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On a
whirlwind tour of the
North
Coast
this weekend, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) made time to talk
with media about some important issues.
Sitting in Ramone’s Bakery in Old Town Eureka, Thompson started
by answering questions about the
Klamath River
dam negotiations.
The parties involved in renegotiating PacifiCorp’s dam contracts
are keeping mum on the progress. Locally, both John Corbett, who
represents the Yurok Tribe, and
Humboldt
County
5th District Supervisor Jill Geist only stated that the talks are
heating up.
“There’s probably a reason to that,” Thompson said. “All
the stakeholders are legitimately and honestly involved in trying
to bring something around, but they’re probably playing it
pretty close to the vest.
“They’re going to need to negotiate something that works and
they’re probably not there now.”
Following the topic upriver, Thompson came to the Trinity River
Restoration bill he co-authored, HR 3733. The bill is an attempt
to secure funding for the Trinity, but could compete with a
similar project on the
San Joaquin
River
.
In a recent hearing before Congress, Hoopa Tribal Chairperson
Clifford Lyle Marshall, as well as a representative from the Yurok
Tribe, spoke.
“I think the hearing went well. It was illustrative for
committee members to understand some of the issues,” Thompson
said.
“This is a very, very delicate system that’s just been
overtaxed for so long.
“Then you add to it the drought we’re in now, and the silly
decision by the Bush administration to divert water out of the
Klamath to folks who shouldn’t have gotten as much water as they
got. It’s just really causing problems for us.”
When asked if the Trinity and the
San Joaquin
projects will compete for funds,
Thompson said, “The reality is there’s no money for either
one.
“The problem is we have the pay-go rules in the House now. So
any bill that passes has to be paid for. There’s not enough
money just to realign what’s already there. There’s going to
have to be an infusion of money.
“The (salmon fishermen’s) relief bill I had passed was $60.4
million, so that’s a big, big hit that local businesses took.
There’s marinas, motels and hotels and restaurants. You know
everything depends on that business.
“Fish are one of my favorite meals, but they’re more than just
a great meal. They’re a real indicator in regard to the health
of the watershed.
“I’ve used this analogy before. They’re to the river what
canaries are to miners. When a canary drops over dead, there’s
problems in the air in that mine shaft. And when the salmon drop
over dead, there’s problems in that watershed. Those are
problems that can spill over and touch every industry we have.
“All these fish that we’re talking about are, or are very
close to becoming, listed species. When that happens, it changes
how you do everything in the watershed.
“It changes how you develop real estate, how you do road
maintenance, timber harvesting and cattle grazing. So it could
have a very, very long arm that touches a lot of people.”
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