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MARCH 22, 2001

Despite an effort to topple it, the Yurok Tribe of California on Wednesday expressed hope that a salmon recovery plan finalized by the Clinton administration won't fall victim to the state's energy crisis.

But just as residents and consumers throughout the state are experiencing blackouts, the tribe isn't out of the dark just yet. Although a federal judge on Monday said increasing flows of water to the Trinity River can proceed, he placed limits on how it will occur.

Judge Oliver Wanger also said the Department of Interior didn't adequately consider how the plan would affect the energy needs of users in the state, potentially clearing the way for its reversal. Nevertheless, Troy Fletcher, executive director of the Yurok Tribe yesterday said his ruling was "important for the Yurok Tribe, whose culture and fishery livelihood have been stolen from them."

Last December, former Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt joined the Yurok Tribe and the Hoopa Valley Tribe in announcing the department's decision to restore flows of water to the river. Since the construction of a dam in 1955, an average of 70 percent of the water in the Trinity River has been diverted in order to provide power to consumers in central California.

The result was the reduction of salmon which the tribes have fished for thousands of years. Runs of chinook and steelhead are down and coho are listed as as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Under the plan, about half the river's flow would go to the tribes and the other half would go to users in central California. A number of cities and irrigation districts, however, didn't think the amount was enough and the Westlands Water District, the largest irrigation district in the country, immediately filed a lawsuit challenging the plan.

Their efforts were largely vindicated with Wanger's ruling. On top of the 340,000 acre-feet federally mandated for the river, he said the government can only seek 29,000 acre-feet for salmon restoration.

The government had hoped instead to use up to 113,000 acre-feet and argued that there would still be enough to address power concerns. But Wanger said the state's crisis warranted some changes and hydro-electric power plants needed enough water to continue to generate energy.

Environmentalists who support the plan put a positive spin on the decision and pointed out that even the additional amount of water, about an eight percent increase, will help recovery efforts.

"This is a significant victory for Trinity's fisheries, which now are on the verge of collapse," said Byron Leydecker, chairman of Friends of the Trinity River and member of California Trout's Board of Governors.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Reclamation and Fish & Wildlife will re-examine the Biological Opinion and Record of Decision approved by Babbitt. A 1992 federal law mandates consultation with the Hoopa Valley Tribe.

During Interior Secretary Gale Norton's confirmation process, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asked if she would uphold the decision. Norton said she wasn't immediately familiar with it but promised to work with Boxer to learn more about it.

Related Stories:
Interior sued over river plan (Enviro 01/10)
Plan would help restore salmon to river (Enviro 12/20)