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Agencies Do Nothing As Scott and Shasta Rivers Go Dry
The Scott and Shasta Rivers, major salmon spawning tributaries of the Klamath River, are being sucked dry by irrigators as the Schwarzenegger and Obama administrations do absolutely nothing! Here are all of the details from Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper.
Photo: Coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead are in peril as the Scott River, shown here at the Highway 3 bridge, is being sucked dry.
Photo: Coho salmon, Chinook salmon and steelhead are in peril as the Scott River, shown here at the Highway 3 bridge, is being sucked dry.
Klamath Riverkeeper Press Release | For Immediate Release
Contact: Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper, office: (530) 627-3311, cell: (530) 340-5415, erica [at] klamathriver.org
August 20, 2009
Two Northern California Salmon Rivers Go Dry As Spawning Season Begins
Agencies Do Nothing as Irrigators Suck Shasta and Scott Rivers Dry, Stranding Endangered Fish
Fort Jones, CA— In the absence of action by responsible agencies, Klamath River advocates including Klamath Riverkeeper are mobilizing legal and grassroots responses to a water flow crisis of species-exterminating proportions in the Scott and Shasta tributaries to the Klamath.
Flows in the Scott River bottomed out at an all time record low of less than one cubic foot per second (cfs) this week, according to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) flow gage at Fort Jones-- far below the average of 69 cfs for this time of year. Large areas of the river have gone completely dry, stranding endangered coho salmon as well as Chinook and steelhead in shallow, disconnected pools of water.
The adjacent Shasta River isn’t faring much better, with flows as low as 6 cubic feet per second, down from its average of 30 cfs for this time of year. Both streams are critical fish habitat within the Klamath River watershed and are dewatered by excessive irrigation withdrawals in the Scott and Shasta Valleys of far Northern California.
“This is a very critical situation that requires immediate action and so far none of the responsible government agencies—or water users—are stepping forward with any plan of action, “ said Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence. The non-profit river advocacy organization is mobilizing a legal and public outreach campaign to bring attention to this historic flow emergency and push for action that puts water back in the river as soon as possible.
Terence said agencies with the power to put more water back in the river, or at least investigate the water shortage, include the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the California Water Quality Control Board, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries department (NOAA fisheries) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). She urged citizens to raise their voices with each of these offices to demand enough water for fish in the Scott and Shasta.
The Scott and Shata River’s record low water levels threaten to wipe out struggling coho and Chinook salmon runs that are crucial to recovering and sustaining the overall Klamath River fishery. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has closed or severely curtailed the Klamath’s commercial and sport salmon fishing industries for three of the past four years due to low fish populations.
The rivers’ flow crisis has also attracted the attention of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations (PCFFA), the largest trade association of commercial fishermen on the West Coast. "As fishing dependent communities, we are very concerned about the dewatering of the Scott and Shasta Rivers this year. This puts years of local landowners' restoration efforts, costing millions of dollars, at risk. Fish swim in water, not dry riverbeds," Glenn Spain of PCFFA said.
“The Shasta River was once the most productive salmon river for its size in California and the Scott River used to have thriving coho, Chinook, and steelhead runs,” Terence said.
“If we want to truly ‘Save our Scott and Shasta Rivers’, we can’t sit by while these rivers literally are sucked dry by irrigators. We need water in the river right now. Fall run salmon are already on their way up the Klamath and need to be able to swim up the Scott and Shasta Rivers to spawn.”
###
For photos, e-mail Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence.
More Information, including USGS gage links, can be found on our website at http://www.klamathriver.org
Contact: Erica Terence, Klamath Riverkeeper, office: (530) 627-3311, cell: (530) 340-5415, erica [at] klamathriver.org
August 20, 2009
Two Northern California Salmon Rivers Go Dry As Spawning Season Begins
Agencies Do Nothing as Irrigators Suck Shasta and Scott Rivers Dry, Stranding Endangered Fish
Fort Jones, CA— In the absence of action by responsible agencies, Klamath River advocates including Klamath Riverkeeper are mobilizing legal and grassroots responses to a water flow crisis of species-exterminating proportions in the Scott and Shasta tributaries to the Klamath.
Flows in the Scott River bottomed out at an all time record low of less than one cubic foot per second (cfs) this week, according to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) flow gage at Fort Jones-- far below the average of 69 cfs for this time of year. Large areas of the river have gone completely dry, stranding endangered coho salmon as well as Chinook and steelhead in shallow, disconnected pools of water.
The adjacent Shasta River isn’t faring much better, with flows as low as 6 cubic feet per second, down from its average of 30 cfs for this time of year. Both streams are critical fish habitat within the Klamath River watershed and are dewatered by excessive irrigation withdrawals in the Scott and Shasta Valleys of far Northern California.
“This is a very critical situation that requires immediate action and so far none of the responsible government agencies—or water users—are stepping forward with any plan of action, “ said Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence. The non-profit river advocacy organization is mobilizing a legal and public outreach campaign to bring attention to this historic flow emergency and push for action that puts water back in the river as soon as possible.
Terence said agencies with the power to put more water back in the river, or at least investigate the water shortage, include the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the California Water Quality Control Board, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries department (NOAA fisheries) and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). She urged citizens to raise their voices with each of these offices to demand enough water for fish in the Scott and Shasta.
The Scott and Shata River’s record low water levels threaten to wipe out struggling coho and Chinook salmon runs that are crucial to recovering and sustaining the overall Klamath River fishery. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has closed or severely curtailed the Klamath’s commercial and sport salmon fishing industries for three of the past four years due to low fish populations.
The rivers’ flow crisis has also attracted the attention of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations (PCFFA), the largest trade association of commercial fishermen on the West Coast. "As fishing dependent communities, we are very concerned about the dewatering of the Scott and Shasta Rivers this year. This puts years of local landowners' restoration efforts, costing millions of dollars, at risk. Fish swim in water, not dry riverbeds," Glenn Spain of PCFFA said.
“The Shasta River was once the most productive salmon river for its size in California and the Scott River used to have thriving coho, Chinook, and steelhead runs,” Terence said.
“If we want to truly ‘Save our Scott and Shasta Rivers’, we can’t sit by while these rivers literally are sucked dry by irrigators. We need water in the river right now. Fall run salmon are already on their way up the Klamath and need to be able to swim up the Scott and Shasta Rivers to spawn.”
###
For photos, e-mail Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence.
More Information, including USGS gage links, can be found on our website at http://www.klamathriver.org
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Dan, your article is very well written. I appreciate your passion. A problem I have is the food produced by the farmers and ranchers with the use of the water seems to be consumed by all of us. Are there alternative food sources or irrigation techniques available to lessen the use of water?I live in Yreka and grow my own garden but realize my water too, comes from fall creek, a tributary of the Klamath. In the late 60s I lived up moffett creek and recall the creek going dry above any irrigation. It seems to me there are just too many people with increasing demands on our precious earth. I would jump aboard in a heartbeat if I could see better ways. The best way to solve a problem is to find other solutions. Write about that, would you? What do other countries do? What would you do? Thanks again for your good writing
bill Winterburn Winterburns lighthouse
bill Winterburn Winterburns lighthouse
I don't think its as simple as water for food vs. water for fish. I've talked to Scott Valley old timers who note that Scott farmers used to use a lot of low-water needs crops - wheat for example. As irrigation and pumping technology has improved, farmers have switched to more water intensive crops. Also, as anyone who's driven through the area knows, much of the water is spraying out of sprinklers into the air on 100 degree days. Clearly, many people are not choosing their crops, or their irrigation methods, based on the idea that fishermen feed America too, and so it might be important to share our water with them.
I see your point, I'm also gardening with water I'd like to put back in a salmon stream. But I think we could go a long way if farmers in places like the Scott and SHasta (and Upper Klamath) could decide as a group the best way to maximize food production while minimizing water use and ecological harm - and to truly put that vision into practice. Maybe growing alfalfa for cattle is not always the best use of limited water supplies. If it turns out that crops needing less water are less profitable, than perhaps the government can subsidize these, rather than corporate agribusiness. Too often, we see people making token or superficial changes, when what's needed is a pretty dramatic overhaul based on scientifically-derived limits.
I see your point, I'm also gardening with water I'd like to put back in a salmon stream. But I think we could go a long way if farmers in places like the Scott and SHasta (and Upper Klamath) could decide as a group the best way to maximize food production while minimizing water use and ecological harm - and to truly put that vision into practice. Maybe growing alfalfa for cattle is not always the best use of limited water supplies. If it turns out that crops needing less water are less profitable, than perhaps the government can subsidize these, rather than corporate agribusiness. Too often, we see people making token or superficial changes, when what's needed is a pretty dramatic overhaul based on scientifically-derived limits.
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