PacifiCorp Willing to give up the lower four Klamath River Dams if Customers Protected

I am Dr. Richard Gierak, doctorate in healing arts, Bachelors in Biology and Chemistry. I have presented papers at Humboldt University re the Klamath Basin Symposium and at the Ninth Annual Hoopa EPA Conference. Below are two of the documents I have filed on the issue of salmon and salmon habitats. It has come to my attention in the last three months by a former marine biologist with National Marine Fisheries that based on the two degree increase in the ocean temperatures the salmon populations in northern California and Southern Oregon have indeed decreased, however, the increase in salmonids in Northern Washingon and Alaska have far exceeded the losses noted in the aforementioned localities. The following documents were prepared prior to this information but may be useful in determining the positive or negative impacts of dam removal on the Klamath River. At this time I would not consider the removal of the dams but would consider a change in the way the hatcheries are run based on the second article presented herein. Should the dams be removed those expensive properties which are now around Copco Lake would fall dramatically forcing the owners to incur huge losses in property values which is not an acceptable position. I do not live in the Copco area but do reside on the Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam. If you have any questions or require more information please feel free to contact me at 530 475-3212 or rgierak2@inreach.com Dr. Richard Gierak PETITION TO DELIST Nomination for Delisting of a Taxon of Flora or Fauna (Endangered Species Act 1973) Name of nominator: .Dr. Richard A. Gierak............................. ................................................................ Address of nominator: 5814 Highway 96..................................... Yreka, Ca. 96097..................................... Telephone No. of nominator: Work: 530 475-3212............................... Home: 530 475-3212 .............................. Signature of nominator: ................................................................ Date: January 4, 1999........................................ Statement identifying the taxon of flora or fauna including the scientific name and any common name and a description which distinguishes it from all other taxa. The statement must also indicate whether it is a vascular or non-vascular plant, vertebrate or invertebrate animal or some other form of flora or fauna. Coho Salmon, Silver Salmon...a salmonid which is a vertebrate fish Reasons for nominating the taxon for delisting including any reference in any scientific journal or other literature dealing with the taxon. The following data was supplied by the Iron Gate Hatchery located in Northern California: Appendix Table 3 Summary of Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout runs :: Iron Gate Salmon & Steelhead hatchery. Iron Gate Hatchery phone number 530 475-0421 Coho Salmon Year Total 1963-1964 180 1966-1967 4 1971-1972 147 1976-1977 1,757 1981-1982 997 1986-1987 1,025 1991-1992 764 1996-1997 4,097 Conclusion: Based on the above data from the Iron Gate Hatchery it shows that from 1963 to 1997 there was an increase in Coho Salmon by 22.8 fold. It is apparent from these statistics that Coho Salmon in the Klamath River Basin has been on a steady increase over the last 34 years and that the listing of Coho Salmon in the Klamath River Basin has been based upon erroneous data and should be removed from the endangered or threatened listing under the Endangered Species Act. Known distribution of the taxon. Occupies the entire Pacific Coastal region. This petition specifically refers to Siskiyou County, California and the present listing of Coho Salmon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Known threats which may affect the taxa. Nature--Estuarine destruction--predation--overfishing--bycatch ' Analysis: By searching government documents from 1985 through 1998 the following excerpts derived from them clearly indicates that the listing of Coho Salmon by the Endangered Species Act has no basis in Science. Primary causative factor in the decline of the Coho Salmon in Northern California Rivers can be directly attributed to Nature's whim: ie, floods, fires, drought and El Nino causing warmer water conditions in the Pacific. The major human activities to significantly destroy the Coho Salmon population in Northern California can be attributed to the Marine Mammal's Protection Act which has allowed this predator to devastate as many as 98% of the anadromous salmonids. Removal of 66% of the viable eggs and shipping them to other fisheries in the 80's has not assisted in a re-vitalization of the Coho Salmon in Northern California. 1985 LRP Ch5, pg6.Since Mt. Shasta Hatchery is on the Sacramento, which does not have coho salmon, the coho from this source may have been from another California stream, such as the Noyo River (Bob Corn personal communication) 1985 LRP Ch5, pg3. Iron Gate Hatchery states ".Annual goals for coho salmon call for collecting 500,000 eggs to enable rearing of 75,000 yearlings for mitigation.." Iron Gate coho were planted in the Salmon River in 1985. 450,000 and 850,000 surplus coho eggs were shipped to the Mad River Hatchery in 1986 and 1987, respectively. 1989-1990 Mid-Klamath Sub-Basin Spawning Ground Utilization Surveys indicate that prolonged drought during the past decade has been experienced in Northern California. This would certainly have a marked effect on achieving and maintaining "normal" instream flow regimes and related depth dependent water temperatures that might have a substantial impact on salmon. Predation: Both El Nino and the recent drought has been indicated as having an effect on the prey and predator species distribution. Threatened California sea lions were porking out on threatened salmon. Efforts to capture and relocate harbor seals exhibiting the same tendency have been unsuccessful in solving the problem. The (LRP) Ch4, pages 37-39, states that estimates of mortality of anadromous salmonids from natural predators run as high as 98 percent (Fresh in Steward and Bjornn 1990) Yuroks traditionally harvested marine mammals (McEvoy 1987), but today many of these species are protected by the Marine Mammals Protection Act." In the typical logic of fisheries scientists, the report proceeds to ignore its own stated facts in favor of the politically correct. 1990-1991 According to Klamath National Forest Planner Jim Anderson, studies indicate that the largest contributions to sediment load in the Klamath Basin are from natural causes, including landslides and erosion after fire. 1991 Marine Fisheries Biologist in report to NMFS indicated floods of 1955 and 1964 on the Klamath River destroyed riparian habitat and salmon spawning beds by depositing from 10 to 30 feet of sediment and debris. 1991 "Coho were once abundant in the lower Klamath tributaries (Snyder 1931)". The exact status of wild coho populations in the lower river today is not known. U.S. Fish and Wildlife outmigrant studies 1990a indicate very few juvenile coho are present in the smaller Klamath tributaries. 1993 Report by NMFS in their Oceanic report states that the El nino of 1983-1985 devastated the Coho Salmon population off the coast of California. 1993 Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game rep, Dennis Maria, indicated that they do not have any accurate Coho counts in the Middle Klamath for the past 20 years. 1994 FEMAT pg V-30 states: Current scientific understanding of fish habitat relationship is inadequate to allow definition of specific habitat requirements for fish throughout their life cycle at the watershed level. 1998 It is interesting to note that although the Coho Salmon spend over 95% of their life cycle in the oceans that said oceans are not part of "critical habitat". Another important factor in this diminution of Coho salmon are the foreign fishing fleets trailing 15 to 20 mile long gill nets taking any species that happens to swim into them. NOAA Technical Memo NMFS-NWFSC-28 March 1997 Working Group Included James Lecky NMFS "In the 1994 Amendments to the MMPA, Congress directed that a scientific investigation be conducted to "determine whether Calif. sea lions and Pacific Harbor seals are having a negative impact on recovery of Salmonid fishery stocks." "NMFS determined it did not have the resources nor was there sufficient time within a 1 year time frame" However, they reported the following: "The Calif. sea lion population has been increasing at an annual rate of about 5% since the mid-1970's. Harbor seal population have been increasing at a rate of about 5-7%." "Predation by Calif. sea lions and Pacific harbor seals may now constitute an additional factor in salmonid population decline and may affect recovery of depressed salmonid population.: Since passage of the MMPA in 1972 populations of Calif. sea lions and Pacific harbor seals have increased steadily in Washington, Oregon and California. These two pinniped populations are healthy and productive, and are not considered to be depressed, threatened or endangered." Report to Congress Prepared by NOAA, NMFS February 1998: pg 11 Conclusions: "California Sea Lions and Pacific Harbor Seals are abundant, increasing, and widely distributed on the West Coast. Many salmonid populations, which are declining due to a host of factors, are being preyed upon by pinnipeds." "Pinnipeds can have a significant negative impact on a salmonid population." Status of Pinnipeds pg 2: "California sea lions, for example, are now found in increasing numbers in northern waters, in inland waters, and upriver in freshwater in many West Coast systems. They are also now found near man-made structures such as dams or fish passage facilities with increasing frequency". Dr. John Palmisano (He was a Marine mammal biologist for NMFS in Juneau, Alaska, taught fisheries and biology at U of Washington. Also an environmental scientist for a consulting firm in Bellevue, WA. (503 645-5676)) 1997: pg2. "Coastal waters from Mexico all the way to Alaska have gradually warmed since the climate shift of the 1970s and the subsequent, periodic affects of El Nino." "It is estimated that 40 - 80 percent of estuarine habitat along the Pacific Northwest has been diminished or destroyed". "It is clearly not the perceived mismanagement of inland streams and rivers that has caused the recent degradation of the salmonid population". The following quotes were obtained from the Los Angeles Times, Fri Oct. 23, 1998 by Marla Cone. National Research Council "It has come to our attention that the 25 member committee of the National Research Council in its report entitled, "Sustaining Marine Fisheries," has recommended immediate and substantial reductions in ocean fishing to rebuild marine ecosystems throughout the world that are so severely depleted they are in danger of collapsing. The total volume of fish being caught has reached or exceeded the maximum amount that can be sustained by the world's oceans, the scientists reported. About 84 million metric tons of fish and other seafood are caught each year in marine waters worldwide, worth about $3.5 billion a year in the United States alone. When it comes to individual fish stocks, 30% of the world's stocks have been overfished below the point where they can keep producing the current yield, and 44% are being fished at or near that point, according to the scientists, led by biologist Harold Mooney of Stanford University. Terry Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Commerce According to Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Terry Garcia, who oversees ocean issues, he said the scientists' findings confirm the warnings that the federal government has long been issuing. "The world's oceans cannot sustain" the high demand for food, said Garcia, calling it "a very serious problem." The scientists said they had "no silver bullet to offer," but advised governments in the short term to impose "substantial global reductions in fishing capacity." Zeke Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Assns. stated, "In some fisheries there's just too many vessels and we're going to have to figure out ways...to retire them." Warner Chabot of the West Coast chapter of the environmental group, Center for Marine Conservation has stated, "Fundamentally, we've still got too many boats chasing too few fish and political decisions preventing us from taking action on that. The fleet is much bigger and more sophisticated than the resource can accommodate." Chabot also said about 27 million tons of marine life are discarded each year. " When you consider that some 111 metric tons of marine life are caught each year and that 27 million tons are discarded due to archaic rules and regulations it would seem logical that rather than dumping overboard millions of tons of marine life due to these regulatory statutes we should find a way to minimize the penalties and establish methods to reduce the bycatch waste. By not dumping the bycatch you could reduce the overall catch by 25% and still meet the present needs for food. Taxon: means a group or rank into which organisms are categorised, (in this case usually refers to species and sub-species). Applicants may supply any additional information which may support their case which will be considered by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). Nominators will have receipt of their nomination acknowledged prior to consideration and will be notified of a preliminary recommendation following consideration by the SAC. Nominations to be forwarded to: U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 (202) 208-3100 Acceptable Use Policy Re: Fish Passage Advisory Team Report FERC FISH PASSAGE ADVISORY TEAM At the last meeting of the FPAT several issues were brought to our attention and I would like to address them at this time. Fish passage above Iron Gate Dam for multiple Salmonids: I believe the real question regarding the Salmonid problem rests not with fish passage or historical habitats, but, is to provide sustainable fisheries for the fishing industry, the tribes and the sports fishers. As a member of the Hatchery Evaluation Team I assessed the Iron Gate Hatchery as meeting their mitigated goals of producing 6,00,000 Chinook, 150,000 Steelhead and 75,000 Coho annually. However, in 1997 a historic return of over 4,000 Coho returnd to the hatchery and only 200 females and 400 males are required to meet their goals of Coho production. The rest were destroyted without having the opportunity to spawn naturally. In 2000 a historic return of over 71,000 Chinook returned to the hatchery and only 11,436 were required to meet the hatchery quota. In this case over 60,000 Chinook were destroyed without the ability to spawn naturally. At the Klamath Basin Symposium in May of this year, held at Humboldt State University, it was noted that Chinook were returning to streams and creeks off of the Klamath that were normally not utilized. This resulted as a failure at the hatchery which forced its fish ladder to be closed for a short time. The clear indication is that if the fish are not allowed to access the hatchery they will find other places to spawn naturally. Therefore, if we truly wish to create a sustainable fishery then we should direct the hatchery to close its ladders after their quota is met and allow the rest of the fish to spawn or die naturally. There are those that would postulate that the amount of dead fish in the Klamath would pollute it even more, but, the resident population of scavengers in the Klamath have diminished over the years as a result of a lack of food. Those that continue to hold to the argument that genetic degredation would result of allowing hatchery fish to breed with natural fish was based on a statement made by Currens and Busack in 1997 where they made the statement "Interbreeding with hatchery fish might reduce fitness and productivity of a natural population." Continued belief in this capricious statement is based on a recent inconclusive report utilizing less than a 2% genetic study which shows no difference between hatchery or natural Coho. On September 10 in the ninth Federal Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled that the designation of Coho ESU's by NMFS was arbitrary and capricious without scientific merit. The Oregon Coastal Coho has been formally delisted as threatened and at this time there are multiple lawsuits filed for other listed salmonids in the States of Washington and Idaho on the same grounds. Delisting petitions regarding Coho and other salmonids have been filed in the States of Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho as a result of this ruling and it would appear that all salmonid listings based on this faulty NMFS determination could be delisted and fish passage would no longer be an issue with USFWS based on a threatened or endangered species under the ESA. Introduction of Pacific Lamprey into the Upper Klamath Basin: According to a cooperative study by the California Department of Water Resources, California Department of Fish and Game, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service the following information regarding the Lamprey is as follows. "The eggs of California roach and Sacramento sucker were occasionally observed in lamprey nests. The Pacific lamprey during its parasitic life stage causes damage to marine fishes, including striped bass and salmon (Kimsey and Fisk 1964)" Based on this study it becomes apparant that the introduction of the Pacific Lamprey into the Upper Klamath Basin would be detrimental to the present population of threatened Suckers in addition to any Salmon that may be present. On the introduction of Green Sturgeon into the Upper Klamath Basin: I have found Information provided by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission indicates that the Green sturgeon rely on streams, rivers, and estuarine habitat as well as marine waters during their lifecycle. Like the white sturgeon, greens prefer to spawn in lower reaches of large rivers with swift currents and large cobble; no nest is built, adults broadcast spawn into the water column. Very little is know about the green sturgeon's life history. The green sturgeon is an anadromous fish that spends most of its life in salt water and returns to spawn in fresh water. It is a slow growing and late maturing fish that apparently spawns every 4 to 11 years during the spring and summer months. The green sturgeon spends limited time in fresh water; only while young and spawning. Adult fish and older juveniles are commonly found in estuaries and marine environments. Based on this information it would be ludicrous to consider the introduction of the Green Sturgeon into the Upper Klamath Basin as we would probably have to transport them to the upper Klamath as they normally do not utilize upper reaches of rivers but rely on estuarrine habitat and lower reaches of large rivers. CONCLUSIONS: The FERC requirement to consider fish passage at this time would have serious negative impacts on habitats and species that have been flourishing for over 90 years let alone to already listed species like the various Suckers in the Upper Klamath Basin. It becomes apparant that the issue of Fish Passage above Iron Gate Dam has pros and cons. I would like to list them at this time: PROS Allow salmonids to spawn naturally in historic habitats CONS Predation by salmonids of species that have been in ecological balance since 1910 Introduction of diseases that are blocked by the dam Predation of salmonid spawns by species now present Destruction of habitats that have been in place for over 90 years Destruction of bird sanctuaries Thursday 02 December 2004 With a single rule proposed Tuesday, the government now asserts that tens of thousands of miles of Western rivers are no longer critical for scarce salmon and steelhead. The turnabout is stunning. The Bush administration on Tuesday proposed a steep reduction in the miles of rivers and streams to come under federal protection for Pacific salmon, and offered exemptions for property owners and broad areas of the Northwest and California. Also on Tuesday, the administration made final a decision that flatly rejects the possibility of demolishing Snake River hydropower dams to help restore salmon runs. Together, the actions signal far-reaching changes in federal enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. Federal officials said they are more carefully balancing the needs of threatened and endangered salmon against human demands for water, energy, timber and real estate along the Northwest's cold-flowing rivers Federal officials said they do not have the legal authority to order the removal of federal dams - only Congress has that power - and so they did not consider it. To comply with a 2003 court order, the fisheries service, working with the Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, proposed specific changes in the operation of the dams to compensate for their lethal effects on salmon. As the administration tries to explain its turnabout, its recent, abysmal history on salmon doesn't lend much credibility. The administration has argued that genetically similar - but less hardy - hatchery fish are as valuable as wild fish in recovering salmon and steelhead. The administration has argued that manmade dams are simply part of the natural environment young fish must navigate en route to the Pacific Ocean. Ninth Annual Hoopa EPA Conference Report The Conference offered a broad view of the issues that are facing the Tribes throughout the United States. Federal Supreme Court Decisions have not been favorable to the Tribes and it becomes apparent that their continued involvement in Federal programs has placed them squarely in the center of regulatory policies and actions. The most productive activity of the seminar as it relates to the Grange were the important contacts made and frank discussions regarding issues that are common to both. Some of the important issues that we discussed were as follows: .....Serious potable water problems exist for many Tribes in the Southwest wherein the Grange could explore sharing the potable water program now in place in Kenya. .....Anadromous fish hatcheries that could truly assist in the recovery of salmonids throughout the Northwest. The closing of the fish ladders after the hatcheries have reached their required quotas would allow salmonids then to spawn naturally. A second avenue to be explored is to increase the hatcheries output to their maximum capacity at relatively little expense. The Tribal members I spoke to expressed their desire to have the hatcheries placed in the hands of Tribal members and still adhere to all the standards that are now in place. .....A program to dredge out the coastal streams and rivers entances to remove the silt loads that were deposited in the flood of 64 would greatly enhance the spawning of salmonids. The Grange position which I presented to the Tribal members was met with a mixture of contoversy and open discussions. The Grange water policy statement was well received, however, although they agreed with the quality of water returning to streams and creeks there was concern over the temperature and proposed a study in that area. The position of Tribal members I spoke to were not in favor of removal of dams as they recognize the importance of them for flood control, water storage and power production. There are other Tribal representatives which I have spoken to as a member of the FERC process that are adament about removing all of the dams. It was a pleasure to find that Tribal members I spoke to at this Conference were acutely aware of the issues and had a much more common sense approach to the problems we now face. In conclusion I found this experience stimulating and gratifying and would seriously urge the Grange to consider working with Tribes on issues that we have common ground on. We do not agree on all issues, but, it is important we understand that we all agree that there are serious problems regarding the overutilization of the ESA and environmental issues. There also appeared to be consensus that only verifiable science should be utilized in future listings of candidate species for threatened or endangered classifications. Presenting at this Conference was an honor and I look forward to the contacts made at same working together in the future for common goals. Thank you for the opportunity to present these positions regarding the Fish Passage question in the FERC relicensing project and the opinion of the present administration of the United States at this time. Dr. Richard A. Gierak

Klamath River dam removal is ludicrous
by Dr. Richard A. Gierak
Sunday Aug 20th, 2006 7:11 PM

I am Dr. Richard Gierak, doctorate in healing arts, Bachelors in Biology and Chemistry. I have presented papers at Humboldt University re the Klamath Basin Symposium and at the Ninth Annual Hoopa EPA Conference. Below are two of the documents I have filed on the issue of salmon and salmon habitats. It has come to my attention in the last three months by a former marine biologist with National Marine Fisheries that based on the two degree increase in the ocean temperatures the salmon populations in northern California and Southern Oregon have indeed decreased, however, the increase in salmonids in Northern Washingon and Alaska have far exceeded the losses noted in the aforementioned localities. The following documents were prepared prior to this information but may be useful in determining the positive or negative impacts of dam removal on the Klamath River. At this time I would not consider the removal of the dams but would consider a change in the way the hatcheries are run based on the second article presented herein. Should the dams be removed those expensive properties which are now around Copco Lake would fall dramatically forcing the owners to incur huge losses in property values which is not an acceptable position. I do not live in the Copco area but do reside on the Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam. If you have any questions or require more information please feel free to contact me at 530 475-3212 or rgierak2@inreach.com
Dr. Richard Gierak

PETITION TO DELIST

Nomination for Delisting of a Taxon of Flora or Fauna

(Endangered Species Act 1973)

Name of nominator:
.Dr. Richard A. Gierak.............................
................................................................
Address of nominator:
5814 Highway 96.....................................
Yreka, Ca. 96097.....................................
Telephone No. of nominator:
Work: 530 475-3212...............................
Home: 530 475-3212 ..............................
Signature of nominator:
................................................................
Date:
January 4, 1999........................................
Statement identifying the taxon of flora or fauna including the scientific name and any common name and a description which distinguishes it from all other taxa. The statement must also indicate whether it is a vascular or non-vascular plant, vertebrate or invertebrate animal or some other form of flora or fauna. Coho Salmon, Silver Salmon...a salmonid which is a vertebrate fish
Reasons for nominating the taxon for delisting including any reference in any scientific journal or other literature dealing with the taxon.
The following data was supplied by the Iron Gate Hatchery located in Northern California: Appendix Table 3 Summary of Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout runs :: Iron Gate Salmon & Steelhead hatchery. Iron Gate Hatchery phone number 530 475-0421 Coho Salmon
Year Total
1963-1964 180
1966-1967 4
1971-1972 147
1976-1977 1,757
1981-1982 997
1986-1987 1,025
1991-1992 764
1996-1997 4,097
Conclusion:
Based on the above data from the Iron Gate Hatchery it shows that from 1963 to 1997 there was an increase in Coho Salmon by 22.8 fold. It is apparent from these statistics that Coho Salmon in the Klamath River Basin has been on a steady increase over the last 34 years and that the listing of Coho Salmon in the Klamath River Basin has been based upon erroneous data and should be removed from the endangered or threatened listing under the Endangered Species Act.
Known distribution of the taxon.
Occupies the entire Pacific Coastal region. This petition specifically refers to Siskiyou County, California and the present listing of Coho Salmon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Known threats which may affect the taxa.
Nature--Estuarine destruction--predation--overfishing--bycatch '
Analysis: By searching government documents from 1985 through 1998 the following excerpts derived from them clearly indicates that the listing of Coho Salmon by the Endangered Species Act has no basis in Science. Primary causative factor in the decline of the Coho Salmon in Northern California Rivers can be directly attributed to Nature's whim: ie, floods, fires, drought and El Nino causing warmer water conditions in the Pacific. The major human activities to significantly destroy the Coho Salmon population in Northern California can be attributed to the Marine Mammal's Protection Act which has allowed this predator to devastate as many as 98% of the anadromous salmonids. Removal of 66% of the viable eggs and shipping them to other fisheries in the 80's has not assisted in a re-vitalization of the Coho Salmon in Northern California.
1985 LRP Ch5, pg6.Since Mt. Shasta Hatchery is on the Sacramento, which does not have coho salmon, the coho from this source may have been from another California stream, such as the Noyo River (Bob Corn personal communication)
1985 LRP Ch5, pg3. Iron Gate Hatchery states ".Annual goals for coho salmon call for collecting 500,000 eggs to enable rearing of 75,000 yearlings for mitigation.." Iron Gate coho were planted in the Salmon River in 1985. 450,000 and 850,000 surplus coho eggs were shipped to the Mad River Hatchery in 1986 and 1987, respectively.
1989-1990 Mid-Klamath Sub-Basin Spawning Ground Utilization Surveys indicate that prolonged drought during the past decade has been experienced in Northern California. This would certainly have a marked effect on achieving and maintaining "normal" instream flow regimes and related depth dependent water temperatures that might have a substantial impact on salmon.
Predation: Both El Nino and the recent drought has been indicated as having an effect on the prey and predator species distribution. Threatened California sea lions were porking out on threatened salmon. Efforts to capture and relocate harbor seals exhibiting the same tendency have been unsuccessful in solving the problem. The (LRP) Ch4, pages 37-39, states that estimates of mortality of anadromous salmonids from natural predators run as high as 98 percent (Fresh in Steward and Bjornn 1990) Yuroks traditionally harvested marine mammals (McEvoy 1987), but today many of these species are protected by the Marine Mammals Protection Act." In the typical logic of fisheries scientists, the report proceeds to ignore its own stated facts in favor of the politically correct.
1990-1991 According to Klamath National Forest Planner Jim Anderson, studies indicate that the largest contributions to sediment load in the Klamath Basin are from natural causes, including landslides and erosion after fire.
1991 Marine Fisheries Biologist in report to NMFS indicated floods of 1955 and 1964 on the Klamath River destroyed riparian habitat and salmon spawning beds by depositing from 10 to 30 feet of sediment and debris.
1991 "Coho were once abundant in the lower Klamath tributaries (Snyder 1931)". The exact status of wild coho populations in the lower river today is not known. U.S. Fish and Wildlife outmigrant studies 1990a indicate very few juvenile coho are present in the smaller Klamath tributaries.
1993 Report by NMFS in their Oceanic report states that the El nino of 1983-1985 devastated the Coho Salmon population off the coast of California.
1993 Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game rep, Dennis Maria, indicated that they do not have any accurate Coho counts in the Middle Klamath for the past 20 years.
1994 FEMAT pg V-30 states: Current scientific understanding of fish habitat relationship is inadequate to allow definition of specific habitat requirements for fish throughout their life cycle at the watershed level.
1998 It is interesting to note that although the Coho Salmon spend over 95% of their life cycle in the oceans that said oceans are not part of "critical habitat". Another important factor in this diminution of Coho salmon are the foreign fishing fleets trailing 15 to 20 mile long gill nets taking any species that happens to swim into them.
NOAA Technical Memo NMFS-NWFSC-28 March 1997 Working Group Included James Lecky NMFS "In the 1994 Amendments to the MMPA, Congress directed that a scientific investigation be conducted to "determine whether Calif. sea lions and Pacific Harbor seals are having a negative impact on recovery of Salmonid fishery stocks." "NMFS determined it did not have the resources nor was there sufficient time within a 1 year time frame" However, they reported the following: "The Calif. sea lion population has been increasing at an annual rate of about 5% since the mid-1970's. Harbor seal population have been increasing at a rate of about 5-7%." "Predation by Calif. sea lions and Pacific harbor seals may now constitute an additional factor in salmonid population decline and may affect recovery of depressed salmonid population.: Since passage of the MMPA in 1972 populations of Calif. sea lions and Pacific harbor seals have increased steadily in Washington, Oregon and California. These two pinniped populations are healthy and productive, and are not considered to be depressed, threatened or endangered."
Report to Congress Prepared by NOAA, NMFS February 1998: pg 11 Conclusions: "California Sea Lions and Pacific Harbor Seals are abundant, increasing, and widely distributed on the West Coast. Many salmonid populations, which are declining due to a host of factors, are being preyed upon by pinnipeds." "Pinnipeds can have a significant negative impact on a salmonid population." Status of Pinnipeds pg 2: "California sea lions, for example, are now found in increasing numbers in northern waters, in inland waters, and upriver in freshwater in many West Coast systems. They are also now found near man-made structures such as dams or fish passage facilities with increasing frequency".
Dr. John Palmisano (He was a Marine mammal biologist for NMFS in Juneau, Alaska, taught fisheries and biology at U of Washington. Also an environmental scientist for a consulting firm in Bellevue, WA. (503 645-5676)) 1997: pg2. "Coastal waters from Mexico all the way to Alaska have gradually warmed since the climate shift of the 1970s and the subsequent, periodic affects of El Nino." "It is estimated that 40 - 80 percent of estuarine habitat along the Pacific Northwest has been diminished or destroyed". "It is clearly not the perceived mismanagement of inland streams and rivers that has caused the recent degradation of the salmonid population". The following quotes were obtained from the Los Angeles Times, Fri Oct. 23, 1998 by Marla Cone.
National Research Council
"It has come to our attention that the 25 member committee of the National Research Council in its report entitled, "Sustaining Marine Fisheries," has recommended immediate and substantial reductions in ocean fishing to rebuild marine ecosystems throughout the world that are so severely depleted they are in danger of collapsing.
The total volume of fish being caught has reached or exceeded the maximum amount that can be sustained by the world's oceans, the scientists reported. About 84 million metric tons of fish and other seafood are caught each year in marine waters worldwide, worth about $3.5 billion a year in the United States alone.
When it comes to individual fish stocks, 30% of the world's stocks have been overfished below the point where they can keep producing the current yield, and 44% are being fished at or near that point, according to the scientists, led by biologist Harold Mooney of Stanford University.
Terry Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Commerce
According to Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Terry Garcia, who oversees ocean issues, he said the scientists' findings confirm the warnings that the federal government has long been issuing. "The world's oceans cannot sustain" the high demand for food, said Garcia, calling it "a very serious problem."
The scientists said they had "no silver bullet to offer," but advised governments in the short term to impose "substantial global reductions in fishing capacity."
Zeke Grader of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Assns. stated, "In some fisheries there's just too many vessels and we're going to have to figure out ways...to retire them."
Warner Chabot of the West Coast chapter of the environmental group, Center for Marine Conservation has stated, "Fundamentally, we've still got too many boats chasing too few fish and political decisions preventing us from taking action on that. The fleet is much bigger and more sophisticated than the resource can accommodate." Chabot also said about 27 million tons of marine life are discarded each year. "
When you consider that some 111 metric tons of marine life are caught each year and that 27 million tons are discarded due to archaic rules and regulations it would seem logical that rather than dumping overboard millions of tons of marine life due to these regulatory statutes we should find a way to minimize the penalties and establish methods to reduce the bycatch waste. By not dumping the bycatch you could reduce the overall catch by 25% and still meet the present needs for food.
Taxon: means a group or rank into which organisms are categorised, (in this case usually refers to species and sub-species).
Applicants may supply any additional information which may support their case which will be considered by the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).
Nominators will have receipt of their nomination acknowledged prior to consideration and will be notified of a preliminary recommendation following consideration by the SAC.
Nominations to be forwarded to:
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240
(202) 208-3100

Fish Passage Advisory Team Report

FERC FISH PASSAGE ADVISORY TEAM
At the last meeting of the FPAT several issues were brought to our attention and I would like to address them at this time. Fish passage above Iron Gate Dam for multiple Salmonids: I believe the real question regarding the Salmonid problem rests not with fish passage or historical habitats, but, is to provide sustainable fisheries for the fishing industry, the tribes and the sports fishers.
As a member of the Hatchery Evaluation Team I assessed the Iron Gate Hatchery as meeting their mitigated goals of producing 6,00,000 Chinook, 150,000 Steelhead and 75,000 Coho annually. However, in 1997 a historic return of over 4,000 Coho returned to the hatchery and only 200 females and 400 males are required to meet their goals of Coho production. The rest were destroyed without having the opportunity to spawn naturally.
In 2000 a historic return of over 71,000 Chinook returned to the hatchery and only 11,436 were required to meet the hatchery quota. In this case over 60,000 Chinook were destroyed without the ability to spawn naturally.
At the Klamath Basin Symposium in May of this year, held at Humboldt State University, it was noted that Chinook were returning to streams and creeks off of the Klamath that were normally not utilized. This resulted as a failure at the hatchery which forced its fish ladder to be closed for a short time. The clear indication is that if the fish are not allowed to access the hatchery they will find other places to spawn naturally. Therefore, if we truly wish to create a sustainable fishery then we should direct the hatchery to close its ladders after their quota is met and allow the rest of the fish to spawn or die naturally.
There are those that would postulate that the amount of dead fish in the Klamath would pollute it even more, but, the resident population of scavengers in the Klamath have diminished over the years as a result of a lack of food. Those that continue to hold to the argument that genetic degradation would result of allowing hatchery fish to breed with natural fish was based on a statement made by Currens and Busack in 1997 where they made the statement "Interbreeding with hatchery fish might reduce fitness and productivity of a natural population." Continued belief in this capricious statement is based on a recent inconclusive report utilizing less than a 2% genetic study which shows no difference between hatchery or natural Coho.
On September 10 in the ninth Federal Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled that the designation of Coho ESU's by NMFS was arbitrary and capricious without scientific merit. The Oregon Coastal Coho has been formally delisted as threatened and at this time there are multiple lawsuits filed for other listed salmonids in the States of Washington and Idaho on the same grounds. Delisting petitions regarding Coho and other salmonids have been filed in the States of Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho as a result of this ruling and it would appear that all salmonid listings based on this faulty NMFS determination could be delisted and fish passage would no longer be an issue with USFWS based on a threatened or endangered species under the ESA.
Introduction of Pacific Lamprey into the Upper Klamath Basin: According to a cooperative study by the California Department of Water Resources, California Department of Fish and Game, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service the following information regarding the Lamprey is as follows. "The eggs of California roach and Sacramento sucker were occasionally observed in lamprey nests. The Pacific lamprey during its parasitic life stage causes damage to marine fishes, including striped bass and salmon (Kimsey and Fisk 1964)" Based on this study it becomes apparent that the introduction of the Pacific Lamprey into the Upper Klamath Basin would be detrimental to the present population of threatened Suckers in addition to any Salmon that may be present.
On the introduction of Green Sturgeon into the Upper Klamath Basin: I have found Information provided by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission indicates that the Green sturgeon rely on streams, rivers, and estuarine habitat as well as marine waters during their lifecycle. Like the white sturgeon, greens prefer to spawn in lower reaches of large rivers with swift currents and large cobble; no nest is built, adults broadcast spawn into the water column. Very little is know about the green sturgeon's life history. The green sturgeon is an anadromous fish that spends most of its life in salt water and returns to spawn in fresh water. It is a slow growing and late maturing fish that apparently spawns every 4 to 11 years during the spring and summer months. The green sturgeon spends limited time in fresh water; only while young and spawning. Adult fish and older juveniles are commonly found in estuaries and marine environments. Based on this information it would be ludicrous to consider the introduction of the Green Sturgeon into the Upper Klamath Basin as we would probably have to transport them to the upper Klamath as they normally do not utilize upper reaches of rivers but rely on estuarine habitat and lower reaches of large rivers.
CONCLUSIONS: The FERC requirement to consider fish passage at this time would have serious negative impacts on habitats and species that have been flourishing for over 90 years let alone to already listed species like the various Suckers in the Upper Klamath Basin. It becomes apparent that the issue of Fish Passage above Iron Gate Dam has pros and cons. I would like to list them at this time:

PROS Allow salmonids to spawn naturally in historic habitats

CONS Predation by salmonids of species that have been in ecological balance since 1910
Introduction of diseases that are blocked by the dam Predation of salmonid spawns by species now present
Destruction of habitats that have been in place for over 90 years
Destruction of bird sanctuaries

Re: Ninth Annual Hoopa EPA Conference Report

The Conference offered a broad view of the issues that are facing the Tribes throughout the United States. Federal Supreme Court Decisions have not been favorable to the Tribes and it becomes apparent that their continued involvement in Federal programs has placed them squarely in the center of regulatory policies and actions.

The most productive activity of the seminar as it relates to the Grange were the important contacts made and frank discussions regarding issues that are common to both. Some of the important issues that we discussed were as follows:

.....Serious potable water problems exist for many Tribes in the Southwest wherein the Grange could explore sharing the potable water program now in place in Kenya.

.....Anadromous fish hatcheries that could truly assist in the recovery of salmonids throughout the Northwest. The closing of the fish ladders after the hatcheries have reached their required quotas would allow salmonids then to spawn naturally. A second avenue to be explored is to increase the hatcheries output to their maximum capacity at relatively little expense. The Tribal members I spoke to expressed their desire to have the hatcheries placed in the hands of Tribal members and still adhere to all the standards that are now in place.

.....A program to dredge out the coastal streams and rivers entances to remove the silt loads that were deposited in the flood of 64 would greatly enhance the spawning of salmonids.

The Grange position which I presented to the Tribal members was met with a mixture of contoversy and open discussions. The Grange water policy statement was well received, however, although they agreed with the quality of water returning to streams and creeks there was concern over the temperature and proposed a study in that area.

The position of Tribal members I spoke to were not in favor of removal of dams as they recognize the importance of them for flood control, water storage and power production. There are other Tribal representatives which I have spoken to as a member of the FERC process that are adament about removing all of the dams. It was a pleasure to find that Tribal members I spoke to at this Conference were acutely aware of the issues and had a much more common sense approach to the problems we now face.

In conclusion I found this experience stimulating and gratifying and would seriously urge the Grange to consider working with Tribes on issues that we have common ground on. We do not agree on all issues, but, it is important we understand that we all agree that there are serious problems regarding the overutilization of the ESA and environmental issues. There also appeared to be consensus that only verifiable science should be utilized in future listings of candidate species for threatened or endangered classifications.

Presenting at this Conference was an honor and I look forward to the contacts made at same working together in the future for common goals.

Respectfully Submitted
Dr. Richard A. Gierak

Thursday 02 December 2004

With a single rule proposed Tuesday, the government now asserts that tens of thousands of miles of Western rivers are no longer critical for scarce salmon and steelhead. The turnabout is stunning.
The Bush administration on Tuesday proposed a steep reduction in the miles of rivers and streams to come under federal protection for Pacific salmon, and offered exemptions for property owners and broad areas of the Northwest and California.
Also on Tuesday, the administration made final a decision that flatly rejects the possibility of demolishing Snake River hydropower dams to help restore salmon runs.
Together, the actions signal far-reaching changes in federal enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. Federal officials said they are more carefully balancing the needs of threatened and endangered salmon against human demands for water, energy, timber and real estate along the Northwest's cold-flowing rivers.
Federal officials said they do not have the legal authority to order the removal of federal dams - only Congress has that power - and so they did not consider it. To comply with a 2003 court order, the fisheries service, working with the Bonneville Power Administration and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, proposed specific changes in the operation of the dams to compensate for their lethal effects on salmon.
As the administration tries to explain its turnabout, its recent, abysmal history on salmon doesn't lend much credibility. The administration has argued that genetically similar - but less hardy - hatchery fish are as valuable as wild fish in recovering salmon and steelhead. The administration has argued that manmade dams are simply part of the natural environment young fish must navigate en route to the Pacific Ocean.

Thank you for the opportunity to present these positions regarding the Fish Passage question in the FERC relicensing project and the opinion of the present administration of the United States at this time.
Dr. Richard A. Gierak