Klamath third on list of rivers in peril

By PAUL FATTIG
Mail Tribune

The Klamath was named one of the nation's most endangered rivers Tuesday by the national conservation group American Rivers.

Blaming irrigation practices by farmers and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for much of the pollution in the Klamath River, the Washington, D.C.-based group placed it third on its annual list of the nation's most threatened rivers, behind the Missouri River and the Big Sunflower River in Mississippi.

The nonprofit organization represents about 4,000 river and watershed conservation groups.

The Klamath, with its headwaters in the Klamath Basin, was the only river in the West to receive the infamous designation. The group listed 11 rivers it considers "most endangered," using criteria such as media attention, public awareness and public policy analysis - but not necessarily scientific study.

"Salmon populations in the Klamath River have fallen below 8 percent of their historic averages, but the Bureau of Reclamation believes that every drop destined for the river belongs to irrigators first," said Rebecca Wodder, American Rivers president, in a prepared statement.

In a news conference in Medford Tuesday morning, other regional conservation groups agreed with the national group's assessment.

"Call me a radical, but I think fish need water," said Andy Kerr, senior counselor and former director of the Oregon Natural Resources Council.

"The Klamath River is the Everglades of the West, but we as a society aren't treating it well," he added. "It's going downhill, and the trend needs to be reversed."

The river was deemed endangered because its water is being overdrawn, polluted by farm runoff and blocked by hydroelectric dams that impede the natural migration of its fishery.

During last summer's drought, water for the Klamath Reclamation Project, a federal irrigation project serving 220,000 acres along the Oregon-California border, was cut drastically under the provisions of the federal Endangered Species Act.

Two bills are now before Congress to set aside funds for addressing problems rising from the yearlong fight over Klamath Basin water.

"There is not enough water to go around," Kerr said. "Agriculture needs to be rescaled to a level that is sustainable. We need to clean up the water and ensure there is more water for this and future generations."

The only solution to regaining the river's health is to reduce the demand for its water, said Erika Giesen, spokeswoman for WaterWatch of Oregon.

"We have promised too much water to too many interests in the Klamath Basin," she said. "One of the ways we can reduce demand is to implement a willing seller program where farmers who are willing to sell their water rights and retire them can be supported by the federal government."

That program would give farmers who choose to continue farming the certainty of having water every year, she said.

And it would provide more water in the river for fish, the commercial fishing industry, sport-anglers, native Americans and the public at large, she said.

Ending commercial farming now allowed on national wildlife refuge land also would help, she said.

"How long can the Bush administration continue to favor one interest over a host of others?" asked Felice Pace, conservation director of the Klamath Forest Alliance based in Etna, Calif.

He charged the administration with supporting the agricultural interest over much larger, broader-based interests, from coastal communities to commercial fishing industries.

The American Rivers report will help nationalize the fight over the Klamath River, he said.

"In the next three months, the river is going to be cut to the bone," Pace said. "The young salmon will have a hard time getting out."

Pace accused the administration of using the river as a political pawn. But he allowed that those expressing concern about the health of the river are also making it a national political issue by placing it on the national list.

"They (administration officials) have made it a national issue," Pace said. "We have to make the American people aware of what's going on out here."

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com 

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