ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Chinook Salmon Deaths

ENVIRONMENT REPORT - October 25, 2002: Chinook Salmon¹ Deaths

By Cynthia Kirk

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

American officials say at least twenty-thousand chinook salmon and other fish have died recently in the Klamath
River in Northern California. Scientists are not sure what caused the die-off. But environmental groups say the
Bush administration’s plan to redirect the flow of the river to provide water for crops may have caused water
levels to drop too low.

The Klamath River starts at Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon and flows into Northern California. Then
river flows west into the Pacific Ocean. Water management of the Klamath River has been a major dispute
between farmers on one side and fishermen, environmental groups and several Native American tribes on the
other side.

Six months ago, the Bush administration approved a plan to provide large amounts of water to farmers near the
Klamath River for irrigation. Farmers depend on water from the upper Klamath Lake to irrigate² more than
eighty-thousand hectares of land. Administration officials said the plan would satisfy farmers and honor
environmental laws. But opponents of the plan said it would severely³ harm the river and its fish.

Several fishing groups and others have taken legal action against the federal government. They said the Bush
administration gave too much water to farmers for irrigation at the risk of thousands of salmon. Some of the
salmon, such as coho, are protected under the Endangered Species Act. However, chinook salmon do not have
federal protection. Chinook were the main victims of the recent fish kill.

Scientists disagree about what caused to the fish to die. Tests showed that most of the fish died of lack of oxygen
due to infections that damaged their gills. Scientists say the organisms that caused the infection are common in
the river. But rarely have the organisms led to so many deaths.

Some scientists say warm and dry weather last month and low water flows in the Klamath River could be major
reasons for the deaths. They say the river is too low for fish to move upstream to mate. They say the fish are
dying of disease because they are crowded into small areas of water.

Biologists have called for more water to be released into the river for at least six months. But so far, federal
officials have agreed only to two weeks of additional water flows.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

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1 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

2 irrigate   

vt.灌溉，修水利，冲洗伤口，使潮湿

参考例句：

• The farmer dug several trenches to irrigate the rice fields.这个农民挖了好几条沟以灌溉稻田。
• They have built canals to irrigate the desert.他们建造成水渠以灌溉沙漠。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。