Salmon and River Activists ask Governor Brown to change direction in the Klamath River Basin

Seventeen Salmon and River Activists have released a letter they've written to newly elected California Governor Jerry Brown asking him to review and change California Department of Fish & Game policy and direction in the Klamath River Basin. Below is their press release and a copy of the letter.

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For Immediate Release

Northern California River Activists write to Governor Brown:
Review of Department of Fish & Game Klamath Policies Requested

Today seventeen salmon and clean water advocates delivered a letter to California Governor Jerry Brown requesting that he review policies and approaches which the California Department of Fish & Game (DFG) and the Schwarzenegger Administration have pursued in the Klamath River Basin. The activists singled out two areas where they say DFG and the previous administration have pursued policies which are “not in the best interest of the Klamath River, its salmon and its people” –

•    In the Scott and Shasta Sub-basins the Department has sought to permit agricultural operations under the California ESA which cumulatively dewater these key salmon rivers and place Coho salmon and other culturally important species at extreme risk of extinction. Last year only 8 Coho returned to the Shasta River…all were males.

•    In the main Klamath, the Department is supporting a flow regime for salmon which will require public purchase of water from private interests during drought years. With climate change a growing reality, droughts could come to the Upper Klamath as often as every five years. How long will taxpayers be able to foot the bill to keep Klamath salmon alive? Federal and state budgets cannot sustain these expenditures.
According to the letter, these policies and actions stem from a more fundamental failing:

“The Department has failed to be a champion for the Public Trust Doctrine, to enforce those portions of the Fish & Game Code which implement the doctrine and to use it to guide its policies and actions with respect to critical Klamath River Basin issues.”

While the activists praised the work of individual DFG wardens and biologists, they claim the State of California needs to change course. The activists want Governor Brown to order DFG and the State Water Board to identify “flows needed in the Shasta, Scott and Mainstem Klamath which are needed in order for salmon stocks to recover.

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Here's the letter sent to Governor Brown:

North Coast and Klamath Environmental Activists
c/o Felice Pace
28 Maple Road
Klamath, CA 95548

January 7, 2011

Dear Governor Brown,

We write to you as a group of individual, independent, grassroots environmental activists on a matter of urgent concern. We believe the course which California Department of Fish & Game continues to follow in the Klamath River Basin is – in two critical respects - not in the best interests of the Klamath River, its salmon and its people, nor in the best interest of the people of California. As you begin your administration, we urge you to review the policies and approaches we identify below and to consider changes. We believe there are solutions to the problems on the Klamath and we pledge our willingness to work with you and the Department to identify and implement durable solutions.

•    In the Scott and Shasta Sub-basins the Department has sought to permit agricultural operations under the California ESA which cumulatively dewater these key salmon rivers and place Coho salmon and other culturally important species at extreme risk of extinction. Last year only 8 Coho returned to the Shasta River…all were males.  The State of California needs to change course on these tributaries; it should begin by identifying flows needed in the Shasta and Scott to protect and restore salmon and by including all North Coast and Klamath streams with impaired flows in the State Policy to Maintain Flows in Northern California Rivers.

•    In the main Klamath, the Department is supporting a flow regime for salmon which will require public purchase of water from private interests during drought years. With climate change a growing reality, droughts could come to the Upper Klamath as often as every five years. How long will taxpayers be able to foot the bill to keep Klamath salmon alive? Federal and state budgets cannot sustain these expenditures.

Both these problems stem from a more fundamental failure of the Department of Fish & Game in Klamath Country: The Department has failed to be a champion for the Public Trust Doctrine, to enforce those portions of the Fish & Game Code which implement the doctrine and to use it to guide its policies and actions with respect to critical Klamath River Basin issues.

Not everything the Department has done in the Klamath River Basin is bad policy or ineffective.  Over the years and to this day there are dedicated individuals and teams doing solid professional work in Klamath Country. But when it comes to water policy, some restoration practices and, especially, the agricultural use of water – the Department has substantially failed to perform its duty to protect Public Trust Resources for the benefit of all Californians.  The Department’s Klamath policies have been rejected by significant elements within the environmental and agricultural communities. This is a clear sign that it is headed in the wrong direction.

We think there are better approaches at hand and we would like to work with you and your staff to get the State on the right course in the Klamath.  

Sincerely,

Richard Alves

Diane Fairchild Beck
  
Eileen Cooper

Robert Franklin

Don Gillespie

Gregg J. Gold, Ph.D.

Kyle Haines

Alan Levine

Daniel Myers

James Moore Jr.

Felice Pace

Jon Spitz

John M. Sully

Ronald W. Thompson
  
Donna M. Thompson

Michael Warburton

Wendell Wood