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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

August 20, 2009 -- 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.”
 
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For photos, e-mail Klamath Riverkeeper Erica Terence.
 
More Information, including USGS gage links, can be found on our website at www.klamathriver.org

Erica Terence, Riverkeeper
PO Box 751
Somes Bar, CA 95568
 
530.627.3311 (office)
530.340.5415 (cell)
 
http://www.klamathriver.org