320 High School Students from Nine Basin Schools Study Klamath River Water Problems and Solutions

Educational Solutions
Press Advisory 

For Immediate Release: November 19, 2008
For more information contact:
            Judith Jensen EdD, Director of Educational Solutions 541 281-7860
            Contact information for participating teachers below

Klamath Union and EagleRidge High School students help spawn salmon at Iron Gate Hatchery

320 Klamath Basin biology high school students are busy working on their final projects to propose solutions to water problems in the Klamath River Basin.  They are creating 2-minute messages to help inform the Basin of progress to date and work to be undertaken.

Possible solutions address increasing water quantity and improving water quality and fish habitat.  Student presentations will be videotaped and distributed throughout the Basin and on YouTube.  Nine schools represent major stakeholder groups of the Klamath River Basin.

In the Oregon Upper Basin, Henley and Lost River High Schools serve Project Farmers; Chiloquin serves the Klamath Tribes and Off-Project farmers; and Klamath Union and EagleRidge draw from various stakeholder groups.

In the California Lower Basin, Del Norte High School draws from commercial fishing, tribal and other communities; Hoopa Valley draws from the Hoopa, Karuk, and Yurok tribes; Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods draws primarily from the Yurok Tribe; and Discovery High in Yreka draws from diverse communities, including farming and tribal.

After years of competing for water, stakeholder leaders are working together to resolve water issues. "Sharing the Klamath River Watershed:  Bringing Together the Next Generation of Stakeholders" is a project designed by Klamath Falls non-profit Educational Solutions to prepare students to be tomorrow's leaders. The project is funded by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the Walter S. Jackson Foundation, and private donations.

The solutions students are studying were gathered by Educational Solutions from stakeholder leaders of different perspectives, from government scientists, and from community organizations. Solutions include developing deep water offstream storage; improving water quality in Upper Klamath Lake; agricultural conservation of water; hydroelectric dam removal/fish ladders; breaking the cycle of parasites attacking salmon below Iron Gate Dam; and using salmon genealogy to help commercial fishermen identify and avoid fishing weak stock (Project CROOS).

For the past four weeks, biology students have studied the same curriculum, developed by Educational Solutions in cooperation with stakeholder leaders, government scientists, and educators. Students are discussing stakeholder perspectives and watershed problems and possible solutions with students from other schools via email, cell phone, and videoconferencing.

Field trips include visits to Iron Gate Dam, the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery, and the site of toxic algae behind Iron Gate dam. Students will be visiting the Walking Wetlands in the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge on December 1.

Guest speakers include Christine Karas, Manager of the Klamath Falls Bureau of Reclamation; Ron Larson, fisheries biologist for the Klamath Falls US Fish and Wildlife Service; Chris Howard, Lower Basin biologist, and Dixie Boley, Oregon commercial salmon fisherman. Scheduled are presentations by Jeff Mitchell and Larry Dunsmoor of
 the Klamath Tribes as well as Troy Fletcher of the Yurok Tribe.

Contact Information for Teachers Participating in “Sharing the Klamath Watershed”

OREGON TEACHERS
-Chiloquin High School, Chiloquin, Heather Pearson: cell 971-241-4441 (after 3:15 pm)

-EagleRidge High School, Klamath Falls, Kim Cappel: cell 541 274-0501, after 3:15 pm;  school 541 850-9949 after 3:15 pm

-Henley High School, Klamath Falls, Chuck Shannon: school 541-883-5040, after 3:15pm; home 541 882-2454 evenings

-Klamath Union High School, Damon Wolf: cell 541 810-1878, 7:30am -9:00am, after 3:15 pm

-Lost River High School, Traci Baumgardner:  School 541 798-5666, after 3:15 pm
 

CALIFORNIA TEACHERS
-Del Norte High School, Crescent City, Rae Fearing:  cell 707 218-6503, after 3:15 pm;  school 707 464-0274, after 3:15 pm

-Discovery High School, Yreka, Rick Meredith: 530 842-1659, after 3:15pm

-Hoopa Valley High School, Brian Hopper: returns Tuesday 11/25/08

-Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods: Amanda Hession/Geneva Wiki: school 707-482-1737, 11:00-3:00 Monday-Thursday