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Location: Center Home > Klamath Basin > Context > Stakeholder context
Stakeholder context
Numerous stakeholder groups in the Klamath Basin controversy represent the divergent viewpoints of the participants. The following is a list of the most prominent organizations that have been involved.
Water User groups
- Our Klamath Crisis. Property rights point of view—history, links to news articles, position papers
- Klamath Water Users Association. The "Weekly Update” is a review and summary of key issues affecting agricultural water users in the Klamath Basin. It is produced by the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA), a non-profit corporation that has represented Klamath Irrigation Project farmers and ranchers since 1953.
Environmental groups
Commercial Fishermen/women
- Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
- Pacific Fishery Management Council
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries 3-200 miles offshore of the United States of America coastline. The PFMC is charged by Congress to advise the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the management of Pacific Coast anadromous and marine fish stocks and to provide recommendations that minimize the impacts of federal actions on the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) of Council-managed species. Recent activity:
*December 2005 Letter to Sec. Norton with respect to management of the Klamath River and how management actions affect Chinook habitat: “I am writing to you on behalf of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to express concerns regarding the adverse effects of ongoing flow management by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Klamath Project (Project) on Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for coho and chinook salmon in the Klamath River. The Council continues to believe that the most important factor impeding anadromous fish recovery in the Klamath River is the inadequately low flow prescribed in the 2002 Coho Biological Opinion (BO). We have previously written you regarding the impacts of low Klamath River flows on anadromous fish species in letters dated April 23, 2003 (Radtke to Norton), and December 4, 2002 (Radtke to Norton and Evans).
*December 2005 Letter from the Council to Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation: Fishing communities feel a strong sense of urgency regarding the resolution of water quality and quantity issues within the Klamath River system. Resolution of these issues is critical to the immediate needs of in-river and ocean fisheries, and to the health of the Klamath ecosystem. Management of both the quality and quantity of water in the Klamath River and its tributaries is critical for all phases of freshwater salmon life history. Therefore, the Council recommends that the BOR:
1. Reinitiate consultation with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as soon as possible regarding the effects of water project operations on chinook and coho salmon essential fish habitat (EFH), and that the analysis and flow recommendations include a credible biological basis, such as contained in the draft Hardy Phase II report referenced in our previous letter.
2. Implement draft Hardy Phase II recommendations as an interim measure while consultations are ongoing.
3. Revise water bank accounting to reflect actual savings of water in those areas critical for salmon survival.
4. Support studies of juvenile survival and health and provide adequate funding for the Klamath monitoring programs.
5. Develop credible long-term solutions to water management problems within the Klamath Basin.
*March 2006 Resolution by PFMC Recommending that FERC Deny relicensing of PacifiCorp Project at Irongate Dam on the Klamath River. (Agenda Item G-1, Att. 2, pp. 5 & 6) RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF ANADROMOUS FISH RESTORATION IN THE KLAMATH RIVER, CALIFORNIA AND OREGON. NOW THEREFORE, the Pacific Fishery Management Council urges that FERC deny a new license and order the immediate decommissioning of the project, including removal of dam structures and full restoration of habitat affected by the dams and reservoirs, OR that any new license be conditioned upon the restoration measures proposed by the agencies and tribes.
*March 2006 Meeting. At its March 2006 meeting, the PFMC recommended that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) take in season action to suspend the scheduled March 15 through April 30 openings for commercial fisheries in the Fort Bragg area and the Oregon coast from Cape Falcon to the Oregon/California border, and the April 2 through April 30 California recreational fishery from Point Arena to Point Sur. This recommendation is being made to protect Klamath River fish where chinook populations have declined in recent years. Scientists say that even if the season is closed, federal fish-count minimums would not be met. See this story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for more information on the March 2006 meeting.
*PFMC Salmon Management Options being considered
*PFMC Report on Habitat for Chinook on the Klamath River
*PFMC Report on Chinook and coho life history, fishing gear, and management.
Tribes
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