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 Alvin Alexander Cheyne

January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005

 

 

 

      

Leaders: Consider the human factor
 

 

By LEE JUILLERAT
H&N Regional Editor
February 7, 2010 
MEDFORD — When the Klamath River Basin Science Conference opened Tuesday, a series of speakers implored scientists doing river studies to report findings in language that nonscientists can understand, to be transparent and, most of all, to realize people living in the upper and lower basins will be impacted.

When the conference closed Friday, scientists said they heard the message.

“The human dimension has come up again and again,” said Dr. Leslie Dierauf, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Northwest regional executive, who conceived and oversaw organization of the four-day conference. “The social needs and the social dynamics go hand-in-hand with the health of the river.”

In conversations and at conference programs involving 300-plus scientists, Dierauf and others said a major message was to involve people living in areas impacted by the river and its tributaries in ongoing and future studies.

The human factor

Klamath County Commissioner John Elliott, Siskiyou County Supervisor Jim Cook and Humboldt County Supervisor Jill Duffy each urged scientists studying the future of the Klamath River Basin to consider the human factor.

“Either we learn to work together, or I warn you, we will destroy each other,” Elliott said.

Of the proposed removal of four Klamath River dams, which Siskiyou supervisors have unanimously opposed, Cook asked, “Prove that’s the best for the river and prove that’s the best for the people of the United States. Don’t do it because it feels good.”

“We need to have confidence in the products that are being produced,” Duffy said, echoing concerns by Cook and Elliott that county governments lack the staff and budget to analyze and interpret scientific data.

Duffy urged scientists to “talk about what we know and how we can augment information and move forward. When you say you don’t know, it undermines confidence.”

Common goals

Elliott said trust and collaborative relationships between previously hostile groups were established during negotiations for the Klamath Basin Restoration and Klamath Hydropower Settlement agreements, noting, “We’ve carved out a pseudo state with common goals.”

Regardless of whether the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement are approved, Dierauf said studies aimed on understanding, targeting and solving problems along the Klamath River Basin are needed.

“We have to plan now, to get ready now,” Dierauf said. “Let’s not wait for the agreements.”

 
 
  Irrigation and agriculture

 

   In the Upper Klamath Basin, there are 500,000 acres under irrigation. Of those, 190,000 are on the Klamath Reclamation Project, which includes the Klamath and Tulelake irrigation districts. Most of that acreage relies on flows from the Klamath River. Only 100,000 acres are irrigated with groundwater. Irrigators grow crops such as mint, alfalfa and potatoes, and raise cattle. Agriculture is a $650 million industry in the Upper Basin.
 
  Oregon spotted frog

 

   The Oregon spotted frog, which historically ranged throughout the region, is now found in only a few areas. Experts don’t yet know if the frog will become an endangered species. In the Klamath Basin, the frog lives as far west as Lake of the Woods, as far east as the Pit River in Modoc County and as far north as the Sprague River
 
  Lamprey

 

   Six of the world’s 42 known species of lampreys — which are jawless boneless, long-bodied and mostly unchanged over the past 360 million years — are found in the Klamath River Basin.
 
  Iron Gate Dam

 

   Hydrology in the lower Klamath River Basin has been difficult to study because of dams that control water flows in the river, said Mike Belchik, a senior biologist with the Yurok Tribe. A plan to remove the dams aims to restore salmon runs — the Iron Gate dam is now the end of the road for migrating salmon — to the upper Klamath River Basin
 
  Upper Klamath Lake

 

   The lake is fed by the Williamson, Wood and Sprague rivers at the upper end of the watershed. Home to suckers, water levels are monitored to maintain health of the fish.
 
  Lost River sucker

 

   Bass and perch living in the reservoirs are expected to be lost through dam removal, but suckers trapped in reservoirs will be captured and relocated
 

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