Former Foes Unite to solve Klamath Crisis

Tribes, Farmers, Conservationists, and Fishermen propose historic river restoration plan; Dam Removal Agreement with PacifiCorp final hurdle

January 15, 2008

Klamath Basin, CA and OR – After over two years of negotiation among 26 diverse stakeholder groups, the Klamath Settlement Group has produced a draft agreement to settle many of the key issues that have for years divided the Klamath Basin’s diverse communities. If adopted, the agreement would represent the largest river restoration effort in American history. The meetings producing the agreement were convened by the Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe, and Klamath Water Users Association

According to Maria Tripp, Yurok Tribal Chair, “This is a historic moment for the Yurok people and all other Klamath Basin communities. For many generations, the Yurok people have witnessed a steady decline in the health of the river and the life that it sustains. Implementation of this agreement, coupled with removal of the four PacifiCorp dams from the Klamath River , turns the tide from degradation to restoration. These agreements will enable our children’s children to have the same cultural experiences and memories of the river and fish that our families enjoyed a hundred years ago.”

The proposal addresses the needs of fish and farms. It provides a reliable and adequate allocation of water to farms and wildlife refuges, addresses the need for affordable power for Klamath Project irrigators who move water between farms, wildlife refuges and to the river. At the same time more water will be made available to the lower river to for the benefit of fisheries and coastal communities. Proponents of the agreement see it as a giant leap forward in the effort to restore the entirety of the Klamath basin.

According to Klamath Irrigation Project farmer Steve Kandra, “The proposed agreement provides stability and security to Klamath Basin communities. It provides for a predictable supply of water for farmers, resources to address times of water shortage, and affordable power for efficient water use. By implementing this agreement we can spare the next generation of family farmers and ranchers from a lifetime of neighbor against neighbor litigation, media wars, and economic uncertainty.”

This sentiment was echoed by Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), a major fishing industry trade association also in the negotiations: “For decades now, the Klamath Basin has been gripped in rotating water crises each year, with many good people, including farmers and fishermen, all too often pitted against one other. While this proposed Agreement is not yet final, we look forward to working with our friends in the farming and tribal communities to finalize and approve the agreement soon.”

The groups are optimistic that a deal to remove PacifiCorp’s lower four Klamath dams is possible. According to Steve Rothert, director of the California office of American Rivers, “we have a plan to put the Klamath Basin back together ecologically as well as economically, but we can’t do it without PacifiCorp as a partner. We are optimistic that we can forge that partnership with the company in coming weeks.”

PacifiCorp is the Portland , OR based utility that owns the Klamath dams. PacifiCorp is a subsidiary of Mid-American Energy Holdings Company which in turn is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Since construction of the ladderless dams began in 1918, salmon runs have plummeted in the Klamath River resulting in depressed economies in the Basin and commercial fishery shutdowns along the west coast. River advocates argue that since the dams generate little energy, provide no diversions of water for agriculture and no flood control, they should be removed.

The case for dam removal was strengthened recently by economic reports from state and federal energy agencies that concluded dam removal is cheaper for PacifiCorp’s customers than financing the upgrades needed to comply with federal mandates for fish ladders. Studies by the California Energy Commission show that the energy from the dams can be cost-effectively replaced with renewables and efficiency measures.

"We have a unique opportunity for a business deal that delivers advantage to the fish and benefit to PacifiCorp. We can and should do both,” commented Chuck Bonham of Trout Unlimited.

“We have a real opportunity to solve one of the West’s most complex and bitter water wars, we now look to our communities, the citizens of the Basin and to PacifiCorp for their input and assistance,” concluded Klamath Water Users Director Greg Addington.

The groups have more talks with PacifiCorp planned in coming weeks.

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Then proposed agreement and an executive summary are available online at: http://www.edsheets.com/Klamathdocs.html.



S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D.
Klamath Campaign Coordinator
Karuk Tribe of California
office: 530-627-3446 x3027
cell: 916-207-8294
ctucker [at] karuk.us

http://www.karuk.us  

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Source:  http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/15/18472655.php