While most businesses in the Klamath-Trinity region are in a winter slump, fish biologists on the west coast are busily hunched over their computers, aging fish scales, and sitting in week-long meetings with other fish biologists.
Tis’ the season to count fish. How many fish were caught and where, how old, who caught them, how many spawned, where did they spawn, which creek, which hatchery? The list of questions goes on.
The answers are now available in the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (PFMC) Review of 2010 Ocean Fisheries, a 350 page report that summarizes fishery data on the entire west coast. Below is a summary of the Klamath and Trinity River portions of the report.
In-River Run Size and Spawning Escapement
Total run-size for the Klamath Basin adult—three to five year olds—fall Chinook was 90,972. Of those, 37,221 spawned naturally, just shy of the PFMC goal of 40,700 natural spawners. An additional 18,050 adult fall Chinook returned to both Trinity River and Iron Gate hatcheries.
In the Trinity, 22,055 adults spawned naturally and 7,774 adults returned to Trinity River hatchery.
Tribal Harvest
Although the PFMC does not manage for spring run Chinook, tribal harvest numbers are presented in their Review of Fisheries report. Yurok Tribal fishermen netted a total of 3,274 adult spring Chinook. Of these, 258 fish were purchased from estuary fishermen by the Yurok Tribe for distribution to elders.
On the Trinity River 1,740 adult spring run Chinook were harvested by Hoopa Tribal members.
The combined harvest by both YT and HVT of 30,000 adult fall Chinook fell below the total inter-tribal allocation of 34,608 with Yurok Tribe harvesting 76 percent, and Hoopa harvesting 11percent of the shared allocation.
Specifically, Yurok Tribal Members harvested 15,281adults for commercial purposes, with 15,196 of those being caught at the estuary. Yurok Tribal members also harvested 10,905 adults for subsistence purposes, of which 6,529 were caught at the estuary.
Hoopa Tribal Members harvested a total of 3,810 adult fall Chinook.
Biologists have estimated more than 370,000 adult Klamath fall Chinook remained in the ocean at the close of the 2010 fishing season. This is the ocean population that will contribute to ocean and river fishing opportunities in 2011.
Preliminary options for harvest allocation and spawner conservation goals will be developed by the PFMC this week in Vancouver, WA. Public comments may be provided on March 29, at 7pm at the Red Lion Inn, Eureka. A final recommended harvest plan will be available in April.
For more information visit www.pcouncil.org and click on the link to salmon. You may also contact the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department at (530)625-4267
Hoopa Fisheries Department Brings Power to the People Trinity River Power Made Available to Hoopa Valley
When Hoopa residents flip their light switch on in 2015, they will know where the electricity comes from—the Trinity River.
On December 10, the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) announced that the Hoopa Valley Tribe will receive a power allocation of 4,103 mega watt hours annually. That’s enough electricity to power 3,730 homes each year at today’s going rate.
“Central Valley Project contractors get wholesale priced electricity—not to mention billions of gallons of water—at the expense of Trinity River communities such as our Tribe,” Fisheries Department communications coordinator, Allie Hostler said. “This will be the first time since the Trinity was dammed and diverted nearly 50 years ago that the Tribe will benefit from the electricity created with our water.”
Hostler filed the application on behalf of the Tribe in October of 2009 and is currently developing a plan to distribute the power when it becomes available in 2015.
The portion of the Trinity River that is diverted to the Central Valley passes through three powerhouses before it is sent south. These powerhouses, near Redding, at Carr tunnel, Keswick and Spring Creek, together produce about 1100 kilowatt hours of electricity per acre-foot of diverted water. Each acre-foot of water could power an average size family’s home for one year. On average, 646,500 acre-feet is diverted out of the Trinity River each year.
“The Hoopa Tribe is new to energy projects, but the time has come to become fluent in the business of power. We need our share of the energy created by the Trinity River,” she said. “It should not have taken 50 years for the Hoopa Valley Tribe to get a share of Trinity electricity, and we intend to put it to work for our tribe without delay.”
The Hoopa Tribe has spent decades fighting to repair the environmental damage caused to our fishery by the Central Valley Project. It is good, for a change, to be on the receiving end of CVP benefits that have been so long enjoyed by everyone but the Hoopa people.
“Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Leonard Masten said, “This is a big step toward building a better future for our descendants.”
Because the Hoopa Tribe does not own and maintain power lines, the Tribe will likely need to contract with PG&E initially to deliver the power. Negotiations with PG&E have not yet begun. ###
October 11, 2010
Why is the California Water Board risking the State’s water to protect an Oregon Utility? Klamath Water Quality Still in Peril
Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board granted PacifiCorp’s request to suspend the Section 401 Water Quality Certification process until May 17, 2011, a whole year beyond target dates set forth in the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) negotiated in February.
“PacifiCorp will keep stalling and avoid taking responsibility for the water quality disaster on the Klamath River as long as the State allows. The River needs help NOW,” Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman, Leonard Masten said.
California’s Section 401 Water Quality certification process is the final, required step in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) relicensing process. PacifiCorp’s license to operate the Klamath Hydroelectric Project expired in 2006. California was amidst the Section 401 Water Quality Certification process, as required by the Clean Water Act, when the Bush administration in 2008 announced an Agreement between PacifiCorp, California, Oregon and the Federal Government to look into potential dam removal. A year later, in 2009, the Obama administration signed on to the document.
“The Agreement in Principle brought the Section 401 Water Quality Certification process to a dead stop in 2008,” Masten said. The clock is still ticking, and not in favor of Klamath River salmon that Indians and non-Indians depend on as a subsistence, cultural and economic resource.
The KHSA and companion settlement, the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) require federal legislation to be in enacted. The KHSA calls for legislation to be introduced by May 18, 2010. That deadline has come and gone. The Hoopa Tribe believes the $1.5 billion price tag and ongoing disagreements about the KBRA in the basin have stalled its introduction.
Water Board Chairman, Charles Hoppin cited a lack of state money to complete the 401 certification process as a reason the Board granted another delay. Vice Chair, Frances Spivy-Weber expressed concerns that the Water Board is not putting PacifiCorp’s “feet to the fire.” She said, “Sooner or later we’ll have get past the abeyance issue. This issue is no closer to being solved today than it was years ago.”
The Hoopa Tribe sees water quality on the Klamath as an issue that needs immediate attention to avoid another fish kill, like in 2002, when over 68,000 adult Chinook salmon died in warm, shallow, disease ridden waters in the Klamath River. Action to improve the water quality is long overdue. Even if the Klamath Settlements move through Congress, dam removal would not occur until 2020. In the meantime, toxic blue green algae and other contaminants run rampant in the river.
“The State Water Board has granted a series of such delays,” Masten said. “The resolution they adopted last week will cause the abeyance to lift if federal legislation is not enacted by May 17, 2011, a whole year after the proposed timeline in the KHSA and KBRA settlements. They have, in essence, given PacifiCorp, and themselves, more time to do nothing.”
Salazar Gives More Water to Klamath Farmers, None to Fish or Birds Farmers get big money relief and more water
Cooler conditions in the drought-stricken Upper Klamath Basin have prompted Secretary Salazar to give farmers an additional 35,000 acre-feet of water. The river, fish and the wildlife refuges will not see any of the extra water. The news came as a surprise and a disappointment to the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
Despite above average rainfall in the state of California, the Klamath River is being managed under “extreme drought” conditions, leaving it just enough water to keep coho salmon alive under the Endangered Species Act. And, a complex of six Klamath National Wildlife Refuges will go completely dry under the 2010 Klamath Operations Plan.
Salazar’s announcement comes after the Senate passed an emergency spending bill that would give Klamath farmers $10 million. The money, coupled with an additional $8.75 million in federal relief aid will be made available to farmers to idle their fields and increase ground water pumping efforts. It is estimated, according to the 2010 Klamath Operations Plan, that Klamath farmers will pump over 125,000 acre-feet of water from the ground this season, and now, receive upwards of 210,000 acre-feet of surface water in addition to the $18.75 million.
“They're trying to draw down Upper Klamath Lake as far as possible, perhaps in the hope of repeating the artificial drought trick they pulled this year, again next year,” Hoopa Tribal Fisheries Director, Mike Orcutt said.
Last year, Upper Klamath Lake was drained down to the minimum level required by the Endangered Species Act. Early this year, the lake was below the ESA requirements for both Lost River Suckers and coho salmon, sparking a panic that led the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue a new biological opinion for coho salmon. That new biological opinion features a new and dangerous way to calculate the water year type.
“Once again, they’re drawing down Upper Klamath Lake to dangerously low levels and betting that it will refill this winter. That’s not good water management; it is gambling with our trust resources,” Orcutt said. “What they’re doing is creating an artificial drought for the river, while still delivering water to the Klamath Irrigation Project.”
Compounding the Tribe's concern is the fact that on Monday of this week tribal representatives participated in a day-long meeting with federal agency representatives to discuss a proposal by the Bureau of Reclamation to purchase 35,000 acre-feet of Trinity Division water from Central Valley Project contractors to augment the Lower Klamath River in order to prevent a possible fish kill this year. At no time did Interior’s representatives disclose that the Secretary was already planning to divert another 35,000 acre-feet of Klamath River water to the Klamath Project
The Secretary's announcement is consistent with the Department's unilateral and unconsented decision in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement to waive its trust obligations to the Hoopa fishery in deference to irrigation commitments to the Klamath Project.
“Talk is cheap on trust responsibility.” Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Leonard Masten said. “The National Marine Fisheries Service has refused to have meaningful conversations about trust species, such as our primary mainstay, fall-run Chinook salmon, lamprey or sturgeon. They will only address issues regarding listed species, and even those are being managed at borderline jeopardy standards.”
The Tribe strongly opposes what happened today and urges that the decision be withdrawn and reconsidered pursuant to the President's consultation policy and federal law.
July 2, 2010
The Hoopa Valley Tribe issued the following statement from Chairman Leonard Masten about the Governor’s plan to postpone Proposition 18:
The Governor’s announcement to push for removal of the $11.14 billion water bond from the 2010 ballot until 2012 is indicative of the measure’s weakness.
It’s a choreographed political move for Schwarzenegger and his special interest cronies to postpone the measure. It buys them more time to falsely convince the public that they need this pork-filled bond to have water when they turn on their spigots.
The proposition, known as the Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act is not really about drinking water. It’s about building and privatizing taxpayer-built dams and moving the control of the California’s water from the public trust to the private sector. The measure also paves the way for the construction of a peripheral canal that would more easily ship Northern California Water south.
We like Mark Franco’s comment published on Indynews Today. “The peripheral canal is a big, stupid idea that doesn’t make any sense from a tribal environmental perspective,” said Franco, headman of the Winnemem Wintu (McCloud River) Tribe. “Building a canal to save the Delta is like a doctor inserting an arterial bypass from your shoulder to your hand– it will cause your elbow to die just like taking water out of the Delta through a peripheral canal will cause the Delta to die.”
The Hoopa Valley Tribe urges the California legislature to vote NO on postponing proposition 18 until 2012. We also urge legislators to go one step further and repeal the water bond entirely. It is not only fiscally irresponsible, it is a bad idea now and it will continue to be a bad idea in two years.
The Hoopa Valley Tribe has lived on the banks of the Trinity River since time immemorial, carrying on traditions that hold the water and fish in the highest regard. The damming and diversion of the Trinity and Klamath Rivers has devastated the Hoopa people’s livelihood, salmon. The Trinity River is the only source of imported water to the Central Valley Project. A drop of Trinity River water can travel all the way to Los Angeles, over 900 miles, via Central Valley Project plumbing. For decades, over 90 percent of the river was siphoned south to quench the mounting thirst of Southern California. We have fought ever since to restore the Trinity River, with great opposition from Southern California water districts.
June 19, 2010
Click the link below to read a Klamath Article from High Country News
The Bureau of Reclamation will increase flows to the Trinity River at Lewiston, beginning on April 30, 2010. This water is being provided in accordance with the Trinity River Record of Decision and is intended to assist in restoration of salmon and other fish of the River. Flows from Lewiston Dam will increase from 300 cubic feet per second to a peak of 6,000 cubic feet per second; the peak will extend from May 2 through 6. Releases will then step down, reaching 450 cubic feet per second during the first week of July, and then continue at that level for the balance of the summer.
All areas along the river between Lewiston and Weitchpec will be influenced by the release. The river will be flowing faster as well as deeper. Combined with hot weather and runoff from high-elevation tributaries such as South Fork and New River, the Trinity at Hoopa will increase significantly. In some areas, water levels can be expected to rise by as much as several feet. People are advised to prepare accordingly. Extra caution is advised when swimming, fishing and wading.
March 22, 2010
Contact: Allie Hostler (530)625-4267 x12
Northern California Salmon Season Re-Cap – Chinook Stocks Slightly Up
Despite devastating destruction to Pacific salmon stocks, the magnificent fish is showing small signs of recovery. After two years of recreational ocean salmon fishing closures, and four years of ocean commercial salmon fishing closures, the 2010 season forecast for Klamath River and Central Valley stocks show levels of abundance that could allow fishermen to get their boats back on the water, briefly.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) released its post-season recap in mid March detailing the 2009 fall salmon runs and suggested options for the coming season.
“Although 2009 Klamath River run was lower than predicted, 2010 holds slightly more promise,” Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Director, Mike Orcutt said. “The PFMC predicts that an increased abundance of four-year-old salmon will migrate up Klamath and Trinity rivers this year, with a slight increase in harvest opportunities for tribal and non-tribal fisheries.”
2009 Spawner Overview
On the Trinity River almost 17,000 adult fall run Chinook spawned naturally in the mainstem and tributaries. Another 7,400 were spawned at the Trinity River Hatchery. On the Klamath River nearly 28,000 adult fall Chinook spawned naturally and about 12,300 were spawned at Iron Gate Hatchery. The total for the Klamath Basin, including the Trinity River, was 44,600 adult natural spawners and 19,600 hatchery spawners.
The PFMC manages for no less than 35,000 adult natural area Klamath fall Chinook spawners in every year. However, last year as in 2010, the PFMC has been managing for more spawners in response to a three-yearshortfall in natural escapement from 2004 to 2006. The elevated escapement target of 40,700 was exceeded by about 4,000 – a slight boost that may improve population levels in 2013 and 2014 if river flows and restoration projects provide favorable habitat.
Data gathered by the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe, California Department of Fish and Game, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are combined and mulled over each year to calculate the upcoming season’s ocean population size. Data are gathered by surveying counts at weirs and surveying spawning beds, otherwise known as salmon redds.
2009 Harvest Overview
The Hoopa and Yurok Tribes share a federally reserved right to 50 percent of the available harvest. In 2009, the combined Tribal quota was set at 30,900 adult fall Chinook, of which 92 percent were harvested. Recreational harvest is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game under a 30,800 adult Chinook quota, of which 18 percent were harvested. An additional 100 adult Chinook were allocated to a limited marine recreational fishery last August in the Klamath Management Zone.
The Yurok tribal harvest was about 24,200. The Hoopa tribal harvest on the lowermost reach of the Trinity River was about 4,150. The Hoopa harvest includes subsistence, ceremonial and commercial harvest. The total tribal harvest was 28,389 with the majority harvested on the Yurok Reservation in the estuary. Of the total Yurok tribal harvest, 15,700 were sold commercially and the remaining fish were used for subsistence and ceremonial purposes.
The number of commercially harvested salmon in 2009 was up by 3,500 fish from the 2008 commercial harvest. Ocean commercial fishing was banned on the California coast during the 2009 season.
The total river recreational harvest for the Klamath and Trinity Rivers was 5,571 adult fall Chinook. The California ocean recreational season was limited in 2009 to a brief late-season opening on the North Coast. There were 5,400 recorded ocean vessel trips with 77 adult Klamath fall Chinook caught.
What to expect in 2010
The PFMC released options for public review and will hold a hearing in Eureka to discuss the 2010 ocean sport and commercial season options. The hearing will be at the Red Lion Hotel March 30, 2010 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit the PFMC website at www.pcouncil.org. Click on the salmon tab.
The PFMC will again manage ocean fisheries, to achieve an elevated adult natural spawner escapement of 40,700 for Klamath River fall Chinook. The PFMC does not regulate Tribal and river recreational fisheries, but the PFMC is mandated to meet a 50-50 sharing of harvestable fall Chinook between tribal and non-tribal fisheries. PFMC’s 2010 options propose marine fisheries that achieve this harvest balance while ensuring the natural spawner escapement objective. As a result, the expected harvest guideline for the combined Hoopa/Yurok tribal fishery shall fall slightly higher than the 2009 guideline of 30,900 adult fall Chinook and within a range of 32,700 to 35,400 fish. ###
March 17, 2010
Contact: Allie Hostler (530)625-4267 x12 Daniel Jordan (530)625-4211 x106
National Marine Fisheries Services Alters ESA Biological Opinion to Meet Ag Needs KBRA politics play critical role
Critically low water levels in Upper Klamath Lake have prompted the resurrection of a revised biological opinion from the National Marine Fisheries Service that prioritizes water deliveries to the Klamath Irrigation Project, and places river flows for fish last on the list.
“This is exactly what happened in 2002. The result—the largest die-off of adult salmon in history,” Hoopa Valley Tribal Self Governance Coordinator, Daniel Jordan said. “NMFS has the opportunity and responsibility not only to protect coho salmon survival, but recovery as well. Instead they’ve chosen to create loopholes in the science to help the Bureau of Reclamation provide agricultural water deliveries—at the expense of fish.”
Last year, Upper Klamath Lake was drained down to the minimum level required by the biological opinion. There was not enough rain and snow this year to refill the reservoir. Those two factors threaten agricultural deliveries this season and have prompted Oregon Governor, Ted Kulongoski, and Oregon Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkeley to plead with the federal government for “immediate and coordinated” assistance to help cope with a drought of “historic magnitude.”
“They draw down the lake to deficit levels then calculate the water year type based on filling that deficit, plus the amount of rain and snow received,” Jordan said. “What they’re doing is creating an artificial drought for the river, while still delivering water to the Klamath Irrigation Project.”
Currently there is no mechanism in place to prevent this from happening year after year. Late last month, California Senator Diane Feinstein was widely criticized for suggesting a rider to a bill to relax environmental laws in order to deliver more water to the Central Valley Project. The same thing is being done today by federal agencies to the benefit of the Klamath Irrigation Project.
Department of Interior officials were asked in December if the scientific books would be ‘cooked’ under the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) to accommodate agricultural water needs. The response was, “absolutely not.”
Jordan cites Section 21 of the KBRA, which allows the Federal agencies to modify the ESA requirements to accommodate the Klamath deal. “They did what they said they would not by cooking the books on the Endangered Species Act (ESA). And, the KBRA provided the opportunity to do it,” Jordan said. “The KBRA hasn’t gone in to effect, but we are witnessing, first-hand, the parties’ commitment to deliver water to the Project at the expense of the fishery.”
As a result of the Federal ESA proposal, Jordan expects the Hoopa Valley Tribe to more aggressively push for protections of Trinity River fish in the Klamath River that the Trinity River Restoration Program is intended to restore. The Hoopa Valley Tribe is especially concerned that the lower Klamath River tribal fishery will begin to deplete Trinity salmon stocks as Klamath salmon production begins to decrease.
“We’ve spent millions of dollars over the past several decades fighting to restore the Trinity River. If this is what we see within the first year under the KBRA, what should we be expecting over its 50-year life?” ###
HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE ADVOCATES FOR BETTER DEAL FOR KLAMATH Tribe refuses to waive fishing and water rights for no guaranteed dam removal and no guaranteed flows for fish
Hoopa, Calif.—The Hoopa Valley Tribe, whose reservation lies at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers, voted unanimously to disapprove the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA).
“The settlements undermine tribal water rights, do not assure dam removal, and rely on unfunded and unspecific fishery restoration goals,” Hoopa Tribal Chairman Leonard Masten said. “We cannot stand behind deals that require the subordination of our rights, and that may never result in dam removal.”
The Hoopa Valley Tribe is one of four tribes that participated in the 5-year negotiation process. The Tribe’s primary focus was to ensure that adequate flows for fishery restoration were established in the settlements, but to no avail. Now, of greater concern to the Tribe are the legal assurances being forced upon Klamath Basin tribes that do not sign the agreements.
The assurances in section 15.3.9 of the KBRA conflict with a recent National Congress of American Indians Resolution that, “opposes any policy of the United States to terminate the rights of, or impose adverse consequences upon a tribe that chooses to retain its water rights instead of settling on terms desired by the federal government.”
Also of concern is the lack of scientific evidence supporting the water allocations set forth in the KBRA; the undermining of the Endangered Species Act; the possibility of increased ground water pumping; and the lack of specific fishery or water quality restoration goals or targets.
“The Settlements are not based on the best available science and the science underlying the settlements has not been the subject of peer review or an open public process,” Masten said.
The Hoopa Valley Tribe worked continually with the Department of the Interior to resolve their concerns with the KBRA, but few of their concerns were addressed in the final agreements leading to their official disapproval.
The Hoopa Valley Tribe has relied on the fish and wildlife resources of the Klamath River and its tributary, the Trinity River since time immemorial. Those resources are integral to the customs, religion, culture, subsistence and ceremony of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Today, more than half of the Klamath River’s spring and fall runs of chinook salmon spawn in the Trinity River. ###
January 25, 2009
Contact: Allie Hostler (530)625-4267 x12 Mike Orcutt (530)625-4267 x13
Water Laws and Rights Ignored Hoopa Water Flowing 650 Miles South to Quench So-Cal Thirst
The Trinity River today is being diverted away from our home nearly 650 miles north of Los Angeles and delivered to agencies in central and southern California, including the Metropolitan Water District.
“The environmental cost of supplying water to the people and economy of California has been recognized by law repeatedly,” Mike Orcutt, Fisheries Director for the Hoopa Valley Tribe, said. “But the Bureau of Reclamation refuses to enforce existing laws that require water contractors to pay their full restoration obligations.”
The Hoopa Tribe’s salmon fishery was nearly destroyed within the first decade of the completion of the Trinity River Division in 1963. In 1980, a Department of the Interior Environmental Impact Statement reported that chinook salmon populations declined by 80 percent and steelhead populations declined by 60 percent since the diversion.
The drastic decline resulted in the loss of economic stability of the Hoopa Valley and surrounding communities that depend largely on the health of the river and fish runs. The area has suffered 40 percent unemployment rates since the fishery crashed. More importantly, Trinity River salmon runs are the cultural pulse by which the people of the Hoopa Valley have survived for thousands of years.
“All we’ve asked for is what has been promised and mandated by law for the Trinity River. Nothing more, nothing less,” Orcutt said.
The Hoopa Valley Tribe was denied the opportunity to testify at a California water crisis hearing held today in Los Angeles by the House Subcommittee on Water and Power. The Tribe did however, hand deliver written testimony recommending:
The CVPIA as the foundation for any plan to achieve a reasonable balance among competing demands for use of Central Valley Project Water.Trinity River restoration provisions of the CVPIA be enforced, including the full collection of funds from the appropriate water contractors.The release of an additional 50,000 acre-feet of water to flow down the Trinity River for area-of-origin users as mandated by the Trinity River Division Act.Improved oversight of the CVPIA by supporting an independent, science-based review process to help reduce the political and economic biases that exist within federal agencies responsible for the management of California’s water supply.
For more detailed information about the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s involvement with the Central Valley Project and fight to restore the Trinity River please follow the link below:
