Our new Biological Assessment is out - Klamath Basin Crisis

Klamath Project Operations Biological Assessment
Coho Salmon: Factors Affecting Species Environment
describe each component of the diagram from the most distal to the most proximate
(central) causes.
In reviewing the envirogram, Reclamation identified three factors to be considered in
assessing the impacts of the Proposed Action on coho salmon: water quantity (including
timing); water quality (DO, nutrient loading, and temperature), and disease.
The biology of coho salmon is multi-dimensional, and communicating such complexity
schematically on two-dimensional paper is a daunting task. However, the linear design
of an envirogram greatly facilitates assessment of individual components and their
relation to the organism’s biology as a whole. Because the relationship between
components is simplified to one-way interactions, the resulting diagrammatic
representation simplifies visual assimilation of a great deal of information. Thus, the
envirogram, by design, is synthetic and holistic. On the other hand, the simplicity of a
linear design is not without drawbacks. For instance, the linearity does not represent the
cyclic nature implicit in many elements in the environment.
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