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Methow Valley News August 31, 2000 Endangered Species Early Winters, Wolf Creek ditches close as flows drop By John Hanron Early Winters Ditch Co. closed its headgate last week—more than a month earlier than usual—as Early Winters Creek dropped to a level that federal agencies say is the minimum required by endangered spawning Chinook salmon. And more closures are expected as the National Marine Fisheries Service prepares to release its target flows for the Chewuch River this week. Steve Devin, president of the Early Winters Ditch Co., said he received a letter from the Forest Service notifying him that the creek that feeds the ditch had reached 35 cubic feet per second, the target flow set by NMFS in its biological opinion released Aug. 1. The letter directed the irrigation company to shut down for the season. The ditch, like more than a dozen others in the valley, requires a Forest Service special use permit to operate because it originates on federal land. With the Forest Service wedged between NMFS and the irrigators, Devin pointed out, it is difficult for the ditches to resist the directive. "There’s absolutely nothing we can do," Devin said. "We are just totally helpless." Early Winters Ditch typically draws 15 cfs from the creek, though Devin said the irrigation district had ramped the draw down to 7 cfs as the creek dropped in late summer. The canal serves about 30 landowners over 400 acres near Mazama. Last year, Early Winters Creek was flowing at 25 cfs in mid September, and scientists from the Forest Service, the Pacific Watershed Institute and a private consulting firm observing the flow agreed that there was sufficient water for the spawning fish. "The target flows that NMFS has set, Mother Nature can’t even abide by it, "Devin said. "She needs to be cited." But Mike Grady, senior policy analyst with NMFS, said the target flow is based on the best information the agency has. In its original draft biological opinion last year, NMFS had set 60 cfs as the target flow. But after meeting with ditch officials and Forest Service officials and getting further information, that number was lowered. "We can reinitiate consultation if presented with new information," Grady said Tuesday (Aug. 29), "but I have yet to see any new information." Grady, who will be in the Methow this week talking with irrigators about target flow information and proposed habitat conservation plans, said his numbers show that streamflows in the Methow basin this year are at drought levels. He also said the long-awaited target flow for the Chewuch River is expected to be announced this week. The Skyline ditch, one of the two federally permitted ditches on the Chewuch, has not run for two seasons while miles of pipe are installed to decrease the amount of water lost to evaporation and infiltration. But Grady said private ditches, such as the Chewuch and the Fulton, will also be subject to the target flows. "We’re going to be monitoring flow levels and the operations of all ditches on the Chewuch," he said, "What I’m trying to do is preclude any surprises." A little ways down valley from Early Winters, Wolf Creek ditch closed its headgates Aug. 6 after receiving its biological opinion and target flow of 8 cfs as measured at the confluence of the creek and the Methow River. Irrigators enjoyed another three weeks of watering from the district’s holdings in Patterson Lake, but district members agreed to discontinue drawing from the lake last Friday because the lake was dropping too much, ditch master Archie Filbert said. The closures come as ranchers in the upper Methow are just finishing their second cutting of hay, and means that unless the next month brings rain, the fall pasture for livestock will be meager. "That’s the first time probably in 70 years that the ditch hasn’t had water in it during irrigation season," said Devin, who irrigates 60 acres of hay. "They seem to be kind of checking off one ditch at a time." Opinion | Sports |
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