May 7, 2004

Jeffery Loman (via mail and e-mail) Chief Natural Resources Office of Trust Responsibilities Bureau of Indian Affairs MS 3061 1849 C St NW Washington, DC 20240

Robert Beduhn (via e-mail) HDR Engineering Inc. 6190 Golden Hills Drive Minneapolis, MN 55416

Dear Mr. Loman and Mr. Beduhn:

This spring has served to demonstrate again the need for and importance of a Drought Management Plan for Flathead Lake and Kerr Dam. Lake drawdown in late winter coupled with below average precipitation in March, early snowpack melting and reduced runoff projections, all point to the possibility that Flathead Lake may not refill on schedule or sustain near-full pool levels through the summer.

PPL Montana acknowledged this concern in its April 22 letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Interior requesting expedition of a possible request to deviate from its license requirements for lake levels and river flows below Kerr Dam should inadequate precipitation in the next few weeks make meeting both requirements impossible.

When Kerr Dam was relicensed in 1997, the need to invoke the provisions of a Drought Management Plan was expected to occur rarely. That assumption needs to be revisited. New research on climate change provides evidence that this year's early snowpack runoff is probably indicative of what can be expected to occur on a more regular basis in the future.

We have enclosed, for your review and consideration in the development of the Drought Management Plan Draft Environmental Impact Statement, two scientific journal articles that analyze the impacts of climate change and the trend of earlier snowpack melting in the Pacific Northwest, including western Montana:

Service, Robert F. As the West Goes Dry. Science. Vol 303: 1124-1127. 2004.

Payne, Jeffrey T., Andrew W. Wood, Alan F. Hamlet, Richard N. Palmer and Dennis P. Lettenmaier. Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change on the Water Resources of the Columbia River Basin. Climatic Change. Vol. 62: 233-256. 2004.

This is not a future climate change projection, but a trend that is already occurring. These papers clearly show the need to start refilling the lake earlier than in the past because of the changing spring snowmelt dynamics.

The current extended drought and earlier runoff, which increase the likelihood for conflicts between the dam's lake level and river flow license requirements, reinforce the need to carefully examine how flexible management of water stored in Hungry Horse Reservoir can help alleviate these conflicts.

The Flathead Lakers board of directors believe there is historic precedent for water from the South Fork of the Flathead River being used to help maintain near-full pool lake levels in Flathead Lake during the recreation season. In fact, during the 2001 drought, negotiations among the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, PPL Montana, the Bureau of Reclamation and other agencies resulted in additional water being released from Hungry Horse Reservoir for the stated purpose of maintaining lake levels and lower river flows in addition to flow augmentation for salmon downstream on the Columbia River.

Shortly after Kerr Dam began operating, most docks on Flathead Lake were converted, in the late 1940s, from floating to fixed structures, indicating that the owners of the docks had a sound reason to believe that the level of the lake during the summer season would not vary appreciably from the authorized full pool level of 2893 feet. The reasonableness of this belief is underscored by the absence of any warning or information to the contrary, formal or informal, from the operators of Kerr Dam. After existing for a half century or more, this set of circumstances has become a precedent. Reliance on this precedent is widespread and reasonable.

After Hungry Horse Dam began storing water in 1951, 100 percent of the flows of the South Fork of the Flathead River no longer were available for bringing Flathead Lake to full pool in the spring. Regulation of the impounded South Fork's water drastically modified the river's natural hydrograph, decreasing flows in spring to fill the reservoir and increasing flows in summer, fall and winter (albeit with large, short-term fluctulations). Whether intentional or not, we believe it is likely that water released from Hungry Horse Dam has masked some of the effects of low summer streamflow in the Flathead. Stable summer flows from Hungry Horse can provide benefits for threatened fish species and other aquatic life in the river above and below the lake as well as help maintain the level of Flathead Lake during droughts. Where there are options for flexibility in management of Hungry Horse Dam, we believe Flathead Lake should be given high priority.

We appreciate the challenge of developing a management plan that addresses all the water uses, issues, concerns and climatic conditions. It is, however, compellingly important that the Drought Management Plan Draft EIS fully evaluate the entire range of these factors, including storage in Hungry Horse Reservoir, to meet the needs of the Flathead.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Rose Schwennesen President

cc: Bob Grieve FERC FERC service list Lance Elias PPL Montana Fred Matt Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes, Bill McDonald Bureau of Reclamation U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Helena Office Governor Judy Martz Senator Max Baucus Senator Conrad Burns Representative Dennis Rehberg