Klamath Farmers and Ranchers Heartened by NAS Study

A group of the nation's preeminent scientists found no substantial scientific support linking irrigation in the Klamath basin to the welfare of endangered fish. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued its report "Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin: Causes of Decline and Strategies for Recovery" October 22. 

The report’s findings should lessen the likelihood that irrigation restrictions will be principally relied on to help the fish as has been the case in the past.

In 2001, both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service issued "biological opinions" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that required higher water levels to protect endangered suckers and higher flows to protect threatened coho salmon. The Klamath Project delivers irrigation water to 220,000 acres of farm land in Oregon, Washington, and southern California.  The restrictions forced farmers and ranchers who use the water for irrigation on their operations to cut back, further damaging already drought-stricken farmland.

“Since the beginning of the century, American farmers and ranchers have used that water to build their communities, sustain their operations, and shape their livelihoods,” says Jeff Eisenberg, executive director of the Public Lands Council and director of federal lands for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.  “ESA came along and said ‘no you can’t, you’re hurting the fish,’ and severely cut back farming operations. The whole community was devastated."

The NAS committee recommended that federal agencies take a broader approach in addressing the declining population of the salmon and suckers.  The report suggested a number of factors – other than water and flow levels -- could be to blame including water temperature, oxygen levels, algae population, the number and size of dams along the waterway, and development in the area. The report also said the agencies should engage stakeholders to take voluntary measures that benefit the fish.

“Cattlemen want their operations to be viable while simultaneously caring for the environment and protecting delicate habitats,” says Eisenberg. “But environmental protection must be based on science. Consistent with the NAS, cattlemen recognize that steps to protect the fish within the Klamath area will require an overall look.”