Public Lands,
Potential Wild & Scenic Rivers, Endangered Wildlife All Threatened By Shasta
Reservoir Expansion.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comments on
a proposed raise of Shasta Dam and expansion of its reservoir that would flood
segments of the McCloud and upper Sacramento Rivers. The agency has released
for public review and comment the Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation
(SLWRI) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The public has until Monday,
Sep. 30, 2013 to submit comments via email or in writing. Overall, the proposed
project will seriously impact thousands of acres of public land that provide
outstanding recreational opportunities and support sensitive, threatened, and
endangered wildlife.
The Bureau is examining up to an 18.5-foot raise of Shasta
Dam that would periodically flood nearly 1.5 miles of the McCloud and upper
Sacramento Rivers. Both streams were identified by the Forest Service as potential
National Wild & Scenic Rivers and the McCloud is protected under state law from
dams and reservoirs. At stake are the rivers’ nationally significant wild trout
fisheries, as well as outstandingly remarkable scenic, geological, and Native
American cultural values (particularly for the McCloud).
The project will drown thousands of acres of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity
National Recreation Area, which is managed by the Forest Service for public recreation
and wildlife. These public lands harbor dozens of sensitive, threatened, and
endangered wildlife species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
proposed expanded reservoir will “result in the loss, degradation, and
fragmentation of habitat” for eight threatened and endangered species,
including the Shasta salamander.
Raising the dam will also modify flows downstream in the
lower Sacramento River, with potentially significant impacts on the river’s public
lands, riparian ecosystem, and wildlife. Modified flows could harm a 20-mile
segment of the waterway upstream of Red Bluff determined eligible for Wild
& Scenic River protection by the BLM. These BLM lands have been proposed
for National Recreation Area designation in previous sessions of Congress. Flow
modifications could also harm the 10,000 acre Sacramento River National
Wildlife Refuge and more than 3,700 acres of State Wildlife Areas along the
river between Red Bluff and Colusa. The project will also further reduce fresh
water flows into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, increasing the mortality of
the Delta’s endangered fish.
In a brazen and cynical attempt to justify this destructive
and expensive project, the Bureau claims that the dam raise and expanded
reservoir, which will cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars, will provide
needed cold water for endangered salmon spawning downstream of the dam. But according
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the benefits to salmon provided by the
dam raise are “negligible.” And the Bureau admits in the DEIS that every drop
of additional water stored behind the raised dam will be sold to water
contractors.
Your email is needed TODAY to convince the Bureau and our
Senators that this project should be eliminated from any further consideration.
The deadline for public comments is Monday, Sep. 30, 2013
SAMPLE EMAIL
Ms. Katrina Chow
SLWRI Project Manager
Bureau of Reclamation Planning Division
2800 Cottage Way
Sacramento, CA 95825-1893
Fax: (916) 978-5094
Dear Ms. Chow:
Thank you for soliciting public comments in response to the
Bureau’s proposed raise and enlargement of the Shasta Dam and Reservoir.
I oppose raising the dam and enlarging the reservoir,
primarily because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the proposal
will have “negligible benefits” for threatened and endangered salmon and
steelhead in the Sacramento River.
In addition, enlarging the reservoir will harm thousands of
acres of public land managed for outdoor recreation and for wildlife habitat.
The enlarged reservoir will drown segments of the McCloud and upper Sacramento
Rivers identified by the U.S. Forest Service as eligible for National Wild
& Scenic Rivers. Further, the enlargement will violate state law requiring
the protection of the McCloud’s free flowing character and extraordinary wild
trout values.
I am also concerned that enlarging the reservoir will
further modify flows downstream in the Sacramento River, to the detriment of
river’s riparian and aquatic habitats and the many threatened and endangered
fish and wildlife species that depend on these habitats. These flow
modifications will adversely affect a segment of the Sacramento River upstream
of Red Bluff identified by the BLM as eligible for Wild & Scenic protection
and that has been proposed for National Recreation Area designation in previous
sessions of Congress. It will also harm the Sacramento River National Wildlife
Refuge and State Wildlife Areas along the river between Red Bluff and Colusa. The
dam raise will increase the risk of endangered fish being killed by state and
federal water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The expanded reservoir will destroy and degrade habitat for several
sensitive, threatened, and endangered plants and animals, including the Shasta
salamander. In addition, the dam raise will require the expensive removal or
relocation of dozens of bridges, roads, and other structures, and will likely
cost taxpayers more than billion dollars. It will also drown the remaining
homeland of Winnemen Wintu Tribe, including traditional cultural sites on the
McCloud River still in use today.
To truly benefit fish and other wildlife in and along the
Sacramento River, the Bureau should adopt a “no-dam raise” alternative that
restores salmon spawning and rearing habitat, improves fish passage, increases
minimum flows, screens existing water diversions, and modifies the current
operation of the reservoir to increase cold water storage for fisheries, as
recommended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Of course, this would
require the Bureau to modify existing water contracts.
The proposed raise and enlargement of Shasta Dam and
Reservoir will benefit water contractors more than it does endangered fish,
public trust values, or U.S. taxpayers. Please discontinue this unwise project
and take steps immediately to better operate the dam to benefit fish and the
public lands and sensitive ecosystems along the Sacramento River.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
(name, address)
It’s crucial that our Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara
Boxer, know of our concern about this project. You can send a copy of your
Bureau comment to our Senators by following these instructions:
1.
Copy the Sample Email in this alert.
4.
Be sure to fill out your name and contact
information so that the Senators may receive and respond to your message.
For more information concerning this issue, please contact
Steve Evans, Wild Rivers Consultant for the California Wilderness Coalition and
Friends of the River, phone: (916) 442-3155 x221, email: sevans@friendsoftheriver.org.
