Karuk Tribe critical of Klamath River water plan
The Karuk Tribe has spoken out against a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plan that is expected to bring on economic hardship to farmers along the Klamath River Basin and fall short of filling the needs of fisheries and endangered species downstream.
The Bureau of Reclamation released its 2021 Klamath Temporary Operations Plan on Wednesday in response to the years of ongoing drought conditions in the Klamath River Basin. This year, the Upper Klamath River is recording its lowest historical inflows.
The document sets guidelines for the Bureau of Reclamation to manage the Klamath Irrigation Project this spring to keep a maintained water level in the Upper Klamath Lake. The plan will maintain specific river flows for salmon through September and preserve the option of a flushing river flow.
Reclamation is making an initial minimum allocation of 33,000 acre-feet of water, based on the April 1 Natural Resources Conservation Service forecast for the 2021 water year. Project supply from the Upper Klamath Lake will become available no earlier than May 15 to charge Klamath Project canals, with remaining deliveries starting no earlier than June 1.
Input from tribes and regional stakeholders was taken and considered by the Bureau of Reclamation back in February via a process also involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries office.
Karuk Tribe natural resources consultant Craig Tucker told the Times-Standard he believes the plan will be catastrophic for the basin’s economy, as farmers normally receive approximately 400,000 acre-feet of water in a regular year.
He believes culling the amount to less than 10% of the prior allocation may create an economic disaster.
“I anticipate that some family farms may go out of business and some people might have trouble paying the mortgage,” he said. “I do think it could be a real economic calamity for family farmers.”
Tucker pointed to the current water troubles facing tribal fisheries. Reducing water flow would only exacerbate these.
“The Yurok Tribe has a commercial fishery which hasn’t operated in five years and the Karuk sustenance fishery sure isn’t providing enough subsistence for tribal members and our ocean-going commercial fishermen will either have no season or a shortened season,” Tucker stated.
Karuk Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery issued a statement in regards to the plan calling on Congress to act.
“We appreciate the efforts of the Biden Administration to manage water resources in the face of this natural disaster. We know it is impossible to meet everyone’s water needs when the rains don’t come,” Attebery’s statement said. “For the Karuk Tribe, this is about more than economic survival. Our cultural identity is intimately linked to the salmon, sturgeon, steelhead, and lamprey. The Karuk Tribe is committed to working with federal agencies, fellow Tribes, and our neighbors in the farming and ranching communities to survive this disaster. We call on Congress to provide disaster relief to all affected communities and to invest in the river restoration and water conservation efforts that acknowledge the reality of climate change and equitably balances water use.”
As part of the plan, the upper Klamath Lake will be operated by Reclamation to keep the lake at a minimum annual elevation of 4,138.3 feet. The bureau will adjust supply on a regular, semi-monthly basis to comply with the elevation goals and other provisions in the plan.
The Bureau of Reclamation also announced $18 million in aid to the region, with $15 million coming through the Klamath Project Drought Relief Agency and $3 million for tribes for technical assistance for ecosystem activities groundwater monitoring in the river basin. The funding supplements other rounds of funds coming from bureaus within the Department of the Interior.
“I anticipate that some family farms may go out of business and some people might have trouble paying the mortgage. I do think it could be a real economic calamity for family farmers.” — Craig Tucker, Karuk Tribe natural resources consultant