I am also not very surprised that ex-VP Dick Cheney was involved in what clearly appears to be a politically motivated environmental disaster IMHO.

A NMFS 2007 response to earlier petition stated, “The quotes that the petitioners provided from the 2002 California Department of Fish and Game report, taken from the 1913 California Fish and Game Commission report, are taken out of context. The 2002 report actually concludes the opposite of the petitioners: that coho salmon are native to the upper Klamath River system, and historically occurred there prior to hatchery stocking.”

You can read the article at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/09/12/18721544.php

Dr. Rebecca Blank
U.S. Department of Commerce

Cc: Secretary Ken Salazar
U.S. Department of the Interior

Dr. Blank;
It has come to our attention that NOAA and NMFS have both illegally listed Coho Salmon in the Southern Oregon ESU and the Northern California ESU as this species is a non-indigenous species and is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. The Karuk and Shasta Tribes have both confirmed that this species was never present until they were planted. Genetic analysis in the Klamath indicate their origin is from the Willamette River in Northern Oregon. Genetic analysis in the Rogue River indicate their origin is from the Columbia River in Northern Oregon. The KBRA and KHSA planned by the Dept. of the Interior is utilizing this illegal listing to attempt removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River which lie over 180 miles from the Coast. Regarding Coho spawning parameters you will find that the Yurok Tribe, Calif., Oregon, Washington and Alaska Fish & Game will clearly state that 85% of Coho Salmon spawn within 25 miles of the Coast and not hundreds of miles from the Coast.
The Siskiyou County Water Users Association and Interactive Citizens United have filed multiple de-listing petitions with pertinent documentation to NMFS and have been summarily rejected.
What is not being considered is that the following species will be impacted if not totally destroyed by this plan to remove the dams. The following is a list of the 34 species that will be affected:
Green Sturgeon Acipenser medirostris
Lamprey Entosphenus tridentata
Steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss
Chinook Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Small scale sucker (Catostomas rimiculus)
Dace Leuciscus leuciscus
Stickelback Gasterosteus aculeatus
Tailed frogs Ascaphus truei
Cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii
Minnow, Leuciscinae
Sculpin Scorpaeniformes, Cottoidei Cottoidea,
Southern Sucker C. occidentalis
Candlefish Thaleichthys pacificus
Western Brook Lamprey Lampetra richardsonii
Otters Enhydra lutris nereis
Snails Basalt juga
Freshwater mussels Mollusca bivalvia
California floater (Anodonta californiesis)
Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus
American Beaver, Castor Canadensis
Western Pocket Gopher, Thomomys mazama
White-throated Woodrat, Neotoma albigula
Black Rat, Rattus rattus
Black Bear, Ursus americanus
Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus
Northern (Steller) Sea Lion, Eumetopias jubatus
Coyote, Canis latrans
California Sea Lion, Zalophus californianus
Western Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata
Crawfish Pacifasticus leniusculus
Bird flyways above the present dams
Regarding these species being affected by dam removal please review the engineering analysis of 20 million cubic yards of toxic sediment released into the Klamath should these four dams be removed and you will clearly see that all of these 34 species are at serious risk. Dam removal for an illegal listing is a travesty and listing of Coho Salmon in Southern Oregon and California ESU’s must be removed to halt this insanity.

Respectfully submitted;
__________________________________
Richard Marshall, President SCWUA
_________________________________
Dr. Richard Gierak, Science Consultant to SCWUA

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CHARGED WITH SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT

The Department of the Interior has been seriously guilty of scientific misconduct by ignoring credible science from its own Bureau of Reclamation by not publishing data which negates the Klamath Basin Reclamation Agreement and the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. As a result of the misconduct by the DOI the Klamath Basin Area Office of the BOR has dissolved their fisheries research unit wherein seven qualified fisheries biologists will no longer have positions regarding fisheries research. They have filed a complaint with PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) charging political coercion and censorship of Science.
Dr. Paul Houser, former Chief Science and Integrity Office of the BOR, (Bureau of Reclamation in D.C. ), was fired for filing scientific misconduct charges against BOR regarding Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the KHSA, (removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River).
(Klamath Basin Area Office of the BOR) documents clearly indicate that the Klamath Project could decimate future Salmon runs in the Klamath Basin. This statement also corroborates scientific data gathered by the Siskiyou County Water Users Association and other involved groups.
BOR documents point out that the 20 million cubic yards of sludge from removing the dams contain toxic levels of Mercury, Chromium, Zinc and Antimony which could decimate not only Salmon, but, 34 other species that depend on the quality of water in the Klamath River. http://klamathrestoration.gov/sites/klamathrestoration.gov/files/Klamath%20Sediment%20Chemistry%20Report_050411_bookmarked.pdf page 47
KBAO Model Study indicating that changes in BOR controlled Klamath flows are insignificant to the life cycle of ‘endangered’ Coho salmon as confirmed by credible Biologists in both NMFS and SCWUA.
(Klamath Basin Area Office) of the BOR study which showed that a population of sucker fish exists in Lake Ewauna, contradicting USFWS listing of this fish. A blatant disregard of scientific data by KBAO, of the BOR, by USFWS for purposes of an agenda to control water and properties.