Working Toward Healthy Flows in the Scott River
The Klamath River canyon. The Scott River is a tributary to the Klamath River in Northern California. FOR Archives.
Friends of the River recently participated in a marathon session before the State Water Resources Control Board that ended shortly before midnight on August fifteenth. The Karuk Tribe of California, Environmental Law Foundation, and several other environmental groups filed a petition to set minimum flows on the Scott River, which has completely ceased to flow at certain locations during the summer months due to excessive withdrawals by local agricultural users. This request was vehemently opposed by the same water users who have drained the Scott and resist governmental efforts toward a balanced ecosystem.
We urged the board to take a more active role in protecting both the Scott River and the salmon, which are struggling to survive and often dying due to inadequate water flows and pollution. The Scott River is an important habitat for endangered salmon fisheries, including Endangered Species Act listed fish; however, now most of the spawning ground dries up during Chinook migration upriver and is often de-watered during juvenile salmonid downriver migration.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has determined that a minimum flow of 62 cubic feet per second during September is necessary for salmonid recovery. However, flows have never reached that level during September, and in the last ten years has rarely reached even half of the DFW recommendation. As one of the last North Coast rivers without a major dam, with miles of great salmon habitat, the Scott could produce vast numbers of fish. Sadly, pollution and over-pumping have left it with a pittance of its historic fish populations.
As you might know, the salmon season was cancelled this year due to previous decisions that led to California rivers being dewatered. Our salmon are in crisis mode. The closure of the salmon season has many impacts including: cultural impacts that affect local tribes’ ability to include salmon in traditional ceremonies; economic impacts that affect the salmon fishing industry; social impacts that affect economically depressed communities that are impacted by the loss of the fishing industry; financial repercussions; and environmental impacts that disrupt the entire food chain by removing the keystone salmon species which is a major food source for many species, including federally endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales.
We can’t undo the past, so we implored the Board to acknowledge today's reality and follow DFW’s recommendation for adequate water flows to protect the few salmon that are left. Such flows are critical to give endangered salmon a chance at recovery.
The Board was reluctant to grant this petition as the local water users claimed that the proposed changes would drastically disrupt their livelihood. However, several very moving presentations were made by leaders of the Karuk tribe, as well as many others who were greatly disturbed by past and future damage to the Scott River by excessive agricultural water use. Ultimately, the Board reached no final decision, but instead directed Water Board staff to research this complicated issue further and try to find flow standards that (if possible) would protect the Scott and its fish as well as enable the water users to maintain their lifestyle. We will continue to track this important matter and hold the Water Board to its mission to “preserve, enhance, and restore the quality of California's water resources and drinking water for the protection of the environment, public health, and all beneficial uses, and to ensure proper water resource allocation and efficient use, for the benefit of present and future generations.”
We anticipate that there will be several workshops and future hearings on this important subject and we will continue to add our voice to those of the Tribes and other concerned environmental groups to protect the Scott and take steps to restore it to its once mighty state.
