Agency reconsidering water release for Klamath salmon

A federal agency said Friday it is taking another look at releasing water in Northern California’s Klamath Basin to prevent the spread of disease among salmon returning to spawn in drought conditions.

A decision is likely next week following discussions with fisheries biologists and others, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokeswoman Janet Sierztutowski said from Sacramento, Calif.

The bureau previously denied a request from the Hoopa Valley Tribe to release water from Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River to prevent the spread of a parasite that attacks salmon in stagnant water, though the bureau said it would release some water if significant numbers of fish started dying.

Tribal scientists have said it would be too late by then. The idea is that higher flows make it more difficult for the parasite to swim. Once a significant number of fish are attacked, there is no stopping the parasite, known as Ich, short for Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, scientists said.

Tens of thousands of adult salmon died in 2002 in the Klamath and Trinity rivers from disease in low water conditions.

The tribe took their case to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell this week when she was in Redding, Calif., visiting wildfire-fighting facilities, and she agreed to review the situation.

On Thursday, the tribe took bureau Regional Director David Murillo and Deputy Regional Director Pablo Arroyave on a tour of the reservation outside Arcata, Calif.

The outing included a jet boat ride on the Trinity River and a visit to the reservoir behind Lewiston Dam, said Tribal Chairwoman Danielle Vigil-Masten. No dead fish were seen but there were lots of algae in the stagnant water.

“I think they got an eye-opener,” she said.

Tribal members were going to Sacramento on Tuesday to hold a vigil outside bureau offices, she said.