How to Contact USFS

The US Forest Service has “mandatory conditioning authority” for FERC hydro licenses that encumber forest lands. It will accordingly set such things as the minimum instream flow levels, the recreational flow regime, and the like. Please tell USFS the same things you tell FERC: Who you are, why you care about this river, and what you want done (e.g., “implement KRB study plan,” “support KRB proposal,” or simply, “I support the comments of KRB!”) Speak politely when contacting USFS, but don’t be afraid to speak with passion for the river you love!

• Jennifer Eberlien, Regional Forester. Jennifer.Eberlien@usda.gov

• Amy Lind, Regional Hydro Coordinator. Amy.Lind@usda.gov

• Dawn Alvarez, Regional Hydro Assistance Team. Dawn.Alvarez@usda.gov

• Monique Sanchez, Regional FERC Liason. Monique.Sanchez@usda.gov

• Teresa Benson, SQF Supervisor. Teresa.Benson@usda.gov

• Karen Miller, SQF Public Service Officer. Karen.Miller@usda.gov

• Al Watson, Kern District Ranger. alfred.watson@usda.gov

• Ronald Rozar, Kern District Wildlife Specialist, ronald.rozar@usda.gov

• Eric Lundgren, Kern Recreation Officer. eric.lundgren@usda.gov

USFS holds the key, figuratively and sometimes literally, to our enjoyment of public lands

The Endangered North Fork Kern

Many of you may have seen American Rivers' designation of the Kern in Bakersfield as one of America's most endangered rivers. While the North Fork Kern may not be dry, we believe it is also endangered. More than half the time, there is more water in Edison's KR3 hydroproject than there is in the dewatered riverbed. The current fish flow regime does not come close to meeting any environmental standard: whether CDFW's old "Tennant" metric, the 1991 IFIM habitat model, or the more modern California Environmental Flow Framework designed by scientists at UC Davis. The dewatered stretch routinely fails to meet state water quality standards, including those for dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, and arsenic. And Fairview Dam kills the fish below it: according to the last monitoring study, the trout population above the dam declined by about half due to drought, but below the dam the decline was 97% -- almost all were dead. We understand that American Rivers targets rivers where policy decisions are imminent, and we expect them to take a close look at the North Fork Kern in 2024, when Edison submits its final license application for another 40 years of KR3. In the meantime, help us request the studies needed to capture the full negative environmental effects of KR3 on our beloved river; we will be rolling out calls to action on studies next month. Find out more at kernriverboaters.com/kr3

Notes from the 2022 USFS Outfitters' meeting

Thank you to Skip Volpert of Whitewater Voyages for taking notes of this year’s meeting.

How to File a Comment with FERC

FERC is the federal agency in charge of hydroproject relicensing. It is not likely to be persuaded solely by KRB’s filings — we need a groundswell of community support behind our positions. We have tried to tee up the issues for you; we urge you to support us with FERC in your own voice. Tell them who you are (don’t be afraid to brag!), tell them why and how much you love this river, and tell them what specific concerns you have and actions you want them to take (e.g., “reject SCE’s WR-1 MIF proposal,” or “adopt the KRB MIF proposal” [or whatever specific issue is at hand].) Even if it’s just to say, “I support Kern River Boaters for the reasons KRB has put forward” or “no one understands the Kern like KRB,” every voice of support helps! Feel free to contact us if you need further direction or inspiration.

To File a Quick Comment:

• Navigate to the FERC “Quick Comment” website.

• Fill in your data, including the Project Docket No. (e.g., “P-2290-122” for KR3).

• Upload your comment (6,000 word limit).

• Submit.

• Follow the project with automatic notifications from FERC.

To File a Lengthier Comment, or to Intervene, or to include pictures/attachments:

1. Register an account with FERC (free).

2. File your document.

The Construction of Fairview Dam

KRB Opposes New Compliance Gauge on the Mouth

KT Hydro wants to install a new gauge that will only report up to 75 cfs of flow, rendering it useless to boaters.

Here are our comments in opposition.

Please tell FERC you agree with KRB: Lodge a quick comment by going to https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx, enter “P-178” in the Docket Number Box, select the first one (P-178-000), and send them your thoughts.

Water Years on the Kern, Part Two

In Part One of the Water Year series, we learned that the median is a better means of representing typical conditions on the Kern than the mean. The mean is improperly skewed by outlier years, as shown by this chart, which groups the water years in hundred-thousands of Acre-Feet:

As can be seen, the data bunches up on the left; a majority of the last 50 years see below 600kAF of inflow at our reservoir. The outlier years to the right skew the mean so that just short of two-thirds of the years fall below the mean. The mean is accordingly not a fair representation of this statistical distribution. The median is a more appropriate representative: half the years fall above it, and half below.

In this next graph, KRB took the daly data available below Fairview Dam (both in the riverbed and in the KR3 diversion canal), summed them up to establish the total inflow at Fairview, and then aggregated those figures by year, to establish an annual average flow. From these figures, we can see that although the mean flow is 766 cfs, the median is only 531 cfs; again, half the years fall above the median, and half below.

Here is a chart of the last 30 years’ data:

You can find our full analysis of water years on the Kern in our comments to FERC on KR3 at pages 23-30 & 48-69.

KRB's Efforts to Protect the Unspoiled Views above the Kern Canyon Project

Boaters will recognize this stunning view on the Lower Kern. At the far end of the photo sits the intake dam that diverts water for the Kern Canyon Project. Kern Tule Hydro is proposing to suspend a net standing 15 stories tall and measuring 37,500 square feet to protect the intake from rockslides. To the extent that net will spoil this view, KRB opposes it. Read more on the matter here.

Water Years on the Kern, Part One

When thinking about water years on the Kern, we often identify them as “wet,” or “dry,” or just “average.” But it definitely seems like we get more dry years than wet, and not too many average. How can that be?

According to NOAA, the Kern River drainage provides about 722,000 acre-feet (“722kAF”) of water in an “average” year. But this is a particular kind of average: the arithmetic “mean.”

As used here, the arithmetic mean simply adds up all the water in the drainage in a given number of years and divides that sum by the given number of years.

But the arithmetic mean is not always the most appropriate method to determine a representative quantification of the most likely or typical conditions.

In cases where the distribution of outcomes is not generally symmetrical but is instead skewed by “outlier” data, the arithmetic “median” is the more appropriate description of conditions at the center of the distribution.

The median is calculated by lining up the data in series and pointing out the figure in the middle of the series. Half of the data is above this figure; half below. When outliers skew the distribution of data, the median is far more representative of what is likely or typical than the mean.

According to NOAA, the median inflow for the Kern drainage is not 722kAF, but much, much less: 464kAF, just 64.3% of the mean. That is why a large majority of years on the Kern seem to users be “below average” or dry. About two-thirds of the time, a water year on the Kern will fall below the mean; half the time it falls more than 35% below the mean. Proper statistics tells us that many, many more years are closer to 50% than 100% of the mean on the Kern.

source: NOAA

How to Subscribe to a FERC Docket

Stay informed on goings-on at FERC. Just follow these steps:

1. Register as a FERC Online User to obtain a FERC I.D. and password. FERC Online will then send you an email confirming your registration.

2. Go to your email Inbox and open the message from FERC Online. Click on the link to validate your account.

3. Once you are a registered, log in to FERC Online by entering your registered email address/FERC I.D. and your password.

4. Select the docket numbers of which you wish to keep track.

You'll then be notified via email as correspondence/motions/orders come in and out of FERC. Relevant Project Nos. for the Kern Drainage include:

• P-2290 (KR3)

• P-15035 (Pumped Hydro)

• P-382 (Borel **decommissioned with the support of KRB!)

• P-1930 (KR1)

• P-178 (Kern Canyon Project)

• P-4129 (Rio Bravo)

KRB Files a Complaint against SCE alleging Fish Flow and Reporting violations

KRB filed a complaint with FERC today alleging two Minimum Instream Flow violations and their attendant violations for non-reporting. In talking with members, we discovered that not many people were aware the misnamed “Hatchery Flow” (it is really for power generation) takes precedence over minimum environmental flows for our living fishery on the NF Kern. Read the details in our Complaint.