BUREAU OF RECLAMATION ANNOUNCES
BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT FOR KLAMATH BASIN OPERATIONS
Anticipates Water Deliveries to Farmers in 2002

WASHINGTON - The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) today issued the final 2002 Biological Assessment (BA) for the Klamath Project. Based on the proposed action in the Assessment and projected water conditions in the Klamath Basin, it is anticipated that unlike last year, water will be delivered to Klamath Project farmers in 2002.

Reclamation released its draft BA on January 29, 2002, and received more than 90 comments before the deadline of
February 8, 2002. All the comments were reviewed and considered in the development of the final BA.

The BA reflects the findings included in a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Interim Report dated February 6, 2002, and considers ESA requirements, Tribal rights, and contractual and wildlife refuge obligations. The operations plan proposed in the BA requires formal consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), with informal consultations with contracting districts, Tribes and other parties.

When the FWS and NMFS have analyzed the final 2002 BA, they will -- based on the best scientific data available - each issue a Biological Opinion (BO) relative to the proposed action. Those BOs will provide the basis for the Klamath Basin water allocation for 2002 and beyond and should be issued prior to April 1, 2002, when the irrigation season begins.

Reclamation Commissioner John Keys said, "This BA presents an innovative and environmentally responsible approach to the competing water needs in the Klamath Basin. It enables Reclamation to meet its contractual and refuge obligations while ensuring that sensitive species' needs are addressed.

"Reclamation is committed to a collaborative approach in the Klamath Basin to meet the requirements of the ESA, our contracts with water users, and our Tribal trust responsibilities," he added.

The proposed actions in the BA differ from those in previous BAs. The BA includes a description of the environmental baseline that is consistent with the ESA implementing regulations and with the Section 7 Consultation Handbook issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Additionally, the proposed action is for the next 10 years of operations, from April 1, 2002, until
March 31, 2012.

A central piece of the new BA is an innovative concept to create a Klamath Project water bank that allows for the use of project water, under a willing seller approach, to meet targeted lake levels and river flows. On a voluntary basis, farmers would be paid to waive their contract entitlement for one year, thus making more water available for environmental needs.

Another tool to be used in protecting endangered fish is the installation of fish screens on the headworks on the A-Canal of the Klamath Project. The screens should protect against fish entrainment into the canal and will be completed by the irrigation season beginning on April 1, 2004. Reclamation also proposes to study and implement specific measures to provide fish passage at Link River Dam. It is anticipated that installation of the fish passage will be completed within two years after approval of the final design, with the estimated completion date in January of 2006. Both plans were included as recommendations of the NAS Interim Report.

Finally, Reclamation plans to implement the Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act by undertaking authorized feasibility studies in order to meet the water needs of the basin.

As of February 26, snowpack in the Klamath Basin was at 116 percent of normal, which hydrologically makes for a normal water year.

Copies of the BA may be obtained at Reclamation's Klamath Falls office, located at 6600 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, OR 97603, or by calling 541-883-6935. The BA may also be accessed on the Internet beginning 4:00 p.m. EST, February 27, at http://www.doi.gov

A contemporary water management agency, Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 western states. Today, these facilities include 348 reservoirs with the capacity to store 245 million acre-feet of water.

Reclamation projects supply one out of five western farmers with irrigation water for approximately 10 million farmland acres. Reclamation facilities also provide water to about 31 million people for municipal and industrial uses. In addition, Reclamation is the nation's second largest producer of hydroelectric power, generating more than 42 billion kilowatt hours of energy each year from 58 hydroelectric power plants. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.

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