Navigating the Klamath

By Steve Kadel

H&N's Staff Writer

February 15, 2008

   The Klamath River was once the third-greatest Pacific salmon-producing stream in the Lower 48 states before construction of four dams blocked fish passage, says Brian Barr, National Center for Conservation Science and Policy. 

   “Decades of degrading habitat and blocking fish from 300 miles of stream have caused wild salmon populations to drop by 90 percent,” said Barr. 

   Now stakeholders representing a wide range of interests, including irrigators, government officials, environmentalists, and tribes are talking about dam removal in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which aims to stabilize water supplies and power rates and restore fish populations, among other things. 

   Following are some facts about the river, which has been at the center of intense discussions for the past two years. Some of the information comes from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Klamath Falls and from the Trinity River Restoration Project. 

   B The Klamath River flows out of Lake Ewauna .
   C Above Lake Ewauna, the Williamson River and its tributaries, including the Sprague River , deposit water into Upper Klamath Lake .
   D The mile-long Link River con nects Upper Klamath Lake with Lake Ewauna . 

   As it flows southwest, the Klamath River goes through the Klamath Mountains and skirts the Siskiyou Mountains on their southern side. 

   The Klamath River drains a watershed of 15,751 square miles. Four tributaries feed into the Klamath in California . Those are: 

   E The Shasta River some 10 miles north of Yreka.
   F The Scott River from the south in central Siskiyou County .
   G The Salmon River . - H The Trinity River . The largest tributary to the river, the Trinity, sends 52 percent of its water to the Sacramento Valley for irrigation and electrical power with the other 48 percent flowing into the Klamath River .
   I The Klamath flows for 263 miles to its mouth at the Pacific Ocean in California , about 20 miles south of Crescent City . 

   n The river drops 4,090 feet from Klamath Falls to its entry into the ocean in southwestern Del Norte County. The discharge rate at the river’s mouth averages around 17,000 cubic feet per second — ranging from a low of 1,340 cfs to a maximum of 378,000 cfs. 

   n Historically, the river’s name is derived from “klamet,” a Native American word meaning “swiftness.” Indians used the river as a water route through the Cascade Range , with archaeological evidence indicating the river valley has been inhabited for more than 7,000 years. The Klamath is one of just three rivers that cross the Cascades, the others being the Columbia River and Pit River . 

   n Dam construction between 1908 and 1962 has blocked the return of salmon to upstream habitat, raising cultural issues for the Klamath Tribes, which consider the species sacred. Salmon also carry spiritual significance for the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa tribes in California . 

   n The Klamath was once prime habitat for Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, steelhead trout and rainbow trout. Coho are now listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 

   n The river’s recent history involves PacifiCorp’s attempts to relicense four dams for another 50 years. The request to continue operating the Irongate, J.C. Boyle, Copco 1 and Copco 2 dams is pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee.

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