Post by blackcrowheart on Mar 11, 2006 21:23:55 GMT -5
Dam removal could help Tribes
Published Thursday March 9, 2006
By STEVE KADEL
www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2006/03/09/news/local_news/local2.\
txt
<http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2006/03/09/news/local_news/local2\
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A key piece of Klamath Tribes' history could live again if removing the
Chiloquin dam helps sucker fish thrive.
"These fish have had a subsistence and cultural importance to the
Tribes," said Doug Tedrick of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
"They are a natural resource that is important to the Tribes. They
have a treaty right to harvest these fish that they are not able to
enjoy because they are endangered."
A big step toward removing the dam, built in 1914, comes this summer
when a pumping plant will be built next to the Sprague River. It will
supply water to irrigators after the dam is gone.
However, removal won't happen for at least another year because the
pumping plant must undergo a 60-day test in April 2007.
Tedrick, chief range conservationist for the BIA, was in Klamath Falls
this week to talk with Modoc Point Irrigation District representatives
and other collaborators about the dam's removal.
But that is just part of efforts to bolster the sucker population.
Upstream habitat restoration also is needed to get suckers off the
endangered list, Tedrick said.
Dave Northrup of Chiloquin worked on the crew that replaced a fish
ladder on the north side of the dam in the 1960s. He visited the dam
this month and watched a crew from the U.S. Geologic Survey working in
the ladder - tagging and counting fish.
<http://adsys.townnews.com/creative/heraldandnews.com/+instory/23216.gif\
?r=http://www.cooksglassco.com>
"They told me the suckers are not running yet, but they expect them
in a week or two in the ladder," Northrup said. "They did see
three large trout in the ladder.
"They also told me they have tracked suckers they have tagged in the
ladder as far upstream as the Sycan Marsh."
Northrup would hate to see the dam removed because it creates a popular
fishing hole.
Tedrick acknowledges that some fish get past the dam, but not enough to
improve sucker numbers.
"Some fish can zip right up, but others have more trouble," he
said. "It doesn't block passage, but it impairs passage. It's been
identified as one of the causes of their reduced population."
The National Academy of Sciences' research council has given removal of
Chiloquin dam high priority as a recovery effort.
Tedrick said environmentalists, the Tribes, and federal, state and local
officials all support removal. The BIA and Modoc Point Irrigation
District are working together on the project.
"We're not pushing ahead of the district," Tedrick said.
"It's their private dam. We've worked hand in hand with the district
to make sure they remain whole."
That includes the BIA paying to build the pumping plant as well as for
its maintenance. The agency also will pay electricity costs to pump
water to Modoc Point, where 5,000 acres are cultivated.
Published Thursday March 9, 2006
By STEVE KADEL
www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2006/03/09/news/local_news/local2.\
txt
<http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2006/03/09/news/local_news/local2\
.txt>
A key piece of Klamath Tribes' history could live again if removing the
Chiloquin dam helps sucker fish thrive.
"These fish have had a subsistence and cultural importance to the
Tribes," said Doug Tedrick of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
"They are a natural resource that is important to the Tribes. They
have a treaty right to harvest these fish that they are not able to
enjoy because they are endangered."
A big step toward removing the dam, built in 1914, comes this summer
when a pumping plant will be built next to the Sprague River. It will
supply water to irrigators after the dam is gone.
However, removal won't happen for at least another year because the
pumping plant must undergo a 60-day test in April 2007.
Tedrick, chief range conservationist for the BIA, was in Klamath Falls
this week to talk with Modoc Point Irrigation District representatives
and other collaborators about the dam's removal.
But that is just part of efforts to bolster the sucker population.
Upstream habitat restoration also is needed to get suckers off the
endangered list, Tedrick said.
Dave Northrup of Chiloquin worked on the crew that replaced a fish
ladder on the north side of the dam in the 1960s. He visited the dam
this month and watched a crew from the U.S. Geologic Survey working in
the ladder - tagging and counting fish.
<http://adsys.townnews.com/creative/heraldandnews.com/+instory/23216.gif\
?r=http://www.cooksglassco.com>
"They told me the suckers are not running yet, but they expect them
in a week or two in the ladder," Northrup said. "They did see
three large trout in the ladder.
"They also told me they have tracked suckers they have tagged in the
ladder as far upstream as the Sycan Marsh."
Northrup would hate to see the dam removed because it creates a popular
fishing hole.
Tedrick acknowledges that some fish get past the dam, but not enough to
improve sucker numbers.
"Some fish can zip right up, but others have more trouble," he
said. "It doesn't block passage, but it impairs passage. It's been
identified as one of the causes of their reduced population."
The National Academy of Sciences' research council has given removal of
Chiloquin dam high priority as a recovery effort.
Tedrick said environmentalists, the Tribes, and federal, state and local
officials all support removal. The BIA and Modoc Point Irrigation
District are working together on the project.
"We're not pushing ahead of the district," Tedrick said.
"It's their private dam. We've worked hand in hand with the district
to make sure they remain whole."
That includes the BIA paying to build the pumping plant as well as for
its maintenance. The agency also will pay electricity costs to pump
water to Modoc Point, where 5,000 acres are cultivated.