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I'WAIUatl0n Of HIDloglcal Opinion¢ on rnd2.ngerod and Thltatcncd rlsk,5 In the Klamath RlvcrRasln: In cr m Report (2002) <br />fir/ t�pCnMnkI�NIN4�L�7dAMrmIM J�hnl.c.pyrlphry 02.ZANII The SJUOn IIIACLWICmy ullr';Mwte4cNed <br />ENDANGERED ANQ XOMATEIVED FISH# IN THE KLAMATH RIVER BASIN_ <br />prescribed in the USBR assessments. Thus, the committee must not only evaluate the <br />validity of the biological opinions, but also extend the same sort of evaluation to the <br />assessments. <br />The tasks of the committee encompass only the scientific and technical issues that <br />are relevant to the three endangered and threatened fish species mentioned above. The <br />committee is not charged with investigating or reporting on economic dislocation or with <br />forecasting the economic consequences of continued implementation of flows specified <br />in the biological opinions. Given the background materials that were provided to the <br />committee, however, all committee members are acutely aware of the great importance of <br />any change in historical management of flows to water users in the Klamath Basin. Also, <br />the committee is aware of the great and long - standing interest of Native American tribes <br />of the Klamath River Basin in the maintenance and expansion of fish stocks, including <br />Tribal Trust species not covered in this report, and of the interests of numerous other <br />parties in water resources, wetlands, and the welfare of fishes and other aquatic Iife. <br />While the committee will not analyze economic or socioeconomic questions, the strong <br />and multiple interests of individuals and communities it the Klamath Basin in the <br />conclusions reached by the committee are well recognized by the committee members, <br />Not only from an economic and social viewpoint, but also from the perspective of <br />ecological and biological resources, the work of the NRC committee is tightly focused by <br />its statement of task and by the inherent requirements of the Endangered Species Act, <br />which prohibits federal actions that jeopardize continued existence of listed species <br />through interference with their survival or recovery (50 CFR 402.02). The Klamath <br />River Basin is home to hundreds of species of fish and wildlife and to distinctive native <br />ecosystems, including wildlife refuges of national significance. Many of these natural <br />resources have been greatly restricted or altered through human action. In fact, changes <br />in the flow regime in the Klamath River may affect other fishes that have been proposed <br />for listing as threatened species but are not yet listed (e.g., E5Us of steelhcad and chinook <br />salmon). The committee, however, is charged with studying specifically the <br />requirements of the three fish species mentioned above, and not of other species in the <br />Klamath River Basin. <br />N <br />966-4 BE0 /IZO'd 9EZ -1 999E99BE08 s3aanosm innin 10a -mods Oti:ll ZOOZ-EO -Hd <br />