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the highest rates for electricity (a major cost of hatchery 

 operations) charged by the Bureau, far higher than that paid by the 

 project's agricultural contractors. Only recently has the rate 

 charged the hatchery for electricity been reduced and efforts made 

 to begin the badly needed modernization of the Coleman National 

 Fish Hatchery; even with increased production, this facility will 

 never fully mitigate the loss of salmon habitat in the Pitt, 

 McCloud and Little Sacramento Rivers. 



In the mid 1970 's as a result of the drought and the increased 

 sale of Bureau water, high water temperatures from Shasta's summer 

 releases were causing a serious problem for the survival of winter 

 and fall-run kings spawning in the stretch of river below the dam. 

 The Bureau, with few exceptions, rejected requests for cold water 

 releases from the base of the dam to protect the fish, saying the 

 protection of fish was "not a project purpose". Ironically, had 

 Shasta been plumbed, as recommended by biologists in the 1930 's, 

 for temperature control, it would have been possible to regulate 

 the flow temperatures while still maintaining hydro-electric power 

 generation. It was not until the listing of winter-run salmon 

 under the Endangered Species Act that the Bureau began making cold 

 water releases and serious consideration given to the design and 

 funding of a retrofit device for temperature control. 



Downriver, the CVP's Red Bluff Diversion Dam, was built and 

 completed in 1964. This unit of the CVP could not be justified 

 alone for agricultural water, so the Bureau threw in salmon 

 enhancement to justify its construction. In operation, however. 

 Red Bluff proved to be a salmon killer, not an enhancement facility 

 as promised. All efforts at making the spawning channel work were 

 given up on a few years ago. For years the Bureau refused to raise 

 the gates at the dam to allow the safe downstream migration of 

 winter and fall-run baby salmon, arguing the protection of fish was 

 "not a project purpose". It was not until the listing of the 

 winter-run that the gates were finally lifted to allow the 

 downstream migration of baby winter-run. only after the winter- 

 run listing, have serious discussions begun on alternatives for the 

 diversion of water at Red Bluff. 



On the American River, the Nimbus hatchery, operated by the 

 state under contract with the Bureau, has never successfully 

 mitigated habitat losses and much of the actual rearing has to be 

 done at the state facility at oroville. Further, huge fluctuations 

 in flow releases from Folsom, often leave the redds high and dry 

 after spawning, killing the salmon eggs. Again, the Bureau refused 

 to consider the fate of salmon below the dam, saying their 

 protection was "not a project purpose". 



The Trinity Unit of the CVP, completed in 1964, diverted flow 

 from this north coast river into the CVP. The Trinity was regarded 

 as the most important salmon producing tributary of the Klamath 

 River. Although the Klamath-Trinity is not a large salmon 



