https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/klamath-tribes-drop-esa-lawsuit-against-bor/article_d17f5094-216d-51e4-b710-eff2679584ff.html
Klamath
Tribes drop ESA lawsuit against BOR.
Merkley to hold PRIVATE Sucker Recovery Summit November
16 in Klamath Falls with Tribes
The Klamath
Tribes on Thursday announced they have withdrawn a lawsuit
regarding lake levels in Upper Klamath Lake against the Bureau
of Reclamation.
The lawsuit
was awaiting a court date in Portland, after being moved from a
federal court in San Francisco court in July by U.S. District
Judge William Orrick.
Despite the
dismissal of the lawsuit, the Klamath Tribes maintain their view
that Reclamation has “failed” and “continues to fail” to meet
its obligations under the Endangered Species Act to prevent
extinction of the Koptu and C’waam, otherwise known as the
shortnose and Lost River sucker, according to a news release
from the Tribes.
The decision
to dismiss the lawsuit comes in light of Reclamation’s
announcement that a new biological opinion underway is
anticipated to be completed by April 2019, four months sooner
than previously stated in legislation recently signed by
President Donald Trump.
A biological
opinion is a working document that helps guide the distribution
of water to protect endangered fish.
The Tribes
said in a news release they must devote their efforts to ensure
the future Project operations under the forthcoming “BiOp” will
not jeopardize the continued existence of the C’waam and Koptu
as operations have done under the 2013 BiOp.
Gentry said
the endangered fish were once the most important fish for the
Upper Klamath Lake region, providing a mainstay in the tribes
diet, as well as an important fish for recreational fishermen.
The Tribes
voluntarily suspended fishing of the species in 1986, which was
a right under the Treaty of 1864, and now harvest just two per
year for ceremonial purposes.
“Time is
running out for the C’waam and Koptu,” said Don Gentry, chairman
of the Klamath Tribes. “The Klamath Tribes believe the new BiOp
offers the best and fastest path forward to improve conditions
for fish in Upper Klamath Lake. The current BiOp is based on
flawed and outdated science. We remain confident that Klamath
Project operations will change for the better for fish if best
available science is allowed to lead the way.”
The Tribes
point to the new BiOp as an opportunity to avoid diverting more
water from Upper Klamath Lake after all of the requirements for
the 2018 Operations Plan were met, which they allege happened in
October.
The Tribes see
the lake now sits “perilously low” and close to the point where
Gentry said some scientists warn could lead to extinction of the
endangered fish.
Gentry also
said the collapse of the fisheries coincides with the declining
health of Upper Klamath Lake, which once was a destination for
boating, birding and paddling.
“The new BiOp
is an opportunity to address the problems of past operations,”
Gentry said. “Rather than drawing the lake down dangerously low
in the fall and betting on a wet winter, the Bureau should take
every opportunity to build a buffer for the fish and Basin
communities against future scarcity, which is a matter of when,
not if.
“Instead, the
Bureau is setting up communities in the Basin for more conflict
over water as the predicted warm, dry winter means the prospects
for refilling the lake next spring are not good.”
Bureau of
Reclamation officials were not readily available for comment on
the Tribes action as of presstime.
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Merkley to visit Basin
next week
Along with the announcement of the
dismissal of a lawsuit against Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath
Tribes Chairman Don Gentry announced a visit by Sen. Jeff
Merkley, D-Ore., to Klamath Falls on Friday, Nov. 16, when he
plans to host a Sucker Recovery Summit at Oregon Tech.
The summit is a private event and was first
closed to the media, though the H&N has requested and received
access to attend.
“The Tribes are looking forward to a
thorough exchange of information as we begin the reinitiation of
consultation on the 2019 BiOp,” Gentry said. “The Tribes are
also encouraged by and deeply appreciate Sen. Jeff Merkley's
efforts to bring the best, most recent science and scientists
together for the Sucker Recovery Summit that the senator is
convening in Klamath Falls next week. We are grateful for all
the work that Sen. Merkley has done for the Klamath Tribes and
all the stakeholders in the Klamath Basin. We are counting on
making progress towards improving water quality in the lake and
getting started crafting a 2019 Operation Plan that gives the
fish a fighting chance at recovery.”
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