{
  "id": "RL31098",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31098",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105295,
      "date": "2002-06-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:08:33.652941",
      "title": "Klamath River Basin Issues: An Overview of Water Use Conflicts",
      "summary": "Severe drought in 2001 affected the Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon\nborder,\nexacerbating competition for scarce water resources and generating conflict among several interests\n-- farmers, municipal and industrial users, commercial and sport fishermen, other recreationists,\nfederal wildlife refuges, environmental groups, and Indian Tribes. The conflicts over water\ndistribution and allocation are physically and legally complex, reflecting the varied and sometimes\ncompeting uses of limited water supplies in the Upper Basin.\n \n On April 6, 2001, the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau), which has supplied water to farms in\nthe Upper Basin for nearly 100 years, announced that \u201cno water [would] be available\u201d\nfor farms\nnormally receiving water from the Upper Klamath Lake, so that scarce water could be used to protect\nspecies listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Water was\navailable to some farmers from other sources ( e.g.,  wells and other Bureau sources);\nhowever, many\nfarmers were not able to plant or harvest crops due to severe cutbacks in water supplies. Emotions\nran high on all sides of the issues, and the water control gates were unlawfully opened by protesters. \nAlthough the Basin has received significantly more precipitation in 2002, many issues remain in\ndispute. In addition, several judicial decisions have affected the issues with respect to the listed\nspecies as well as tribal rights.\n \n On May 31, 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service\nboth issued Final Biological Opinions on the Bureau\u2019s 10-year Operation Plan for the\nKlamath\nProject. The agencies found that the Bureau\u2019s proposed action is likely to jeopardize the\ncontinued\nexistence of the two listed suckers and coho salmon, as well as result in the adverse modification of\nproposed critical habitat; however, both Opinions also included \u201creasonable and prudent\nalternatives\u201d for operating the Project that would remove the jeopardizing effects of the\nproposed\naction. However, on June 3, 2002, the Bureau formally rejected both Final Biological Opinions, but\nopted instead to operate under a one-year plan that it asserts complies with the Opinions.\n \n Independently, in March 2002, the President appointed a high-level working group to develop\nsolutions. Congress has responded to the controversy in a number of ways, including holding several\noversight hearings and appropriating funds for water conservation activities in the area.\n \n This report provides background on the geographic, historic, and legal underpinnings of the\ncurrent conflicts. Because the report focuses on the current conflicts, it deals primarily with Klamath\nProject operations in the Upper Klamath Basin and effects associated with water releases from Upper\nKlamath Lake.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31098",
          "sha1": "9794a70547a7d0835f9b8d870be5c2caf89ae6ff",
          "filename": "files/20020613_RL31098_9794a70547a7d0835f9b8d870be5c2caf89ae6ff.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20020613_RL31098_9794a70547a7d0835f9b8d870be5c2caf89ae6ff.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Energy Policy",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "Science and Technology Policy"
  ]
}