and commissions will evaluate and implement programs to protect and restore riparian vegetation for the purposes of achieving statewide water quality standards and . . protecting and restoring a aquatic habitat for salmonids. ' ( 0) DLCD, with, the assistance of DSL and ODFW, and in consultation with coastal cities and counties, shall review the requirements of Statewide Planning Goal i 6 as they pertain to estuarine resources important to the restoration of salmonids, and shall, report its findings to LCDC for its consideration. ( p) The Oregon State Police will work to facilitate the existing cooperative relationship with the NMFS Office of ~ a Ewnfo rcement, as well as tomaintain cooperation with other enforcement entities, in order to enhance law enforcement, public awareness and voluntary compliance related to harvest, habitat and other issues addressed in the Oregon Plan. ( q) The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department will continue to work to p. rovide information and education to the public on salmon and steelhead needs through park programs and interpretive aids. ( r) The Oregon Marine Board will work to ensure fish friendly boating and to develop boating facilities that protect salmonids. ( s) State natural resource agencies will continue, to the extent feasible, to support watershed councils by providing technical assistance to develop watershed assessments, restoration plans and to develop watershed priorities to benefit 7- salmonids. In addition, state natural resource agencies will work'on a larger . .:.... watershed scale to develop basin- wide restoration priorities. ( 4) Future Modifications; Public Involvement for the Oregon Plan Generally. The GNRO will solicit public co'mments and input from participants in the Oregon Plan regarding whether there are refinements or changes to the Plan and/ or the organizational framework for implementing the Plan that are necessary or desirable based on the experience gained over the past three years, or resulting from the widespread listings and proposed listings of salmon and trout under the federal ESA. Based on this public involvement, the GNRO will provide a report and recommendations to the Governor and the Joint Committee regarding whether modifications are necessary to the Oregon Plan in order to protect and restore coho and other salmonids. ( 5) Definitions. For purioses'of this Executive Order: . . ( aj The " Oregon Plan" means the Oregon Coastal Salmon Recovery lnitiative, dated March 1991, and the Steelhead. Supplement, dated January 1998. " Oregon Plan," as used in this Order, is intended to be consistent with the definition of the' Oregon Coastal Salmon Recovery lnitiative in Oregon Senate Bill 924 ( 1997 Or. Laws, .- cti. 7), and to include the Healthy Streams Partnership ( 1 993 Or. Laws, ch. 263). -. - ( b) " Protect" has the meaning given in section ( l)( d) of this Executive Order. ( c) " Restore" has the meaning'given in section ( l)( e) of this Executive Order. Restore necessarily includes actions to manage salmonids to provide for adequate escapement levels, and actions to increase the quantity and improve the quality of properly functioning habitat upon which salmonids depend. ( d) " Coho" means native wild coho salmon found in rivers and lakes along the Oregon Coast. ( el " Salmonids" means native wild salmon, char and trout in the State of Oregon. ( 6) Effective Date; Relation to Federal ESA. This Executive Order will take effect on the date that it is filed with the Secretary of State. The State of Oregon will continue to work with NMFS to determine the appropriate relationship between the Oregon Plan and NMFS's efforts under the federal ESA. Done at Salem, Oregon, this $ day of & ~ 4 y , 1999. ha26 . ~ it& er, M. D. Suz adnd .~. ow& end DEPUTY SECR~ ARYOF - STATE Close

• 28. [Image] A strategy for achieving healthy watersheds in Oregon

  	"January 2001."
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A strategy for achieving healthy watersheds in Oregon Author: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 2001, 2004 "January 2001." Title: A strategy for achieving healthy watersheds in Oregon Author: Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Year: 2001, 2004 "January 2001." Close

• 29. [Image] The Water Report - The ESA, salmon, and Western water law

  	Only portions of issues of The Water Report are available in the Klamath Waters Digital Library. See the full report at http://www.thewaterreport.com/.
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Water Report - The ESA, salmon, and Western water law Author: Envirotech Publications Year: 2004, 2008, 2006 Only portions of issues of The Water Report are available in the Klamath Waters Digital Library. See the full report at http://www.thewaterreport.com/. Title: The Water Report - The ESA, salmon, and Western water law Author: Envirotech Publications Year: 2004, 2008, 2006 Only portions of issues of The Water Report are available in the Klamath Waters Digital Library. See the full report at http://www.thewaterreport.com/. Close

• 30. [Image] Forestry program for Oregon

  	This document sets forth the Board of Forestry's strategic vision for Oregon's forests for the next eight years
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Forestry program for Oregon Author: Oregon State Board of Forestry Year: 2003, 2005 This document sets forth the Board of Forestry's strategic vision for Oregon's forests for the next eight years Title: Forestry program for Oregon Author: Oregon State Board of Forestry Year: 2003, 2005 This document sets forth the Board of Forestry's strategic vision for Oregon's forests for the next eight years Close

• 31. [Image] Draft resource management plan/environmental impact statement for the Upper Klamath Basin

  	"March 1994."
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Draft resource management plan/environmental impact statement for the Upper Klamath Basin Author: United States. Bureau of Land Management. Klamath Falls Resource Area Office Year: 1994, 2005 "March 1994." Title: Draft resource management plan/environmental impact statement for the Upper Klamath Basin Author: United States. Bureau of Land Management. Klamath Falls Resource Area Office Year: 1994, 2005 "March 1994." Close

• 32. [Image] A review of scientific information on issues related to the use and management of water resources in the Pacific Northwest

  	Abstract Everest, Fred H.; Stouder, Deanna J.; Kakoyannis, Christina; Houston, Laurie; Stankey, George; Kline, Jeffery; Alig, Ralph. 2004. A review of scientific information ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: A review of scientific information on issues related to the use and management of water resources in the Pacific Northwest Year: 2004 Abstract Everest, Fred H.; Stouder, Deanna J.; Kakoyannis, Christina; Houston, Laurie; Stankey, George; Kline, Jeffery; Alig, Ralph. 2004. A review of scientific information on issues related to the use and management of water resources in the Pacific Northwest. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-595. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 128 p. Fresh water is a valuable and essential commodity in the Pacific Northwest States, specifically Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and one provided abundantly by forested watersheds in the region. The maintenance and growth of industrial, municipal, agricultural, and recreational activities in the region are dependent on adequate and sustainable supplies of fresh water from surface and ground-water sources. Future development, especially in the semiarid intermountain area, depends on the conservation and expansion of the region's water resource. This synthesis reviews the state of our knowledge and condition of water resources in the Pacific Northwest. Keywords: Water distribution, flow regimes, water demand, conflicts, tools, water use. Title: A review of scientific information on issues related to the use and management of water resources in the Pacific Northwest Year: 2004 Abstract Everest, Fred H.; Stouder, Deanna J.; Kakoyannis, Christina; Houston, Laurie; Stankey, George; Kline, Jeffery; Alig, Ralph. 2004. A review of scientific information on issues related to the use and management of water resources in the Pacific Northwest. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-595. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 128 p. Fresh water is a valuable and essential commodity in the Pacific Northwest States, specifically Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and one provided abundantly by forested watersheds in the region. The maintenance and growth of industrial, municipal, agricultural, and recreational activities in the region are dependent on adequate and sustainable supplies of fresh water from surface and ground-water sources. Future development, especially in the semiarid intermountain area, depends on the conservation and expansion of the region's water resource. This synthesis reviews the state of our knowledge and condition of water resources in the Pacific Northwest. Keywords: Water distribution, flow regimes, water demand, conflicts, tools, water use. Close

• 33. [Image] Klamath Project. Agriculture. Pile of sugar beets at railroad siding near Tulelake, California

  	KP-1586-R2 - Klamath Project. Agriculture. These beets, recently harvested, will be sent to the Spreckles sugar plant at Woodland, California, for processing; October 15, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluhart...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Klamath Project. Agriculture. Pile of sugar beets at railroad siding near Tulelake, California Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1586-R2 - Klamath Project. Agriculture. These beets, recently harvested, will be sent to the Spreckles sugar plant at Woodland, California, for processing; October 15, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Title: Klamath Project. Agriculture. Pile of sugar beets at railroad siding near Tulelake, California Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1586-R2 - Klamath Project. Agriculture. These beets, recently harvested, will be sent to the Spreckles sugar plant at Woodland, California, for processing; October 15, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Close

• 34. [Image] IMST review of the USFWS and NMFS 2001 biological opinions on management of the Klamath Reclamation Project and related reports: a report of the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team, Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds

  	This report is a review of scientific research done by various organizations involved in the Klamath Reclamation Project to assess the "status and management of coho salmon in the Klamath River and . . ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: IMST review of the USFWS and NMFS 2001 biological opinions on management of the Klamath Reclamation Project and related reports: a report of the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team, Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Author: Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (Oregon) Year: 2003, 2004 This report is a review of scientific research done by various organizations involved in the Klamath Reclamation Project to assess the "status and management of coho salmon in the Klamath River and . . . management of Upper Klamath Lake and its watershed"; "April 16, 2003"; Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-112) Title: IMST review of the USFWS and NMFS 2001 biological opinions on management of the Klamath Reclamation Project and related reports: a report of the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team, Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds Author: Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team (Oregon) Year: 2003, 2004 This report is a review of scientific research done by various organizations involved in the Klamath Reclamation Project to assess the "status and management of coho salmon in the Klamath River and . . . management of Upper Klamath Lake and its watershed"; "April 16, 2003"; Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-112) Close

• 35. [Image] Klamath Basin summary of recent federal government activities, March 2003

  	The Department of the Interior, Klamath River Basin Work Plans and Reports
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Klamath Basin summary of recent federal government activities, March 2003 Author: United States. Dept. of the Interior Year: 2003, 2005 The Department of the Interior, Klamath River Basin Work Plans and Reports Title: Klamath Basin summary of recent federal government activities, March 2003 Author: United States. Dept. of the Interior Year: 2003, 2005 The Department of the Interior, Klamath River Basin Work Plans and Reports Close

• 36. [Image] Klamath Project : hearing before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session to discuss Klamath Project operations and implementation of Public Law 106-498, March 21, 2001

  	CONTENTS STATEMENTS Page Craig, Hon. Larry E., U.S. Senator from Idaho 2693 Crawford, John, Farmer, on behalf of Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Falls, OR 26951 Foreman, Allen, Chairman, Klamath ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Klamath Project : hearing before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session to discuss Klamath Project operations and implementation of Public Law 106-498, March 21, 2001 Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Water and Power Year: 2001, 2005, 2000 CONTENTS STATEMENTS Page Craig, Hon. Larry E., U.S. Senator from Idaho 2693 Crawford, John, Farmer, on behalf of Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Falls, OR 26951 Foreman, Allen, Chairman, Klamath Indian Tribes, Chiloquin, OR 26923 Home, Alex J., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 26955 Marbut, Reed, Intergovernmental Coordinator, Oregon Water Resources De partment, Salem, OR 26931 McDonald, J. William, Acting Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Depart ment of the Interior 2697 Nicholson, Roger, President, Resource Conservancy, Fort Klamath, OR 26939 Smith, Hon. Gordon, U.S. Senator from Oregon 2691 Spain, Glen H., Northwest Regional Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Eugene, OR 26940 Walden, Hon. Greg, U.S. Representative from Oregon 2693 Wyden, Hon. Ron, U.S. Senator from Oregon 2692 Title: Klamath Project : hearing before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, first session to discuss Klamath Project operations and implementation of Public Law 106-498, March 21, 2001 Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Water and Power Year: 2001, 2005, 2000 CONTENTS STATEMENTS Page Craig, Hon. Larry E., U.S. Senator from Idaho 2693 Crawford, John, Farmer, on behalf of Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Falls, OR 26951 Foreman, Allen, Chairman, Klamath Indian Tribes, Chiloquin, OR 26923 Home, Alex J., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 26955 Marbut, Reed, Intergovernmental Coordinator, Oregon Water Resources De partment, Salem, OR 26931 McDonald, J. William, Acting Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Depart ment of the Interior 2697 Nicholson, Roger, President, Resource Conservancy, Fort Klamath, OR 26939 Smith, Hon. Gordon, U.S. Senator from Oregon 2691 Spain, Glen H., Northwest Regional Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Eugene, OR 26940 Walden, Hon. Greg, U.S. Representative from Oregon 2693 Wyden, Hon. Ron, U.S. Senator from Oregon 2692 Close

• 37. [Image] Summary of the analysis of the management situation: Klamath Falls Resource Area resource management plan

  	"December 1990"
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Summary of the analysis of the management situation: Klamath Falls Resource Area resource management plan Author: United States. Bureau of Land Management. Klamath Falls Resource Area Office. Year: 1990, 2005, 2004 "December 1990" Title: Summary of the analysis of the management situation: Klamath Falls Resource Area resource management plan Author: United States. Bureau of Land Management. Klamath Falls Resource Area Office. Year: 1990, 2005, 2004 "December 1990" Close

• 38. [Image] Recent paleolimnology of Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

  	Recent Paleolimnology of Upper Klamath Lake Eilers et al. 2001 ABSTRACT Sediment cores were collected from Upper Klamath Lake in October, 1998 and analyzed for 210Pb, 14C, 15N, N, P, C, Ti, Al, diatoms, ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Recent paleolimnology of Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 2001, 2005 Recent Paleolimnology of Upper Klamath Lake Eilers et al. 2001 ABSTRACT Sediment cores were collected from Upper Klamath Lake in October, 1998 and analyzed for 210Pb, 14C, 15N, N, P, C, Ti, Al, diatoms, Pediastrum, and cyanobacterial akinetes. These results were used to reconstruct changes in water quality in Upper Klamath Lake over the last 150 years. The results showed that there was substantial mixing of the upper 10 cm of sediment, representing the previous 20 to 30 years. However, below that, 210Pb activity declined monotonically, allowing reasonable dating for the period from about 1850 to 1970. The sediment accumulation rates (SAR) showed a substantial increase in the 20th century. The increase in SAR corresponded with increases in erosional input from the watershed as represented by the increases in sediment concentrations of Ti and Al. The upper 20 cm of sediment (representing the last 150 years) also showed increases in C, N, P, and 15N. The increases in nutrient concentrations may be affected to various degrees by diagenetic reactions within the sediments, although the changes in concentrations also were marked by changes in the N:P ratio and in a qualitative change in the source of N as reflected in increasing S15N. The diatoms showed modest changes, particularly in the upper sediments, with increases in Asterionellaformosa, Stephanodiscus hantzschii, and S. parvus. Pediastrum, a green alga, was well-preserved in the sediments and exhibited a sharp decline in relative abundance in the upper sediments. Total cyanobacteria, as represented by preserved akinetes, exhibited only minor changes in the last 1000 years. However, a taxon which was formerly not present in the lake 150 years ago, Aphanizomenon, has shown major increases in recent decades. Although the mixing in the upper sediments prevents high-resolution temporal analysis of the recent history (e.g. last 30 years) of Upper Klamath Lake, the results demonstrate that major changes in water quality likely have occurred leading to a major modification of the phytoplankton assemblage. The changes in sediment composition are consistent with land use activities during this period that include substantial deforestation, drainage of wetlands, and agricultural activities associated with livestock and irrigated cropland. Title: Recent paleolimnology of Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 2001, 2005 Recent Paleolimnology of Upper Klamath Lake Eilers et al. 2001 ABSTRACT Sediment cores were collected from Upper Klamath Lake in October, 1998 and analyzed for 210Pb, 14C, 15N, N, P, C, Ti, Al, diatoms, Pediastrum, and cyanobacterial akinetes. These results were used to reconstruct changes in water quality in Upper Klamath Lake over the last 150 years. The results showed that there was substantial mixing of the upper 10 cm of sediment, representing the previous 20 to 30 years. However, below that, 210Pb activity declined monotonically, allowing reasonable dating for the period from about 1850 to 1970. The sediment accumulation rates (SAR) showed a substantial increase in the 20th century. The increase in SAR corresponded with increases in erosional input from the watershed as represented by the increases in sediment concentrations of Ti and Al. The upper 20 cm of sediment (representing the last 150 years) also showed increases in C, N, P, and 15N. The increases in nutrient concentrations may be affected to various degrees by diagenetic reactions within the sediments, although the changes in concentrations also were marked by changes in the N:P ratio and in a qualitative change in the source of N as reflected in increasing S15N. The diatoms showed modest changes, particularly in the upper sediments, with increases in Asterionellaformosa, Stephanodiscus hantzschii, and S. parvus. Pediastrum, a green alga, was well-preserved in the sediments and exhibited a sharp decline in relative abundance in the upper sediments. Total cyanobacteria, as represented by preserved akinetes, exhibited only minor changes in the last 1000 years. However, a taxon which was formerly not present in the lake 150 years ago, Aphanizomenon, has shown major increases in recent decades. Although the mixing in the upper sediments prevents high-resolution temporal analysis of the recent history (e.g. last 30 years) of Upper Klamath Lake, the results demonstrate that major changes in water quality likely have occurred leading to a major modification of the phytoplankton assemblage. The changes in sediment composition are consistent with land use activities during this period that include substantial deforestation, drainage of wetlands, and agricultural activities associated with livestock and irrigated cropland. Close

• 39. [Image] 1024 - Klamath

  	[1940s]
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: 1024 - Klamath Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 1940, 2006, 2005 [1940s] Title: 1024 - Klamath Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation Year: 1940, 2006, 2005 [1940s] Close

• 40. [Image] Settlement Program - Migrant agricultural worker sacking potatoes on the farm of Jesse Prosser, homesteader of 1946

  	KP-1584-R2 - Klamath Project. Settlement Program; October 16, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Settlement Program - Migrant agricultural worker sacking potatoes on the farm of Jesse Prosser, homesteader of 1946 Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1584-R2 - Klamath Project. Settlement Program; October 16, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Title: Settlement Program - Migrant agricultural worker sacking potatoes on the farm of Jesse Prosser, homesteader of 1946 Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1584-R2 - Klamath Project. Settlement Program; October 16, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Close

• 41. [Image] Settlement Program - Migrant agricultural workers sacking potatoes on the farm of Jesse Prosser, homesteader of 1946

  	KP-1585-R2 - Klamath Project. Settlement Program. The woman in the foreground pushes the vines aside so the sacker in the background will be free to throw the potatoes into the sacks; October 16, 1947; ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Settlement Program - Migrant agricultural workers sacking potatoes on the farm of Jesse Prosser, homesteader of 1946 Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1585-R2 - Klamath Project. Settlement Program. The woman in the foreground pushes the vines aside so the sacker in the background will be free to throw the potatoes into the sacks; October 16, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Title: Settlement Program - Migrant agricultural workers sacking potatoes on the farm of Jesse Prosser, homesteader of 1946 Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1947, 2006, 2005 KP-1585-R2 - Klamath Project. Settlement Program. The woman in the foreground pushes the vines aside so the sacker in the background will be free to throw the potatoes into the sacks; October 16, 1947; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Close

• 42. [Image] Natural history and ecology of larval Lost River suckers and larval shortnose suckers in the Williamson River-Upper Klamath Lake System

  	We monitored larval Lost River and shortnose suckers from natal beds in the Williamson and Sprague rivers to nursery grounds in Upper Klamath Lake. Downstream movements occurred at night, in the middle ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Natural history and ecology of larval Lost River suckers and larval shortnose suckers in the Williamson River-Upper Klamath Lake System Author: Cooperman, Michael S. Year: 2004, 2005 We monitored larval Lost River and shortnose suckers from natal beds in the Williamson and Sprague rivers to nursery grounds in Upper Klamath Lake. Downstream movements occurred at night, in the middle of the channel, and on the falling limb of the hydrograph. Ages, sizes, and developmental stages of larvae from spawning beds and the river mouth were similar, while larvae collected contemporaneously from the lake tended to be larger and better fed. Our results indicate in-river rearing was rare, that a rapid outmigration to the lake was favorable for larval survival, and that modification of the lower Williamson River does not appear to have prohibited rapid entry or preclude access to Upper Klamath Lake. Within the Williamson River and Upper Klamath Lake, emergent macrophytes supported significantly higher abundance, larger mean sizes, and better fed larvae than submerged macrophytes, woody vegetation, or open water areas. Analysis of seven years of larval sucker production and survival corroborated the habitat analysis by identifying a positive relationship with emergent macrophyte availability as well as a positive relationship with air temperature and a negative relationship with high wind. These findings illustrate the importance of fast growth, appropriate habitat and calm hydrological conditions for larvae, and are highly consistent with other larval fish studies. Title: Natural history and ecology of larval Lost River suckers and larval shortnose suckers in the Williamson River-Upper Klamath Lake System Author: Cooperman, Michael S. Year: 2004, 2005 We monitored larval Lost River and shortnose suckers from natal beds in the Williamson and Sprague rivers to nursery grounds in Upper Klamath Lake. Downstream movements occurred at night, in the middle of the channel, and on the falling limb of the hydrograph. Ages, sizes, and developmental stages of larvae from spawning beds and the river mouth were similar, while larvae collected contemporaneously from the lake tended to be larger and better fed. Our results indicate in-river rearing was rare, that a rapid outmigration to the lake was favorable for larval survival, and that modification of the lower Williamson River does not appear to have prohibited rapid entry or preclude access to Upper Klamath Lake. Within the Williamson River and Upper Klamath Lake, emergent macrophytes supported significantly higher abundance, larger mean sizes, and better fed larvae than submerged macrophytes, woody vegetation, or open water areas. Analysis of seven years of larval sucker production and survival corroborated the habitat analysis by identifying a positive relationship with emergent macrophyte availability as well as a positive relationship with air temperature and a negative relationship with high wind. These findings illustrate the importance of fast growth, appropriate habitat and calm hydrological conditions for larvae, and are highly consistent with other larval fish studies. Close

• 43. [Image] Natural flow estimates for streams in the Klamath Basin

  	"Open file report SW 04-001"
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Natural flow estimates for streams in the Klamath Basin Author: Cooper, Richard M. Year: 2004, 2005 "Open file report SW 04-001" Title: Natural flow estimates for streams in the Klamath Basin Author: Cooper, Richard M. Year: 2004, 2005 "Open file report SW 04-001" Close

• 44. [Image] Draft upper Williamson River Watershed assessment

  	"Prepared for Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, and the Upper Williamson River Catchment Group, in cooperation with the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, and the Klamath Watershed Council."
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Draft upper Williamson River Watershed assessment Author: David Evans and Associates, Inc. Year: 2004, 2005 "Prepared for Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, and the Upper Williamson River Catchment Group, in cooperation with the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, and the Klamath Watershed Council." Title: Draft upper Williamson River Watershed assessment Author: David Evans and Associates, Inc. Year: 2004, 2005 "Prepared for Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, and the Upper Williamson River Catchment Group, in cooperation with the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group, and the Klamath Watershed Council." Close

• 45. [Image] Lakeview proposed resource management plan and final environmental impact statement [volume 1]

  	4 v.; maps (some col.); "August 2002"; "January 2003" -- cover
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Lakeview proposed resource management plan and final environmental impact statement [volume 1] Author: U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management; Lakeview Resource Area Office. Lakeview District Year: 2002, 2006, 2005 4 v.; maps (some col.); "August 2002"; "January 2003" -- cover Title: Lakeview proposed resource management plan and final environmental impact statement [volume 1] Author: U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management; Lakeview Resource Area Office. Lakeview District Year: 2002, 2006, 2005 4 v.; maps (some col.); "August 2002"; "January 2003" -- cover Close

• 46. [Image] Klamath River Basin issues and activities

  	Klamath River Basin Issues and Activities: An Overview Summary The Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, has become a focal point for local and national discussions on water ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Klamath River Basin issues and activities Author: Kyna Powers Year: 2005, 2008, 2006 Klamath River Basin Issues and Activities: An Overview Summary The Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, has become a focal point for local and national discussions on water management and water scarcity. Water and species management issues were brought to the forefront when severe drought in 2001 exacerbated competition for scarce water resources and generated conflict among several interests - farmers, Indian tribes, commercial and sport fishermen, other recreationists, federal wildlife refuge managers, environmental groups, and state, local, and tribal governments. The conflicts over water distribution and allocation are physically and legally complex, reflecting the varied and sometimes competing uses of limited water supplies in the Basin. For management purposes, the Basin is divided at Iron Gate Dam into the Upper and Lower Basins. As is true in many regions in the West, the federal government plays a prominent role in the Klamath Basin's water management. This role stems from three primary activities: (1) the operation and management of the Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Water Project and Central Valley Project (e.g., Trinity River dams); (2) management of federal lands in the Basin, including five national wildlife refuges, several national forests, and public lands; and (3) implementation of federal laws, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Conflict was sparked in April of 2001 when the Bureau of Reclamation, which has supplied water to farms in the Upper Basin for nearly 100 years, announced that "no water [would] be available" for farms normally receiving water from the Upper Klamath Lake to avoid jeopardizing the existence of three fish species listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA. While some water was subsequently made available to some farmers from other sources (e.g., wells and other Bureau sources), many farmers faced serious hardships. During Reclamation's operations in September of 2002, warm water temperatures and atypically low flows in the lower Klamath contributed to the death of at least 33,000 adult salmonids. This die-off damaged fish stocks and the tribes, commercial fishermen, and recreational anglers that catch Klamath fish. There have been many studies, Biological Opinions, and operating plans over recent years, all of which have been controversial. The events of 2001 and 2002 prompted renewed efforts to resolve water conflicts in the Klamath Basin. Congress has responded to the controversy in a number of ways, including holding oversight hearings and appropriating funds for activities in the area. This report provides an overview of recent conflict in the Klamath Basin, with an emphasis on activities in the Upper Basin, and summarizes some of the activities taking place to improve water supply reliability and fish survival. This report will be updated as events warrant. Title: Klamath River Basin issues and activities Author: Kyna Powers Year: 2005, 2008, 2006 Klamath River Basin Issues and Activities: An Overview Summary The Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, has become a focal point for local and national discussions on water management and water scarcity. Water and species management issues were brought to the forefront when severe drought in 2001 exacerbated competition for scarce water resources and generated conflict among several interests - farmers, Indian tribes, commercial and sport fishermen, other recreationists, federal wildlife refuge managers, environmental groups, and state, local, and tribal governments. The conflicts over water distribution and allocation are physically and legally complex, reflecting the varied and sometimes competing uses of limited water supplies in the Basin. For management purposes, the Basin is divided at Iron Gate Dam into the Upper and Lower Basins. As is true in many regions in the West, the federal government plays a prominent role in the Klamath Basin's water management. This role stems from three primary activities: (1) the operation and management of the Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Water Project and Central Valley Project (e.g., Trinity River dams); (2) management of federal lands in the Basin, including five national wildlife refuges, several national forests, and public lands; and (3) implementation of federal laws, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Clean Water Act (CWA), and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Conflict was sparked in April of 2001 when the Bureau of Reclamation, which has supplied water to farms in the Upper Basin for nearly 100 years, announced that "no water [would] be available" for farms normally receiving water from the Upper Klamath Lake to avoid jeopardizing the existence of three fish species listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA. While some water was subsequently made available to some farmers from other sources (e.g., wells and other Bureau sources), many farmers faced serious hardships. During Reclamation's operations in September of 2002, warm water temperatures and atypically low flows in the lower Klamath contributed to the death of at least 33,000 adult salmonids. This die-off damaged fish stocks and the tribes, commercial fishermen, and recreational anglers that catch Klamath fish. There have been many studies, Biological Opinions, and operating plans over recent years, all of which have been controversial. The events of 2001 and 2002 prompted renewed efforts to resolve water conflicts in the Klamath Basin. Congress has responded to the controversy in a number of ways, including holding oversight hearings and appropriating funds for activities in the area. This report provides an overview of recent conflict in the Klamath Basin, with an emphasis on activities in the Upper Basin, and summarizes some of the activities taking place to improve water supply reliability and fish survival. This report will be updated as events warrant. Close

• 47. [Image] An examination of the Klamath Basin crisis : restructuring the discourse within an identity-based framework

  	Thesis (B.A.) -- Whitman College, 2002; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-83)
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: An examination of the Klamath Basin crisis : restructuring the discourse within an identity-based framework Author: Dornsife, Alison M. Year: 2002, 2005, 2004 Thesis (B.A.) -- Whitman College, 2002; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-83) Title: An examination of the Klamath Basin crisis : restructuring the discourse within an identity-based framework Author: Dornsife, Alison M. Year: 2002, 2005, 2004 Thesis (B.A.) -- Whitman College, 2002; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-83) Close

• 48. [Image] Animal Briefs

  	The following list of publications is provided to furnish you with some general references on catfish farming. To obtain a free copy, or for information concerning costs, direct your request to the address ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Animal Briefs Author: Agricultural Extension, University of California Year: 1975 The following list of publications is provided to furnish you with some general references on catfish farming. To obtain a free copy, or for information concerning costs, direct your request to the address following each citation Title: Animal Briefs Author: Agricultural Extension, University of California Year: 1975 The following list of publications is provided to furnish you with some general references on catfish farming. To obtain a free copy, or for information concerning costs, direct your request to the address following each citation Close

• 49. [Image] The Klamath Project at 100 : conserving our resources, preserving our heritage

  	The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage 1905- 2005: The First Century of Water for the Klamath Project Grain Truck, Lower Klamath Lake, 2004 Prepared by Dan Keppen, ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Klamath Project at 100 : conserving our resources, preserving our heritage Author: Keppen, Dan Year: 2004, 2005 The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage 1905- 2005: The First Century of Water for the Klamath Project Grain Truck, Lower Klamath Lake, 2004 Prepared by Dan Keppen, Executive Director Klamath Water Users Association December 2004 1 1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 ) 1 1 1 I 1 I I I 003E00042195 .... rrj R13E ^ ^ T ^ I l* IILLER DIVERSION DAM MILLER CREEK AND LOST RIVER CHANNEL L. ^ ^ IMPROVEMENTS — FEATURES: Hydrography Canal Drain Dike ) ( Tunnel )—( Flume ) - - ( Siphon Pipeline Drop 9 Pumping Plant Q Irrigation District Pumping Plant H Private Utility Powerplant ik Project Headquarters Project Land Lea3 « Area MAJOR WATER DISTRICTS: Ady Dist. Improv. Co. Enterprise I. D. Horsefly I. D. Klamath Drain. Dist. Klamath I. D. Langell Valley I. D. Malin ID. Midland Dist. Improv. Co. P Canal Mutual Water Co. Pine Grove I. D. Pioneer Dist. Improv. Co. Plevna Dist. Improv. Co. Poe Valley Improv. Dist. Shasta View I. D. Sunnyside I. D. Tulelake I. D. Van Brimmer Ditch Co. Westside Improv. Dist. KLAMATH PROJECT Oregon - California N 0 12 3 4 5 Miles Background of Klamath Water Users Association The original Klamath Water Users Association was organized on March 4, 1905 under Oregon statute and capitalized in the amount of $ 2,000,000. That Association was created by local farmers, livestock producers, businessmen, bankers, attorneys, and community leaders interested in seeing the Klamath Reclamation Project constructed with the least amount of cost and for the lasting benefit of the entire Klamath community. Working in cooperation with Reclamation the stockholders of the Association contracted with the U. S. Secretary of the Interior to assume the responsibility of payment to the United States the cost of the Klamath Project irrigation works on November 3, 1905. The Association was active in bringing in lands to be served by the Project and addressing water right matters of those lands. By the 1950' s much of the construction costs of the project had been reimbursed to the United States, and irrigation districts assumed the contractual obligations for maintaining and operating the Project. The current Klamath Water Users Association ( KWUA) has its origins in the Klamath Water Users Protective Association, bylaws adopted June 22, 1953, organized to address water right and electrical power issues for Klamath Basin irrigators. The Protective Association reformed itself March 16,1993 with amended bylaws, and incorporated in 1994 as the modern Klamath Water Users Association. The KWUA represents private rural and suburban irrigation districts and ditch companies within the Klamath Project, along with private irrigation interests outside the Project in both Oregon and California in the Upper Klamath Basin. The KWUA is governed by an eleven-person board of directors elected from supporting irrigation districts, private irrigation interests, and the business community. The KWUA now represents over 5,000 water users on 1,400 family farms. Klamath Association KWUA's mission statement: To preserve, protect and defend the water and power rights of the landowners of the Klamath Basin while promoting wise management of ecosystem resources. r Table of Contents Page Executive Summary 4 Introduction 5 Overview 7 Pioneers 9 The Reclamation Act 10 The Klamath Basin Calls in the United States Government 10 Construction Begins 11 Homesteaders 13 The Klamath River Compact 15 The Klamath Project's Finishing Touches 18 New Demands 19 r Sucker Listings 20 Coho Salmon Listing 21 Problems on the East Side 22 2001 Curtailment 24 The Farmers Fight Back 26 Enter President Bush 27 Vindication: The National Research Council Steps In 28 The Assault on the Klamath Project Intensifies 29 Vindication, Part II 32 " We hate to say we told you so, but...." 33 The Klamath Project Regulatory Regime: 3 Years After the Curtailment. 34 Proactive Efforts of Upper Basin Landowners 36 Sucker Recovery Planning 36 On- the- Ground Actions 36 Environmental Water Bank 38 EQIP Funding in Klamath Basin 39 Recognition at Last 39 50 Years After the Compact - Back to the Watershed- Wide Approach 40 BOR Study on Pre- Project Flow Conditions on Upper Klamath River 40 Conclusion - The Future 41 Notes 44 Photo Credits 47 " " Executive Summary r The Klamath Project in 2005 marks its 100- year anniversary. This report summarizes the original formation of the Project, describes the enthusiastic response of the local community to the federal water project, and steps through the development of the Project in ensuing decades. The story of the pioneers, early settlers, and homesteaders who helped settle the area - veterans of both world wars - provides a sense of the character possessed by local farmers and ranchers, who had to rely on similar traits to keep their community alive when irrigation supplies were curtailed in 2001. And it explains a very important dynamic of the region, especially in recent years, where local water users are attempting to proactively address water supply challenges while at the same time trying to stave off a furious round of attacks launched by environmental activists. The immediate future remains uncertain for Klamath Project irrigators, but their marked propensity for adapting to change will keep local farmers and ranchers in business for another 100 years. In order to deal with the uncertain water situation, and facing higher power costs in 2006, the 21st century Klamath Project irrigator is adapting, by developing new market niches for products, creating innovative approaches to energy use, conserving and marketing water, and developing habitat for fish and wildlife. The same abilities shown by pioneers and veteran homesteaders beginning over a century ago to carve out new communities from the wilderness will now be employed to conserve resources and preserve their remarkable and uniquely American heritage. r A load of produce from the Klamath Fair, October 1907. • - r r The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage " We desire to impress upon your mind the fact that 99% of the people in the Klamath Basin are a unit, and are clamoring for the assistance which might be rendered by the Government under the Reclamation Act. " 1905 Petition from Basin residents to the Secretary of the Interior " The vision of the Klamath Basin as a place for human habitation must include agriculture, and an agricultural sector of sufficient size to be economically viable. This place ought to have an urban center and a scattering of pleasant small towns - and in between green fields with dancing water from irrigation works." Klamath Falls Herald & News Editorial June 20, 2004 " Agriculture plays a vital role in this state } s economy. An economic issue is one thing, for the farmers who need the resource, need the water, to be able to make a living. There fs another piece to this that ys much larger for all Oregon, and that is a cultural issue. The people here are very, very important to the future of this state. " Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, At the A Canal Fish Screen, Klamath Falls, Oregon. April 17, 2003 Introduction The year 2005 marks the one hundred- year birthday of one of the oldest federal water projects in the western United States - the Klamath Irrigation Project. As was painfully made evident in 2001, when Klamath Project supplies were curtailed for the first time in 95 years, the local community and its economy are interwoven with the health of this irrigation project. One hundred years after overwhelming national policy supported its construction, the Klamath Project continues to play a critical role in the local community. " The Klamath Project started out as a good thing, and it remains a good thing", said Tulelake farmer Rob Crawford. " When the Project was created, Klamath Basin people were meeting a national call by doing what they were supposed to do - settle the West. Today, our efforts focus on preserving our heritage, while conserving our resources." r r - r r rr At the beginning of the last century, when the local community learned that the Klamath Project would be developed, an " incredible celebration" ensued, said Paul Simmons, an attorney for the Klamath Water Users Association. " The people of the Klamath Basin basically posed a proposal to the federal government," said Simmons. " They told the government,' if you will be the plumber and the banker, we can do something good for the country.'" The federal government did just that by constructing the irrigation project. Local growers repaid the construction costs in the ensuing decades. Today, thousands of people - family farmers and ranchers, their employees, and agriculture- related businesses - make their living directly from farming and ranching in the Klamath Project. In turn, their activities support the communities of Malin, Merrill, Midland, Bonanza, Tulelake, Newell, and Klamath Falls. And, equally important, their efforts yield high- quality safe food for the country and the world. The last century has been one of massive transformation, vitality, shining hope, and deep despair for the farmers and ranchers served by the Klamath Project. The core reason for the creation of the Klamath Project - to develop water supplies and storage for irrigation uses - has been diminished as new competing demands, intended to satisfy Endangered Species Act ( ESA) and tribal trust conditions, have come on line. As a result, after perceived ESA and tribal trust obligations are met, Klamath Project irrigators and national wildlife refuges essentially get the remaining water. Because very little carryover storage is provided by Klamath Project reservoirs, the farmers now find themselves becoming increasingly reliant on incoming flows to the reservoirs, rather than the stored water that was originally developed to provide them with a reliable summertime irrigation supply. In essence, because of new laws and policies developed in the recent past, the original purpose of the Klamath Project has been somewhat lost in the shuffle. This became glaringly obvious in 2001, when for the first time in 95 years, water supplies to the Klamath Project from Upper Klamath Lake were curtailed before the irrigation season had even begun, to meet conditions set by federal fishery agencies to purportedly prevent harm to three fish species. Three and one- half years after Klamath Irrigation Project ( Project) water deliveries were terminated by the federal government, local water users are attempting to proactively address water supply challenges while at the same time trying to stave off a furious round of attacks launched by environmental activists. Project irrigators - who farm on lands straddling the California- Oregon state line - remain apprehensive about the future certainty of water n supplies. However, the strong traits shown by the original Klamath Project settlers - self-independence, creativity, a sense of community - are still apparent, one hundred years later. Without these characteristics, the tragic events of 2001 might have become nothing more than n passing headlines in the local newspaper. Instead, a galvanized community grabbed national media and political attention by forcing the rest of the country to see that things had gone too far. r r Now, Klamath Project irrigators are preparing for the next 100 years. In order to deal with the uncertain water situation, and facing higher power costs in 2006, the 21st century Klamath Project irrigator is adapting, by developing new market niches for his products, creating innovative approaches to energy use, conserving and marketing water, developing habitat for fish and wildlife, and improving the symbiotic relationship he has with neighboring national wildlife refuges. The same abilities shown by pioneers and veteran homesteaders to carve out new communities from the wilderness will now be employed to conserve resources and preserve their remarkable and uniquely American heritage. Overview The irrigable lands of the Klamath Project ( Project) are in south- central Oregon ( 62 percent) and north- central California ( 38 percent). Two main sources supply water for the Project: Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River on the Klamath system; and Clear Lake Reservoir, Gerber Reservoir, and Lost River on the Lost River system, are in a closed basin. The total drainage area for the Klamath Project, including the Lost River and the Klamath River watershed above Keno, Oregon is approximately 5,700 square miles. Currently, approximately 225,000 acres, many previously submerged, have been transformed into productive farmland. The crops grown within the Klamath Project area consist of grain, hay, pasture, silage, mint, potatoes, onions, other vegetables, alfalfa, strawberry rootstock, and horseradish. This list of crops represents the majority of planted acreage within the Klamath Project over the last 40 to 50 years. The cropping pattern has varied from year to year, but the overall planted acreage has remained consistent. The Bureau of Reclamation operates Clear Lake Dam, Gerber Dam, and the Lost River Diversion Dam. The Link River Dam is operated by the Pacific Power and Light Company in accordance with Project needs, or more recently also as directed by federal agencies. The Tulelake Irrigation District operates the Anderson- Rose Dam, and the Langell Valley Irrigation District operates the Malone and Miller Diversion Dams. The various irrigation districts operate the canals and pumping plants. The original Klamath Project plan included construction of facilities to divert and distribute water for irrigation of basin lands, including reclamation of Tule and Lower Klamath Lakes, and control of floods in the area. The development of the stored water provided by the Klamath Project allowed for the controlled, beneficial use of water in the Upper Basin. Currently, late summer and fall flows in the Lower Klamath River are augmented with stored water that would not be there, but for the Project. Under pre- Project conditions, natural controls existed below both Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna which stabilized lake levels except during critical droughts. Those controls were natural reefs of hard earth material in the channel and other channel constrictions. Under these pre- Project conditions, the Klamath River flowed into the Lower Klamath Lake area. A 1906 map titled " Topographic and Drainage Map, Upper and Lower Klamath Project" shows the invert of the Klamath Strait approximately the same level as the Klamath River channel bottom near Keno. In addition, the Lost River terminated at Tule Lake. These flows flooded approximately 183,000 acres within Lower Klamath and Tule Lake. In general, under pre- Project conditions, Klamath River flows downstream of Keno likely occurred after a certain water level was reached in the Klamath River and Lower Klamath Lake. An engineer speaking in the early days of the Project observed that adequate Klamath Project water supplies were not a worry. Rather - something that would be inconceivable today - dealing with too much water was more of a concern at the time: " It contains an irrigation problem, an evaporation problem, a run- off problem, any one of which is difficult in itself but all of which together form a most perplexing whole," said the engineer. " In nearly all reclamation projects water has to be conserved. In this project there is more than enough and the question of disposing of it becomes an important part." 1906 Map of Pre- Project Area r • r r r Pioneers Irrigation development began in areas now served by the Klamath Project in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Various landowners and entrepreneurs utilized water of the Klamath River and its tributaries, and undertook a wide range of visionary activities. Prime farmland, exposed around the edges of old historic Tule Lake as early as 1846 stimulated early settlers' interest in irrigation. Similarly, early settlers beginning in the early 1860s relied on " naturally irrigated" greases and forage in the Lower Klamath area for pasture and hay. The first irrigation ditch was dug by George Nurse and Joseph Conger in the bottom of Linkville Canyon in 1868. In 1878, this ditch was expanded and incorporated into the Linkville Water Ditch Company. Early pioneers Steele and Ankeny pursued a canal to deliver water to land between Klamath Falls and Merrill. Ultimately, the canal system was replaced by the A Canal and its distribution system which, operated by Klamath Irrigation District, continues to serve Project land to this day. t Adams Cut, July 18,1906. Diversion for irrigation of additional agricultural lands in the area now comprising the Klamath Project was initiated in 1882 with construction of an irrigation ditch by the Van Brimmer brothers to the land from White Lake, which was fed by the Klamath River. Private interests further developed this project by constructing the Adams Canal in 1886, which was supplied also from White Lake. Frank Adams, with assistance from the Van Brimmer r rr rr r Brothers, cut a canal through tule roots using hay- knives and a derrick, in order to improve diversion from White Lake. This canal ultimately extended to a length of 22 miles. By 1903, approximately 13,000 acres were irrigated by private interests, with the canal system in progress to deliver much more. After the 1905 authorization of the Klamath Project ( see below), many water rights were acquired to facilitate, and for the benefit of, the Klamath Project enterprise, and other agreements were made with other water right- holders. The Project utilized, extended, expanded and/ or improved previously existing systems, and included construction of other facilities. The Reclamation Act In 1902 Congress enacted the Reclamation Act, which encouraged the settlement of lands in the western states and the development of agricultural economies to feed the nation. The 1902 Act provided for federal financing of irrigation works, with the construction costs to be repaid over time by project water users. In addition, public lands were made available for homesteaders who accepted the responsibility to undertake improvements and pay the water charges. Both the Oregon and California legislatures also enacted laws making state- owned land available for use in the Klamath Project. The Klamath Basin Calls in the United States Government In 1903, the Reclamation Service conducted investigations that led in 1904 to the first withdrawal of land by the Secretary of the Interior for developing a federal irrigation project. J. B. Lippincott, a supervising engineer from Los Angeles - who also played a key role in the City of Los Angeles' securement of Owens Valley water supplies - personally toured the Klamath Basin in June of 1904. l Although private irrigation projects were moving forward by the turn of the century, and some large- scale projects were being planned, most local citizens saw great value in a federally authorized and supported project. In 1905, local residents sent numerous petitions to Washington, D. C. requesting government irrigation assistance. By this time, a private corporation had given notion of its plans to develop water for what would ultimately become virtually the entire Klamath Project. Ironically, after Owens Valley agricultural water rights were secured by the City of Los Angeles, many of the displaced farmers moved to the Klamath Basin for the " reliable" water supplies of the Klamath Project. On their way north, they passed the first Reclamation Project in the West - the Newlands Project, near Reno, Nevada. 10 r r r r r r r " We desire to impress upon your mind the fact that 99% of the people in the Klamath Basin are a unit, and are clamoring for the assistance which might be rendered by the Government under the Reclamation Act," stated one petitioner. In November 1904, F. H. Newell, Chief Engineer of the federal Reclamation Service, told a large audience of enthusiastic farmers in Klamath Falls that, in his judgment, they had " a great irrigation project". Early in 1905, California and Oregon had ceded certain rights in the Upper and Lower Klamath Lakes and Tule Lake to the United States. On May 1, 1904, a board of engineers made a report that served as the basis for authorization of the Project. Congress authorized the use of lands and water in accordance with the State Acts of February 1905. The Secretary of the Interior authorized development of the Project on May 15, 1905, under provisions of the Reclamation Act of 1902. Construction Begins The Interior Secretary's 1905 authorization provided for project works to drain and reclaim lake bed lands of the Lower Klamath and Tule Lakes, to store waters of the Klamath and Lost Rivers, to divert irrigation supplies, and to control flooding of the reclaimed lands. The states of Oregon and California ceded then- submerged land to the federal government for the specific purpose of having the land drained and reclaimed for irrigation use by homesteaders. The Oregon Legislature also authorized the raising and lowering of Upper Klamath Lake in connection with the Project, and allowed the use of the bed of Upper Klamath Lake for storage of water for irrigation. Construction began on the Project in 1906 with the building of the main " A" Canal. Water was first made available May 22, 1907, to the lands now known as the Main Division. 1907 Completion of the A Canal Headgates 11 r r r r r This initial construction was followed by the completion of Clear Lake Dam in 1910, the Lost River Diversion Dam and many of the distribution structures in 1912, and the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam in 1921. ( In 1970, a public dedication at the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam officially changed the name of the structure to Anderson- Rose Dam.) Constructing Clear Lake Dam, September 1909. Large stone in self- dumping car. A contract executed February 24, 1917, between the California- Oregon Power Company ( now the Pacific Power and Light Company) and the United States authorized the company to construct Link River Dam for the benefit of the Project and for the company's use, and also extended to the water users of the Klamath Project certain preferential power rates. The dam was completed in 1921. The contract was amended and further extended for a 50- year period on April 16, 1956. The Malone Diversion Dam on the Lost River was built in 1923 to divert water to Langell Valley. The Gerber Dam on Miller Creek was completed in 1925, and the Miller Diversion Dam was built in 1924 to divert water released from Gerber Dam. In the Great Depression, continued settlement and leasing and distribution construction resulted in a significant increase, between 1930 and 1939 of the acres receiving water directly from Project facilities. The project work undertaken during this period included the enlargement of the Lost River Diversion Channel. In 1940, construction was begun on Pumping Plant D and the Tule Lake Tunnel. By 1942, these facilities, as well as the P- Canal were completed. In 1943, the Ady pumping plant was placed in operation, and in the next two years, the Straits Drain and pumps were constructed and installed and began operation. 12 r r Homesteaders The story of the homesteaders is a source of great pride in the Klamath Project. As Tule Lake receded according to plan, the lake bottom became suitable for cultivation. The land that ultimately became homesteads was under jurisdiction of the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation ( Reclamation). Homesteading and developing more productive agricultural land was the goal of the reclamation project that " reclaimed" the beds of Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake to expose more arable land. After Tule Lake was dewatered, a large area of public land became available for agriculture. The government would lease this land to settlers, and in fact leased as much as 50,000 acres in Tule Lake in the 1920s. Over time, most of this land was homesteaded. In 1917,180 people applied for the 37 homestead parcels the Reclamation made available on the drained wetlands and lake beds. Between 1922 and 1937 there were five more homestead offerings and hundreds of homesteaders settled in on the fertile soil of the drained lake bed. Then, World War II curtailed the homesteading process. » rri.. . r i* Ul. r- Xio. 1 wi sat Mi M MM ttw DCCA rru. ilon _ ji « _ jra .... r. r tk. M r « i t » a-. . « *^ J •* 4. MM r* T RTMtNT Or THE X ,. . tie*. . ..< L. » ii tatwJ l u i » T « 11 r ( » T « rnr » ) xfc. ir « « . •" « » ^> « • inS| « Ut !•• « . • TTDHOII. ,.> , ^% laMitk r » u. « . orumtm. _ JBKS!*! « r._: iit_ » « « » i.. bwrlac n i M la t&. MttaJOMI ( 1* nat.. J « a>. aa4 tk* a. t* JKLaUMftULJatiLJlJrt.. . . . . W l t a . is a- S.- ..- M « ri « ia*. t u . ar tka ar. ra* al « » ot af i t kav* a » « . > n » M < aatrr. • M M MMtMl. MMM t . aa n » tn4 » r ua « « . o. rol - • M it. » • « i WMM .. 1927 Homesteader Affidavit In three drawings held in 1946, 1948 and 1949, a total of 216 World War II veterans were awarded homesteads on farmland in the Tule Lake Basin, as a thank you from a grateful nation. The number of applicants was far greater than the number of available homesteads. Veterans and the community gathered to watch the names drawn from a pickle jar. Farm homesteads and crop- producing land were the goals of reclamation, and the Tule Lake Basin became a showcase for reclamation work. 13 " When I arrived to see my homestead there was nothing there, just an expanse of opportunity," recalls Carman. " No roads, no houses, no trees, just bare ground. I then pitched my tent in the corner of my homestead." My wife Eleanor was expecting our second child, but could not join me until later. A tent was not acceptable living quarters for a young woman, a small child and another baby on the way." The settlers formed organizations, elected a school board, and went about creating a society. " When I began my new life as a Tulelake homesteader there were approximately 300 homesteaders, most of them with families," said Carman. " We united and began to build schools, churches and a hospital in Klamath Falls. We started a community. We were living the American dream and our dream was achieved by hard work and dedication, and I must say we could never have done this without our wives." Homesteaders: Robinsons in 2001 Remember Days Gone By r - The Klamath River Compact The Klamath River Compact ( Compact) is a law of both Oregon and California, consented to by and Act of Congress. In the following decade, a variety of concerns and issues led to the passage of the Compact in 1957. These included: • Differing positions regarding the extent of development that could occur under Klamath Project water rights; 15 • • The related issue of priority of Klamath Project and overall Upper Klamath Basin irrigation development as against other uses, especially generation of hydro- electric power on the mainstem Klamath River; and • Concerns over potential future out- of- basin water exports. The development of the Compact was closely tied to an application for a water right filed by the California Oregon Power Company ( Copco) in 1951. This application anticipated using water at a proposed hydroelectric project on the Klamath River known as " Big Bend No. 2." In turn, this dispute folded in past dealings, agreements and opinions related to the operation of Link River Dam on Upper Klamath Lake. The agreements made between Copco and the Bureau of Reclamation at the time of construction of Link River Dam around 1920 had been controversial. Upper Klamath Basin irrigation interests had three primary concerns: 1. Power development, as an incident of the Project's reclamation purpose, should be undertaken only by the United States; 2. That the agreements threatened Klamath Project water supplies; and 3. The agreements were inconsistent with state legislation authorizing use of Upper Klamath Lake by the United States for storage or reclamation purposes. In 1951, Copco filed an application with the Oregon Hydroelectric Commission ( OHC) for a water right for the proposed Big Bend No. 2 hydroelectric facility. The OHC at that time had authority and jurisdiction over issuance of water rights for hydropower facilities. Copco at the time of filing took the position that water was available for appropriation and Copco was entitled to a right, senior in priority, to any future Upper Klamath Basin irrigation that was not then actually developed. J. C. Boyle Dam on the Klamath River. — 16 r r • A. To facilitate and promote the orderly, integrated and comprehensive development, use, conservation and control thereof for various purposes, including, among others: the use of water for domestic purposes; the development of lands by irrigation and other means; the protection and enhancement offish, wildlife, and recreational resources; the use of water for industrial purposes and hydroelectric power production; and the use and control of water for navigation and flood prevention. B. To further intergovernmental cooperation and comity with respect to these resources and programs for their use and development and to remove causes of present and future controversies by providing ( l) for equitable distribution and use of water among the two states and the Federal Government, ( 2) for preferential rights to the use of water after the effective date of this compact for the anticipated ultimate requirements for domestic and irrigation purposes in the Upper Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California, and ( 3) for prescribed relationships between beneficial uses of water as a practicable means of accomplishing such distribution and Copco's application to the OHC, and its parallel application to the Federal Power Commission ( FPC) for a license under the Federal Power Act, were contested and opposed by the Department of the Interior and various agricultural and irrigation interests. The OHC did not act on Copco's application until 1956. The States of California and Oregon appointed commissioners to negotiate an interstate Compact. At the same time, Reclamation and local water users were negotiating a new agreement with Copco for operation of Link River Dam. It appeared that such an agreement might be concluded prior to enactment by the States of a Compact. The draft Copco contract was brought before the Compact negotiating commissioners, who sought to ensure consistency with the Compact being developed. During the course of several meetings of the Compact commissioners, terms were developed which resulted in conditions in the FPC license, the water right certificate, and a new contract for Copco's operating of Link River Dam. After preparation of various drafts, negotiation of the Compact was concluded and the legislatures of Oregon, California, as well as the United States Congress, acted in 1957. The major purposes of this compact are, with respect to the water resources of the Klamath River Basin: The Compact recognized water rights for then- existing and future needs in the Klamath Project service area. It also established a system of priority for new water rights under which Upper Basin irrigation ( up to a specified number of acres) had superior rights over water for power generation, fish or wildlife, or recreation. 17 r r r r r In short, the Klamath Compact provided guidelines to lead the competing interests of the Klamath River watershed towards a more harmonious future. For the next 40 years, the intent of the Compact was essentially fulfilled, until the early 1990s, when new pressures to address endangered fish and tribal trust demands resulted in the reemergence of fractionalized conflict into the Upper Basin. Although it had been seen as a resolution for future disputes, the Compact has been interpreted not to override the Endangered Species Act or tribal trust water rights. The Klamath Project's Finishing Touches r Through the 1950s, Reclamation envisioned continued development of the Project that would have doubled its current size by including Butte Valley, California and other areas. The plans were not implemented and the Project acreage has not significantly increased since the end of the 1940s. In the following decades, the delivery system has been improved, bottlenecks eliminated, and relatively small areas have both been brought under irrigation and converted to commercial or residential development. By 1960, due in part to improvements made on Tule Lake dikes, the M Canal, the Lost River Diversion Channel, and installation of new canals in the southern portion of the Tulelake Irrigation District ( TID) service area and the Miller Hill Pumping Plant, the Project provided irrigation service to nearly 216,000 acres. Tulelake, California In the 1960' s, improvements and expansion of certain facilities led to the formation of Klamath Basin Improvement District. The Stukel and Poe Valley Pumping Plants were constructed and the Miller Hill Pumping Plant enlarged. The D, F and G- Canals were also 18 r enlarged. These facilities provided more reliable service to certain lands and also added land to the area that could receive water from Project works. In the 1970' s, Shasta View Irrigation District and Reclamation entered a $ 3.2 million contract for installation of a pressure irrigation system to replace the previous gravity- fed system. The 1972 Project history reported, ".. . the Project provided irrigation and drainage service to 223,661 acres," while the total harvested acreage "... was 193,160, down 2,329 acres from 1971." Also in the 1970' s, the Straits Drain was enlarged. Because of the Klamath Project's design and the interrelated nature of water use within it, including the use of return flows by farmers and the refuge, Project efficiency is very high. A recent assessment of Klamath Project water use efficiency2 implies that a sophisticated seasonal pattern of water use has evolved in the Klamath Project. One must understand that the Klamath Project has developed into a highly effective, highly interconnected form of water management. According to the 1998 Davids study ( see footnote), effective efficiency for the overall Project is 93 percent, making the Klamath Project one of the most efficient in the country3. New Demands For eighty years, Klamath Project irrigation supplies proved sufficient to meet the needs of the area's burgeoning farming and ranching communities. Although there were years where Mother Nature and Klamath Project storage capacity proved insufficient to meet full irrigation demands, the local community managed to stretch thin supplies and make things work. That all changed in the early 1990s, when steadily more restrictive government agency decisions made to meet Endangered Species Act ( ESA) goals began to steadily chip away at the stored water supply originally developed for irrigation. Two sucker species were listed ( 1988) as endangered and coho salmon were listed ( 1997) as threatened under the ESA. Since then, biological opinions rendered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( for the suckers) and NOAA Fisheries ( for the coho), have increasingly emphasized the reallocation of Project water as the sole means of avoiding jeopardizing these fish. Klamath Project " operations plans" based on these biological opinions also factor in tribal trust obligations, although the nature and extent of such obligations is undefined. 2 " Klamath Project Historical Water Use Analysis", Davids Engineering for U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, October 1998. 3 For example, Tulelake Irrigation District irrigates 62,000 acres of farmland. In the 1990s, the district diverted an average of 131,000 acre- feet of water. Each year, an average of 80,000 acre- feet was pumped out of the district. Consumptive use within the district is considerably less than the amount of water diverted. The reason is the difference from the return flow from other districts and the reuse of water within the Project. 19 r Sucker Listings In the past twelve years, political and regulatory demands have affected activities at the Klamath Project. In 1988, the short nose sucker and the Lost River sucker, two species that live in Upper Klamath Lake, were designated as endangered under the ESA. Biological opinions issued by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( USFWS) in 1992 and 1994 concerning operation of the Klamath Project identified actions to avoid jeopardy to suckers. When the suckers were listed, there had been no mention whatsoever of reservoir elevations as a factor affecting sucker populations. These operation elevations were adopted by Reclamation. The reservoir elevations pertaining to Upper Klamath Lake generally allowed the Project to operate for its intended purposes. However, the United States District Court of Oregon found that the reservoir elevations pertaining to Clear Lake and Gerber Reservoirs to be arbitrary and capricious, and they were invalidated in a succession of decisions4. The most compelling and prominent reason why the federal government justified listing the two sucker species as " endangered" in 1988 was an apparent abrupt downturn in both populations during the mid- 1980s. To support the decision to list the suckers, the USFWS believed the only significant remaining populations were in Upper Klamath Lake. We now know that the assumptions by the USFWS were in error and the assumed sucker population crisis never materialized. In fact, shortly after listing of the species, the populations demonstrated dramatic increases5. r Just prior to the listing of the suckers in 1988, a sport snag fishery was allowed. Before 1969, the fishery was largely unregulated with no harvest limit; in 1969 a generous bag limit of 10 fish per angler was imposed. During the early to mid- 1980s, despite the belief that the numbers offish were in a state of rapid decline, the State of Oregon still allowed the sport snag fishery. Ultimately, because of increased focus on the status of the sucker populations, Oregon eliminated the fishery in 1987. Some fisheries experts believe that if the USFWS would have properly assessed the known impacts on the suckers caused by the snag fishery and the benefits from ceasing the fishery, it very likely could have affected the ultimate listing decision. " Simply stated, the largely unregulated snag fishery slaughtered the sucker populations," said Dave Vogel, with Natural Resource Scientists, Inc. " Since the fishery was eliminated in 1987, the two sucker populations dramatically rebounded. The threat was removed and the populations increased ten- fold." 4 Bennett v Spear, 520 U. S. 154 ( 1997); 5 F. Jupp. 2d 887 ( D. Or. 1998); Bennett v. Badgely, No. 93- 6075- HO ( April 13, 1999, June 11, 1999). 5 Vogel, David, 2004. Testimony Before the Committee on Resources ( Subcommittee on Water and Power), United States House of Representatives. Oversight Field Hearing on The Endangered Species Act 30 Years Later: The Klamath Project. 20 At the time of the listings in 1988, the Klamath Project was not identified as having known adverse affects on the sucker populations, yet four years after the listing, using limited or no empirical data, the USFWS turned to the Klamath Project as their singular focus. Paradoxically, since the early 1990s, despite new beneficial empirical evidence on the improving status of the species and lack of relationship with Klamath Project operations, the USFWS became ever more centered on Project operations and increased restrictions on irrigators instead of paying attention to more obvious, fundamental problems for the species. This circumstance caused tremendous expense in dollars and time by diverting resources away from other known factors affecting the species. Coho Salmon Listing r A similar circumstance occurred with NOAA Fisheries during and after the coho salmon listing in the lower basin in the late 1990s. It cited the reasons to list coho salmon, excluding Klamath Project operations as a significant factor affecting the species. There are many other documented factors that have affected salmon runs in the Klamath River6. The USFWS in the 1980s described the most important eight factors as " most frequently referred to with regard to recent population declines" of anadromous fish in the Klamath River. Those factors are: " • Over fishing • Logging • Trinity River transbasin diversion Irrigation diversions in lower Klamath tributaries • 1964 flood • 1976- 1977 drought • Sea lion predation • Brown trout predation. However, shortly following the listing, and with no supporting data, NOAA Fisheries chose to center its attention on the Klamath Project as the principal factor affecting coho salmon. In its biological opinions, NOAA Fisheries opined that much higher than historic flow levels, released from the stored water of the Klamath Project, would be needed to protect coho salmon downstream of Iron Gate Dam. Iron Gate Dam is located forty miles away and coho are generally found further downstream and in tributaries. 7 In essence, both agencies adopted a single- minded approach of focusing on Klamath Project operations to artificially create high reservoir levels and high reservoir releases. This puzzling, similar sequence of events has yet to be explained by agency officials. 6 KWUA biologists compiled a comprehensive listing of those factors in March 1997. 7 Vogel, David, 2004. Testimony Before the Committee on Resources ( Subcommittee on Water and Power), United States House of Representatives. Oversight Field Hearing on The Endangered Species Act 30 Years Later: The Klamath Project. 21 r " ~ Commercial harvests of salmon intensified with the development of canning technology. By the early 20th century, habitat destruction combined with commercial harvests had resulted in serious salmon depletion on the Klamath River. Cobb ( 1930) estimated that the peak of the Klamath River salmon runs occurred in 1912, Snyder ( 1931) observed " in 1912 three [ canneries] operated on or near the estuary and the river was heavily fished, no limit being placed on the activities of anyone". Problems on the East Side Irrigation districts on the east side of the Klamath Project felt the first impacts from increased regulatory focus on lake levels in the early 1990s. Langell Valley Irrigation District ( LVID) and Horsefly Irrigation District ( HID) receive water from Clear Lake and Gerber reservoirs. Historically, stored water was released from these two reservoirs beginning about April 15 and ending about October 15 each year. These reservoirs are not large, but they provide the essential water supply to an otherwise arid area. In an average year, Clear Lake releases about 36,000 acre- feet of irrigation water, and Gerber releases about 40,000 acre- feet. Clear Lake Reservoir contains populations of both endangered sucker species, and Gerber reservoir hosts one of the species. ESA-" threatened" bald eagles are also known to inhabit the Klamath Project area. In 1991, at the request of the USFWS, Reclamation initiated ESA consultation to assess the impact of the long- term operation of the Klamath Project on the suckers and the bald eagle. In the next year, three biological opinions were rendered by USFWS that imposed minimum levels in Clear Lake to purportedly protect the sucker populations. As a result of the minimum lake levels imposed by the draft biological opinions, and the water lost to evaporation before the USFWS allowed any water releases, the Districts were not able to make their normal irrigation releases during the 1992 water year. Neither district received its first seasonal water delivery until May 15, 1992, a full four weeks later than normal. By 22 r " that date, 12,000 acre- feet of the water that had been stored in Clear Lake in March 1992 had evaporated, an amount that represents about 60% of LVID's total yearly withdrawal from Clear Lake Reservoir. As a result of the minimum lake levels and the evaporation losses, only 2,148 acres of the 16,800 irrigable acres within the LVID received any Klamath Project water at all. The lack of water reduced both acreage farmed and per- acre yields that year. As a result of reduced yields, farm properties lost up to 70% of their assessed values in 1992. The lack of water also hurt the region's cattle ranching operations, because some ranchers could not produce pasture for their cattle. Water users who could afford the extra expense purchased feed to sustain their herds. Others had to cut back substantially on their herds or sell their cattle. Wildlife also suffered as a result of the decision to impose minimum surface levels in the reservoirs. Because the Lost River obtains most of its water from releases from Clear Lake Dam and return flows from agricultural operations, the water levels in the Lost River and its tributaries were exceedingly low in 1992. As a direct result, wildlife relying on Lost River water, including deer, sandhill cranes, hawks, turtles, frogs, ducks, and more, were all noticeably scarce that year. On July 22, 1992, USFWS finally issued its final biological opinion on the long- term operations of the Klamath Project. While the 1992 opinion conceded that " little" was known about Gerber Reservoir's shortnose sucker population, the opinion reported " good numbers" of these fish and noted that the Gerber sucker population appeared to be successfully reproducing, despite the lowered lake levels of the early 1990s. Despite this undisputed evidence, the 1992 biological opinion concluded that continuing to operate the Project, including Clear Lake and Gerber reservoirs, in its historic manner was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of both sucker fish species. Reclamation accepted the USFWS recommendations for continued adherence to minimum lake levels, prompting the Districts and two of the individual farmers to sue the federal agencies. Even after the federal district court entered judgment invalidating the jeopardy conclusions, USFWS defied this judgment, and the districts were forced to bring several additional motions to enforce the Court's rulings. At each stage of the legal proceedings, the districts prevailed, based largely on the fact that USFWS had no scientific evidence to justify its actions. When the United States Supreme Court considered the Districts' case against the USFWS, the Court described the purpose of the ESA's science requirement as follows: The obvious purpose of the requirement that each agency " use the best available scientific and commercial data available" is to ensure that the ESA not be implemented haphazardly, on the basis of speculation or surmise. While this no doubt serves to advance the ESA's overall goal -., of species preservation, we think it readily apparent that another objective ( if not indeed the 23 primary one) is to avoid needless economic dislocation produced by agency officials zealously but unintelligently pursuing their environmental objectives. Now, ten years later, HID and LVID enjoy positive relationships with USFWS and Reclamation. However, the problems they suffered in the early 1990s were a harbinger of things to come for other Klamath Project irrigators shortly after the turn of the new century. 2001 Curtailment The net result of increasing restrictions on other Klamath Project water users was fully realized on April 6, 2001, when Reclamation announced its water allocation for the Project after U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries officials finalized the biological opinions ( BOs) for project operations in a critically dry year. Based on those regulatory actions, Reclamation announced that - for the first time in Project's 95- year history - no water would be available from Upper Klamath Lake to supply Project irrigators. No water for most farmers April 6, 2001 Local Headlines The resulting impacts to the local community were immediate and far- reaching. Even with a later release of a small percentage of needed water over a 30- day period in July and August, thousands of acres of valuable farmland were left without water. In addition to harming those property owners, managers, and workers, also imparted an economic " ripple" effect through the broader community. The wildlife benefits provided by those farms - particularly the food provided for area waterfowl - were also lost with the water. 24 Kliewer Family in Dry Fields South of Klamath Falls - 2001 The local farming community is still reeling from the April 6, 2001 decision, and severe business losses echoed the hardship endured by farmers and farm employees. As farmers and laborers attempted to deal with the loss of jobs, a year's income, and in some cases the land itself, referrals for mental health counseling increased dramatically. The Tulelake school district lost around 50 students after farm families sold their land and moved on. Students were under stress, understandably confused as to why three species of fish were more important than their lifelong homes. Tragically, one Hispanic family had started out as field workers, and after a lifetime of piecework under the sun had saved enough to buy their own farm. They lost everything as a direct result of the irrigation cutofi . Veteran homesteaders, who fifty years ago were promised reliable water, felt betrayed by the same government, who chose to provide water to fish instead of farmers in 2001. " I want the government to honor the contract that promised me and my heirs water rights forever," said Jess Prosser, a World War II veteran and Tulelake homesteader, in 2001, after water supplies were cut. " This land is our life. Farmers and fish have survived previous drought years when the farmers voluntarily cut back on water consumption. The Klamath Project was designed to withstand drought conditions, and right now there is more than ample water for agriculture and fish. The government took 100% of the water for fish, disregarding farmers, ranchers, families and numerous other species of wildlife in the Klamath Basin. This is a man- made disaster. This will be the end of a way of life and an entire community." 1 " Calamity in Klamath", Blake Hurst. The American Enterprise magazine. October / November 2002, pp 28- 29. 25 Cemeteries Went Dry in 2001 The Farmers Fight Back The local community did not take the decision lying down. Employing the ingenuity and perseverance that allowed them to successfully create brand new communities over the past century, local farmers, ranchers, elected officials and business leaders organized a " bucket brigade" to dramatize their plight, drawing nearly 20,000 sympathizers to the streets of Klamath Falls. A web site and cell phone calling tree were set up, and farmers, who only a year before were working their fields, suddenly became knowledgeable about the media. Civil disobedience, in the form of peaceful protests at the A Canal headgates, drew television crews from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2001 Klamath Basin crisis became the topic of front- page coverage and sympathetic editorials in publications like Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Time Magazine Captures Rob Crawford & Family, Summer 2001. In part because of the tremendous media and political attention generated by the local community, a congressional field hearing was held in the summer of 2001 at the Klamath County fairgrounds, which drew the largest audience to ever attend such a hearing in the nation's history. Much of the focus was on the decision- making and processes that led to the fishery agencies' recommendation to curtail irrigation supplies. 26 In 2001, a desperate community essentially was looked in the eye and told, " sorry, we know it may hurt, but ' the science' is compelling and requires you to go without water." This was wrong, literally, and as a matter of policy. For whatever reason, the agencies had become too close to, and too much a part of, the side- taking that had come to dominate issues surrounding the Klamath Project. For this reason alone, outside review was needed. Nearly 20,000 marchers support the Klamath Bucket Brigade, May 2001. Prayer / protest at the A Canal headgates, 2001. Elected officials - from county commissioners and supervisors, to state representatives and senators, to U. S. Senators and Representatives, continued the fight, and ultimately, later in 2001, the U. S. Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, directed the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an independent peer- review of the agency decision to curtail irrigation supplies. Also, in early 2002, President Bush himself took a personal interest in the plight of the Klamath Project irrigator. Enter President Bush In January 2002, just months after the federal government curtailed Klamath Project irrigation deliveries for the first time in 97 years, Sen. Gordon Smith and Rep. Greg Walden met the president in southern California, boarded Air Force One, and took a slight detour over the Basin on their way to a Portland high school where the Mr. Bush was to deliver a speech. On the flight north, the president was briefed on the 2001 Klamath water crisis. When he entered the gymnasium at Park Rose High School, he opened his speech up with a pledge to help both the farmers and the fish of the Klamath Basin. 27 Compassion: George W. Bush Meets and Greets Klamath Basin Residents in Redmond, Oregon, 2003. In the ensuing two years, President Bush has followed through with his pledge by establishing a Klamath Basin cabinet- level working group, promoting sound and independent peer-reviewed science, and making funding of Klamath River water and environmental projects a priority. Enacted and requested Bush Administration funding in the Klamath River watershed for fiscal years 2003- 2005 exceeds $ 260 million dollars, according to a federal government summary. This includes $ 105 million proposed by the administration for Klamath Basin federal funding in the Fiscal Year 2005 budget. Vindication: The National Research Council Steps In The Klamath Water Users Association and others in the community in 2001 strongly advocated for an independent peer review of the 2001 fishery agency biological opinions, the underlying science, and the related overall scientific process. In early 2002, an interim report from the National Research Council ( NRC) Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath Basin was released. This represented a critical step towards ensuring proper assessment and maintenance of healthy fish populations. The panel successfully completed an objective, unbiased initial review of the information used by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( USFWS) and NOAA Fisheries to formulate the agencies' two 2001 Biological Opinions ( BOs). The interim NRC report concluded that there was insufficient scientific evidence used by USFWS and NOAA Fisheries in 2001 to support changing the recent historical water operations of the Klamath Project. Specifically, the NRC interim report concluded that higher or lower than recent historical lake levels or Klamath 28 rr r rrr r r r River flows were not scientifically justified based on the available information used by the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries. Despite varying interpretations of the data used by the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries in the BOs, it is especially noteworthy that the NRC panel achieved consensus on the Interim Report's conclusions for not just one, but both BOs. The report's conclusions were adequately supported by the available evidence and analyses used by USFWS and NOAA Fisheries. It was particularly evident that the NRC Committee report was fair and impartial, essential attributes that were sorely lacking in Klamath basin issues to date. The Assault on the Klamath Project Intensifies The release of the NRC Committee's interim report in early 2002 unleashed a barrage of criticism from environmental activists and their allies in academia and government agencies. Two Oregon State University professors, supporters of the high lake level requirements that contributed to the 2001 water curtailment, submitted a formal " rebuttal" of the interim report to a fisheries journal. The " rebuttal" ( so labeled when transmitted by its authors) and other media developments caused the Klamath Project community to fear that the NRC work would be diluted. The local community simply did not have the resources or the networks of contacts to continually counter the anti- Klamath Project messages that were being sent to the public and policymakers, primarily by outside environmental activist organizations. The NRC Committee's interim report triggered what grew to be an extraordinary, and obviously coordinated, attack on the Klamath Project by these interests. Media outlets seemingly relish a good western fight, and many uncritically reprinted a good deal of information that was not fair to Klamath Basin irrigators. The scrutiny on the Klamath Project and the Bush Administration's reliance on the NRC interim report intensified further that fall, when 33,000 salmon died on the lower Klamath River. Immediately after the unfortunate die- off, vocal critics of Project operations and Bush Administration environmental policy used the event to renew attacks on irrigated agriculture in the Klamath Basin. Even though the fish die- off occurred 200 miles downstream from the Project, at a location below the confluence of the main stem Klamath River and the Trinity River, traditional advocates for higher river flows quickly assigned blame to Klamath Project farmers and ranchers. Some of these same interests and others in the environmental community even attempted to directly link the fish die- off to alleged political maneuvering orchestrated by senior policy officials in the Bush Administration. As a result, presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry called on the U. S. Interior Department's Inspector General to look into whether " political pressure from the White House is intimidating staff and influencing policy" in Klamath River management decisions. Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney's report - released in March 2004- found " no evidence of political influence affecting the decisions pertaining to the water in the Klamath Project." 29 r r r r r r Eugene Register- Guard Why the salmon died: Pattern points to Bush administration policies A Register- Guard Editorial A 2002 Editorial Headline Between 2002- 2004, the fish die- off was effectively spun by Klamath Project critics to drive a dizzying array of attacks aimed at the Bush Administration and federal agencies responsible for Klamath Project management. Well- coordinated media coverage surrounding several acts of litigation and proposed federal legislation in the two years since the fish die- off have effectively imprinted the environmentalists' message in the minds of many: • " Fish need water"; • " Klamath Project farmers were denied water in 2001 and no fish died in the Klamath River"; • " Klamath Project farmers received full supplies in 2002, and 33,000 salmon died in the river"; • " The Bush Administration sacrificed fish for the benefit of farmers." The claims discussed above are just a few of the more prominent arguments that Klamath Project critics have employed to justify a series of actions undertaken in the wake of the public release of the interim NRC Committee report, including the following: • Federal legislation that would finalize a controversial and flawed draft Klamath River flow report. • Unsuccessful federal legislation that would restrict the ability of local lease land farmers to grow row crops. • Litigation ( PCFFA v. USBR) that, if successful, would have likely shut down Klamath Project operations in 2003. • Public protests staged by tribal members and environmentalists in Klamath Falls in 2002 and in Sacramento in 2003. 30 Listing of the Klamath River as the third most endangered waterway in the country by American Rivers, a Washington, D. C. - based activist group. An unsuccessful lawsuit filed by environmental groups against NOAA Fisheries to hasten the potential ESA listing of the green sturgeon. The release of an Oregon Natural Resources Council ( ONRC) report, which contends that voluntary buyouts of willing sellers within the Project " remain the most politically responsible, socially just, and economically viable method" to address power and ecological challenges. A subsequent letter sent by ONRC to Project landowners, tempting them with the promise of a buyout that would provide them with 2 '/ z times the fair market value of their land. Numerous editorials, journal articles and magazine stories that clearly accept the arguments made by Project critics. However, others did not jump so quickly on to the " blame game bandwagon." During late summer and early fall of 2002, Dave Vogel, a fisheries biologist with 28 years of experience, conducted a field investigation to assess water temperatures in the main stem Klamath River. - Vogel noted that main stem water temperatures in the Klamath River were measured hourly just prior to and during the fall- run Chinook salmon migration season. He found that water temperatures in the upper Klarnath River downstream of Iron Gate Dam during September 2002 were unsuitable for adult salmon, a finding that was similar to that of previous studies. As expected, a normal seasonal cooling trend at the end of September and early October provided the moderating influence lowering Klamath River temperatures to tolerable levels for salmon. Vogel also found that large numbers of salmon entered the lower Klamath River earlier than usual and were exposed to two dramatic and uncharacteristic cooling and warming conditions causing disease outbreak from warm water and crowded conditions. The combination of these factors was chronically and cumulatively stressful to fish and is probably the most plausible reason for the fish die- off. " In my opinion, the best available scientific data and information indicate that the continued operation and maintenance of historical flows at Iron Gate Dam will not jeopardize coho salmon," said Vogel in March 2003. " Furthermore, in my opinion the operations of Iron Gate Dam during the summer and fall of 2002 did not cause and could not have prevented the fish die- off in the lower Klarnath River." Unfortunately, scant media coverage was afforded to Vogel's findings. Outside of the Upper Basin, the press made no mention of the fact that, despite the die- off, the numbers of fish returning to Iron Gate hatchery on the Klamath River were the third highest in 40 years. The media also largely ignored a similar finding made in October 2003 by the National Research Council Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fish in the Klamath Basin. In its final report, the Committee failed to find a linkage between the operation of the Klamath Project and the fish die- off, and questioned whether changes federal project operations at the time would have prevented it. Clearly, the hard working landowners of the Upper Klamath Basin have been on the receiving end of a cruel and long- distance war being waged by environmental activists who assert that the federal water project - representing only 2 percent of the total land base of the Klamath River watershed, and consuming only 3- 4 percent of the average annual flows to the Pacific Ocean - is somehow responsible for all of the environmental woes of the river system. These advocates are intent on portraying the Klamath Basin as a poster child to help fuel outside efforts that are focused on litigating, legislating and publicly condemning the local community for doing what it has done for 98 of the last 99 years - irrigating farm and ranch land. r r r r These interests know that federal water projects are an easy target of litigation, since federal environmental and clean water laws govern project operations. The lawsuits are often aimed at federal entities - such as the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation and fishery agencies - which, on the surface, give the appearance that the environmental plaintiffs are simply interested in correcting errors made by some non- descript governmental agency. The true intended target of these actions, however, ultimately becomes the landowners and water users who fall under the management jurisdiction of the federal agencies. It is the farmers and ranchers that pay the price of litigation through altered management practices, increased uncertainty, and escalating legal expenses to defend their interests. For the most part, the potentially damaging effects these actions could cause family farmers and ranchers have been deflected. However, local water users are concerned that permanent Klamath River policy will be influenced by misinformation in the future. Vindication, Part II After an 18- month barrage of anti- Klamath Project attacks in the media and courtrooms, the long- awaited final report from the National Research Council ( NRC) Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath Basin was released in October 2003. The final NRC report is important to local farmers and ranchers for several key reasons: 1. The report clearly indicated that recovery of endangered suckers and threatened coho salmon in the Klamath Basin cannot be achieved by actions that are exclusively or primarily focused on operation of the Klamath Project. 2. The committee also reconfirmed its findings from the earlier interim report that found no evidence of a causal connection between Upper Klamath Lake water levels and sucker health, or that higher flows on the Klamath River mainstem help coho salmon. 3. The NRC committee did not accept arguments that the operation of the Klamath Project caused the 2002 fish die- off or that changes in the operation of the Project at p the time would have prevented it. 32 r ~ r r Despite the final conclusions, some environmentalists and many in the media continue to maintain the sensational but unsupported position that the Klamath Project was responsible for the 2002 fish mortality that occurred over 200 miles from the Klamath Project. The final NRC report was consistent with what Upper Basin interests have been saying for years: the Klamath Project cannot solely bear the burden for species recovery in this basin. A watershed- wide approach to species recovery - one that addresses all the stressors to fish - is essential to improving the environment and saving the local economy. Local water users shared the NRC report's vision that increased knowledge, improved management, and cohesive community action would promote recovery of the fishes. At the same time, they remained extremely concerned that the " business as usual" approach - regulation of the Klamath Project - would remain the dominant aspect of ESA biological opinions and advocacy of Project opponents. For reasons now clearly evident, the irrigators' original recommendation for an outside technical review of the ESA activities in the Klamath basin by an objective group such as the r National Academy of Sciences back in 1993 ( KWUA 1993) was an important first step. The benefits of an ESA peer review are obvious after reading the NRC's final report. " We are beginning to see signs of progress with ESA activities in the basin," said Dave Vogel, nearly one year after the release of the final NRC Committee report. " However, alarmingly, there are some individuals within the agencies that are in a state of denial over the findings and conclusions of the NRC's report. Despite the NRC's final report, the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries still have too much focus on the Klamath Project and not enough emphasis on a watershed- wide approach." Other experts agree. " We found that the prevailing scientific sentiment in the basin-' More water is better for fish'- was the wrong approach," NRC Committee member Jeffrey Mount told California Farmer magazine in December 2003, two months after the final NRC report was released. " We hate to say we told you so, but...." It is very important to note that many of the most pertinent findings, conclusions, and r recommendations of the NRC Klamath Committee were not new to the USFWS or NOAA Fisheries. Dave Vogel elaborated on this in testimony he provided to the House Resources Committee at a field hearing held in Klamath Falls in June 2004. " The NRC final report advocates a watershed approach, peer review, greater stakeholder involvement, oversight of agency actions, focus on factors other than the Klamath Project 33 r operations, reduction of resource conflicts, and incorporation of the principles of adaptive management toward species recovery," said Vogel. " Over the past decade, local water users and their allies forwarded much of the same and similar technical findings and recommendations to those two agencies, but were mainly ignored. Additionally, the NRC's major conclusion that there is insufficient scientific justification for high reservoir levels and high instream flows was always prominent in water users' technical comments on the agencies' biological opinions during the past decade." r " The NRC Klamath Committee's final report was an outstanding effort and the product must serve as a catalyst to advance balanced natural resource management in the basin," Vogel said. " If federal agencies meaningfully incorporate many of the NRC's principal findings, conclusions, and recommendations, we fully expect positive results to the species recovery and reduced resource conflicts. We should use the momentum of the NRC's final report to guide recovery efforts and watershed improvements. However, if the agencies do not take this pro- active approach, we could again return to the disaster that transpired in 2001." • Dr. Mount agrees. r " For too long, Klamath managers have relied on fixing their problems by turning only one knob- the knob of raising and lowering water levels in Upper Klamath Lake and the river," said Mount, a University of California professor. " They need to take new approaches that support multiple populations offish and healthy ecosystems throughout the watershed," he said. The Klamath Project Regulatory Regime: 3 Years After the Curtailment The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation's final 10- year Biological Assessment for Klamath Project 2002- 2012 operations properly incorporated the findings of the 2002 interim National Research Council's ( NRC) interim report, and generally captured the essence of the " watershed- wide" philosophy endorsed in the final 2003 NRC report. Unfortunately, the fishery agency biological opinions ( BOs) do not. Despite the so- called ecosystem approach to species recovery advocated by the USFWS and NMFS, their actions in the Klamath basin over the past decade amply demonstrates that the exact opposite took place. They focused on: 1) a single- species approach; and 2) Klamath Project operations. The USFWS opinion continues to perpetuate the questionable assumption that lake level management is the principle mechanism affecting sucker survival in Upper Klamath Lake ( UKL). The NOAA Fisheries jeopardy decision similarly continues to place high emphasis on downstream flows. The stored water developed for Klamath Project farmers continues to be reallocated to meet the artificial demands set by agency biologists. 34 r The combined - and apparently, unanticipated - impacts placed on the Upper Basin community from the application of the two opinions are unacceptable. On June 25th, 2003, local irrigators were told by Reclamation officials that UKL diversions to the Project would be shut down for a minimum of 5 days - in the middle of the growing season. By day's end, reason prevailed: the agencies backed off their initial request9 and instead, Reclamation notified farmers to continue their efforts to reduce diversions from the lake. This was driven by one apparent agency mission: to avoid dropping UKL one inch below a lake level requirement established by the USFWS. Rancher Gary Wright learns that the Klamath Project would be shut down in the middle of the irrigation season, June 25, 2003. Common sense prevailed, and later in the day, Reclamation rescinded its earlier decision. In addition to the continued uncertainty irrigators face, the opinions are generating new, unanticipated impacts to the community. In the past 40 to 50 years, while the cropping pattern in the Klamath Project has varied from year to year, the overall planted acreage has remained consistent. On the other hand, the 2002- 2012 biological opinion created by NOAA Fisheries for coho salmon established the river flow schedule and an " environmental water bank" - which ratchets up to 100,000 acre- feet in 2005, regardless of actual hydrologic conditions - that is the primary source of new demand for water in the Klamath River watershed. The result: stored water that has flowed to farms, ranches and the refuges for nearly 100 years is now sent downstream at such high levels, that groundwater pumped from the Lost River basin is being used to supplement the resulting " coho salmon demand" in the Klamath River. 9 Improved coordination between USFWS managers and their Reclamation counterparts in Klamath Falls and Sacramento was one important reason for the positive corrective action that was taken. 35 It is not the farmers who have imposed new water demands that, in essence, have made groundwater the default supplemental supply to the Klamath Project. It is the opinions of agency fishery biologists who have fundamentally altered how this century- old water project operates, and who have apparently failed to anticipate the resulting impacts to the community. While Reclamation in 2002 sharply disagreed with the findings of both fishery agency biological opinions, it is not yet clear how consultation will be reinitiated to create a new operations plan. Proactive Efforts of Upper Basin Landowners Since the early 1990s, and particularly in the new millennium, local water users - both within the Klamath Project and those who farm in upstream areas north of Upper Klamath Lake - have taken proactive steps to protect and enhance water supplies, enhance the environment, r and stabilize the agricultural economy. Farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Project have consistently supported restoration actions to improve habitat for the basin's fish and wildlife species. Sucker Recovery Planning KWUA in 1993 published the Initial Ecosystem Restoration Plan - the first ecosystem- based, scientifically valid planning document on Klamath Basin restoration. The plan placed particular emphasis on real, on- the- ground projects to recover endangered species. It was widely recognized as a meaningful assessment of necessary restoration activities. KWUA in 2001 reiterated its previous call with the release of a report entitled Protecting the Beneficial Uses of Upper Klamath Lake: A Plan to Accelerate Recovery of the Lost River and Shortnose Suckers. The 2001 report provided timelines and budgets for dozens of projects that could provide real benefits. Regrettably, until the past three years, there has been failure to effectively implement most of the on- the- ground activities proposed by KWUA. On- the- Ground Actions Local agricultural and business leaders have dedicated thousands of volunteer hours and have spent millions of dollars in the past ten years to participate in processes associated with environmental restoration, Klamath Basin water rights adjudication, dispute resolution, drought- proofing, and water supply enhancement. Most impressive, however, is the multitude of actions undertaken on- the- ground: • Local efforts to assist National Wildlife Refuges ( e. g. " Walking Wetlands") • Ecosystem Enhancement and Sucker Recovery Efforts in the Upper Basin • Fish Passage Improvement Projects • Wildlife Enhancement and Wetland Restoration Efforts • Local Efforts to Improve Water Quality 36 • Power Resource Development • Efforts to Improve Klamath Project Water Supply Reliability and Water Use Efficiency Many of these efforts were driven by an initial desire to implement meaningful restoration actions intended to provide some sort of mitigation " credit" that could be applied towards reducing the burden carried by Klamath Project irrigators to " protect" threatened and endangered fish species. For many years, that credit was not recognized. For example, Federal agencies or non- profit conservation groups have acquired over 25,000 acres of farmland in the Upper Klamath Basin for habitat purposes. Each time the agencies sought additional land, they promised that each acquisition would provide environmental benefits, reducing pressure on the Klamath Project's family farmers and ranchers. Those promises have not materialized, and Project irrigation water still remains the sole regulatory tool used to address federal ESA objectives for endangered suckers and threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River watershed. • TEAMWORK A broad range of partners include U. S. Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation. CalOre Wetlands. Tulelake Growers Association, Audubon Society. Tulelake Irrigation District, California Waterfowl Association. University of California. Ducks Unlimited. Klamath Water Users Association. USDA NRCS. Leaseland Advisory Council, and numerous volunteer organizations. A page from the " Refuge" section of the tule- Iake. com website. Environmental Water Bank KWUA in early March 2003 announced it would support, and assist the Department of Interior in the implementation of, a Klamath Project Pilot Environmental Water Bank in 2003 to provide over 50,000 acre- feet of additional water for environmental purposes. Reclamation's 10- year Biological Assessment ( BA) developed in February 2002 proposed an environmental water bank through which willing buyers and sellers will provide additional water supplies for fish and wildlife purposes and to enhance tribal trust resources. The 2002- 2012 biological opinion created by NOAA Fisheries for coho salmon firmly established the river flow schedule and the water bank - which ratchets up to 100,000 acre- feet in 2005, regardless of actual hydrologic conditions - that is the primary source of new demand for water in the Klamath River watershed. 37 The coho biological opinion's rigid water bank schedule, which steps up the magnitude of the bank for the first four years, regardless of actual hydrology, is difficult to justify. This type of water bank does not reflect the intent of either the proposal put forth by KWUA in 2002 ( see below), or the original USBR biological assessment, which proposed implementation of a water bank in drier years, not every year. Water users committed to pursue developing a water bank with Reclamation in January 2002. At that time, KWUA was asked by Reclamation to develop a Project- wide water bank to assist with meeting environmental water demands in drier years. KWUA's Water Bank and Supply Enhancement Committee held over 30 meetings in 2002- 03 to develop the 65- page report/ proposal for a long- term water bank, which differs substantially from the pilot water bank proposed by Reclamation this past year. Certainty of water supplies is a key principle imbedded in KWUA's long- term water bank proposal. Local water users insist that, in exchange for voluntary participation in a Project water bank - which would be used to " fund" environmental water needs - 100% of the irrigation demand for remaining Project acreage will be satisfied, season- long. Water users further believe that the water bank cannot be viewed as a stand- alone element. While Reclamation's 2003 and 2004 pilot programs did not closely resemble KWUA's vision for a long- term bank, water users are hopeful that Reclamation and Interior will look to the irrigators' document to complete its 10- year water bank proposal. EQIP Funding in Klamath Basin The federal government in 2003 released $ 7 million in conservation funding to the Klamath Basin. This sum represents a portion of the $ 50 million in funding earmarked for the Basin in the 2002 Farm Bill under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program ( EQIP). KWUA was instrumental in securing these provisions during Farm Bill negotiations. In 2004, Interior Secretary Norton included another $ 12 million for this program in the president's 2005 budget request. The funds provided cost- share payments to farmers and ranchers to employ water conservation measures. Over 800 Klamath Basin landowners have applied to participate in this program, despite the requirement that they pay 25% of the costs. This shows remarkable commitment by local irrigators to do the right thing, despite the fact that many of these landowners are still recovering from the financial impacts of the 2001 water curtailment. Recognition at Last In the past year, local irrigators have finally begun to get the recognition - if not the actual regulatory relief- they deserve for their proactive efforts. To wit: • KWUA was awarded the 2003 " Leadership in Conservation" award by the Oregon Department of Agriculture; • KWUA in 2004 was honored on the steps of the Oregon state capitol for " exemplifying the spirit" of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds; 38 Tulelake Irrigation District in January 2004 received the F. Gordon Johnston award for its innovative canal lining project completed near Newell; and U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and NRCS chief Bruce Knight in 2004 recognized local rancher Mike Byrne for his leadership in conservation. NRCS Chief Bruce Knight ( left) with 2004 Excellence in Conservation Award winner Mike Byrne. It is clear that local irrigators have not been idle in the past ten years. Their efforts to improve their environment are all the more impressive when one considers that the uncertainty and difficulty associated with keeping their farming operations profitable have not diminished. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, Congressman Greg Walden and KWUA Executive Director Dan Keppen at the new A Canal Headgates, April 2003. 39 50 Years After the Compact - Back to the Watershed- Wide Approach Klamath Project water users in October 2004 enthusiastically greeted the announcement that the states of California and Oregon and the Bush Administration had signed the historic " Klamath River Watershed Coordination Agreement". The agreement - signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, and four of President Bush's cabinet level secretaries - underscored the commitment of these parties to solve the fisheries challenges of the Klamath River on a watershed - wide basis. The state- federal Klamath agreement reflects the philosophy embedded in both the Klamath River Basin Compact and the 2003 NRC Klamath report, which confirmed that Klamath Basin issues must be dealt with in an integrated and comprehensive way for a lasting solution of the challenges facing the basin. The NRC committee report makes clear that merely closing the spigot on the Klamath Project will not solve the problems facing Klamath Basin fisheries, and that strategy obviously was disastrous for farming and ranching communities. The coordination agreement recognizes that message and promotes a unified effort that many water users believe is much needed. An important part of this agreement is that it supports the Conservation Implementation Program ( CIP), a work in progress proposed by federal agencies to coordinate management actions in the Klamath River watershed. The CIP would meld a scientific advisory body, local communities, and resource agencies to identify, coordinate and resolve the Basin's critical water quality, water quantity and fish and wildlife restoration challenges. KWUA is working with other producer groups and local government to develop guidelines that make the CIP workable and acceptable to Klamath Basin communities. USBR Study on Pre- Project Flow Conditions on Upper Klamath River Reclamation in late 2004 finalized a draft study intended to provide a glimpse at how the Klamath River might have looked before the Klamath Project was built. The report shows that- especially in drier years - historic flows in the Klamath River near Keno, Oregon dwindled to a mere trickle. The report provides compelling evidence that supports claims made by local residents for decades - the stored water provided by the Klamath Project may actually provide more flows downriver than what would have flowed before the Project was built. This is primarily due to the developed storage and the fact that farmlands that were once under water now use less water than what was historically lost to consumptive and evaporative use of the former marshes. 40 Ufric; lfftid Kur , Jhm% tr Excerpt from Draft BOR Flow Study 41 Conclusion - The Future To solve the problems of the Klamath River watershed, we need a coordinated management program that spans two states in a watershed that is characterized by a strong federal presence. Competition among stakeholder groups - including four tribes, agricultural water users, and countless environmental groups - is fierce. In order to be successful, we need to better understand the real state of the watershed by developing the facts and best possible information to make the best possible decisions. Collaborations need to replace ideological advocacies; watershed wide approaches need to replace regionalism; and honest exchanges of information need to displace environmental sensationalism. A June 20, 2004 editorial published by the Klamath Falls Herald & News provides an apt glimpse of what the future might bring to the Klamath irrigation community and how the Klamath Water Users Association will address that future: Recently, the Klamath Water Users Association got an award for not using water, which is not a contradiction in terms at all. It's a matter of doing what has to be done to keep farming and ranching alive in the Klamath Basin. The award was from the state of Oregon and recognized the water users' efforts in behalf of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. It was presented to the group in a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol with leaders such as Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Legislature participating. The award recognizes a welter of actions in the Basin, some using federal and state dollars and some not, many aimed at making agricultural operations more efficient water users. Some have given agriculture interests heartache, such as the conversion of farmlands to wetlands - the water users cite 24,000 acres in the past decade, equal to more than a tenth of the Klamath Reclamation Project. Nevertheless, it's clear that farmers and ranchers have recognized their predicament given the pressure of the Endangered Species Act and competition for water from Indian tribes upstream and down. Agriculture is in the midst of a struggle that could take decades yet to play out, and its defenders are determined that they will survive. This is a longer- term version of the creativity they showed in 2001, when, faced with imminent ruin, they responded with skill and imagination in a political protest that brought national attention and saved Basin agriculture to fight another day. The vision of the Klamath Basin as a place for human habitation must include agriculture, and an agricultural sector of sufficient size to be economically viable. This place ought to have an urban center and a scattering of pleasant small towns - and in between green fields with dancing water from irrigation works. ~ 42 Whatever alternate vision exists involves blowing away towns such as Merrill Malin and Tulelake and shriveling the city ofKlamath Falls. It involves throwing lots of people off the land, and itfs not acceptable. This is not the first such award, and won't be the last. It is a signal of a widening recognition in Oregon and the nation that farmers and ranchers will do good things here to make sure that they can continue in their necessary and honorable work. The Klamath Water Users Association, with the talents and support of the community, will continue to address the resource needs of its constituency in a proactive and creative manner. The KWUA has shown itself to be steadfast and able in protecting water users while being receptive to innovative and reasonable solutions. Our irrigating communities, through the continued efforts of the KWUA, will always be persistent and adaptable representatives of our American heritage. The " future".. . bring it on, we can handle it. r Father and daughter ride to the headgates, summer 2001. 43 Notes Information sources used in the preceding report sections are further described below. Overview The source for much of this information comes from the Klamath Water Users Association 2003 Water Bank report. Pioneers The Department of the Interior, United States Reclamation Service 1913 report entitled " History of the Klamath Project. Oregon- California. From May 1, 1903 to December 13, 1912", written by I. S. Voorhees, contains detailed accounting of early irrigation works in the Upper Klamath Basin. Paul Simmons of Somach Simmons and Dunn also made significant contributions based on research he and his staff conducted on behalf of Klamath Project water users in the State of Oregon Klamath River adjudication process. The Klamath Basin Calls in the United States Government *— The Voorhees document, noted above, details this issue. Construction Begins The source for much of this information comes from the Klamath Water Users Association 2003 Water Bank report, the Voorhees report, and the affidavit and testimony of Rebecca Meta Bunse, who in 2004 prepared a detailed historic summary of Klamath Project development on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators for the Klamath River adjudication process. ( Reference No. 003E00040050, before the Office of Administrative Hearings, State of Oregon, for the Water Resources Department). Paul Simmons of Somach Simmons and Dunn also made significant contributions based on research he and his staff conducted on behalf of Klamath Project water users in the State of Oregon Klamath River adjudication process. The Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Basin Area Office also provided factual data on the Klamath Project. Homesteaders The Journal of the Modoc County Historical Society, No. 18- 1996, focuses exclusively on twentieth century development of the Tule Lake area. Betty Lou Byrne- Shirely's " The Reclamation of Tule Lake" and the February 1947 Reclamation Era article " Gold Mine in the Sky", both included in the Modoc County historical journal, served as sources for the homesteader information. Quotes made by Dave Carman, a World War II veteran Tule Lake homesteader, were pulled from his testimony submitted at a House Resources Committee field hearing in Klamath Falls in June 2004. The Klamath River Compact The source for much of this information regarding development of the Compact comes from the affidavit and testimony of Stephen R. Wee, who in 2004 prepared a detailed historic summary of Klamath Project water rights and related issues on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators for the Klamath River adjudication process. ( Reference No. 003E00040049, before the Office of Administrative 44 - r Hearings, State of Oregon, for the Water Resources Department). The conclusion of this section contains the actual purposes of the Compact, as identified in Article I of that document. The Klamath Project's Finishing Touches The source for much of this information comes from the Klamath Water Users Association 2003 Water Bank report, the Voorhees report, and the affidavit and testimony of Rebecca Meta Bunse, who in 2004 prepared a detailed historic summary of Klamath Project development on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators for the Klamath River adjudication process. ( Reference No. 003E00040050, before the Office of Administrative Hearings, State of Oregon, for the Water Resources Department). Paul Simmons of Somach Simmons and Dunn also made significant contributions based on research he and his staff conducted on behalf of Klamath Project water users in the State of Oregon Klamath River adjudication process. New Demands Legal documents prepared by the Klamath Water Users Association attorney - Paul Simmons, of Somach, Simmons & Dunn - provide much of the background information regarding the steadily increasing regulations faced by Project irrigators, starting in the 1990s. Specifically, the plaintiffs' memorandum of points and authorities in support of motion for preliminary injunction ( Kandra et al v. United States of America) was relied upon. Also, David Vogel's testimony before the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Resources oversight field hearing in June 2004 provides an excellent treatise on the real reasons for the decline of suckers in the Upper Klamath Basin. The Klamath Water Users Association previously developed the section that assesses stressors to coho salmon during the 1990s. Problems on the East Side This section derives from an excellent letter ( dated July 28, 2004) prepared by Best Best & Krieger on behalf of Horsefly Irrigation District and Langell Valley Irrigation District. The letter was submitted to the U. S. House of Representatives Resources Committee in connection with a congressional field hearing held in Klamath Falls in July 2004. 2001 Curtailment Of the numerous media accounts of the 2001 water cutoff, I believe Blake Hurst's piece " Calamity in Klamath", which originally was published in The American Enterprise magazine in late 2002, is the best. I have borrowed liberally from Mr. Hurst, particularly his assessment of the impacts to the community of Tulelake, California. Jess Prosser's comments were originally printed in Range Magazine in 2001. The Farmers Fight Back The comments regarding the " desperate community" were pulled from an outstanding paper presented by Paul Simmons at the American Bar Association Environmental Section Fall 2004 Meeting. 45 Enter President Bush I was in the audience when President Bush made his speech in Portland. After the president's speech, I met Congressman Greg Walden for the first time; he conveyed to me some of the details of the president's flight over the Klamath Basin earlier in the day. Vindication: The National Research Council Steps In This section was derived from press statements developed by KWUA in early 2002. The Assault on the Klamath Project Intensifies Most of this section derives from personal experience, and the latter part was pulled directly from an opinion piece I was asked to write for a Boise, Idaho newspaper at the request of Idaho water users who were also being attacked by some of the same activists engaged in Klamath issues. Vindication, Part II / " We hate to say we told you so, but...." Much of this information originates in Dave Vogel's written testimony that he submitted to the House Resources Committee in June 2004. After more than a decade of professional and sometimes, personal criticism by agency and tribal biologists, the final NRC Report perhaps vindicated Dave Vogel more than anyone else. The Klamath Project Regulatory Regime: 3 Years After the Curtailment This section was written based on personal experience of the author. Proactive Efforts of Upper Basin Landowners We refer you to www. kwua. org and a 45- page document entitled Summary of Recent and Proposed Environmental Restoration and Water Conservation Efforts Undertaken by Klamath Water Users and Basin Landowners for further information on this topic. 50 Years After the Compact - Back to the Watershed- Wide Approach This perspective comes from KWUA assessments and press releases. USBR Study on Pre- Project Flow Conditions on Upper Klamath River The USBR study is incredibly important, because, for the first time, it provides a numerical modeling assessment of the conditions that likely existed on the Upper Klamath River before Europeans settled the area. Prior to this effort, assertions that flow conditions in the river were likely lower than the present could only be backed up by anecdotal ( albeit accurate) reports and incomplete flow studies. Conclusion - The Future The June 20, 2004 Herald & News editorial on recent water user efforts provided a fitting ending to this report, which is further enhanced by language developed by Steve Kandra, 2004- 05 KWUA President. 46 Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California Photo Credits 1. Cover photo - courtesy of Jacqui Krizo. 2. Map of Klamath Project - courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation. 3. " A load of produce from the Klamath Fair, October 1907" - courtesy of Tulelake- Butte Valley _ Fair, Museum of Local History ( TBVF Museum). 4. " 1906 Map of Pre- Project Area" - courtesy of Oregon Water Resources Department. 5. " Adams Cut, July 18, 1906" - courtesy of Tulelake - Butte Valley Fair, Museum of Local History. 6. " 1907 Completion of the A Canal Headgates" - courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. 7. " Constructing Clear Lake Dam, September, 1909" - courtesy of TBVF Museum. 8. " 1927 Homesteader Affidavit" - courtesy of Somach, Simmons and Dunn 9. " Farm Lottery Article, Life Magazine" - courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation. 10. " The Sign Says it AH" - courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. 11. " Homesteaders: Robinsons in 2001 Remember Days Gone By" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 12. J. C. Boyle Dam on the Klamath River - courtesy of PacifiCorp. 13. " Tulelake, California" - courtesy of Rob Crawford r l4. " Del Norte Salmon Cannery" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 15. " April 6, 2004 Headlines" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 16. " Kliewer Family in Dry Fields South of Klamath Falls" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 17. " Cemeteries went Dry in 2001" - courtesy of Rob Crawford 18. " Time Magazine Captures Rob Crawford & Family" - courtesy of Rob Crawford 19. Klamath Bucket Brigade - courtesy of Klamath Relief Fund. 20. Prayer / Protest at Headgates - courtesy of Klamath Relief Fund. 21. President Bush Photo courtesy of Rob Crawford _ 22. Tulelake Rancher Gary Wright, June 2003 - courtesy of Pat Ratliff 23. Walking Wetlands photo - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson. 24. Bruce Knight and Mike Byrne - courtesy of U. S. Department of Agriculture 25. Gov. Kulongoski, Rep. Walden, and Dan Keppen at the A Canal, 2003 - Courtesy of Pat Ratliff 26. Undepleted Natural Flow of the Upper Klamath River - U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. 27. " Father and Daughter Ride to the Headgates" - courtesy of Rob Crawford 28. " Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California" - courtesy of Scott Harding Photography r — 47 Title: The Klamath Project at 100 : conserving our resources, preserving our heritage Author: Keppen, Dan Year: 2004, 2005 The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage 1905- 2005: The First Century of Water for the Klamath Project Grain Truck, Lower Klamath Lake, 2004 Prepared by Dan Keppen, Executive Director Klamath Water Users Association December 2004 1 1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 ) 1 1 1 I 1 I I I 003E00042195 .... rrj R13E ^ ^ T ^ I l* IILLER DIVERSION DAM MILLER CREEK AND LOST RIVER CHANNEL L. ^ ^ IMPROVEMENTS — FEATURES: Hydrography Canal Drain Dike ) ( Tunnel )—( Flume ) - - ( Siphon Pipeline Drop 9 Pumping Plant Q Irrigation District Pumping Plant H Private Utility Powerplant ik Project Headquarters Project Land Lea3 « Area MAJOR WATER DISTRICTS: Ady Dist. Improv. Co. Enterprise I. D. Horsefly I. D. Klamath Drain. Dist. Klamath I. D. Langell Valley I. D. Malin ID. Midland Dist. Improv. Co. P Canal Mutual Water Co. Pine Grove I. D. Pioneer Dist. Improv. Co. Plevna Dist. Improv. Co. Poe Valley Improv. Dist. Shasta View I. D. Sunnyside I. D. Tulelake I. D. Van Brimmer Ditch Co. Westside Improv. Dist. KLAMATH PROJECT Oregon - California N 0 12 3 4 5 Miles Background of Klamath Water Users Association The original Klamath Water Users Association was organized on March 4, 1905 under Oregon statute and capitalized in the amount of $ 2,000,000. That Association was created by local farmers, livestock producers, businessmen, bankers, attorneys, and community leaders interested in seeing the Klamath Reclamation Project constructed with the least amount of cost and for the lasting benefit of the entire Klamath community. Working in cooperation with Reclamation the stockholders of the Association contracted with the U. S. Secretary of the Interior to assume the responsibility of payment to the United States the cost of the Klamath Project irrigation works on November 3, 1905. The Association was active in bringing in lands to be served by the Project and addressing water right matters of those lands. By the 1950' s much of the construction costs of the project had been reimbursed to the United States, and irrigation districts assumed the contractual obligations for maintaining and operating the Project. The current Klamath Water Users Association ( KWUA) has its origins in the Klamath Water Users Protective Association, bylaws adopted June 22, 1953, organized to address water right and electrical power issues for Klamath Basin irrigators. The Protective Association reformed itself March 16,1993 with amended bylaws, and incorporated in 1994 as the modern Klamath Water Users Association. The KWUA represents private rural and suburban irrigation districts and ditch companies within the Klamath Project, along with private irrigation interests outside the Project in both Oregon and California in the Upper Klamath Basin. The KWUA is governed by an eleven-person board of directors elected from supporting irrigation districts, private irrigation interests, and the business community. The KWUA now represents over 5,000 water users on 1,400 family farms. Klamath Association KWUA's mission statement: To preserve, protect and defend the water and power rights of the landowners of the Klamath Basin while promoting wise management of ecosystem resources. r Table of Contents Page Executive Summary 4 Introduction 5 Overview 7 Pioneers 9 The Reclamation Act 10 The Klamath Basin Calls in the United States Government 10 Construction Begins 11 Homesteaders 13 The Klamath River Compact 15 The Klamath Project's Finishing Touches 18 New Demands 19 r Sucker Listings 20 Coho Salmon Listing 21 Problems on the East Side 22 2001 Curtailment 24 The Farmers Fight Back 26 Enter President Bush 27 Vindication: The National Research Council Steps In 28 The Assault on the Klamath Project Intensifies 29 Vindication, Part II 32 " We hate to say we told you so, but...." 33 The Klamath Project Regulatory Regime: 3 Years After the Curtailment. 34 Proactive Efforts of Upper Basin Landowners 36 Sucker Recovery Planning 36 On- the- Ground Actions 36 Environmental Water Bank 38 EQIP Funding in Klamath Basin 39 Recognition at Last 39 50 Years After the Compact - Back to the Watershed- Wide Approach 40 BOR Study on Pre- Project Flow Conditions on Upper Klamath River 40 Conclusion - The Future 41 Notes 44 Photo Credits 47 " " Executive Summary r The Klamath Project in 2005 marks its 100- year anniversary. This report summarizes the original formation of the Project, describes the enthusiastic response of the local community to the federal water project, and steps through the development of the Project in ensuing decades. The story of the pioneers, early settlers, and homesteaders who helped settle the area - veterans of both world wars - provides a sense of the character possessed by local farmers and ranchers, who had to rely on similar traits to keep their community alive when irrigation supplies were curtailed in 2001. And it explains a very important dynamic of the region, especially in recent years, where local water users are attempting to proactively address water supply challenges while at the same time trying to stave off a furious round of attacks launched by environmental activists. The immediate future remains uncertain for Klamath Project irrigators, but their marked propensity for adapting to change will keep local farmers and ranchers in business for another 100 years. In order to deal with the uncertain water situation, and facing higher power costs in 2006, the 21st century Klamath Project irrigator is adapting, by developing new market niches for products, creating innovative approaches to energy use, conserving and marketing water, and developing habitat for fish and wildlife. The same abilities shown by pioneers and veteran homesteaders beginning over a century ago to carve out new communities from the wilderness will now be employed to conserve resources and preserve their remarkable and uniquely American heritage. r A load of produce from the Klamath Fair, October 1907. • - r r The Klamath Project at 100: Conserving our Resources, Preserving our Heritage " We desire to impress upon your mind the fact that 99% of the people in the Klamath Basin are a unit, and are clamoring for the assistance which might be rendered by the Government under the Reclamation Act. " 1905 Petition from Basin residents to the Secretary of the Interior " The vision of the Klamath Basin as a place for human habitation must include agriculture, and an agricultural sector of sufficient size to be economically viable. This place ought to have an urban center and a scattering of pleasant small towns - and in between green fields with dancing water from irrigation works." Klamath Falls Herald & News Editorial June 20, 2004 " Agriculture plays a vital role in this state } s economy. An economic issue is one thing, for the farmers who need the resource, need the water, to be able to make a living. There fs another piece to this that ys much larger for all Oregon, and that is a cultural issue. The people here are very, very important to the future of this state. " Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, At the A Canal Fish Screen, Klamath Falls, Oregon. April 17, 2003 Introduction The year 2005 marks the one hundred- year birthday of one of the oldest federal water projects in the western United States - the Klamath Irrigation Project. As was painfully made evident in 2001, when Klamath Project supplies were curtailed for the first time in 95 years, the local community and its economy are interwoven with the health of this irrigation project. One hundred years after overwhelming national policy supported its construction, the Klamath Project continues to play a critical role in the local community. " The Klamath Project started out as a good thing, and it remains a good thing", said Tulelake farmer Rob Crawford. " When the Project was created, Klamath Basin people were meeting a national call by doing what they were supposed to do - settle the West. Today, our efforts focus on preserving our heritage, while conserving our resources." r r - r r rr At the beginning of the last century, when the local community learned that the Klamath Project would be developed, an " incredible celebration" ensued, said Paul Simmons, an attorney for the Klamath Water Users Association. " The people of the Klamath Basin basically posed a proposal to the federal government," said Simmons. " They told the government,' if you will be the plumber and the banker, we can do something good for the country.'" The federal government did just that by constructing the irrigation project. Local growers repaid the construction costs in the ensuing decades. Today, thousands of people - family farmers and ranchers, their employees, and agriculture- related businesses - make their living directly from farming and ranching in the Klamath Project. In turn, their activities support the communities of Malin, Merrill, Midland, Bonanza, Tulelake, Newell, and Klamath Falls. And, equally important, their efforts yield high- quality safe food for the country and the world. The last century has been one of massive transformation, vitality, shining hope, and deep despair for the farmers and ranchers served by the Klamath Project. The core reason for the creation of the Klamath Project - to develop water supplies and storage for irrigation uses - has been diminished as new competing demands, intended to satisfy Endangered Species Act ( ESA) and tribal trust conditions, have come on line. As a result, after perceived ESA and tribal trust obligations are met, Klamath Project irrigators and national wildlife refuges essentially get the remaining water. Because very little carryover storage is provided by Klamath Project reservoirs, the farmers now find themselves becoming increasingly reliant on incoming flows to the reservoirs, rather than the stored water that was originally developed to provide them with a reliable summertime irrigation supply. In essence, because of new laws and policies developed in the recent past, the original purpose of the Klamath Project has been somewhat lost in the shuffle. This became glaringly obvious in 2001, when for the first time in 95 years, water supplies to the Klamath Project from Upper Klamath Lake were curtailed before the irrigation season had even begun, to meet conditions set by federal fishery agencies to purportedly prevent harm to three fish species. Three and one- half years after Klamath Irrigation Project ( Project) water deliveries were terminated by the federal government, local water users are attempting to proactively address water supply challenges while at the same time trying to stave off a furious round of attacks launched by environmental activists. Project irrigators - who farm on lands straddling the California- Oregon state line - remain apprehensive about the future certainty of water n supplies. However, the strong traits shown by the original Klamath Project settlers - self-independence, creativity, a sense of community - are still apparent, one hundred years later. Without these characteristics, the tragic events of 2001 might have become nothing more than n passing headlines in the local newspaper. Instead, a galvanized community grabbed national media and political attention by forcing the rest of the country to see that things had gone too far. r r Now, Klamath Project irrigators are preparing for the next 100 years. In order to deal with the uncertain water situation, and facing higher power costs in 2006, the 21st century Klamath Project irrigator is adapting, by developing new market niches for his products, creating innovative approaches to energy use, conserving and marketing water, developing habitat for fish and wildlife, and improving the symbiotic relationship he has with neighboring national wildlife refuges. The same abilities shown by pioneers and veteran homesteaders to carve out new communities from the wilderness will now be employed to conserve resources and preserve their remarkable and uniquely American heritage. Overview The irrigable lands of the Klamath Project ( Project) are in south- central Oregon ( 62 percent) and north- central California ( 38 percent). Two main sources supply water for the Project: Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River on the Klamath system; and Clear Lake Reservoir, Gerber Reservoir, and Lost River on the Lost River system, are in a closed basin. The total drainage area for the Klamath Project, including the Lost River and the Klamath River watershed above Keno, Oregon is approximately 5,700 square miles. Currently, approximately 225,000 acres, many previously submerged, have been transformed into productive farmland. The crops grown within the Klamath Project area consist of grain, hay, pasture, silage, mint, potatoes, onions, other vegetables, alfalfa, strawberry rootstock, and horseradish. This list of crops represents the majority of planted acreage within the Klamath Project over the last 40 to 50 years. The cropping pattern has varied from year to year, but the overall planted acreage has remained consistent. The Bureau of Reclamation operates Clear Lake Dam, Gerber Dam, and the Lost River Diversion Dam. The Link River Dam is operated by the Pacific Power and Light Company in accordance with Project needs, or more recently also as directed by federal agencies. The Tulelake Irrigation District operates the Anderson- Rose Dam, and the Langell Valley Irrigation District operates the Malone and Miller Diversion Dams. The various irrigation districts operate the canals and pumping plants. The original Klamath Project plan included construction of facilities to divert and distribute water for irrigation of basin lands, including reclamation of Tule and Lower Klamath Lakes, and control of floods in the area. The development of the stored water provided by the Klamath Project allowed for the controlled, beneficial use of water in the Upper Basin. Currently, late summer and fall flows in the Lower Klamath River are augmented with stored water that would not be there, but for the Project. Under pre- Project conditions, natural controls existed below both Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna which stabilized lake levels except during critical droughts. Those controls were natural reefs of hard earth material in the channel and other channel constrictions. Under these pre- Project conditions, the Klamath River flowed into the Lower Klamath Lake area. A 1906 map titled " Topographic and Drainage Map, Upper and Lower Klamath Project" shows the invert of the Klamath Strait approximately the same level as the Klamath River channel bottom near Keno. In addition, the Lost River terminated at Tule Lake. These flows flooded approximately 183,000 acres within Lower Klamath and Tule Lake. In general, under pre- Project conditions, Klamath River flows downstream of Keno likely occurred after a certain water level was reached in the Klamath River and Lower Klamath Lake. An engineer speaking in the early days of the Project observed that adequate Klamath Project water supplies were not a worry. Rather - something that would be inconceivable today - dealing with too much water was more of a concern at the time: " It contains an irrigation problem, an evaporation problem, a run- off problem, any one of which is difficult in itself but all of which together form a most perplexing whole," said the engineer. " In nearly all reclamation projects water has to be conserved. In this project there is more than enough and the question of disposing of it becomes an important part." 1906 Map of Pre- Project Area r • r r r Pioneers Irrigation development began in areas now served by the Klamath Project in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Various landowners and entrepreneurs utilized water of the Klamath River and its tributaries, and undertook a wide range of visionary activities. Prime farmland, exposed around the edges of old historic Tule Lake as early as 1846 stimulated early settlers' interest in irrigation. Similarly, early settlers beginning in the early 1860s relied on " naturally irrigated" greases and forage in the Lower Klamath area for pasture and hay. The first irrigation ditch was dug by George Nurse and Joseph Conger in the bottom of Linkville Canyon in 1868. In 1878, this ditch was expanded and incorporated into the Linkville Water Ditch Company. Early pioneers Steele and Ankeny pursued a canal to deliver water to land between Klamath Falls and Merrill. Ultimately, the canal system was replaced by the A Canal and its distribution system which, operated by Klamath Irrigation District, continues to serve Project land to this day. t Adams Cut, July 18,1906. Diversion for irrigation of additional agricultural lands in the area now comprising the Klamath Project was initiated in 1882 with construction of an irrigation ditch by the Van Brimmer brothers to the land from White Lake, which was fed by the Klamath River. Private interests further developed this project by constructing the Adams Canal in 1886, which was supplied also from White Lake. Frank Adams, with assistance from the Van Brimmer r rr rr r Brothers, cut a canal through tule roots using hay- knives and a derrick, in order to improve diversion from White Lake. This canal ultimately extended to a length of 22 miles. By 1903, approximately 13,000 acres were irrigated by private interests, with the canal system in progress to deliver much more. After the 1905 authorization of the Klamath Project ( see below), many water rights were acquired to facilitate, and for the benefit of, the Klamath Project enterprise, and other agreements were made with other water right- holders. The Project utilized, extended, expanded and/ or improved previously existing systems, and included construction of other facilities. The Reclamation Act In 1902 Congress enacted the Reclamation Act, which encouraged the settlement of lands in the western states and the development of agricultural economies to feed the nation. The 1902 Act provided for federal financing of irrigation works, with the construction costs to be repaid over time by project water users. In addition, public lands were made available for homesteaders who accepted the responsibility to undertake improvements and pay the water charges. Both the Oregon and California legislatures also enacted laws making state- owned land available for use in the Klamath Project. The Klamath Basin Calls in the United States Government In 1903, the Reclamation Service conducted investigations that led in 1904 to the first withdrawal of land by the Secretary of the Interior for developing a federal irrigation project. J. B. Lippincott, a supervising engineer from Los Angeles - who also played a key role in the City of Los Angeles' securement of Owens Valley water supplies - personally toured the Klamath Basin in June of 1904. l Although private irrigation projects were moving forward by the turn of the century, and some large- scale projects were being planned, most local citizens saw great value in a federally authorized and supported project. In 1905, local residents sent numerous petitions to Washington, D. C. requesting government irrigation assistance. By this time, a private corporation had given notion of its plans to develop water for what would ultimately become virtually the entire Klamath Project. Ironically, after Owens Valley agricultural water rights were secured by the City of Los Angeles, many of the displaced farmers moved to the Klamath Basin for the " reliable" water supplies of the Klamath Project. On their way north, they passed the first Reclamation Project in the West - the Newlands Project, near Reno, Nevada. 10 r r r r r r r " We desire to impress upon your mind the fact that 99% of the people in the Klamath Basin are a unit, and are clamoring for the assistance which might be rendered by the Government under the Reclamation Act," stated one petitioner. In November 1904, F. H. Newell, Chief Engineer of the federal Reclamation Service, told a large audience of enthusiastic farmers in Klamath Falls that, in his judgment, they had " a great irrigation project". Early in 1905, California and Oregon had ceded certain rights in the Upper and Lower Klamath Lakes and Tule Lake to the United States. On May 1, 1904, a board of engineers made a report that served as the basis for authorization of the Project. Congress authorized the use of lands and water in accordance with the State Acts of February 1905. The Secretary of the Interior authorized development of the Project on May 15, 1905, under provisions of the Reclamation Act of 1902. Construction Begins The Interior Secretary's 1905 authorization provided for project works to drain and reclaim lake bed lands of the Lower Klamath and Tule Lakes, to store waters of the Klamath and Lost Rivers, to divert irrigation supplies, and to control flooding of the reclaimed lands. The states of Oregon and California ceded then- submerged land to the federal government for the specific purpose of having the land drained and reclaimed for irrigation use by homesteaders. The Oregon Legislature also authorized the raising and lowering of Upper Klamath Lake in connection with the Project, and allowed the use of the bed of Upper Klamath Lake for storage of water for irrigation. Construction began on the Project in 1906 with the building of the main " A" Canal. Water was first made available May 22, 1907, to the lands now known as the Main Division. 1907 Completion of the A Canal Headgates 11 r r r r r This initial construction was followed by the completion of Clear Lake Dam in 1910, the Lost River Diversion Dam and many of the distribution structures in 1912, and the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam in 1921. ( In 1970, a public dedication at the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam officially changed the name of the structure to Anderson- Rose Dam.) Constructing Clear Lake Dam, September 1909. Large stone in self- dumping car. A contract executed February 24, 1917, between the California- Oregon Power Company ( now the Pacific Power and Light Company) and the United States authorized the company to construct Link River Dam for the benefit of the Project and for the company's use, and also extended to the water users of the Klamath Project certain preferential power rates. The dam was completed in 1921. The contract was amended and further extended for a 50- year period on April 16, 1956. The Malone Diversion Dam on the Lost River was built in 1923 to divert water to Langell Valley. The Gerber Dam on Miller Creek was completed in 1925, and the Miller Diversion Dam was built in 1924 to divert water released from Gerber Dam. In the Great Depression, continued settlement and leasing and distribution construction resulted in a significant increase, between 1930 and 1939 of the acres receiving water directly from Project facilities. The project work undertaken during this period included the enlargement of the Lost River Diversion Channel. In 1940, construction was begun on Pumping Plant D and the Tule Lake Tunnel. By 1942, these facilities, as well as the P- Canal were completed. In 1943, the Ady pumping plant was placed in operation, and in the next two years, the Straits Drain and pumps were constructed and installed and began operation. 12 r r Homesteaders The story of the homesteaders is a source of great pride in the Klamath Project. As Tule Lake receded according to plan, the lake bottom became suitable for cultivation. The land that ultimately became homesteads was under jurisdiction of the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation ( Reclamation). Homesteading and developing more productive agricultural land was the goal of the reclamation project that " reclaimed" the beds of Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake to expose more arable land. After Tule Lake was dewatered, a large area of public land became available for agriculture. The government would lease this land to settlers, and in fact leased as much as 50,000 acres in Tule Lake in the 1920s. Over time, most of this land was homesteaded. In 1917,180 people applied for the 37 homestead parcels the Reclamation made available on the drained wetlands and lake beds. Between 1922 and 1937 there were five more homestead offerings and hundreds of homesteaders settled in on the fertile soil of the drained lake bed. Then, World War II curtailed the homesteading process. » rri.. . r i* Ul. r- Xio. 1 wi sat Mi M MM ttw DCCA rru. ilon _ ji « _ jra .... r. r tk. M r « i t » a-. . « *^ J •* 4. MM r* T RTMtNT Or THE X ,. . tie*. . ..< L. » ii tatwJ l u i » T « 11 r ( » T « rnr » ) xfc. ir « « . •" « » ^> « • inS| « Ut !•• « . • TTDHOII. ,.> , ^% laMitk r » u. « . orumtm. _ JBKS!*! « r._: iit_ » « « » i.. bwrlac n i M la t&. MttaJOMI ( 1* nat.. J « a>. aa4 tk* a. t* JKLaUMftULJatiLJlJrt.. . . . . W l t a . is a- S.- ..- M « ri « ia*. t u . ar tka ar. ra* al « » ot af i t kav* a » « . > n » M < aatrr. • M M MMtMl. MMM t . aa n » tn4 » r ua « « . o. rol - • M it. » • « i WMM .. 1927 Homesteader Affidavit In three drawings held in 1946, 1948 and 1949, a total of 216 World War II veterans were awarded homesteads on farmland in the Tule Lake Basin, as a thank you from a grateful nation. The number of applicants was far greater than the number of available homesteads. Veterans and the community gathered to watch the names drawn from a pickle jar. Farm homesteads and crop- producing land were the goals of reclamation, and the Tule Lake Basin became a showcase for reclamation work. 13 " When I arrived to see my homestead there was nothing there, just an expanse of opportunity," recalls Carman. " No roads, no houses, no trees, just bare ground. I then pitched my tent in the corner of my homestead." My wife Eleanor was expecting our second child, but could not join me until later. A tent was not acceptable living quarters for a young woman, a small child and another baby on the way." The settlers formed organizations, elected a school board, and went about creating a society. " When I began my new life as a Tulelake homesteader there were approximately 300 homesteaders, most of them with families," said Carman. " We united and began to build schools, churches and a hospital in Klamath Falls. We started a community. We were living the American dream and our dream was achieved by hard work and dedication, and I must say we could never have done this without our wives." Homesteaders: Robinsons in 2001 Remember Days Gone By r - The Klamath River Compact The Klamath River Compact ( Compact) is a law of both Oregon and California, consented to by and Act of Congress. In the following decade, a variety of concerns and issues led to the passage of the Compact in 1957. These included: • Differing positions regarding the extent of development that could occur under Klamath Project water rights; 15 • • The related issue of priority of Klamath Project and overall Upper Klamath Basin irrigation development as against other uses, especially generation of hydro- electric power on the mainstem Klamath River; and • Concerns over potential future out- of- basin water exports. The development of the Compact was closely tied to an application for a water right filed by the California Oregon Power Company ( Copco) in 1951. This application anticipated using water at a proposed hydroelectric project on the Klamath River known as " Big Bend No. 2." In turn, this dispute folded in past dealings, agreements and opinions related to the operation of Link River Dam on Upper Klamath Lake. The agreements made between Copco and the Bureau of Reclamation at the time of construction of Link River Dam around 1920 had been controversial. Upper Klamath Basin irrigation interests had three primary concerns: 1. Power development, as an incident of the Project's reclamation purpose, should be undertaken only by the United States; 2. That the agreements threatened Klamath Project water supplies; and 3. The agreements were inconsistent with state legislation authorizing use of Upper Klamath Lake by the United States for storage or reclamation purposes. In 1951, Copco filed an application with the Oregon Hydroelectric Commission ( OHC) for a water right for the proposed Big Bend No. 2 hydroelectric facility. The OHC at that time had authority and jurisdiction over issuance of water rights for hydropower facilities. Copco at the time of filing took the position that water was available for appropriation and Copco was entitled to a right, senior in priority, to any future Upper Klamath Basin irrigation that was not then actually developed. J. C. Boyle Dam on the Klamath River. — 16 r r • A. To facilitate and promote the orderly, integrated and comprehensive development, use, conservation and control thereof for various purposes, including, among others: the use of water for domestic purposes; the development of lands by irrigation and other means; the protection and enhancement offish, wildlife, and recreational resources; the use of water for industrial purposes and hydroelectric power production; and the use and control of water for navigation and flood prevention. B. To further intergovernmental cooperation and comity with respect to these resources and programs for their use and development and to remove causes of present and future controversies by providing ( l) for equitable distribution and use of water among the two states and the Federal Government, ( 2) for preferential rights to the use of water after the effective date of this compact for the anticipated ultimate requirements for domestic and irrigation purposes in the Upper Klamath River Basin in Oregon and California, and ( 3) for prescribed relationships between beneficial uses of water as a practicable means of accomplishing such distribution and Copco's application to the OHC, and its parallel application to the Federal Power Commission ( FPC) for a license under the Federal Power Act, were contested and opposed by the Department of the Interior and various agricultural and irrigation interests. The OHC did not act on Copco's application until 1956. The States of California and Oregon appointed commissioners to negotiate an interstate Compact. At the same time, Reclamation and local water users were negotiating a new agreement with Copco for operation of Link River Dam. It appeared that such an agreement might be concluded prior to enactment by the States of a Compact. The draft Copco contract was brought before the Compact negotiating commissioners, who sought to ensure consistency with the Compact being developed. During the course of several meetings of the Compact commissioners, terms were developed which resulted in conditions in the FPC license, the water right certificate, and a new contract for Copco's operating of Link River Dam. After preparation of various drafts, negotiation of the Compact was concluded and the legislatures of Oregon, California, as well as the United States Congress, acted in 1957. The major purposes of this compact are, with respect to the water resources of the Klamath River Basin: The Compact recognized water rights for then- existing and future needs in the Klamath Project service area. It also established a system of priority for new water rights under which Upper Basin irrigation ( up to a specified number of acres) had superior rights over water for power generation, fish or wildlife, or recreation. 17 r r r r r In short, the Klamath Compact provided guidelines to lead the competing interests of the Klamath River watershed towards a more harmonious future. For the next 40 years, the intent of the Compact was essentially fulfilled, until the early 1990s, when new pressures to address endangered fish and tribal trust demands resulted in the reemergence of fractionalized conflict into the Upper Basin. Although it had been seen as a resolution for future disputes, the Compact has been interpreted not to override the Endangered Species Act or tribal trust water rights. The Klamath Project's Finishing Touches r Through the 1950s, Reclamation envisioned continued development of the Project that would have doubled its current size by including Butte Valley, California and other areas. The plans were not implemented and the Project acreage has not significantly increased since the end of the 1940s. In the following decades, the delivery system has been improved, bottlenecks eliminated, and relatively small areas have both been brought under irrigation and converted to commercial or residential development. By 1960, due in part to improvements made on Tule Lake dikes, the M Canal, the Lost River Diversion Channel, and installation of new canals in the southern portion of the Tulelake Irrigation District ( TID) service area and the Miller Hill Pumping Plant, the Project provided irrigation service to nearly 216,000 acres. Tulelake, California In the 1960' s, improvements and expansion of certain facilities led to the formation of Klamath Basin Improvement District. The Stukel and Poe Valley Pumping Plants were constructed and the Miller Hill Pumping Plant enlarged. The D, F and G- Canals were also 18 r enlarged. These facilities provided more reliable service to certain lands and also added land to the area that could receive water from Project works. In the 1970' s, Shasta View Irrigation District and Reclamation entered a $ 3.2 million contract for installation of a pressure irrigation system to replace the previous gravity- fed system. The 1972 Project history reported, ".. . the Project provided irrigation and drainage service to 223,661 acres," while the total harvested acreage "... was 193,160, down 2,329 acres from 1971." Also in the 1970' s, the Straits Drain was enlarged. Because of the Klamath Project's design and the interrelated nature of water use within it, including the use of return flows by farmers and the refuge, Project efficiency is very high. A recent assessment of Klamath Project water use efficiency2 implies that a sophisticated seasonal pattern of water use has evolved in the Klamath Project. One must understand that the Klamath Project has developed into a highly effective, highly interconnected form of water management. According to the 1998 Davids study ( see footnote), effective efficiency for the overall Project is 93 percent, making the Klamath Project one of the most efficient in the country3. New Demands For eighty years, Klamath Project irrigation supplies proved sufficient to meet the needs of the area's burgeoning farming and ranching communities. Although there were years where Mother Nature and Klamath Project storage capacity proved insufficient to meet full irrigation demands, the local community managed to stretch thin supplies and make things work. That all changed in the early 1990s, when steadily more restrictive government agency decisions made to meet Endangered Species Act ( ESA) goals began to steadily chip away at the stored water supply originally developed for irrigation. Two sucker species were listed ( 1988) as endangered and coho salmon were listed ( 1997) as threatened under the ESA. Since then, biological opinions rendered by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( for the suckers) and NOAA Fisheries ( for the coho), have increasingly emphasized the reallocation of Project water as the sole means of avoiding jeopardizing these fish. Klamath Project " operations plans" based on these biological opinions also factor in tribal trust obligations, although the nature and extent of such obligations is undefined. 2 " Klamath Project Historical Water Use Analysis", Davids Engineering for U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, October 1998. 3 For example, Tulelake Irrigation District irrigates 62,000 acres of farmland. In the 1990s, the district diverted an average of 131,000 acre- feet of water. Each year, an average of 80,000 acre- feet was pumped out of the district. Consumptive use within the district is considerably less than the amount of water diverted. The reason is the difference from the return flow from other districts and the reuse of water within the Project. 19 r Sucker Listings In the past twelve years, political and regulatory demands have affected activities at the Klamath Project. In 1988, the short nose sucker and the Lost River sucker, two species that live in Upper Klamath Lake, were designated as endangered under the ESA. Biological opinions issued by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( USFWS) in 1992 and 1994 concerning operation of the Klamath Project identified actions to avoid jeopardy to suckers. When the suckers were listed, there had been no mention whatsoever of reservoir elevations as a factor affecting sucker populations. These operation elevations were adopted by Reclamation. The reservoir elevations pertaining to Upper Klamath Lake generally allowed the Project to operate for its intended purposes. However, the United States District Court of Oregon found that the reservoir elevations pertaining to Clear Lake and Gerber Reservoirs to be arbitrary and capricious, and they were invalidated in a succession of decisions4. The most compelling and prominent reason why the federal government justified listing the two sucker species as " endangered" in 1988 was an apparent abrupt downturn in both populations during the mid- 1980s. To support the decision to list the suckers, the USFWS believed the only significant remaining populations were in Upper Klamath Lake. We now know that the assumptions by the USFWS were in error and the assumed sucker population crisis never materialized. In fact, shortly after listing of the species, the populations demonstrated dramatic increases5. r Just prior to the listing of the suckers in 1988, a sport snag fishery was allowed. Before 1969, the fishery was largely unregulated with no harvest limit; in 1969 a generous bag limit of 10 fish per angler was imposed. During the early to mid- 1980s, despite the belief that the numbers offish were in a state of rapid decline, the State of Oregon still allowed the sport snag fishery. Ultimately, because of increased focus on the status of the sucker populations, Oregon eliminated the fishery in 1987. Some fisheries experts believe that if the USFWS would have properly assessed the known impacts on the suckers caused by the snag fishery and the benefits from ceasing the fishery, it very likely could have affected the ultimate listing decision. " Simply stated, the largely unregulated snag fishery slaughtered the sucker populations," said Dave Vogel, with Natural Resource Scientists, Inc. " Since the fishery was eliminated in 1987, the two sucker populations dramatically rebounded. The threat was removed and the populations increased ten- fold." 4 Bennett v Spear, 520 U. S. 154 ( 1997); 5 F. Jupp. 2d 887 ( D. Or. 1998); Bennett v. Badgely, No. 93- 6075- HO ( April 13, 1999, June 11, 1999). 5 Vogel, David, 2004. Testimony Before the Committee on Resources ( Subcommittee on Water and Power), United States House of Representatives. Oversight Field Hearing on The Endangered Species Act 30 Years Later: The Klamath Project. 20 At the time of the listings in 1988, the Klamath Project was not identified as having known adverse affects on the sucker populations, yet four years after the listing, using limited or no empirical data, the USFWS turned to the Klamath Project as their singular focus. Paradoxically, since the early 1990s, despite new beneficial empirical evidence on the improving status of the species and lack of relationship with Klamath Project operations, the USFWS became ever more centered on Project operations and increased restrictions on irrigators instead of paying attention to more obvious, fundamental problems for the species. This circumstance caused tremendous expense in dollars and time by diverting resources away from other known factors affecting the species. Coho Salmon Listing r A similar circumstance occurred with NOAA Fisheries during and after the coho salmon listing in the lower basin in the late 1990s. It cited the reasons to list coho salmon, excluding Klamath Project operations as a significant factor affecting the species. There are many other documented factors that have affected salmon runs in the Klamath River6. The USFWS in the 1980s described the most important eight factors as " most frequently referred to with regard to recent population declines" of anadromous fish in the Klamath River. Those factors are: " • Over fishing • Logging • Trinity River transbasin diversion Irrigation diversions in lower Klamath tributaries • 1964 flood • 1976- 1977 drought • Sea lion predation • Brown trout predation. However, shortly following the listing, and with no supporting data, NOAA Fisheries chose to center its attention on the Klamath Project as the principal factor affecting coho salmon. In its biological opinions, NOAA Fisheries opined that much higher than historic flow levels, released from the stored water of the Klamath Project, would be needed to protect coho salmon downstream of Iron Gate Dam. Iron Gate Dam is located forty miles away and coho are generally found further downstream and in tributaries. 7 In essence, both agencies adopted a single- minded approach of focusing on Klamath Project operations to artificially create high reservoir levels and high reservoir releases. This puzzling, similar sequence of events has yet to be explained by agency officials. 6 KWUA biologists compiled a comprehensive listing of those factors in March 1997. 7 Vogel, David, 2004. Testimony Before the Committee on Resources ( Subcommittee on Water and Power), United States House of Representatives. Oversight Field Hearing on The Endangered Species Act 30 Years Later: The Klamath Project. 21 r " ~ Commercial harvests of salmon intensified with the development of canning technology. By the early 20th century, habitat destruction combined with commercial harvests had resulted in serious salmon depletion on the Klamath River. Cobb ( 1930) estimated that the peak of the Klamath River salmon runs occurred in 1912, Snyder ( 1931) observed " in 1912 three [ canneries] operated on or near the estuary and the river was heavily fished, no limit being placed on the activities of anyone". Problems on the East Side Irrigation districts on the east side of the Klamath Project felt the first impacts from increased regulatory focus on lake levels in the early 1990s. Langell Valley Irrigation District ( LVID) and Horsefly Irrigation District ( HID) receive water from Clear Lake and Gerber reservoirs. Historically, stored water was released from these two reservoirs beginning about April 15 and ending about October 15 each year. These reservoirs are not large, but they provide the essential water supply to an otherwise arid area. In an average year, Clear Lake releases about 36,000 acre- feet of irrigation water, and Gerber releases about 40,000 acre- feet. Clear Lake Reservoir contains populations of both endangered sucker species, and Gerber reservoir hosts one of the species. ESA-" threatened" bald eagles are also known to inhabit the Klamath Project area. In 1991, at the request of the USFWS, Reclamation initiated ESA consultation to assess the impact of the long- term operation of the Klamath Project on the suckers and the bald eagle. In the next year, three biological opinions were rendered by USFWS that imposed minimum levels in Clear Lake to purportedly protect the sucker populations. As a result of the minimum lake levels imposed by the draft biological opinions, and the water lost to evaporation before the USFWS allowed any water releases, the Districts were not able to make their normal irrigation releases during the 1992 water year. Neither district received its first seasonal water delivery until May 15, 1992, a full four weeks later than normal. By 22 r " that date, 12,000 acre- feet of the water that had been stored in Clear Lake in March 1992 had evaporated, an amount that represents about 60% of LVID's total yearly withdrawal from Clear Lake Reservoir. As a result of the minimum lake levels and the evaporation losses, only 2,148 acres of the 16,800 irrigable acres within the LVID received any Klamath Project water at all. The lack of water reduced both acreage farmed and per- acre yields that year. As a result of reduced yields, farm properties lost up to 70% of their assessed values in 1992. The lack of water also hurt the region's cattle ranching operations, because some ranchers could not produce pasture for their cattle. Water users who could afford the extra expense purchased feed to sustain their herds. Others had to cut back substantially on their herds or sell their cattle. Wildlife also suffered as a result of the decision to impose minimum surface levels in the reservoirs. Because the Lost River obtains most of its water from releases from Clear Lake Dam and return flows from agricultural operations, the water levels in the Lost River and its tributaries were exceedingly low in 1992. As a direct result, wildlife relying on Lost River water, including deer, sandhill cranes, hawks, turtles, frogs, ducks, and more, were all noticeably scarce that year. On July 22, 1992, USFWS finally issued its final biological opinion on the long- term operations of the Klamath Project. While the 1992 opinion conceded that " little" was known about Gerber Reservoir's shortnose sucker population, the opinion reported " good numbers" of these fish and noted that the Gerber sucker population appeared to be successfully reproducing, despite the lowered lake levels of the early 1990s. Despite this undisputed evidence, the 1992 biological opinion concluded that continuing to operate the Project, including Clear Lake and Gerber reservoirs, in its historic manner was likely to jeopardize the continued existence of both sucker fish species. Reclamation accepted the USFWS recommendations for continued adherence to minimum lake levels, prompting the Districts and two of the individual farmers to sue the federal agencies. Even after the federal district court entered judgment invalidating the jeopardy conclusions, USFWS defied this judgment, and the districts were forced to bring several additional motions to enforce the Court's rulings. At each stage of the legal proceedings, the districts prevailed, based largely on the fact that USFWS had no scientific evidence to justify its actions. When the United States Supreme Court considered the Districts' case against the USFWS, the Court described the purpose of the ESA's science requirement as follows: The obvious purpose of the requirement that each agency " use the best available scientific and commercial data available" is to ensure that the ESA not be implemented haphazardly, on the basis of speculation or surmise. While this no doubt serves to advance the ESA's overall goal -., of species preservation, we think it readily apparent that another objective ( if not indeed the 23 primary one) is to avoid needless economic dislocation produced by agency officials zealously but unintelligently pursuing their environmental objectives. Now, ten years later, HID and LVID enjoy positive relationships with USFWS and Reclamation. However, the problems they suffered in the early 1990s were a harbinger of things to come for other Klamath Project irrigators shortly after the turn of the new century. 2001 Curtailment The net result of increasing restrictions on other Klamath Project water users was fully realized on April 6, 2001, when Reclamation announced its water allocation for the Project after U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries officials finalized the biological opinions ( BOs) for project operations in a critically dry year. Based on those regulatory actions, Reclamation announced that - for the first time in Project's 95- year history - no water would be available from Upper Klamath Lake to supply Project irrigators. No water for most farmers April 6, 2001 Local Headlines The resulting impacts to the local community were immediate and far- reaching. Even with a later release of a small percentage of needed water over a 30- day period in July and August, thousands of acres of valuable farmland were left without water. In addition to harming those property owners, managers, and workers, also imparted an economic " ripple" effect through the broader community. The wildlife benefits provided by those farms - particularly the food provided for area waterfowl - were also lost with the water. 24 Kliewer Family in Dry Fields South of Klamath Falls - 2001 The local farming community is still reeling from the April 6, 2001 decision, and severe business losses echoed the hardship endured by farmers and farm employees. As farmers and laborers attempted to deal with the loss of jobs, a year's income, and in some cases the land itself, referrals for mental health counseling increased dramatically. The Tulelake school district lost around 50 students after farm families sold their land and moved on. Students were under stress, understandably confused as to why three species of fish were more important than their lifelong homes. Tragically, one Hispanic family had started out as field workers, and after a lifetime of piecework under the sun had saved enough to buy their own farm. They lost everything as a direct result of the irrigation cutofi . Veteran homesteaders, who fifty years ago were promised reliable water, felt betrayed by the same government, who chose to provide water to fish instead of farmers in 2001. " I want the government to honor the contract that promised me and my heirs water rights forever," said Jess Prosser, a World War II veteran and Tulelake homesteader, in 2001, after water supplies were cut. " This land is our life. Farmers and fish have survived previous drought years when the farmers voluntarily cut back on water consumption. The Klamath Project was designed to withstand drought conditions, and right now there is more than ample water for agriculture and fish. The government took 100% of the water for fish, disregarding farmers, ranchers, families and numerous other species of wildlife in the Klamath Basin. This is a man- made disaster. This will be the end of a way of life and an entire community." 1 " Calamity in Klamath", Blake Hurst. The American Enterprise magazine. October / November 2002, pp 28- 29. 25 Cemeteries Went Dry in 2001 The Farmers Fight Back The local community did not take the decision lying down. Employing the ingenuity and perseverance that allowed them to successfully create brand new communities over the past century, local farmers, ranchers, elected officials and business leaders organized a " bucket brigade" to dramatize their plight, drawing nearly 20,000 sympathizers to the streets of Klamath Falls. A web site and cell phone calling tree were set up, and farmers, who only a year before were working their fields, suddenly became knowledgeable about the media. Civil disobedience, in the form of peaceful protests at the A Canal headgates, drew television crews from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2001 Klamath Basin crisis became the topic of front- page coverage and sympathetic editorials in publications like Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Time Magazine Captures Rob Crawford & Family, Summer 2001. In part because of the tremendous media and political attention generated by the local community, a congressional field hearing was held in the summer of 2001 at the Klamath County fairgrounds, which drew the largest audience to ever attend such a hearing in the nation's history. Much of the focus was on the decision- making and processes that led to the fishery agencies' recommendation to curtail irrigation supplies. 26 In 2001, a desperate community essentially was looked in the eye and told, " sorry, we know it may hurt, but ' the science' is compelling and requires you to go without water." This was wrong, literally, and as a matter of policy. For whatever reason, the agencies had become too close to, and too much a part of, the side- taking that had come to dominate issues surrounding the Klamath Project. For this reason alone, outside review was needed. Nearly 20,000 marchers support the Klamath Bucket Brigade, May 2001. Prayer / protest at the A Canal headgates, 2001. Elected officials - from county commissioners and supervisors, to state representatives and senators, to U. S. Senators and Representatives, continued the fight, and ultimately, later in 2001, the U. S. Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, directed the National Academy of Sciences to conduct an independent peer- review of the agency decision to curtail irrigation supplies. Also, in early 2002, President Bush himself took a personal interest in the plight of the Klamath Project irrigator. Enter President Bush In January 2002, just months after the federal government curtailed Klamath Project irrigation deliveries for the first time in 97 years, Sen. Gordon Smith and Rep. Greg Walden met the president in southern California, boarded Air Force One, and took a slight detour over the Basin on their way to a Portland high school where the Mr. Bush was to deliver a speech. On the flight north, the president was briefed on the 2001 Klamath water crisis. When he entered the gymnasium at Park Rose High School, he opened his speech up with a pledge to help both the farmers and the fish of the Klamath Basin. 27 Compassion: George W. Bush Meets and Greets Klamath Basin Residents in Redmond, Oregon, 2003. In the ensuing two years, President Bush has followed through with his pledge by establishing a Klamath Basin cabinet- level working group, promoting sound and independent peer-reviewed science, and making funding of Klamath River water and environmental projects a priority. Enacted and requested Bush Administration funding in the Klamath River watershed for fiscal years 2003- 2005 exceeds $ 260 million dollars, according to a federal government summary. This includes $ 105 million proposed by the administration for Klamath Basin federal funding in the Fiscal Year 2005 budget. Vindication: The National Research Council Steps In The Klamath Water Users Association and others in the community in 2001 strongly advocated for an independent peer review of the 2001 fishery agency biological opinions, the underlying science, and the related overall scientific process. In early 2002, an interim report from the National Research Council ( NRC) Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath Basin was released. This represented a critical step towards ensuring proper assessment and maintenance of healthy fish populations. The panel successfully completed an objective, unbiased initial review of the information used by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( USFWS) and NOAA Fisheries to formulate the agencies' two 2001 Biological Opinions ( BOs). The interim NRC report concluded that there was insufficient scientific evidence used by USFWS and NOAA Fisheries in 2001 to support changing the recent historical water operations of the Klamath Project. Specifically, the NRC interim report concluded that higher or lower than recent historical lake levels or Klamath 28 rr r rrr r r r River flows were not scientifically justified based on the available information used by the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries. Despite varying interpretations of the data used by the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries in the BOs, it is especially noteworthy that the NRC panel achieved consensus on the Interim Report's conclusions for not just one, but both BOs. The report's conclusions were adequately supported by the available evidence and analyses used by USFWS and NOAA Fisheries. It was particularly evident that the NRC Committee report was fair and impartial, essential attributes that were sorely lacking in Klamath basin issues to date. The Assault on the Klamath Project Intensifies The release of the NRC Committee's interim report in early 2002 unleashed a barrage of criticism from environmental activists and their allies in academia and government agencies. Two Oregon State University professors, supporters of the high lake level requirements that contributed to the 2001 water curtailment, submitted a formal " rebuttal" of the interim report to a fisheries journal. The " rebuttal" ( so labeled when transmitted by its authors) and other media developments caused the Klamath Project community to fear that the NRC work would be diluted. The local community simply did not have the resources or the networks of contacts to continually counter the anti- Klamath Project messages that were being sent to the public and policymakers, primarily by outside environmental activist organizations. The NRC Committee's interim report triggered what grew to be an extraordinary, and obviously coordinated, attack on the Klamath Project by these interests. Media outlets seemingly relish a good western fight, and many uncritically reprinted a good deal of information that was not fair to Klamath Basin irrigators. The scrutiny on the Klamath Project and the Bush Administration's reliance on the NRC interim report intensified further that fall, when 33,000 salmon died on the lower Klamath River. Immediately after the unfortunate die- off, vocal critics of Project operations and Bush Administration environmental policy used the event to renew attacks on irrigated agriculture in the Klamath Basin. Even though the fish die- off occurred 200 miles downstream from the Project, at a location below the confluence of the main stem Klamath River and the Trinity River, traditional advocates for higher river flows quickly assigned blame to Klamath Project farmers and ranchers. Some of these same interests and others in the environmental community even attempted to directly link the fish die- off to alleged political maneuvering orchestrated by senior policy officials in the Bush Administration. As a result, presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry called on the U. S. Interior Department's Inspector General to look into whether " political pressure from the White House is intimidating staff and influencing policy" in Klamath River management decisions. Interior Department Inspector General Earl Devaney's report - released in March 2004- found " no evidence of political influence affecting the decisions pertaining to the water in the Klamath Project." 29 r r r r r r Eugene Register- Guard Why the salmon died: Pattern points to Bush administration policies A Register- Guard Editorial A 2002 Editorial Headline Between 2002- 2004, the fish die- off was effectively spun by Klamath Project critics to drive a dizzying array of attacks aimed at the Bush Administration and federal agencies responsible for Klamath Project management. Well- coordinated media coverage surrounding several acts of litigation and proposed federal legislation in the two years since the fish die- off have effectively imprinted the environmentalists' message in the minds of many: • " Fish need water"; • " Klamath Project farmers were denied water in 2001 and no fish died in the Klamath River"; • " Klamath Project farmers received full supplies in 2002, and 33,000 salmon died in the river"; • " The Bush Administration sacrificed fish for the benefit of farmers." The claims discussed above are just a few of the more prominent arguments that Klamath Project critics have employed to justify a series of actions undertaken in the wake of the public release of the interim NRC Committee report, including the following: • Federal legislation that would finalize a controversial and flawed draft Klamath River flow report. • Unsuccessful federal legislation that would restrict the ability of local lease land farmers to grow row crops. • Litigation ( PCFFA v. USBR) that, if successful, would have likely shut down Klamath Project operations in 2003. • Public protests staged by tribal members and environmentalists in Klamath Falls in 2002 and in Sacramento in 2003. 30 Listing of the Klamath River as the third most endangered waterway in the country by American Rivers, a Washington, D. C. - based activist group. An unsuccessful lawsuit filed by environmental groups against NOAA Fisheries to hasten the potential ESA listing of the green sturgeon. The release of an Oregon Natural Resources Council ( ONRC) report, which contends that voluntary buyouts of willing sellers within the Project " remain the most politically responsible, socially just, and economically viable method" to address power and ecological challenges. A subsequent letter sent by ONRC to Project landowners, tempting them with the promise of a buyout that would provide them with 2 '/ z times the fair market value of their land. Numerous editorials, journal articles and magazine stories that clearly accept the arguments made by Project critics. However, others did not jump so quickly on to the " blame game bandwagon." During late summer and early fall of 2002, Dave Vogel, a fisheries biologist with 28 years of experience, conducted a field investigation to assess water temperatures in the main stem Klamath River. - Vogel noted that main stem water temperatures in the Klamath River were measured hourly just prior to and during the fall- run Chinook salmon migration season. He found that water temperatures in the upper Klarnath River downstream of Iron Gate Dam during September 2002 were unsuitable for adult salmon, a finding that was similar to that of previous studies. As expected, a normal seasonal cooling trend at the end of September and early October provided the moderating influence lowering Klamath River temperatures to tolerable levels for salmon. Vogel also found that large numbers of salmon entered the lower Klamath River earlier than usual and were exposed to two dramatic and uncharacteristic cooling and warming conditions causing disease outbreak from warm water and crowded conditions. The combination of these factors was chronically and cumulatively stressful to fish and is probably the most plausible reason for the fish die- off. " In my opinion, the best available scientific data and information indicate that the continued operation and maintenance of historical flows at Iron Gate Dam will not jeopardize coho salmon," said Vogel in March 2003. " Furthermore, in my opinion the operations of Iron Gate Dam during the summer and fall of 2002 did not cause and could not have prevented the fish die- off in the lower Klarnath River." Unfortunately, scant media coverage was afforded to Vogel's findings. Outside of the Upper Basin, the press made no mention of the fact that, despite the die- off, the numbers of fish returning to Iron Gate hatchery on the Klamath River were the third highest in 40 years. The media also largely ignored a similar finding made in October 2003 by the National Research Council Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fish in the Klamath Basin. In its final report, the Committee failed to find a linkage between the operation of the Klamath Project and the fish die- off, and questioned whether changes federal project operations at the time would have prevented it. Clearly, the hard working landowners of the Upper Klamath Basin have been on the receiving end of a cruel and long- distance war being waged by environmental activists who assert that the federal water project - representing only 2 percent of the total land base of the Klamath River watershed, and consuming only 3- 4 percent of the average annual flows to the Pacific Ocean - is somehow responsible for all of the environmental woes of the river system. These advocates are intent on portraying the Klamath Basin as a poster child to help fuel outside efforts that are focused on litigating, legislating and publicly condemning the local community for doing what it has done for 98 of the last 99 years - irrigating farm and ranch land. r r r r These interests know that federal water projects are an easy target of litigation, since federal environmental and clean water laws govern project operations. The lawsuits are often aimed at federal entities - such as the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation and fishery agencies - which, on the surface, give the appearance that the environmental plaintiffs are simply interested in correcting errors made by some non- descript governmental agency. The true intended target of these actions, however, ultimately becomes the landowners and water users who fall under the management jurisdiction of the federal agencies. It is the farmers and ranchers that pay the price of litigation through altered management practices, increased uncertainty, and escalating legal expenses to defend their interests. For the most part, the potentially damaging effects these actions could cause family farmers and ranchers have been deflected. However, local water users are concerned that permanent Klamath River policy will be influenced by misinformation in the future. Vindication, Part II After an 18- month barrage of anti- Klamath Project attacks in the media and courtrooms, the long- awaited final report from the National Research Council ( NRC) Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath Basin was released in October 2003. The final NRC report is important to local farmers and ranchers for several key reasons: 1. The report clearly indicated that recovery of endangered suckers and threatened coho salmon in the Klamath Basin cannot be achieved by actions that are exclusively or primarily focused on operation of the Klamath Project. 2. The committee also reconfirmed its findings from the earlier interim report that found no evidence of a causal connection between Upper Klamath Lake water levels and sucker health, or that higher flows on the Klamath River mainstem help coho salmon. 3. The NRC committee did not accept arguments that the operation of the Klamath Project caused the 2002 fish die- off or that changes in the operation of the Project at p the time would have prevented it. 32 r ~ r r Despite the final conclusions, some environmentalists and many in the media continue to maintain the sensational but unsupported position that the Klamath Project was responsible for the 2002 fish mortality that occurred over 200 miles from the Klamath Project. The final NRC report was consistent with what Upper Basin interests have been saying for years: the Klamath Project cannot solely bear the burden for species recovery in this basin. A watershed- wide approach to species recovery - one that addresses all the stressors to fish - is essential to improving the environment and saving the local economy. Local water users shared the NRC report's vision that increased knowledge, improved management, and cohesive community action would promote recovery of the fishes. At the same time, they remained extremely concerned that the " business as usual" approach - regulation of the Klamath Project - would remain the dominant aspect of ESA biological opinions and advocacy of Project opponents. For reasons now clearly evident, the irrigators' original recommendation for an outside technical review of the ESA activities in the Klamath basin by an objective group such as the r National Academy of Sciences back in 1993 ( KWUA 1993) was an important first step. The benefits of an ESA peer review are obvious after reading the NRC's final report. " We are beginning to see signs of progress with ESA activities in the basin," said Dave Vogel, nearly one year after the release of the final NRC Committee report. " However, alarmingly, there are some individuals within the agencies that are in a state of denial over the findings and conclusions of the NRC's report. Despite the NRC's final report, the USFWS and NOAA Fisheries still have too much focus on the Klamath Project and not enough emphasis on a watershed- wide approach." Other experts agree. " We found that the prevailing scientific sentiment in the basin-' More water is better for fish'- was the wrong approach," NRC Committee member Jeffrey Mount told California Farmer magazine in December 2003, two months after the final NRC report was released. " We hate to say we told you so, but...." It is very important to note that many of the most pertinent findings, conclusions, and r recommendations of the NRC Klamath Committee were not new to the USFWS or NOAA Fisheries. Dave Vogel elaborated on this in testimony he provided to the House Resources Committee at a field hearing held in Klamath Falls in June 2004. " The NRC final report advocates a watershed approach, peer review, greater stakeholder involvement, oversight of agency actions, focus on factors other than the Klamath Project 33 r operations, reduction of resource conflicts, and incorporation of the principles of adaptive management toward species recovery," said Vogel. " Over the past decade, local water users and their allies forwarded much of the same and similar technical findings and recommendations to those two agencies, but were mainly ignored. Additionally, the NRC's major conclusion that there is insufficient scientific justification for high reservoir levels and high instream flows was always prominent in water users' technical comments on the agencies' biological opinions during the past decade." r " The NRC Klamath Committee's final report was an outstanding effort and the product must serve as a catalyst to advance balanced natural resource management in the basin," Vogel said. " If federal agencies meaningfully incorporate many of the NRC's principal findings, conclusions, and recommendations, we fully expect positive results to the species recovery and reduced resource conflicts. We should use the momentum of the NRC's final report to guide recovery efforts and watershed improvements. However, if the agencies do not take this pro- active approach, we could again return to the disaster that transpired in 2001." • Dr. Mount agrees. r " For too long, Klamath managers have relied on fixing their problems by turning only one knob- the knob of raising and lowering water levels in Upper Klamath Lake and the river," said Mount, a University of California professor. " They need to take new approaches that support multiple populations offish and healthy ecosystems throughout the watershed," he said. The Klamath Project Regulatory Regime: 3 Years After the Curtailment The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation's final 10- year Biological Assessment for Klamath Project 2002- 2012 operations properly incorporated the findings of the 2002 interim National Research Council's ( NRC) interim report, and generally captured the essence of the " watershed- wide" philosophy endorsed in the final 2003 NRC report. Unfortunately, the fishery agency biological opinions ( BOs) do not. Despite the so- called ecosystem approach to species recovery advocated by the USFWS and NMFS, their actions in the Klamath basin over the past decade amply demonstrates that the exact opposite took place. They focused on: 1) a single- species approach; and 2) Klamath Project operations. The USFWS opinion continues to perpetuate the questionable assumption that lake level management is the principle mechanism affecting sucker survival in Upper Klamath Lake ( UKL). The NOAA Fisheries jeopardy decision similarly continues to place high emphasis on downstream flows. The stored water developed for Klamath Project farmers continues to be reallocated to meet the artificial demands set by agency biologists. 34 r The combined - and apparently, unanticipated - impacts placed on the Upper Basin community from the application of the two opinions are unacceptable. On June 25th, 2003, local irrigators were told by Reclamation officials that UKL diversions to the Project would be shut down for a minimum of 5 days - in the middle of the growing season. By day's end, reason prevailed: the agencies backed off their initial request9 and instead, Reclamation notified farmers to continue their efforts to reduce diversions from the lake. This was driven by one apparent agency mission: to avoid dropping UKL one inch below a lake level requirement established by the USFWS. Rancher Gary Wright learns that the Klamath Project would be shut down in the middle of the irrigation season, June 25, 2003. Common sense prevailed, and later in the day, Reclamation rescinded its earlier decision. In addition to the continued uncertainty irrigators face, the opinions are generating new, unanticipated impacts to the community. In the past 40 to 50 years, while the cropping pattern in the Klamath Project has varied from year to year, the overall planted acreage has remained consistent. On the other hand, the 2002- 2012 biological opinion created by NOAA Fisheries for coho salmon established the river flow schedule and an " environmental water bank" - which ratchets up to 100,000 acre- feet in 2005, regardless of actual hydrologic conditions - that is the primary source of new demand for water in the Klamath River watershed. The result: stored water that has flowed to farms, ranches and the refuges for nearly 100 years is now sent downstream at such high levels, that groundwater pumped from the Lost River basin is being used to supplement the resulting " coho salmon demand" in the Klamath River. 9 Improved coordination between USFWS managers and their Reclamation counterparts in Klamath Falls and Sacramento was one important reason for the positive corrective action that was taken. 35 It is not the farmers who have imposed new water demands that, in essence, have made groundwater the default supplemental supply to the Klamath Project. It is the opinions of agency fishery biologists who have fundamentally altered how this century- old water project operates, and who have apparently failed to anticipate the resulting impacts to the community. While Reclamation in 2002 sharply disagreed with the findings of both fishery agency biological opinions, it is not yet clear how consultation will be reinitiated to create a new operations plan. Proactive Efforts of Upper Basin Landowners Since the early 1990s, and particularly in the new millennium, local water users - both within the Klamath Project and those who farm in upstream areas north of Upper Klamath Lake - have taken proactive steps to protect and enhance water supplies, enhance the environment, r and stabilize the agricultural economy. Farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Project have consistently supported restoration actions to improve habitat for the basin's fish and wildlife species. Sucker Recovery Planning KWUA in 1993 published the Initial Ecosystem Restoration Plan - the first ecosystem- based, scientifically valid planning document on Klamath Basin restoration. The plan placed particular emphasis on real, on- the- ground projects to recover endangered species. It was widely recognized as a meaningful assessment of necessary restoration activities. KWUA in 2001 reiterated its previous call with the release of a report entitled Protecting the Beneficial Uses of Upper Klamath Lake: A Plan to Accelerate Recovery of the Lost River and Shortnose Suckers. The 2001 report provided timelines and budgets for dozens of projects that could provide real benefits. Regrettably, until the past three years, there has been failure to effectively implement most of the on- the- ground activities proposed by KWUA. On- the- Ground Actions Local agricultural and business leaders have dedicated thousands of volunteer hours and have spent millions of dollars in the past ten years to participate in processes associated with environmental restoration, Klamath Basin water rights adjudication, dispute resolution, drought- proofing, and water supply enhancement. Most impressive, however, is the multitude of actions undertaken on- the- ground: • Local efforts to assist National Wildlife Refuges ( e. g. " Walking Wetlands") • Ecosystem Enhancement and Sucker Recovery Efforts in the Upper Basin • Fish Passage Improvement Projects • Wildlife Enhancement and Wetland Restoration Efforts • Local Efforts to Improve Water Quality 36 • Power Resource Development • Efforts to Improve Klamath Project Water Supply Reliability and Water Use Efficiency Many of these efforts were driven by an initial desire to implement meaningful restoration actions intended to provide some sort of mitigation " credit" that could be applied towards reducing the burden carried by Klamath Project irrigators to " protect" threatened and endangered fish species. For many years, that credit was not recognized. For example, Federal agencies or non- profit conservation groups have acquired over 25,000 acres of farmland in the Upper Klamath Basin for habitat purposes. Each time the agencies sought additional land, they promised that each acquisition would provide environmental benefits, reducing pressure on the Klamath Project's family farmers and ranchers. Those promises have not materialized, and Project irrigation water still remains the sole regulatory tool used to address federal ESA objectives for endangered suckers and threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River watershed. • TEAMWORK A broad range of partners include U. S. Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation. CalOre Wetlands. Tulelake Growers Association, Audubon Society. Tulelake Irrigation District, California Waterfowl Association. University of California. Ducks Unlimited. Klamath Water Users Association. USDA NRCS. Leaseland Advisory Council, and numerous volunteer organizations. A page from the " Refuge" section of the tule- Iake. com website. Environmental Water Bank KWUA in early March 2003 announced it would support, and assist the Department of Interior in the implementation of, a Klamath Project Pilot Environmental Water Bank in 2003 to provide over 50,000 acre- feet of additional water for environmental purposes. Reclamation's 10- year Biological Assessment ( BA) developed in February 2002 proposed an environmental water bank through which willing buyers and sellers will provide additional water supplies for fish and wildlife purposes and to enhance tribal trust resources. The 2002- 2012 biological opinion created by NOAA Fisheries for coho salmon firmly established the river flow schedule and the water bank - which ratchets up to 100,000 acre- feet in 2005, regardless of actual hydrologic conditions - that is the primary source of new demand for water in the Klamath River watershed. 37 The coho biological opinion's rigid water bank schedule, which steps up the magnitude of the bank for the first four years, regardless of actual hydrology, is difficult to justify. This type of water bank does not reflect the intent of either the proposal put forth by KWUA in 2002 ( see below), or the original USBR biological assessment, which proposed implementation of a water bank in drier years, not every year. Water users committed to pursue developing a water bank with Reclamation in January 2002. At that time, KWUA was asked by Reclamation to develop a Project- wide water bank to assist with meeting environmental water demands in drier years. KWUA's Water Bank and Supply Enhancement Committee held over 30 meetings in 2002- 03 to develop the 65- page report/ proposal for a long- term water bank, which differs substantially from the pilot water bank proposed by Reclamation this past year. Certainty of water supplies is a key principle imbedded in KWUA's long- term water bank proposal. Local water users insist that, in exchange for voluntary participation in a Project water bank - which would be used to " fund" environmental water needs - 100% of the irrigation demand for remaining Project acreage will be satisfied, season- long. Water users further believe that the water bank cannot be viewed as a stand- alone element. While Reclamation's 2003 and 2004 pilot programs did not closely resemble KWUA's vision for a long- term bank, water users are hopeful that Reclamation and Interior will look to the irrigators' document to complete its 10- year water bank proposal. EQIP Funding in Klamath Basin The federal government in 2003 released $ 7 million in conservation funding to the Klamath Basin. This sum represents a portion of the $ 50 million in funding earmarked for the Basin in the 2002 Farm Bill under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program ( EQIP). KWUA was instrumental in securing these provisions during Farm Bill negotiations. In 2004, Interior Secretary Norton included another $ 12 million for this program in the president's 2005 budget request. The funds provided cost- share payments to farmers and ranchers to employ water conservation measures. Over 800 Klamath Basin landowners have applied to participate in this program, despite the requirement that they pay 25% of the costs. This shows remarkable commitment by local irrigators to do the right thing, despite the fact that many of these landowners are still recovering from the financial impacts of the 2001 water curtailment. Recognition at Last In the past year, local irrigators have finally begun to get the recognition - if not the actual regulatory relief- they deserve for their proactive efforts. To wit: • KWUA was awarded the 2003 " Leadership in Conservation" award by the Oregon Department of Agriculture; • KWUA in 2004 was honored on the steps of the Oregon state capitol for " exemplifying the spirit" of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds; 38 Tulelake Irrigation District in January 2004 received the F. Gordon Johnston award for its innovative canal lining project completed near Newell; and U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and NRCS chief Bruce Knight in 2004 recognized local rancher Mike Byrne for his leadership in conservation. NRCS Chief Bruce Knight ( left) with 2004 Excellence in Conservation Award winner Mike Byrne. It is clear that local irrigators have not been idle in the past ten years. Their efforts to improve their environment are all the more impressive when one considers that the uncertainty and difficulty associated with keeping their farming operations profitable have not diminished. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, Congressman Greg Walden and KWUA Executive Director Dan Keppen at the new A Canal Headgates, April 2003. 39 50 Years After the Compact - Back to the Watershed- Wide Approach Klamath Project water users in October 2004 enthusiastically greeted the announcement that the states of California and Oregon and the Bush Administration had signed the historic " Klamath River Watershed Coordination Agreement". The agreement - signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, and four of President Bush's cabinet level secretaries - underscored the commitment of these parties to solve the fisheries challenges of the Klamath River on a watershed - wide basis. The state- federal Klamath agreement reflects the philosophy embedded in both the Klamath River Basin Compact and the 2003 NRC Klamath report, which confirmed that Klamath Basin issues must be dealt with in an integrated and comprehensive way for a lasting solution of the challenges facing the basin. The NRC committee report makes clear that merely closing the spigot on the Klamath Project will not solve the problems facing Klamath Basin fisheries, and that strategy obviously was disastrous for farming and ranching communities. The coordination agreement recognizes that message and promotes a unified effort that many water users believe is much needed. An important part of this agreement is that it supports the Conservation Implementation Program ( CIP), a work in progress proposed by federal agencies to coordinate management actions in the Klamath River watershed. The CIP would meld a scientific advisory body, local communities, and resource agencies to identify, coordinate and resolve the Basin's critical water quality, water quantity and fish and wildlife restoration challenges. KWUA is working with other producer groups and local government to develop guidelines that make the CIP workable and acceptable to Klamath Basin communities. USBR Study on Pre- Project Flow Conditions on Upper Klamath River Reclamation in late 2004 finalized a draft study intended to provide a glimpse at how the Klamath River might have looked before the Klamath Project was built. The report shows that- especially in drier years - historic flows in the Klamath River near Keno, Oregon dwindled to a mere trickle. The report provides compelling evidence that supports claims made by local residents for decades - the stored water provided by the Klamath Project may actually provide more flows downriver than what would have flowed before the Project was built. This is primarily due to the developed storage and the fact that farmlands that were once under water now use less water than what was historically lost to consumptive and evaporative use of the former marshes. 40 Ufric; lfftid Kur , Jhm% tr Excerpt from Draft BOR Flow Study 41 Conclusion - The Future To solve the problems of the Klamath River watershed, we need a coordinated management program that spans two states in a watershed that is characterized by a strong federal presence. Competition among stakeholder groups - including four tribes, agricultural water users, and countless environmental groups - is fierce. In order to be successful, we need to better understand the real state of the watershed by developing the facts and best possible information to make the best possible decisions. Collaborations need to replace ideological advocacies; watershed wide approaches need to replace regionalism; and honest exchanges of information need to displace environmental sensationalism. A June 20, 2004 editorial published by the Klamath Falls Herald & News provides an apt glimpse of what the future might bring to the Klamath irrigation community and how the Klamath Water Users Association will address that future: Recently, the Klamath Water Users Association got an award for not using water, which is not a contradiction in terms at all. It's a matter of doing what has to be done to keep farming and ranching alive in the Klamath Basin. The award was from the state of Oregon and recognized the water users' efforts in behalf of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. It was presented to the group in a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol with leaders such as Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Legislature participating. The award recognizes a welter of actions in the Basin, some using federal and state dollars and some not, many aimed at making agricultural operations more efficient water users. Some have given agriculture interests heartache, such as the conversion of farmlands to wetlands - the water users cite 24,000 acres in the past decade, equal to more than a tenth of the Klamath Reclamation Project. Nevertheless, it's clear that farmers and ranchers have recognized their predicament given the pressure of the Endangered Species Act and competition for water from Indian tribes upstream and down. Agriculture is in the midst of a struggle that could take decades yet to play out, and its defenders are determined that they will survive. This is a longer- term version of the creativity they showed in 2001, when, faced with imminent ruin, they responded with skill and imagination in a political protest that brought national attention and saved Basin agriculture to fight another day. The vision of the Klamath Basin as a place for human habitation must include agriculture, and an agricultural sector of sufficient size to be economically viable. This place ought to have an urban center and a scattering of pleasant small towns - and in between green fields with dancing water from irrigation works. ~ 42 Whatever alternate vision exists involves blowing away towns such as Merrill Malin and Tulelake and shriveling the city ofKlamath Falls. It involves throwing lots of people off the land, and itfs not acceptable. This is not the first such award, and won't be the last. It is a signal of a widening recognition in Oregon and the nation that farmers and ranchers will do good things here to make sure that they can continue in their necessary and honorable work. The Klamath Water Users Association, with the talents and support of the community, will continue to address the resource needs of its constituency in a proactive and creative manner. The KWUA has shown itself to be steadfast and able in protecting water users while being receptive to innovative and reasonable solutions. Our irrigating communities, through the continued efforts of the KWUA, will always be persistent and adaptable representatives of our American heritage. The " future".. . bring it on, we can handle it. r Father and daughter ride to the headgates, summer 2001. 43 Notes Information sources used in the preceding report sections are further described below. Overview The source for much of this information comes from the Klamath Water Users Association 2003 Water Bank report. Pioneers The Department of the Interior, United States Reclamation Service 1913 report entitled " History of the Klamath Project. Oregon- California. From May 1, 1903 to December 13, 1912", written by I. S. Voorhees, contains detailed accounting of early irrigation works in the Upper Klamath Basin. Paul Simmons of Somach Simmons and Dunn also made significant contributions based on research he and his staff conducted on behalf of Klamath Project water users in the State of Oregon Klamath River adjudication process. The Klamath Basin Calls in the United States Government *— The Voorhees document, noted above, details this issue. Construction Begins The source for much of this information comes from the Klamath Water Users Association 2003 Water Bank report, the Voorhees report, and the affidavit and testimony of Rebecca Meta Bunse, who in 2004 prepared a detailed historic summary of Klamath Project development on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators for the Klamath River adjudication process. ( Reference No. 003E00040050, before the Office of Administrative Hearings, State of Oregon, for the Water Resources Department). Paul Simmons of Somach Simmons and Dunn also made significant contributions based on research he and his staff conducted on behalf of Klamath Project water users in the State of Oregon Klamath River adjudication process. The Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Basin Area Office also provided factual data on the Klamath Project. Homesteaders The Journal of the Modoc County Historical Society, No. 18- 1996, focuses exclusively on twentieth century development of the Tule Lake area. Betty Lou Byrne- Shirely's " The Reclamation of Tule Lake" and the February 1947 Reclamation Era article " Gold Mine in the Sky", both included in the Modoc County historical journal, served as sources for the homesteader information. Quotes made by Dave Carman, a World War II veteran Tule Lake homesteader, were pulled from his testimony submitted at a House Resources Committee field hearing in Klamath Falls in June 2004. The Klamath River Compact The source for much of this information regarding development of the Compact comes from the affidavit and testimony of Stephen R. Wee, who in 2004 prepared a detailed historic summary of Klamath Project water rights and related issues on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators for the Klamath River adjudication process. ( Reference No. 003E00040049, before the Office of Administrative 44 - r Hearings, State of Oregon, for the Water Resources Department). The conclusion of this section contains the actual purposes of the Compact, as identified in Article I of that document. The Klamath Project's Finishing Touches The source for much of this information comes from the Klamath Water Users Association 2003 Water Bank report, the Voorhees report, and the affidavit and testimony of Rebecca Meta Bunse, who in 2004 prepared a detailed historic summary of Klamath Project development on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators for the Klamath River adjudication process. ( Reference No. 003E00040050, before the Office of Administrative Hearings, State of Oregon, for the Water Resources Department). Paul Simmons of Somach Simmons and Dunn also made significant contributions based on research he and his staff conducted on behalf of Klamath Project water users in the State of Oregon Klamath River adjudication process. New Demands Legal documents prepared by the Klamath Water Users Association attorney - Paul Simmons, of Somach, Simmons & Dunn - provide much of the background information regarding the steadily increasing regulations faced by Project irrigators, starting in the 1990s. Specifically, the plaintiffs' memorandum of points and authorities in support of motion for preliminary injunction ( Kandra et al v. United States of America) was relied upon. Also, David Vogel's testimony before the U. S. House of Representatives Committee on Resources oversight field hearing in June 2004 provides an excellent treatise on the real reasons for the decline of suckers in the Upper Klamath Basin. The Klamath Water Users Association previously developed the section that assesses stressors to coho salmon during the 1990s. Problems on the East Side This section derives from an excellent letter ( dated July 28, 2004) prepared by Best Best & Krieger on behalf of Horsefly Irrigation District and Langell Valley Irrigation District. The letter was submitted to the U. S. House of Representatives Resources Committee in connection with a congressional field hearing held in Klamath Falls in July 2004. 2001 Curtailment Of the numerous media accounts of the 2001 water cutoff, I believe Blake Hurst's piece " Calamity in Klamath", which originally was published in The American Enterprise magazine in late 2002, is the best. I have borrowed liberally from Mr. Hurst, particularly his assessment of the impacts to the community of Tulelake, California. Jess Prosser's comments were originally printed in Range Magazine in 2001. The Farmers Fight Back The comments regarding the " desperate community" were pulled from an outstanding paper presented by Paul Simmons at the American Bar Association Environmental Section Fall 2004 Meeting. 45 Enter President Bush I was in the audience when President Bush made his speech in Portland. After the president's speech, I met Congressman Greg Walden for the first time; he conveyed to me some of the details of the president's flight over the Klamath Basin earlier in the day. Vindication: The National Research Council Steps In This section was derived from press statements developed by KWUA in early 2002. The Assault on the Klamath Project Intensifies Most of this section derives from personal experience, and the latter part was pulled directly from an opinion piece I was asked to write for a Boise, Idaho newspaper at the request of Idaho water users who were also being attacked by some of the same activists engaged in Klamath issues. Vindication, Part II / " We hate to say we told you so, but...." Much of this information originates in Dave Vogel's written testimony that he submitted to the House Resources Committee in June 2004. After more than a decade of professional and sometimes, personal criticism by agency and tribal biologists, the final NRC Report perhaps vindicated Dave Vogel more than anyone else. The Klamath Project Regulatory Regime: 3 Years After the Curtailment This section was written based on personal experience of the author. Proactive Efforts of Upper Basin Landowners We refer you to www. kwua. org and a 45- page document entitled Summary of Recent and Proposed Environmental Restoration and Water Conservation Efforts Undertaken by Klamath Water Users and Basin Landowners for further information on this topic. 50 Years After the Compact - Back to the Watershed- Wide Approach This perspective comes from KWUA assessments and press releases. USBR Study on Pre- Project Flow Conditions on Upper Klamath River The USBR study is incredibly important, because, for the first time, it provides a numerical modeling assessment of the conditions that likely existed on the Upper Klamath River before Europeans settled the area. Prior to this effort, assertions that flow conditions in the river were likely lower than the present could only be backed up by anecdotal ( albeit accurate) reports and incomplete flow studies. Conclusion - The Future The June 20, 2004 Herald & News editorial on recent water user efforts provided a fitting ending to this report, which is further enhanced by language developed by Steve Kandra, 2004- 05 KWUA President. 46 Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California Photo Credits 1. Cover photo - courtesy of Jacqui Krizo. 2. Map of Klamath Project - courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation. 3. " A load of produce from the Klamath Fair, October 1907" - courtesy of Tulelake- Butte Valley _ Fair, Museum of Local History ( TBVF Museum). 4. " 1906 Map of Pre- Project Area" - courtesy of Oregon Water Resources Department. 5. " Adams Cut, July 18, 1906" - courtesy of Tulelake - Butte Valley Fair, Museum of Local History. 6. " 1907 Completion of the A Canal Headgates" - courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. 7. " Constructing Clear Lake Dam, September, 1909" - courtesy of TBVF Museum. 8. " 1927 Homesteader Affidavit" - courtesy of Somach, Simmons and Dunn 9. " Farm Lottery Article, Life Magazine" - courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation. 10. " The Sign Says it AH" - courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. 11. " Homesteaders: Robinsons in 2001 Remember Days Gone By" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 12. J. C. Boyle Dam on the Klamath River - courtesy of PacifiCorp. 13. " Tulelake, California" - courtesy of Rob Crawford r l4. " Del Norte Salmon Cannery" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 15. " April 6, 2004 Headlines" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 16. " Kliewer Family in Dry Fields South of Klamath Falls" - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson 17. " Cemeteries went Dry in 2001" - courtesy of Rob Crawford 18. " Time Magazine Captures Rob Crawford & Family" - courtesy of Rob Crawford 19. Klamath Bucket Brigade - courtesy of Klamath Relief Fund. 20. Prayer / Protest at Headgates - courtesy of Klamath Relief Fund. 21. President Bush Photo courtesy of Rob Crawford _ 22. Tulelake Rancher Gary Wright, June 2003 - courtesy of Pat Ratliff 23. Walking Wetlands photo - courtesy of Anders Tomlinson. 24. Bruce Knight and Mike Byrne - courtesy of U. S. Department of Agriculture 25. Gov. Kulongoski, Rep. Walden, and Dan Keppen at the A Canal, 2003 - Courtesy of Pat Ratliff 26. Undepleted Natural Flow of the Upper Klamath River - U. S. Bureau of Reclamation. 27. " Father and Daughter Ride to the Headgates" - courtesy of Rob Crawford 28. " Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge, California" - courtesy of Scott Harding Photography r — 47 Close

• 50. [Image] Migrant workers weeding onions near Stronghold, California

  	KP-1205-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. General view of migrant agricultural workers imported as a group from San Antonio, Texas, and now residing in the surplus WRA (War Relocation Authority) camp at ...
  	Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Migrant workers weeding onions near Stronghold, California Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1205-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. General view of migrant agricultural workers imported as a group from San Antonio, Texas, and now residing in the surplus WRA (War Relocation Authority) camp at Newell, California, weeding onions by hand near Stronghold, California. This method of weeding is quite expensive and in many areas it is being superceded by the use of chemical weed eliminators; June 26, 1946; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Title: Migrant workers weeding onions near Stronghold, California Author: United States. Bureau of Reclamation, Fluharty, J.E. Year: 1946, 2006, 2005 KP-1205-R2 - Klamath Project. Region II. General view of migrant agricultural workers imported as a group from San Antonio, Texas, and now residing in the surplus WRA (War Relocation Authority) camp at Newell, California, weeding onions by hand near Stronghold, California. This method of weeding is quite expensive and in many areas it is being superceded by the use of chemical weed eliminators; June 26, 1946; Photo by J. E. Fluharty Close