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Methow Vallley News September 2, 1999 Ditch problems have no easy solutions FS fears repeat of this season by Lee Hicks The future of irrigation in the Methow Valley remains uncertain even for ditches undergoing major improvements this year. As a result, the Forest Service is meeting this week to develop plans to address the type of problems that prevented ditches on agency land from operating much of the 1999 irrigation season. And although ditches diverting on Forest Service land have faced the most scrutiny as the result of endangered fish issues, attention could soon turn to about 60 private irrigation channels. Laurie Thorpe, the Forest Service Methow Valley district ranger, said Monday (Aug. 30) her office is concerned that the agency not be put in the same position next year of having to withhold irrigation permits at the direction of National Marine Fisheries Service. Forest Service officials have said NMFS was unresponsive to biological assessments for endangered fish that the agency submitted in the spring of 1998. NMFS finally replied just before the 1999 irrigation season, determining that several of the 14 ditches that start on Forest Service land could not operate. Section 7 of the 1973 Endangered Species Act requires federal agencies to consult on actions that might result in harm to listed species. NMFS has listed spring Chinook and steelhead trout as endangered, while U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed bull trout as threatened. Communication with NMFS continues to be a problem, Thorpe said, noting that NMFS has yet to issue final biological opinions for ditches. "We are no further along today than we were 18 months ago when this thing started...I can’t figure out why," Thorpe said. Local Forest Service staff were to meet this week to, "strategize what we can do to get players to the table so (we) don’t have to shut down the ditches next year." Thorpe said the agency would like to develop a "flow chart" of possible issues and solutions for each ditch, something the agency had done before this season. Establishing ditch efficiency standards, alternate watering schedules and plans to purchase water rights could all be part of the plan, she said. "We could propose another strategy probably this fall and say here is a way out of the box." As for the nearly 60 private ditches flowing through the valley, NMFS has said it needs addresses of the users to begin notifications regarding protecting listed fish species in the basin. Okanogan County officials want NMFS to allow the county to create a basin-wide "habitat conservation plan" that provides protection for government and landowners under the ESA. The HCP could protect ditch operators and others from third-party lawsuits if they agreed to be part of an HCP, which could include water conservation and habitat improvement projects. Dee Wood, chief deputy assessor with the Okanogan County assessor’s office, said last week that NMFS had asked for her office’s help finding addresses of private ditch users. However, Wood said she told the agency she did not have the staff needed to cross reference property listings with water certificates. This week an upgrade to the Wolf Creek ditch was expected to be completed after two weeks of work. The ditch operated about a month this year, after being closed for most of the alfalfa growing season. NMFS delayed biological opinions that would have allowed the Forest Service to issue a special use permit allowing the ditch to operate earlier in the season. NMFS has yet to issue final biological opinions for Wolf Creek or Early Winters and Skyline ditches, the three most affected by delays out of the 14 channels on Forest Service land. The Wolf Creek Reclamation District irrigators get their water from Patterson Lake, which is fed by the district’s diversion several miles away on Wolf Creek. The lake is also the domestic water supply for Sun Mountain Lodge. The Wolf Creek repairs include replacing a temporary screen that allowed this season’s operation with a permanent drum screen and installation of an "Alaska" fish bypass. Fish would be able to return to the stream by way of a sluice. Cost of the project could reach $500,000 according to ditch president Nim Titcomb, some of that available from state-federal salmon recovery grants. Early Winters ditch was delayed in operating this year until a new finer mesh screen was installed. The ditch needs to improve its headgate, but the state Department of Fish and Wildlife cannot issue a permit to work in the stream because salmon are now spawning at the site. State Fish and Wildlife manager Jeff Tayer said the agency had issued a hydraulic permit for work, "but had to revise it when we discovered there were actually listed fish, spring Chinook, right in the area of diversion. We did not want to get them in a position where they had a clear-cut taking (of endangered species)." Ditch president Steve Devin did not plant alfalfa this season because of the delayed opening and the possibility that NMFS might force the ditch to close if streamflows dropped below the agency’s target flows. As it turned out, NMFS has yet to issue final biological opinions, but did not force the ditches to close as runoff remained exceptionally high. Skyline Ditch faces a more serious problem. The ditch installed a new fish screen and plastic liner but was only able to operate at flows of 9.5 cubic feet per second, not enough to serve all of its members. The ditch’s water right is for 26 cfs. Skyline has a grant to replace its headgate and pipe sections of the ditch. However, state salmon recovery officials are working with the ditch to design a more comprehensive plan that would ultimately assist in fish recovery. Skyline, Early Winters and Wolf Creek all appealed the Forest Service decision not to issue a special use permit this season. The appeals all argued that the decision in effect resulted in a regulator taking of water rights. All the administrative appeals were denied by the Forest Service, although the possibility of lawsuits over the issues remains. Peter Fraley, an attorney for Skyline, said Monday (Aug. 30), "Our goal is to move forward on the possibility of piping the Skyline ditch yet at the same time preserving all of our legal remedies." A concern, Fraley acknowledged, is the possible loss of water rights if ditch repairs mean lower flows. "That certainly is one of the issues...the treatment of the water right," Fraley said. No decision regarding future litigation has been made by Skyline or Early Winters, which Fraley also represents. Opinion | Sports |
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