Yuroks Bring Fish Protest To KF
By Matt Hall, K-Falls Herald and News
October 11, 2002

A group from downstream Klamath River tribes gathered today at the Klamath Falls office of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to protest against low flows from Upper Klamath Lake they said were responsible for the recent die-off of salmon.

About 150 demonstrators were present, mostly Yuroks along with representatives from the Karok and Hoopa tribes. During the demonstration about a dozen dead, decaying salmon were displayed on a blue tarp.

“Who are really the terrorists?” read one protest sign. “Bush, Al Qaeda, or BOR?”

“Where is the kill salmon brigade?” asked another, and another read, “The Bureau of Reclamation is like a potato. It has eyes but no brains.”

The protest signs were punctuated by two pickup truckloads of counterprotesters. One drove slowly by while an occupant chanted “You guys poisoned the fish ... you guys poisoned the fish.” Another truckload roared by with an obscene yell related to the fish.

“We are here to send a clear message,” said Sue Masten, chair of the Yurok tribe. “We have felt pain, anger and frustration that the Bureau of Reclamation does not hear our words.

“The salmon dying was heartbreaking, sickening, not an act of nature ... and we will not tolerate another fish kill,” she said. “America needs to wake up. We’ve lost one species on the Klamath River, and we’ve had a massive hit on the coho during the last fish kill. If we lose the coho we’ll have five more species in the Klamath Basin that will come up next as threatened.”

Dave Sabo, area manager for the Bureau of Reclamation, answered questions at the conclusion of the protest, dealing mostly with the specifics of the water flow reduction.

“They are reducing the flow by 150 cubic feet per second, per day,” he explained. “So by Sunday they’ll be back down to the flows that are required in the biological opinion of the National Marine Fisheries.

“The farmers’ water will be shut off on the (Oct.) 15th.” he added.

To a clamor of voices calling for more consultation with the tribes, Sabo was conciliatory.

“Your messages are getting through,” he said. “We’re hearing what you have to say. We appreciate it — we appreciate you’re having a peaceful demonstration here, and look forward to having more discussions with you.”

Dave Solem, manager of the Klamath Irrigation District, urged caution in assigning blame for the fish-kill.

“The jury is still out on what all the issues were,” he said. “It’s a complex set of issues that set up that fish kill.”

Solem also pointed to the biological opinion from federal scientists that protects the sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake as the key factor in water availability.

“There’s a biological opinion for suckers that needs to be met,” he said.

Solem said that there wouldn’t be an immediate impact on Basin irrigators should the Yurok prevail in the dispute over water.

“To the farmers, right now it wouldn’t make any difference,” said Dave Solem, manager of Klamath Irrigation District. “We’re going to shut off the water to the farmers on Tuesday, the 15th, so there are only three days of water that would run anyway.

“At this point in time we’re coordinating for the shutdown of the canal, and the coordination of the fish screen. Also, the water that isn’t being supplied to the crops is going down to the refuges right now...

“Remember, the water that was sent down the Klamath River was from increases in Upper Klamath Lake. And the water going down the river coincided with cooler temperatures in the Upper Basin, which was a big benefit to those fish. It allowed them to move and spread out.”

As a backdrop to today’s protest, on Thursday the Yurok Tribe asked California Gov. Gray Davis to “issue a state of emergency,” for the tribe’s reservation, according to an Associated Press source.

At the same time the bureau, which increased the flow of water down the Klamath River by an estimated 500 cfs on Sept. 28 in response to a request of the National Marine Fisheries Service, continued to decrease the additional flow, with plans to return the levels to a flow rate of 880 cfs.

Also present to support the other tribes was Klamath Tribes Chairman Alan Foreman, who declared, “The fish are the buffalo of our time. Let’s save our fish, and not eat a potato.

“It’s quite clear to all of us that the Bureau of Reclamation is simply incapable of managing the waters in the Klamath Basin,” he continued. “I’m very disappointed by a recent news report ... that said ‘fish kills are an acceptable risk of the Bureau of Reclamation’s management.’ The loss of our fisheries is not an acceptable risk to the tribes, and our members.”

Ron Reed, a representative of the Karok Tribe, brought his two young sons and nephew up to the podium with him as he spoke of the future which they might inherit.

“This is the next generation of tribal fishermen, these little boys. There used to be over 100 village sites on the river, each with a fishery,” he said. “Now we have only one fishery for subsistence for all — and it just won’t do it.

“There’s a balance out there,” he continued. “Fish need water. How much water does a field of potatoes need, or a field of alfalfa?”

Reed’s worries about the future were echoed by Bonnie Jackson, a representative of the Hoopa Tribe.

“I made sure my children went down to the river and looked when the fish died,” she said. “I told them ‘This is what happened to our community, this will not happen again.’ “

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