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Methow Valley News May 23, 2001 Endangered Species Publisher's Comment ~ by Lee Hicks Publisher's Comment ~ by Lee Hicks A recent television clip noted that night vision goggles are making evening trips a popular pastime on the Colorado River. The report brought memories of moonlit floats on the Snake River through Grand Teton National Park. Each summer, rafting guides would assemble for a trip on a full moon. One clear, chilly evening, four of us set out in a 12-foot inflatable to gain another perspective on our daily ritual. We were more in tune with background sounds alternating from a gentle slap of the river to a steadily increasing roar that warned of faster water. We navigated intuitively with the experience of hundreds of daylight trips. Silhouettes of familiar fallen trees, boulders and gravel bars were recognizable in the silver-blue light. Always with us was the visually rotating perspective of the majestic Teton range. At one point we drifted by two adult moose munching on willows barely 20 yards away. Pulling into a deep backwater off the main current, we sat nearly motionless as beaver circled the boat and munched on cottonwoods. Not once did they slap the water in warning. This stretch of the Snake is less than a couple hundred miles from its beginning in Wyoming’s Absaroka Range. From there it’s another 1,000-plus meandering miles before it meets the Columbia at Pasco. Somewhere on the Okanogan-Skagit county line, less than a mile from the Pacific Crest trail in Township 35 north, Range 17 east, Section 33, the Methow River begins a much shorter journey to the Columbia. But in its less than 200 miles the Methow now plays a role similar to many larger rivers in the continuing discourse of nature, settlement and land use in the West. Dominguez and Escalante, John Wesley Powell and Lewis and Clark were all captivated by mysteries of the great rivers flowing to the Pacific beyond the Continental Divide. There’s something about the ability of flowing water—whether by its historic natural course or over dams and through manmade channels—to define, connect and divide the American West. It’s a journey as old as time. My Turn ~ by Dick Ruby Help for the hybrids? Foreign fish stocks Enjoyed Ela Bannick’s recent piece in the paper, ("Hybrid species best hope for native population," My Turn, March 28). I’ve always thought that fella Lee Hicks wrote with remarkable clarity on all the tangles of fish and law and water, etc., but Ela’s piece really put the whole thing in better perspective for me. I guess the original Methow stock has long gone the way of many endangered species. I’ve come to know the Methow composite a bit these past few years, and found them truly admirable and pretty generally quite pleasant, as well. In today’s world their values and lifestyles are just plain hard to find most places. The column prompted me to think that there’s probably another Methow stock folks are not familiar with that might someday give a boost to this new hybrid thing. They’ve been circling round the Methow-almost endlessly-for some time now, probably many years. You know how the chum and silver and Chinook and sockeye all find home by following some special scent in the rivers. Well, the more "highly evolved" walking land animals (humans) have a different homing device. For us the "scent" seems to be scenery, and the Methow scenery scent must be amongst the most powerful ones around. It’s not a case of "been there, done that." More like "been there and wanna be! (there)." I’ve seen schools and schools of this foreign stock hovering and circling. Guess the occasional drooling is some kind of a throw back thing. The combination of the Methow scenery scent and some plain, dumb old admiration for the composite folks is about overwhelming. Folks like me, who have tried a lot of places in life, ’bout lose our heads over there. Wanna Be There! and Wanna Be Chums with those composites. (You can tell right off that "Wanna Be Chums" just doesn’t have a ring to it--sort of like it came out of a school assignment or somethin’. Now, Wanna-chum-bes, that gets in your face a little!) Well, the trouble is those darn Blue Chips. Actually know a few, and they’re OK folk, but talk about raising up dams without fish ladders to permit access. Buyin’ into a little place over there is just mighty dear. Have to admit I almost covet some of the redds those Blue Chips fashion over there, but I didn’t play that stock market thing a whole lot. Guess the money thing is another reason I like the composites so much. Course may be that same stock market might get serious and cause a sort of a "downward mutation"—you know, like from Blue Chip to black ’n’ blue--and then us Wanna-chum-bes might have a better chance of finding a home over there. Who knows? Hard to tell what might happen to the weather tomorrow. Maybe I’ll ask that Biddle guy. P.S. I know you Methow people are just dyin’ to get more outside help, but I’d be OK ’cause I sleep through most meetings. Dick Ruby is a registered, certified member of the Wanna-chum-bes. He suffers his existence in Edmonds. by Lee Hicks The water is on. The water is off. It’s a case-by-case situation for many Methow basin irrigators this drought season. By early this week, some ditches subject to biological opinions that restrict water for endangered fish were flowing, as well as others not yet constrained by the regulations. But for about 70 landowners with "interruptible" water rights issued after 1976, stream withdrawals remain a day-by-day matter of checking a toll-free hotline maintained by the state Department of Ecology. For the first time since 1998 the Skyline ditch on the Chewuch River will have water flowing through it. Greg Knott of the Forest Service said the ditch will open its headgates today (May 23). But fluctuating Chewuch River flows will likely mean a short season. Nevertheless the operation will allow the ditch to test its new headgate, fish screen and piping system as well as determine transmission losses in yet unlined parts of the canal. Rather than attempting to renegotiate its biological opinion, which calls for 425 cfs in the Chewuch, the ditch is persuing efforts to develop a habitat conservation plan with federal agencies. The Chewuch and Fulton ditches have signed a letter of intent to participate, Knott said. Early this week, the Wolf Creek Reclamation District was providing water to ditch members out of Patterson Lake, which is filled by the ditch’s diversion on Forest Service land. Early Winters ditch, which diverts from its namesake creek near Mazama, was also flowing after construction of a completely new fish bypass and screen. Other private ditches, such as the Chewuch and Fulton canals, have been operating for several weeks now, using water rights that are not interruptible or directly subject to the biological opinions. The Methow Valley Irrigation District, which is under a two-year court agreement with National Marine Fisheries Service to make fish-friendly changes, is also operating. Nim Titcomb, president of the Wolf Creek district, said Friday (May 18) that the ditch began providing water to users below Patterson Lake on May 14. The headgates were opened April 17 to begin filling the lake. "I figure we’ll have about 20 days worth. No indication it will be any longer, Titcomb said. The ditch can access about a foot of water in Patterson Lake for spring and summer use, he said. The Forest Service has told Wolf Creek it can operate until the streamflow drops below 6 cubic feet per second at the bridge just before emptying into the Methow. "We’re filling it but taking it out faster than we’re filling it," Titcomb explained. "That will get us into hopefully the first week of June and at least help with the first cutting (of alfalfa)." Titcomb said the district plans to keep the lake level near normal to help recover from the previous year’s fish-related restrictions and ensure water next year. The lake level should also mean adequate domestic water for Sun Mountain Lodge, the Valley’s largest employer. Steve Devin of Early Winters said that ditch is now operating at normal capacity after opening the headgates about two weeks ago. But Devin said he expected the ditch could be forced to turn off earlier than usual given that the creek might be expected to drop below a 35 cfs flow established in its biological opinion. Devin said a new fish screen and bypass is, "a very impressive structure." Most other ditches covered under Section 7 provisions of the Endangered Species Act, requiring federal agency consultations, are operating. Those were not affected by a determination that their diversion on federal land would jeopardize ESA-listed fish. Of the private diversions, most are operating although some will require future improvements. MVID, the ditch with most users in the basin, has completed screen work on its Methow and Twisp river points of diversion. Ditch officials are talking with representatives of tribes, the Bonneville Power Administration, Ecology and other agencies about ways to comply with the consent decree. One issue is the possibility of revising an original reorganization plan that involved conversion to wells and enclosing the ditch. But, for about 70 residents who have withdrawal rights subject to minimum streamflows, water use has been virtually shut down. Since the state Ecology-managed minimum flow standards went into effect April 23, these water users have been able to withdraw only three consecutive days last week. The baseline for operation is the minimum flow for that day at the Methow gauge near the Pateros mouth. On Monday morning, the Methow was flowing at 1,410 cfs, compared with the 2,032 cfs historic minimum. Opinion | Sports |
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