The
Hoopa Valley Tribe, with a strong assist from a coalition led by
the Yurok Tribe, won an important victory for Coho salmon and the
Klamath River recently. If faithfully and properly implemented, the
order issued by federal Judge William H. Orrick will provide larger
river flows during winter, springtime and, if needed, early summer.
Those flows won't heal the Klamath River's ills; but they will
mitigate them and help Klamath Salmon survive.
Unfortunately,
initial actions taken by the US Bureau of Reclamation, which controls
flows from the Upper Klamath River Basin, raises concerns that
Reclamation's irrigation bias may already be impacting how much help
the River will actually get. The judge's order, why the flushing
flows are needed, the roll of tribal fish biologists, ESA corruption
and concerns about Reclamation's good faith implementation are
explored and explained below.