In a complaint filed with the US Office of the Special Counsel on October 29, California biologist Michael Kelly alleges that his agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), failed to follow its own procedures for evaluating the impact of a water management plan on endangered species in the Klamath River Basin. If true, the failure would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since the US Bureau of Reclamation's water management plan was put into effect in September, 30,000 salmon have died in the Klamath River.
As part of the complaint, Kelly filed a request for shelter under the Whistleblower's Protection Act, which shields the government employee from being demoted or terminated because of his complaint. Kelly has declined to speak to the press, however, Karen Schambach, of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), helped Kelly with his filing. Schambach told the Los Angeles Times that ...
