Mr. Don Koch
State of California – The Resources Agency
Department of Fish and Game, Northern California – North Coast Region
601 Locust Street
Redding, California 96001

Dear Mr. Koch:

Thank you for your prompt response to our May 18, 2004 letter regarding hatchery operations on the Klamath River. While your letter did address some of our primary concerns, we still have some questions that we hope you can address with further information and clarification.

1. According to your letter, it appears that fisheries technicians and managers monitor the condition and health of the fish at the facility as part of the day-to-day operation of Iron Gate Hatchery (IGH). As previously requested in our letter, could we have the daily reports or other related information that supports your statement that that IGH fish were tested and found to be disease-free prior to release this spring?
2. We appreciate the information you provided on documented juvenile mortality events within the Klamath River in the past decade. Based on the information that you provided, it does not appear that such an event occurred in 2001, as reported in the Eureka Times-Standard. To clarify our understanding, is the Times-Standard estimate correct? If not, could there be some other explanation for its recent reporting of 200,000 Klamath River fingerlings dying in the spring of 2001?
3. Based on your observations of the past decade, could you more clearly address our earlier question: What is the expected mortality for this year?
4. Thank you for clarifying our understanding regarding the fate of the Iron Gate Hatchery returning fish that exceed the 8,000 required to meet hatchery mitigation goals. If CDFG anticipates this target to be exceeded this fall, is there a possibility of allowing downstream interests to harvest some portion of these excess returning fish? Is it possible that this might enhance commercial, tribal and recreational benefits?

Again, on behalf of KWUA, I thank you for further considering our questions. If you have specific questions about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Sincerely,

Dan Keppen

Executive Director

cc: Senator Sam Aanestad
Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors
Modoc County Board of Supervisors
Chuck Blackburn, Del Norte County Board of Supervisors
Dave Sabo, USBR