Joint meeting addresses Klamath River

July 11, 2007

By Nicholas Grube

Triplicate staff writer

Not surprisingly, fishing on the Klamath River dominated the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, which was held at the Yurok Tribal Offices in Klamath.

Both citizens and tribal members addressed the importance of the Klamath River to the county, and specifically, Klamath's economy. In particular, people spoke to the board about the need to fix the Roy Rook and Klamath Townsite boat ramps and how the county should request federal salmon disaster funds to alleviate damage caused by restricted salmon fishing.

"I think the people on the Northcoast as a whole need to stand up for the Klamath River ," Yurok Tribal Council Member Sid Nix said. "If you look at the Klamath as a whole ... everybody has to do their part."

He said that everyone in the county, including the various government agencies and the Yurok Tribe, need to come together to discuss how to solve the problems dealing with the waterway. "We just have to see each other face-to-face and get that dialogue going."

Areas of mutual concern are the boat landings along the Klamath River , as many are in need of repair after a flood in 2005.

"The boat dock (Roy Rook) is highly critical in obtaining access to our fisheries," Mark Warner said. He is the former president of the Friends of Cal-Ore Fish, which is a non-profit dedicated to protecting salmon and steelhead stocks in Southern Oregon and Northern California .

Martin said the Roy Rook Boat Ramp is one of the main ways local anglers and tourists were able access the river, and since it was damaged during the flood, the launch has prevented widespread use and hurt the local economy.

"For those businesses that take that suffering and continue to take that suffering," he said, "we need to do something to get that turned around."

The board approved a contract with Stover Engineering for design and construction management of the Roy Rook Boat Ramp, but county staff said that repairs to both that launch and the Klamath Townsite ramp might not be completed until as late as October 2008 due to seasonal construction restrictions in the Klamath River .

Resolution adopted

In addition, the board adopted a resolution – written by Klamath-area resident Aaron Funk – that would provide input to the California Salmon Council on how they should disperse federal funds to communities ailing from the depleted Chinook salmon in the Klamath River .

"One of the greatest burdens from the (2002) fish kill have been placed on this area in Klamath and the Klamath Glen," Funk said.

For that reason, he said he prepared a sample resolution to present to the California Salmon Council Friday when they meet in San Francisco to discuss how to distribute $30 million in federal funds for economic losses incurred by restricted salmon harvests on the Klamath River .

The resolution will urge the California Salmon Council to allocate more money to Del Norte County and not to gauge their fund dispersal on past catch records, as local records are skewed due to more restrictive seasons.

"I think we go there and make our needs know to get some of that money," Funk said. "It would be a great boost to the community."

Reach Nicholas Grube at ngrube@triplicate.com.

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