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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
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Yurok tribe officials say low water levels on the Klamath River are to blame for the
deaths of20,000to 30,000 fish within the last month.
protests ensued over water rights.
Eventually, a peer review of the
scientific opinions by the National
Academy of Sciences rendered the
decision baseless, and the water
was turned back on.
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.
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