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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2002)
FREE Large Drink with the purchase of any 12” sub and chips Offer Valid With This Coupon Only • Not valid with any other offer Offer valid at U of O Campus location only, expires 12/31/2002 880 E. 13th • Eugene, OR (541) 344-1949 Death of Klamath fish revives cultural conflicts A drought emergency in southern Oregon rekindles debates over water rights Jody Burruss Environment/Science/Technology Reporter When University history major Beth Juhas visited Klamath Falls on Memorial Day, she was sur prised to see a sign reading “No Indians Served Here” hanging in the window of a local restaurant. The town was in an uproar over the recent decision to halt irriga tion use in order to protect endangered fish species. Many of the tribes in the area have been outspoken on the impor tance of protecting these fish, which are a part of their culture. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s declara tion of a drought emergency in March 2001 started the debate. Drought conditions created a greater need for already-scarce water to irrigate farmland. But because endangered sucker and coho salmon inhabit the Klamath River, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a biological opinion saying the minimum level of Upper Klamath Lake must be raised, even though it was a drought year. Based on this opinion and the mandates of the Endangered Species Act, the Bureau of Reclamation, which controls water use, announced on April 4, 2001, that no water would be available from the lake for irriga tion. That decision left farmers high and dry. Although they were offered some assistance to compensate their losses, huge debates and Virtual Office Systems, Inc. 'omputers In Partnership with UO Bookstore! Check us out at: www.voscomputers.com Custom built for you with the upgrades you want! 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The Yurok tribe is one of the main groups contesting the release of water for irrigation, which they say may have con tributed to the deaths of 20,000 to 30,000 fish along the Klamath River in the past month. The fish die-off threatens the economic, cultural and religious future of the Yurok, tribe Executive Director Troy Fletcher said. USFWS Service Director Steve Williams said Oct. 2 in a telecon ference call that there is not yet any direct evidence of what caused the die-off. “Given the limited data, at this point we consider it premature to draw conclusions,” Williams said. “There are too many unanswered questions. We are gathering facts and aggressively seeking answers.” Fred Olmey, senior scientist at the USFWS’s Portland office, said fish often die of natural causes, such as predation, previous injury and disease. But the Yurok tribe believes the deaths are not from natural caus es, and they have strong ideas about what caused the die-off that is now affecting their livelihood. According to tribe members, the scarce amount of water being released upriver is to blame. “For years, we’ve been asking for more water, and (governmen tal agencies have) ignored our pleas,” Fletcher said. But Williams said that water volume at the time the die-off began was higher than it had been during the same month in three of the past 11 years. Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken said the bureau began releasing emer gency pulses of water in response to the fish deaths. This lasted for two weeks but stopped Thursday. The following morning, hun dreds of tribal members and con cerned community members gath ered at the dam where the water was shut off to protest and speak out. Ray Matilton of the Hupa tribe, another group concerned with fish populations, said people are worried about water levels being lowered again because this will cause new problems. Eggs are often spawned in grav el areas, he said. When the water level is lowered, many of these areas will become exposed, killing the eggs. “We’re following the judgment of all the biologists,” McCracken said. “We’re hoping this won’t create an additional problem.” Fletcher said there will be long term effects from the die-off because the dead fish are not replaceable. The Yurok tribe has an integral relationship with the river and the salmon. The fish play an important role in reli gious ceremonies, and the tribe depends on them for subsistence and economic sustainability. But to their tribe — and other tribes that depend on the Klamath for fish — the battle is not only about the money they will lose, but about their way of life. “Money is just money,” Fletch er said. “But the fish mean more to us, and they’re at the center of our existence. “We’re salmon people. We have a great dependence on the salmon and the river. ” The Yurok tribe plans to move forward with litigation to prevent low water levels from continuing in the future. “We need to take care of the riv er system, and the river system will take care of the fish,” Fletcher said. Contact the reporter atjodyburruss@dailyemerald.com. ODE ifcorie* ore archived on-line at www.dailyemerald.coni Ore P.O. The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Friday dur ing the school year by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc. at the Uni versity of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.The Emerald operates independently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is pri vate property. The unlawful removal or' use of papers is prosecutable by law. ;on Daily Emerald iox 3159, Eugene OR 97403 NEWSROOM — (541)346-5511 Editor in chief: Michael J. Kleckner Managing editor: Jessica Richelderfer Freelance: Ayisha Yahya, editor News desks: Brook Reinhard, Jenni Schultz, news editors. Jan Montry, senior reporter—campus/federal politics, Brad Schmidt, senior reporter—city/state politics. Jennifer Bear, campus/city culture, Jody Burruss, environment/science/tech nology, Jillian Daley, family/health/education, Danielle Gillespie, safe ty/crime/transportation Pulse: Jacquelyn Lewis, editor. Ryan Bornheimer, senior reporter. Helen Schumacher, Aaron Shakra, reporters. Joe Bechard, Nika Carlson, Natasha Chilingerian, Peter Hallinan, Mason West, columnists Sports:.Peter Hockaday, editor. Adam Jude, senior reporter. Hank Hager, Jesse Thomas, reporters. Commentary: Salena De La Cruz, Pat Payne, editors. M. 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