From the Bureau of Reclamation:
The Bureau of Reclamation signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Long-Term Plan to Protect Adult Salmon in the Lower Klamath River fulfilling its commitment to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District to provide a long-term approach to avoiding a fish die-off in the lower Klamath River. With this decision, Reclamation is providing greater certainty for all stakeholders involved while decreasing the costs that were associated with implementing an annual program. Additionally, by signing this ROD, Reclamation is committing to improved science, greater transparency, and improved collaboration through the adaptive management process during future flow augmentations. Water will only be used for the fish when the fish are actually in the river.
The preferred alternative (Alternative 1) includes augmenting flows in the lower Klamath River with water from Trinity Reservoir (via Trinity River) to reduce the likelihood and the severity of any fish disease outbreak that could lead to an associated fish die-off, as occurred in 2002. Augmentation flows are to be considered under an adaptive management approach when flow of the lower Klamath River is projected to be less than 2,800 cubic feet per second in late summer. The ROD will establish management direction through 2030. Reclamation will work to avoid or minimize any water supply impacts from the releases, in years when they occur.
The ROD and Environmental Impact Statement were developed pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and are available at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=22021. If you encounter problems accessing the documents online, please call 916-978-5100 (TTY 800-877-8339) or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.
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